[Adopted 5-23-2016 by Art. 14 (Art. 49 of the 1952 General Bylaws)]
The following shall govern any repairs made pursuant to this article:
A. 
The Board of Selectmen is hereby authorized to make provision for permanent repairs on private ways and roads, including improvements to grading, drainage, paving, resurfacing and curbing.
B. 
The Board of Selectmen shall vote that such repairs are required by public convenience and necessity before the repairs may be undertaken.
C. 
Such repairs shall be made only if the Board of Selectmen receives a petition signed by abutters who own cumulatively at least 50% of the linear footage of such way/road. The petition shall be accompanied by certification evidencing ownership of the linear footage of each abutter.
D. 
The Town shall have no liability as a result of undertaking any such repairs to private ways or roads, and shall be held harmless on account of any damages whatever caused by such repairs by agreement executed by the abutters who petitioned therefor.
E. 
The private way/road shall have been opened to the public to use for a minimum two years or more prior to the undertaking of such repairs.
F. 
The Board of Selectmen shall determine the scope of repairs, including whether and to what extent any of the following shall be undertaken: grading, paving, resurfacing, scraping and filling of holes and impressions with sand, gravel, or other suitable materials. Drainage repairs shall be included to the extent required by public convenience and necessity, as determined by the Board of Selectmen, upon advice and cost estimates from the Highway Superintendent.
A. 
The costs of the repairs and of borrowings undertaken by the Town pursuant to MGL c. 44 shall be apportioned to and among the benefited property owners along the road so repaired/improved as a betterment pursuant to MGL c. 80. Benefited property owners shall be those who utilize the repaired/improved road(s) to access their property. Unless otherwise required by any applicable law, the formula to be used for such assessments shall be to equally apportion such costs to each owner as listed in the records of the Board of Assessors directly abutting along and/or adjacent to the road to be repaired/improved, whether or not such owner's property directly faces or is located along the road at the specific location of the repairs undertaken pursuant to this article, on the basis of the total costs of such repairs and borrowings.
[Amended 6-22-2020 by Art. 11]
B. 
The Board of Assessors of the Town is authorized to set the number of years that a betterment may be assessed for any period up to 25 years. The Town shall accept settlement of the full amount within 30 days or shall bill the property owner for the total cost to be divided over a period of years, with interest to be computed at a rate established by the Board of Selectmen on recommendation of the Town Administrator, such rate to be at a minimum rate of 2% above the rate of interest charged said Town on any funds borrowed by the Town for this purpose. The Town Administrator shall take appropriate steps to ensure that the Town shall record appropriate orders to secure payment in the same manner as the Town acquires a lien for a betterment assessment pursuant to MGL c. 80.