| TOWN OF MOUNT HOLLY, VERMONT TOWN POLICY WINTER ROAD MAINTENANCE GUIDELINES AND MAILBOX DAMAGE The Mount Holly Highway Department's Winter Maintenance Guideline is based on "safe roads at safe speeds", as we do not have a "bare roads", policy. This means roads are maintained to allow safe travel at reduced speeds, but that drivers should expect to see snow on the roadways. Most travel takes place during the day, so the majority of our resources are focused on those hours. Motorists should anticipate reduced coverage and varying road conditions and should drive accordingly. There are many variables effecting winter maintenance operations such as type of precipitation, air and pavement temperature, traffic volume, wind, time of day, and even the day of the week. Type and volume of traffic and road gradient are the primary factors in determining the order of winter maintenance service. Therefore, during periods of time when school is in session, top priority is given to clearing roads utilized by the school bus and by parents providing school transportation. Emergency service buildings shall receive necessary maintenance to provide for emergency personnel to arrive and for vehicles to depart and return safely. As necessary, snow and ice control equipment shall be redirected by the Road Foreman from assigned routes to assist emergency response vehicles in reaching their destination. Roads heavily used by commuters and hills are next in priority. Mailboxes And Other Structures Within The Highway Right-Of-Way Occasionally mailboxes or other devices are damaged by snow plowing operations due to poor visibility, the mailbox being buried in a snow bank or the weight/volume of the snow being plowed. Mount Holly Road Crew is not responsible for damage and does not repair, replace or re-erect boxes that are located within the highway right-of-way unless physically struck by a Mount Holly plow truck. In these cases, Mount Holly will replace the mailbox at no cost to the property owner with a generic United States Post Office approved box and basic post if necessary. All mailboxes must conform to the guidelines of the United States Postal Service; the bottom of the mail box should be 48 inches above the road surface and as far out of the roadway as possible, which protects both the mailbox, and the carrier delivering mail. The USPS suggests using a semi-arch or extended arm-type support. This allows snowplows to sweep near or under boxes without damaging supports and provides easy access to the boxes by carriers and customers. For information on these guidelines contact your local post master/mistress. The Town will not be held responsible for any damage done to a mailbox that does not conform to the USPS guidelines. Any damage to a mailbox caused directly by a town snow plow MUST be reported to the Town Office within 48 hours. Report any damage to 802-259-2391 or mthollytc@yahoo.com or mounthollyselectboard@gmail.com. The mailbox will be inspected by the Road Foreman or a designated representative to confirm the damage. It is the job of the Road Crew to remove snow from road surfaces, and snow being pushed from the plow is unavoidable. The Town will not be held responsible for damage done to a mailbox by snow or slush thrown from a plow blade. If it is determined by the Road Foreman that a mailbox has been directly damaged by a snow plow, the Town will replace the mailbox with a standard mailbox and post, which the citizen is responsible for installing according to USPS guidelines. Custom mailboxes and/or posts will not be replaced in kind. Any mailbox and/or post will NOT be replaced if the post shows any sign of dry rot, being unstable, or was placed too close to the roadway. The Road Foreman or a designated representative is authorized to use reasonable discretion in resolving matters involving unusual circumstances. The replacement of a mailbox or support does not take priority over snow plowing sanding, salting, and other high-priority maintenance operations and a postal customer may have to pick up mail at the Post Office until the mailbox is back in place. This policy was adopted by the Mount Holly Selectboard on December _____, 2023 ____________________________________ Mark Turco, Chair ____________________________________ Jeff Chase ____________________________________ Diana Garrow | 
