HARTFORD — The town’s Road Committee has a bumpy road ahead of it when it re-evaluates the amended Road Standards Ordinance article, which failed to pass in an 11-13 vote at the annual town meeting Saturday.

The negative vote came after a heated discussion during which several residents objected to specific amendments, including a part that states the Planning Board administer the ordinance, which has not been under its purview.

Resident Bim McNeil objected to the wording of the ordinance and worried that it would cost the town big money.

“It’s going to take $20,000 jobs and turn it into $100,000 jobs with paperwork,” he said, adding that country roads shouldn’t become I-95. “What I’m saying is if this article is going to include the town road work, it shouldn’t be passed.”

Comprehensive Plan Committee member Alan Ray disagreed.

“In the event that a land developer would want to build in town it gives a detailed way of approaching that,” he said, adding that it would streamline the process for town projects. “If it’s an outside source, then there’s an application process that takes place. That’s so the town can protect itself. That’s why we have time limits.”

Ray didn’t to manage sway the majority of voters.

The Building Permit Ordinance amendment had a slightly easier time of it, passing 13-9, after nearly being tabled for a second year because of confusion.

Like the Road Standards Ordinance, what was presented to voters was a new ordinance, causing Moderator Teresa Hayes to question what was amended within the document. A move to table it, which Hayes suggested, failed after discussion.

The Building Permit Ordinance eventually passed despite the fact that several residents didn’t like that dwellings are defined as covering “a minimum of 200 square feet of surface area.” Some wondered what would happen to people who live on smaller areas, and others thought that with the popularity of small houses on the rise, building on smaller plots should be allowed.

“It would’ve been nice if people could just come in and settle like they did in the 1870s,” Ray said. “We’re doing it for the protection of the townspeople, really. “

Voters shot down Article 55, which asked for $500 for Lake Region Senior Service, after deciding that it didn’t benefit Hartford. They saved themselves another $2,000 by cutting the requested $5,000 for recycling bins for homeowners down to $3,000.

They added $100 to the $1,500 request for the Hartford News, a bulletin that covers town affairs, after Board of Selectmen Chairwoman Lee Holman said more money was needed.

In all, voters sliced $2,400 from Hartford’s proposed $2.18 million budget.

Voters approved the rest of the 56-article warrant in a little more than three hours, and voted Daniel Maddox, Leslie Boness, Harley Swanson, Robert L’Heureux and Jack Plumely onto the Budget Committee. The 26 voters present also decided that Norman St. Pierre should continue to serve as fire warden.

There are about 880 registered voters in Hartford, according to Town Clerk Lianne Bedard.

[email protected]