Following a public hearing held under Chapter 82, the Select Board Monday voted to lay out five previously private ways and to recommend their acceptance as public ways at the town’s May 25 annual meeting.

Town Engineer Stephen King presented the request and described the statutory process: the board lays out and recommends streets for acceptance; town meeting must then appropriate and authorize the Select Board to take the ways; the town will record the order of taking with the registry of deeds after permanent acceptance. King said the work restores the roadways to public way status and adds mileage eligible for chapter 90 paving funds.

The five streets named in the motion were Hunt Street, Crane Street, Franklin Street, Chatham Lane and Collentoni Drive. King said Chatham Lane and Collentoni Drive were constructed after the subdivision control law’s effective date and retain performance bonds; the other streets predate the subdivision law and already receive municipal services such as plowing and trash pickup.

Board action: A motion to lay out the five streets and recommend acceptance at the May 25 annual town meeting carried unanimously (Aye, none opposed). The motion directs the town to complete the formal order-of-taking and recording process if town meeting approves the acceptances. Select Board members thanked staff — including Renee Hunter in the town engineer’s office — for their work on the longstanding program.

Why it matters: Laying out and accepting private ways transfers maintenance responsibility and right-of-way control to the town, allows the road mileage to count for state chapter 90 reimbursement for paving and clarifies municipal responsibility for future repairs.

What’s next: If town meeting votes to accept the streets on May 25, the town will return to the Select Board in summer to execute the order of taking, record the order with the registry of deeds and integrate the streets into the town’s paving program.