BY JENN McDOWELL

Epsom’s Road Advisory Committee is no more, following issues with the road agent’s authority and the trickling down of paperwork.

At a meeting on Monday, Oct. 1, selectmen decided to do away with the committee after concern arose that it hindered the road agent’s progress in repairs and improvements to the roadways in Epsom.

They also agreed to allow  Road Agent Gordon Ellis, more authority over discretionary spending from the roads budget.

According to selectmen’s accounts, a member of the former committee was asked to leave the meeting after an outburst.

Particularly in the aftermath of flooding in the past two years, this has become more of a problem for the town.

It became a major issue when Ellis was fired last October for allegedly going forward with projects without getting signatures from selectmen.

A lawsuit transpired, with Ellis claiming he was unlawfully and malignantly fired by the board.

Selectman John Klose, also the board’s liaison to the highway department, said the purchase order process had become too complicated.

According to guidelines, the road agent was only allowed to spend up to $200 without the board’s signatures and RAC approval.

Klose, who made both motions to do away with the RAC and increase the road agent’s  purchase order powers from  $200 to $2,000, said he’s been getting an average of up to five calls each week from Ellis asking for permission to spend money.

“Last Monday, the road agent needed five loads of gravel, and he called me five different times,” Klose said.

With winter approaching, he said, Ellis has got to be given more authority to get things done, as is the case in other towns.

“Road agents run their own budgets. They don’t have anyone telling them to do anything,” Klose said. “This man has got to be able to operate.”

The $200 limit for purchase orders was applied to every town department, Randall said, when it got too complicated for the town to sift through different limits.

The road agent, however, may not know whether they need to go over that $200 limit, and thus obtain signed permission from the board, until the day they start to work on a particular project. By then, it is too late to get that permission, and the project gets delayed.

Selectman Joni Kitson voted against the motion to dissolve the committee. According to minutes, Kitson pointed out that the road agent should be able to plan a monthly schedule,and understand that changing seasons will affect it.

Kitson said dissolving the board is a mistake, saying there were problems with board members not attending meetings.

“The road agent committee is a very valuable asset to the town, as long as the people on the committee attend the meetings,” Kitson said.

Rita Graham, a member of the former RAC, disagreed with the decision to dissolve the committee and expressed discontent with the board, according to minutes from the meeting.

Selectman Joanne Randall, acting as chairman at the meeting, said Graham blew up at the board and was asked to leave the meeting.

Randall said she attempted to give Graham the floor, but when Graham began pointing the finger and “getting into it one-on-one” with Klose, she pulled the plug on Graham.

“She got a little out of hand and I had to ask her to leave. Whatever credibility the RAC had went right out the door with her,” Randall said.

Klose said the RAC was not meeting as frequently as it should have, and was no longer serving its original purpose. She added  there should be a specialized committee for the road agent to fall back on, but in a more collaborative function.

“The committee should work for the road agent,” she said, not the other way around.