Private roads will be plowed this winter despite the recent discovery that the town is violating Massachusetts law by using public funds to plow approximately 89 miles of private roads.

The discovery was made when the town was researching its obligations for the maintenance of private ways as it faced the prospect of purchasing a $300,000 grader.

The Board of Selectmen held a special workshop Thursday, August 8, to discuss the issue following public concern about whether or not certain roads would be plowed this winter.

During the workshop, it came to light that it isn't clear exactly which roads are private and which are public.

According to Town Administrator Derek Sullivan, the improper documentation of public and private roads in Wareham going back about 100 years has led to a major roadblock: The town does not have a reliable and comprehensive list of which roads are public and which are private.

"I cannot definitively tell you right now, and that is a problem," said Sullivan. He said that the town is a few months away from figuring out definitively which roads are public and which are private.

"We're going to be sorting through documents with limited staff who are still trying to do their daily jobs,"  he said, adding that the idea of bringing interns in to assist has been discussed.

Trying to plow the roads based on the list of public and private roads currently available could open the town up to legal issues, according to Town Attorney Richard Bowen.

"There's no question, someone could sue you," if a road thought to be private went unplowed and was later found to be public. "From a liability point of view, the only thing you can do is keep plowing roads."

Selectman Judy Whiteside expressed concern about the safety issues that could result from not plowing certain areas.

"It is clear that it's an issue that affects not just the citizens, but the first-responders," said Whiteside. "Not plowing the roads is not a safe option."

Regardless of the legal status of the roads, fire trucks, ambulances, school buses, mail trucks and more depend on having the roads cleared of snow in the winter.

"This issue we're facing is, frankly, one officials in this town have known about for decades and chose not to solve," said Selectmen Chair Peter Teitelbaum. Sullivan "brought it to the Board of Selectmen and said, 'Can you look and see if there is a solution, both long term and short term?'"

Residents have two options as to how they may resolve the issue.

One solution would be for voters at Town Meeting to place a measure on the spring warrant asking voters to accept the Massachusetts law that will allow the town to spend public funds to plow private roads, provided that the private roads allow public access.

"That doesn't help us for this winter," said Teitelbaum.

The other solution would be for residents of private roads to individually petition Town Meeting to "accept" their roads as public.

According to Bowen, having an individual road accepted by the town can be a lengthy and difficult process.

"The complicated part is you have to come up with a plan with metes and bounds," which would likely involve hiring a surveyor and engineer, according to Bowen.

Following that, the plan would have to pass muster with the Planning Board and the Board of Selectmen. Then, the layout would have to be approved by voters at Town Meeting.

Teitelbaum suggested that the town pursue the "political process" toward resolving the issue, rather than have one petition after another come to Town Meeting asking the town to accept a road as public.