Proposed roadwork in Edgecomb could cost a couple million dollars, but members of the committee planning it say the property tax impact could be minimal.

That will depend on how townspeople eventually decide to cover loan payments. But first, at the annual town meeting in May, tentative plans call for voters to decide whether or not to take out a loan to do the project.

The money the town puts into routine paving each year could instead cover or nearly cover the payments on a loan from the Maine Municipal Bond Bank, Edgecomb Selectman Stuart Smith said March 25. He and the rest of the board serve on the Capital Improvements Committee that's spent months studying and prioritizing roads' needs.

A loan amount and interest rate have not been set. Under one scenario discussed Monday night, a 15-year, $2.02 million loan at 2.24 percent interest would run about $158,724 a year in payments, committee members said.

The committee is still working on figures to show residents at an informational meeting at town hall April 8.

The meeting starts at 7 p.m. A second one is planned for April 15, also at 7 p.m. at town hall.

Of three plans developed, Chairman Nort Fowler said the committee recommends the middle one in cost, preliminarily pegged at about $2.02 million. Tentatively, it would involve work on 10 paved town roads (Cunningham, Dodge, Merry Island, Mill, Old Fort, Atlantic Highway, Cochran, Middle, Mason and Shore roads).

Under that plan, the roadwork is projected to be finished by 2016.

Another, preliminary, $1.64 million option focuses on the five highest-priority, paved roads (Cunningham, Dodge, Merry Island, Mill and Old Fort roads); a $2.95 million option would do some work on almost every local road, and resurface all dirt roads that need it, based on the committee's research. The cheapest plan and the recommended, mid-level one would, also, except that both would leave out Nichols Road.

All three plans include the possible purchase of a corner lot at Cunningham and Mill roads, to improve the line of sight for drivers coming out of Cunningham, committee members said.

Selectman Jack Sarmanian told fellow committee members he has submitted an application to the bond bank for $18.4 million. Based on the preliminary figures for the roadwork,, the loan request would need to go higher in order to include engineering and other overhead costs, committee members said.

The bond bank is likely to grant the loan, if residents support it, Sarmanian said.

“I think everyone wants the roads done, or most everyone,” Selectmen's Chairman Jessica Chubbuck said. The informational meetings with residents will give the committee a better idea of what to propose, she said.

Susan Johns can be reached at 207-844-4633 or sjohns@wiscassetnewspaper.com.