New Wayne residents press select board for winter plowing on White Road; board refers matter to infrastructure committee

At the Town of Wayne Select Board meeting, resident Jack Myra asked whether the town could provide winter plowing to his driveway on White Road, saying the road currently does not get plowed through the winter.

"We recently moved here ... we would like to know if we could get our road plowed at least to our driveway to our garage," Myra said during public comment. Town Manager Shannon responded that, according to the town's records on the DOT viewer, White Road is recorded as being maintained in summer only and that the town voted to limit maintenance years earlier (the board discussed the vote as dating to the 1950s).

Shannon explained that adding a winter plow service would require a recommendation from the infrastructure committee, an estimate of costs (including building a turnaround at the road end to accommodate a plow), and budgeting for contract changes (plowing, sand, salt and winter gravel). She said the snow‑plow contract does not currently include White Road and that the infrastructure committee should prepare a recommendation and cost estimate for the select board and town meeting consideration.

Board members asked staff to gather historical documents about the road's maintenance designation, explain options (including road decommissioning, partial maintenance, or acceptance for year‑round maintenance), and present findings at the next meeting or through the infrastructure committee. No change in winter maintenance policy or immediate plowing was authorized at the meeting; residents were told staff would follow up with more information.

The board also noted the town is developing a five‑ to ten‑year road plan and that paving costs are substantial (staff cited recent paving of three roads costing $196,000), underscoring the need for a costed estimate before adding new winter maintenance responsibilities.