Oakham Board of Selectmen Authorizes $150,000 Chapter 90 Road Work Request for Berry and Ware Corner Roads

OAKHAM -- August 18, 2025, Oakham Board of Selectmen approves $150,000 Chapter 90 road request and forms new Best subcommittee. The board unanimously authorized Highway Superintendent Pat to seek $150,000 in state Chapter 90 funds for a combined drainage and repaving project on Berry Road and Ware Corner Road, against a written cost estimate of $127,820.75 that covers road reclamation, full-length drainage pipe installation on Berry Road to address a discovered natural spring, catch basin work near Town Hall, and berm construction along Ware Corner Road down to the triangle intersection; the town holds $275,500 in existing Chapter 90 funds and expects an additional $425,000 from a newly signed state bill to arrive between October and November. The board voted 2-0-1 to form a "Best subcommittee" of one Planning Board member, one Conservation member, one Board of Selectmen member, and two at-large public members to consolidate information for executive session discussions with town counsel, with one member abstaining pending an Ethics Commission opinion on his abutter status. In a separate discussion, resident Claire of 170 Lincoln Road laid out three options for renewing the Oakham Center School lease with the Quabbin Regional School District, a one-year extension, a long-term lease with an exit clause, or continuation of current terms, after the 20-year lease expired June 30, 2025; the board deferred a decision to its next meeting. The board also learned that a $25,000 legislative earmark for a Town Hall feasibility study, signed into the FY2026 state budget on July 4, is being withheld by the Healey administration and could face outright cancellation.