KINGSTON - June 23, 2026 - In a decisive move to protect town taxpayers from inheriting steep infrastructure liabilities, the Kingston Board of Selectmen voted unanimously on Tuesday night to halt the public acceptance process for Nobadeer Circle. The decision came immediately after town officials presented a preliminary assessment revealing that bringing the private, 30-unit development’s roadway and drainage systems up to public standards would cost municipal taxpayers upwards of $218,000. Selectmen firmly reiterated town policy that developments explicitly approved as private residential ways must remain privately maintained by their respective homeowners.
The Full Story
The debate over Nobadeer Circle, a dead-end residential circle constructed around 2008 under a 40B comprehensive permit, reached an abrupt conclusion during Tuesday’s meeting. The road layout had been under review since a public hearing in December, which initially authorized town staff to perform field inspections. Following delays caused by winter snow cover, a municipal team finally accessed the site to survey the infrastructure.
The findings, compiled by Town Planner Valerie Massard and standard field staff, presented a grim financial picture. The development features 14 catch basins and 11 drain manholes, an astonishing 85 percent of which currently require complete reconstruction. Additionally, the neighborhood relies on a complex stormwater infrastructure that includes four wetland areas and a pre-existing 190-foot culvert connecting two ponds beneath the roadway.
Using current prevailing wage construction figures, officials estimated immediate repair costs to include $6,000 for drainage structure reconstruction, $12,000 for crack sealing, and up to $200,000 for milling and repaving the asphalt surface, which is projected to fail within a five-year horizon. This $218,000 ballpark figure excluded unknown liabilities regarding potential repairs to the culvert, pond cleanouts, and a deteriorating split-rail fence within the public layout.
