The Town of Windham is made up of more than 60 miles of private roads and while they are a part of the town, it is every man for himself when it comes to private road maintenance.
 |
| The Maine Alliance for Road Associations is a nonprofit corporation and a valuable resource for information about private roads for residents seeking to establish a road association to help maintain a private road and share maintenance costs. Windham has more than 60 miles of private roads currently within the town. COURTESY PHOTO |
“I have served on Road Associations and understand the complexities we deal with in keeping them maintained,” says Kalogerakis. “Private roads do not get the benefit of any help from the town or its Public Works Department. We cannot utilize anything from the town even though we pay the same rate in taxes as everyone else.”
This is where MARA comes in.
Started in 1998 by Betsy Connor Bowen, MARA, the Maine Alliance for Road Associations, is a nonprofit corporation with a volunteer board of directors that helps gather information for private roads and are a valuable resource for communities, whether it is providing guidance for starting a road association or providing knowledge of what can or cannot be done on private roads. It is a volunteer public service organization whose purpose is to help Maine homeowners who live on private roads and public citizens who may be considering this possibility.
Its purpose is, in part, the compilation and dissemination of information from many sources to help people living on private roads share maintenance costs and administer their road associations fairly and equitably. MARA is an advocate for fair and equitable laws relating to people living on private roads in Maine.
Anyone with an interest in private roads, their maintenance, shared costs of maintenance through an association of owners, and the environmental impact of such roads and maintenance may find useful information on the MARA website but only individuals, not Road Associations, can join MARA.
It is entirely volunteer-based and MARA’s purpose is to disseminate information to the communities about private roads. The organization has a wealth of knowledge and resources on their website including several discussion forums where you can search for a topic and read through it to gain information.
According to Kalogerakis, MARA is important to Windham because the town has more than 60 miles of private roads and many residents need help forming road associations and assistance in getting them set up and maintained properly.
“When we set up our road association on my private road, we were not doing it right,” says Kalogerakis.
During the 2024 MARA event that Kalogerakis attended he received two free books about private roads.
“These are not just books, but have photos in them that explain how to properly grade your roads, what type of materials to put on, what equipment to use, and how to avoid potholes. There are also photos showing why you see something on your road and how to fix it,” says Kalogerakis. “It is incredible the amount of information that is in these books and it is very helpful; I would love for road associations in Windham to have this knowledge.”
What private roads often look for is what material can they get inexpensively, and unaware that this could end up costing them even more.
“During our meeting, when we started talking about what to look for in a delivery of gravel, I was blown away,” says Kalogerakis. “This man was showing different photos of gravel, how they sift through it, and what to look for to make sure that the gravel you are paying for is the best. All gravel is not the same. You need the correct mixture to keep your road together and in its best condition for the long run. I guarantee that no one is doing this correctly, which is why our private roads have so many of the issues that they do. This would be very valuable information for Windham.”
He said that another valuable source of information about private roads is Peter Kaufmann, who works for the Maine Department of Transportation and is the executive director of Maine Private Roads Chapter for the MDOT, working with Public Works Directors and communities on private roads. Kalogerakis says that he has spoken to the Windham Assistant Town Manager Bob Burns about possibly having Kaufmann come and lead meetings in Windham soon for any road associations that want to learn more about what they can do to care for and to maintain their private roads.
“Kaufmann is a wealth of knowledge with his experience,” says Kalogerakis. “I think that having him talk here in Windham would be very valuable as Windham has over 60 miles of private roads and having information about how to properly care for them would be very helpful.”
More information about MARA can be found at www.maineroads.org <
