Volume 23 Issue 1
Winter ~ 2012-2013
Free
Ancient Roads & Act 178 Intersect By Steve Glabach and Bill Holiday
In response to a State of Vermont mandated process, each Vermont town must identify its roads and recommend classification prior to 1 July 2015. In actuality, the report must be submitted a year before to allow the state to process the information. Act 178 was created by the Vermont State Legislature to establish a timeline and a process by which debate over ancient roads could be brought to a close. The state intervened in the legal status of these so-called ancient roads because of the problems it caused for the real estate industry. Realtors, title insurers, attorneys, and banks sought a remedy for the legal status of ancient roads. Act 178 created a new category of town highway; the unidentified corridor. A few of the highlights of the bill are as follows. To be an unidentified corridor, all four of the following criteria must be met: • They must have been legally established. • They must not appear on the town highway map on July 1, 2009. • They are not clearly observable by physical evidence of their use as a highway or trail. • They aren’t legal trails. Some provisions are written into the bill to help protect landowners who are surprised to find an ancient road on their property. If the need arises to look at a property, a municipality may enter the property with 14 days advance written notice to determine if observable physical evidence exists of the unidentified corridor. These unidentified corridors shall be open to the public’s use but only in the manner they were used in the 10 years prior to 2006. If an unidentified corridor is not reclassified as a highway or a trail by July 1, 2015 it will be automatically discontinued. If an unidentified corridor is discontinued, anyone using it as a sole access to a parcel of land owned by that person shall retain a private right of way over the former town
highway or unidentified corridor. The Dummerston Selectboard responded by having two of its members, Steve Glabach and Bill Holiday, chair the investigation by which Dummerston would identify its roads and propose changes to the current map. The process began in August of 2012. A committee was recruited and consists of Carol Bessette, Chet Wendell, Don Hazelton, Harold Newell, Steve Glabach, Pam McFadden, Bill Holiday, and Steve Glabach, with ‘Shorty’ Forrett and Wayne Emery acting in an advisory role. At its first meeting the decision was made to divide the group into investigative teams to begin identifying roads, classifications, and trails. Each group would then report to the whole on its findings. It has been interesting to put it mildly. Town records have been scoured with some interesting developments. Former road commissioner, Clifford Emery, kept a personal record of town roads. Acting as a supplement to the town records, they have been invaluable and have saved hours of time. The committee has discovered that it needs continued on page 3
This map of West Dummerston Village shows the old railroad bed and two of the three ancient roads in the village.
Post Office Hours To Be Realigned Cut By Roger Turner The guy from the district office of the Postal Service kept referring to a “realignment” of the West Dummerston Post Office hours, and finally Calvin Farwell, who because he customarily came late to the meeting hadn’t even heard half of these references, couldn’t take it any longer. “Please stop using that word sir. You are not talking about realigning the hours. You are in fact talking about cutting the hours!” This clarification, made with Calvin’s patented serious smile, was allowed by the Postal Service’s Jerry Reen. So, with that little issue sorted out, Reen
entertained suggestions from the approximately 20 people gathered in the Community Center about how the hours could be distributed for a four hour day, down from the current eight hour day. In the Postal Service’s attempt to address an 11-12 billion dollar annual shortfall, the revenue produced by individual post offices is being used to determine how many hours they will be allowed to operate. Some branches won’t lose hours. Some will have their hours cut to six hours a day. Though the hours for the West Dummerston operation will be cut from eight to four for the next year, Reen insisted continued on page 10