RANGELEY — Damage to wooden flowerbeds prompted Kyle Ladd, owner of Mingo Springs Golf Course, to complain to the town of Rangeley and submit a request for $187 in damages.

He blamed plows for hitting them when they were clearing roads. The Rangeley board of selectmen was not keen to pay.

“We spend a lot of time plowing,” Selectman James Carignan said. “It’s a benefit to them that we plow this section.”

Carignan also noted that the golf course had not paved Alpine Way, which had been a part of an agreement they had made with the town.

“The golf course hasn’t lived up to what they said they were going to do,” Carignan said. He also questioned that the request for damage hadn’t been submitted until the winter.

Carignan’s recommendation was that the town deny the request, a motion that the other councilors approved unanimously.

For Town Manager Timothy Kane this brought up the larger issue of whether or not the town could plow private roads. Some of the roads around Mingo Springs are public and others are private. According to the Maine Supreme Court, towns are not allowed to plow private roads.

“I feel strongly that we should not be plowing there,” he told the board. “We could be liable.”

Other board members felt that only clearing public roads could make it unnecessarily complicated for plows, because private roads are sometimes the best access points to public thoroughfares.

Board Chairman Gary Shaffer said that the town should contact the court so that they could understand their situation.

The town also approved the purchase of an excavator for $80,700 — down from the 87,000 at which it was first offered. Originally the town had rented it.

“You’re probably not going to find anything close,” Carignan said of the price the town was getting.

The board voted to buy it for $80,700 under the condition that they would get a complimentary service as well.

In the town manager’s report, Kane referred to the roadwork on Mingo Loop Road, which will include grinding, reclamation, paving and culverts.

“They’ll be able to get that done before the snow flies,” Kane said.

Kane also spoke of the efforts to have Rangeley officially recognized as an “Appalachian Trail Town.”

Though the town is already popular with AT through-hikers, many on the board see an official designation as a way to lure more people off the trail and perhaps draw more outdoor retailers.

 The town would only have to send out a letter indicating their interest.

“We support that, and we’d like to do that,” Shaffer said.

“You could get everyone off the trail if you offered free showers,” Kane joked.

In other business, the board denied a seasonal resident’s request for a 20-cent abatement on his taxes. The property owner owed the 20 cents as interest on taxes that he had not paid on time.

Though the board considered letting the 20 cents go, they ultimately decided that rules were rules and that the interest charge would stand.

“I would pay 20 cents just to clear it up,” Selectman Pamela White said.