SOUTH DEERFIELD — No one knows why or when the town stopped maintaining Ridge Road, and no one thought to publicly question who was legally responsible for the road until this week.
Armed with six months worth of data on the road’s history and backed by an entourage of friends and neighbors, Kathy Felton, one of five Ridge Road homeowners, won her case at Wednesday’s Selectboard meeting. The three-member board unanimously voted to begin road maintenance, effective immediately.
“We paid to have it patched, we paid to have it plowed,” Felton said afterward, standing outside the town office and holding three envelopes filled with documents.
By sifting through local, state and regional records, Felton tracked the road’s history back to at least the 1940s. She found town maintenance payment records from that time, predating Deerfield’s zoning bylaw. Ridge Road, which is about 700 feet long, connects to Stage Road just off North Hillside Road. It’s a steep dead-end road that’s mostly dirt.
At some point, and stories vary as to when and why, Deerfield’s Highway Department stopped maintaining Ridge Road. It could have been because of land disputes, but Felton noted that deed information is too uncertain to deduce anything for certain. The road’s street sign lists the road as “a private way.”
The South Deerfield Water District built a storage tank at the road’s end in the 1960s, and it was kept open for access. There’s also a parking lot for a trail system there, which brings public traffic.
Over the years, houses sprung up on either side. According to town property records, the oldest existing house there was built in 1967. When the properties changed hands, new residents assumed the road was private and took on maintenance costs, often enlisting the help of friends or worked on it themselves.
“I moved in in 2001, and just took what everyone said,” Felton said. Soon after, she took charge of maintenance bills, dividing costs up among neighbors. In the last 17 years, the five houses paid $21,000 to maintain the road.
During her research, Felton spoke with many town officials, including Highway Superintendent Kevin Scarborough, all of whom she noted were easy to work with and willing to help.
She enlisted the help of former Building Commissioner Richard Calisewski, who has deep knowledge of Deerfield’s history. Calisewski presented Felton’s findings at Wednesday’s Selectboard meeting, advocating on her behalf.
Felton submitted her findings and notes to town officials before the meeting, suspending the need for detailed in-person discussion. Before the Selectboard took a vote, Chairwoman Carolyn Shores Ness thanked Felton on behalf of the town for her research to clarify hearsay surrounding the road’s history.
Wednesday’s decision by the Selectboard to take over maintenance responsibility represents a “line in the sand” for Felton and her Ridge Road neighbors. She said they’re not looking to recoup past expenses, and believe the road will be better maintained under the town Highway Department’s management, benefiting the whole town.
“We’re not looking to the past. Clearly, it was missed by a lot of people for a lot of reasons. Let’s move forward,” she said.
You can reach Andy Castillo
at: acastillo@recorder.com
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On Twitter: @AndyCCastillo