Oakham Select Board Votes to Pursue Eminent Domain for Two Subdivision Roads

OAKHAM — February 2, 2026 — Oakham Select Board votes to place eminent domain road-acceptance article on special town meeting warrant. The board unanimously approved placing an article on a warrant for a special town meeting now tentatively set for February 9 that would authorize acquiring Old Schoolhouse Road and Skyline Drive — two private subdivision roads serving roughly 18 homes — by gift, purchase, or eminent domain. Town counsel at KP Law drafted the article and estimated its own legal fee at approximately $1,500, but a resident, Lucy DeLeo, warned that title searches on all abutting parcels could add $300 or more per search. Acceptance of the nine-tenths of a mile of roadway would make the town eligible for roughly $9,000 per year in additional Chapter 90 state highway funds. The board also sparred with Quabbin Regional School District officials over procurement responsibility for a $15,932.67 failed boiler control replacement at Oakham Center School, with the district's superintendent arguing the obligation rests with the town and a board member citing decades of prior practice in which district staff obtained quotes. Separately, the board granted informal approval for the school PTO to proceed with a hammock reading garden and a second Gaga ball pit using PTO funds, while directing a larger $50,000-plus asphalt repaving project back for a formal scope of work and compliant bids.