Worthington Select Board closes road, awards bids ahead of June town meeting

WORTHINGTON -- May 20, 2025, Worthington Select Board temporarily closes Almond Johnson Road and awards a full slate of FY26 highway bids as annual town meeting approaches June 7. The board voted unanimously to barricade the impassable road and consult counsel on formal discontinuance, then awarded supply contracts across eight material and equipment categories, with Hilltown Sand and Gravel taking five of them at delivered prices ranging from $14 to $22.50 per ton; White Wolf Trucking and Dean Messick Excavating split the equipment rentals. The board awarded the $12,000 school and town mowing contract to Limited Budget John Haskell over lower-bidder Sean Graham, citing documented performance complaints. Fire Chief Mike Carr briefed the board on a $58,000 ladder truck repair estimate, describing the 1993 Pierce as the only aerial apparatus in the mutual aid area, with a replacement still three or more years away. The board appointed Alex Lack to fill a one-year School Committee vacancy and referred a May 5 open meeting law complaint by resident Mark Brooks to town counsel. With the town carrying a deficit of $184,902 under the Senate cherry sheet, board members indicated they favor a general Proposition 2½ override but said they will not set a number or vote date until the full three-member board is together after town meeting.