Board of Selectmen Meeting, April 7, 2025
Conflict of legal opinions, Town Beach issues, road grading.
Town’s New Attorney Says Town’s Former Attorney Was Incorrect
The town’s new legal counsel, Drummund Woodsum, has issued an opinion that the town’s former legal counsel, Upton & Hatfield, gave an incorrect legal interpretation of the effects of the failure of Warrant Article #22 regarding reconstructing a section of Stevens Hill Road. Upton & Hatfield’s opinion was that under the state’s no-means-no statute, the failure of Warrant Article #22 overrode the voters' approval of the exact same work as listed in Warrant Article #12. Drummond Woodsum’s interpretation is that the vote should be interpreted as the voter’s unwillingness to pay twice for the same work that they had already approved. Consequently, their interpretation is that it is legal for the town to proceed with work to reconstruct Stevens Hill Road.
The board is unsure about what to do. The Town Administrator is attempting to get an opinion from the NH Municipal Association.
Town Beach Issues
The board discussed issues associated with the Town Beach, in particular, utilization and rule violations.
In summer 2024, the Police Department reports that they received at least 24 calls associated with issues at the Town Beach.
The Recreation Department says that they will not be utilizing the beach this year and that they are unable to hire lifeguards. The Department will be excluding the beach from its community cleanup day later in April. The Department does not have the staff to oversee the beach. Rule violations are common, such as use of drugs and alcohol, kayak launching, and dogs. The Department recommends that the beach not be opened unless the town arranges for the beach to be staffed.
Last year, the Department received some complaints about the gates not being opened on time. Other than that, it appears that the beach does not receive much use.
The Town Administrator proposed that a beach attendant be hired to monitor the beach, with open hours of 10:00 am to 4:00 pm Thursday through Sunday of each week, except for days with bad weather, at an estimated cost of $5.8k. A draft job description is being circulated and was provided to the board.
Selectman Fyfe said that she and her husband visited the beach several times last summer. Their observation was that the beach was not being used much.
Selectman Decker said he visited the beach some last year and saw little use. However, he doesn’t think that closing the beach would reduce the number of police calls. He thinks the town should do what it can to keep the beach open.
The board decided to advertise the position and to discuss the topic again at its May 5 meeting.
Road Grading
The Highway Director says that Spring road grading will begin as soon as weather permits. The plan is to start with the most heavily travelled dirt roads and end with the less-used roads by the lakes. Many of the dirt roads need to have gravel added and then need to be rolled to have the material properly packed down.
The new grader has yet to be ordered. The $464k quote for the new grader is still valid; however, the board requested to see other quotes. Delivery of a new grader is expected to take 2-4 months.
The trade-in value of the current grader is $23k. Last year, the town spent $20k on repairs to this grader. The Highway Director wishes to retain the current grader so that it and the new grader can be used simultaneously to get seasonal grading done more quickly.
Other News
Lucus Pond Road is currently being prepared for re-paving.
The board approved permits for three watercross events over the summer.
Effective in July, it will be illegal to put lithium batteries in the trash as they are a fire hazard. By law, lithium batteries must be recycled.
Upcoming Events
April 12 - Recreation Department Easter Egg Hunt
April 26 - Drug takeback day - for disposal of unwanted pharmaceuticals, 10 am to 2 pm at the Police Station
April 26 - Re-enactment of the Alarm March, 9:45 am to 1:30 pm, Town Square.
April 27 - The Historical Society’s Pie Social, 1 to 3 pm at the Old Town Hall
Watch the video: