Selectmen reject offer to buy bridge

SHARON — The Board of Selectmen has rejected an offer from James Metz to buy a portion of Mitcheltown Road. Metz owns property on both sides of the road, which includes a bridge that has been closed since last August because it needs repair.

The offer was made in December but was rejected by two of the three selectmen at the regular board meeting on Jan. 12.

Metz had offered to pay the town $500,000 for the portion of the road that passes through his property, which includes the bridge.

Selectmen John Mathews and Meg Szalewicz voted the offer down. First Selectman Bob Loucks recused himself from both the discussion and the vote because he owns property on Mitcheltown Road.

“After this offer was presented I talked to many people in town who did not like the idea,� Mathews said. “I would not recommend this. I see no reason to take it to town meeting.�

“I also had several conversations with residents and every one of them was against it,� Szalewicz said.

As for what to do with the bridge itself, which has now been closed to traffic for five months, Loucks said he received a report from WMC Engineers from Newington that gave two potential options.

The first would be to rehabilitate and repair the bridge, extending its life for as long as five years. That would cost an estimated $220,000.

The other option would be to replace the bridge with a box culvert, at an estimated cost of  $240,000.

No one on the board commented on whether or not they favored one option over the other.

“I don’t think we have too many choices here,� Loucks said. “But before any of that, we need to find the funds [for the work].�

Loucks said he would consult  the Board of Finance and “put our heads togetherâ€� to figure out how to raise the money.

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