If anyone is interested in how Maine's Private Ways law has evolved over time, I've assembled the various versions and amendments I have been able to locate online and with the help of the Maine State Law and Legislative Reference Library at http://www.fireroad53.com/MaineLaw/history.html.

It's been helpful in answering a couple of my earlier questions.  Regarding the swearing of commissioners and board members, the 1821 statute is much clearer as the the nature of the oath:

[...] shall be sworn to the faithful discharge of their respective trusts, as town officers are; [...]

This makes it pretty clear that the constitutional oath of office should be used, and the oath should be taken before an officer authorized to administer oaths, such as a Notary Public or a Dedimus Justice.

The original law also had a 50% quorum requirement ("[...] the major part of the proprietors and rightful occupants so assembled shall have full power [...]") which disappeared in the 1954 recodification.  The original text of the second 2007 amendment (LD2102) reinstated a 50% quorum requirement, but this was removed before passage.  Since the Legislature has removed the quorum requirement once, refused to reinstate it later, I think we can can conclude that the Legislature did not intend to require a quorum at meetings of owners.

Interestingly, another LD2102 amendment which failed would allowed owners to appoint a proxy, but that proxy may not be another owner of a parcel benefited by the road or way. That seemed like an odd exclusion; just as well that it failed.

Todd Tolhurst wrote:If anyone is interested in how Maine's Private Ways law has evolved over time, I've assembled the various versions and amendments I have been able to locate online and with the help of the Maine State Law and Legislative Reference Library at http://www.fireroad53.com/MaineLaw/history.html.

Thank you Todd, most informative and this is the information we needed for our Association.  Good Job.

This is an important question. The road association determines by majority vote what the method of assessment is. If their determination uses "use" as the criterion then you will not have to as great a share as those who do not use it as much. 

Our Non-Profit Association has hired the same contractor 2 years for the same project.  The road has washed out on a corner/culvert the cost was $375 per lot (18) owner the 1st year. Last year it again washed out and so did another culvert/driveway entrance and another driveway entrance....the contractor said the road needed grading, he was hired and it cost us $350 per lot owner.  Again this year the same areas as last year are washed out and it has been getting worse every time it rains. We contacted the President and he told us to call the contractor they used last year. Over a month has gone by without any response we are frustrated that the washout has tripled. We hired are own contractor to fix our driveway and our neighbor used the same people to fix his with no expense to the association....out of our own pocket. Now the association pres. is saying we should have gone through the association to have the roads repaired and that he looked at the washout and the contractor wants to charge us again to fix this same washout....its only $200. We find it unreasonable that we have to continue to pay to repair the same road every year.  It is obvious this contractor doesn't know what he is doing.  What can we do to protect ourselves from this unreasonable road repair and the bill we are going to be subjected to again?  Does anyone know what laws are in place to hold this contractor accountable so we don't have to pay him?  We feel he should fix the roads for free it hasn't even been a year since he said the roads were fixed.