Francestown has used nearly 50 percent of the total gravel excavated during the first phase of a tri-town pit, according to Bennington Road Agent Gary Russell.
Russell met with members of the Antrim, Bennington and Francestown Select Boards Wednesday.
The three towns all pull gravel from the pit, although each town extracts gravel at different rates depending on need.
During a previous tri-town meeting, Francestown officials acknowledged their high gravel usage and said they’re willing to pay for it.
“We were still trying to shake that out on how we were going to go about that,” Antrim Select Board member Mike Genest said about how much Francestown would have to pay if it were to extract more than its share of the gravel from the pit.
Although no agreement was established, Francestown Select Board member Abigail Arnold said the town was under the impression it would pay its share of the material used from the pit and be able to purchase more from towns who are not using as much.
Arnold said the pit is the only source of gravel and sand Francestown has access to and the town isn’t in the position to slow gravel extraction.
But representatives of the other towns said the cost of gravel will likely increase over time, and it may be in each town’s best interest to save their slice of the resource, instead of selling it off to Francestown.
Russell said in more than five decades he has watched the price of gravel climb, and as state regulators crack down on the resource, he suspects that number is only going to continue to rise.
“I would bet money it’s not going to go down in 10 years,” Russell said.
No decisions have been made regarding the matter, but board members said a plan will have to be established.
The boards asked for new maps to more closely define the different phases of the project, and requested that more signs be posted.
Abby Kessler can be reached at 924-7172, ext. 234 or akessler@ledgertranscript.com.