HEATH — Selectboard Chair Robyn Provost and Highway Superintendent Tyson Howard detailed the town’s plans this week to smooth out Number 9 Road before winter, with full reconstruction of the road slated to be completed by spring 2028.
“We’re probably going to hold off on the full-depth reclamation and the full paving project until we get a look at it next year. … We’re getting into winter, we still have some trucks that we need to get ready,” Howard said during Tuesday’s Selectboard meeting. “The dirt roads still need their fall grades, but something will be done on [Number 9 Road].”
Within the next couple weeks, Howard said there will be some patchwork done, adding that because it’s just patchwork, the project does not need to go out to bid and can be contracted with a smaller company. He added that the short-term remedy “should hold to get through until next year.”
Residents also shared their thoughts on the project, with some wondering why this road has been ignored for so long. Eileen Lively, who lives on Number 9 Road, said that if more Heath residents had to experience what she experiences, the road would not have been ignored. According to the Board of Assessors map, around 40 homes exist on the road.
She added that she spoke to two residents of Number 9 Road who have lived there for more than 30 years, and neither can recall seeing any construction on Number 9 Road.
“Don’t walk in my shoes — drive in my car. … You’ve got a pretty car; I don’t. My car is suffering,” Lively said to Provost.
Howard and the Selectboard said funding for reconstruction of Number 9 Road will come through Chapter 90, barring an emergency where those funds would be used.
Lively and other residents asked what kind of guarantee the public has that this project will actually get completed, with Provost saying she couldn’t give any more of a guarantee than that the Selectboard will “continue to follow up on it.”
“Trust me, I don’t want to come back here and say this failed,” Provost said.
Selectboard member Elissa Viarengo said she was on board with the plan Howard presented, saying that the town “can’t just do Band-Aids on it anymore.”
Provost added that another way to ensure the success of this project is “the continuation of applying for as many grants as possible.”
In response to an inquiry about why grants are necessary given the town’s high tax rate, Selectboard member Will Emmet, who is also a resident of Number 9 Road, said part of this comes from the fact that Heath has no industry, and the town relies heavily on residential property taxes. The average single-family tax bill for fiscal year 2026 in Heath is $5,067. Provost invited residents to learn more about where their tax dollars go by attending discussions with the Finance Committee.
