Board of Selectmen Meeting, July 1, 2024

Town Beach to open this weekend. Recycling Center to keep summer hours. Nottingham to get its first traffic light.

Town Beach

The board held an unusual non-public session at the start of their regular meeting to have a conference with the owners of the access road to Town Beach. Meanwhile, a large number of residents showed up to express concerns about the beach’s ongoing closure. 

When the board resumed its public session, it announced that an agreement had been reached with the landowners to restore access to the beach. The board anticipates that the beach will be open for the weekend. Over the next few days, work will be done to prepare the beach for opening, such as installing swimlines, a port-a-potty, and new signage. 

When the beach reopens, its hours will be 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., seven days a week, from Memorial Day to Labor Day. 

Chairman Morin said that the beach is a privilege for the town to have. If people violate the rules, the beach will go away. 

The agreement is effective until October 1 and is subject to annual renewal. 

Recycling Center Summer Hours

A public hearing was held about whether the Recycling Center should end its practice of having summer hours, as requested by the Recycling Center’s staff. Several members of the public spoke in favor of keeping summer hours. Selectman Decker listed the many nearby towns whose recycling centers are open at least one evening per week. The board voted unanimously to keep summer hours, but it also agreed that traffic data over several weeks of summer needed to be obtained in order to make a properly informed decision and that it would look into finding a way to collect those data. 

Independence Day Celebration

The Declaration of Independence will be read at 8:00 a.m. on July 4th at Nottingham Square. There will be free food. 

The Recycling Center and town offices will be closed on July 4. 

Other News

• The Police Department’s new cruiser will be delivered in about a week. 

• A new full-time police officer has joined the department. The department still has one full-time opening.

• The Planning Board has proposed a new fee schedule. A public hearing will be announced to get the public’s input on the proposal.

• The state has informed the town that its ten-year plan now includes a replacement for the intersection of Rt 4, Rt 152, and Cooper Hill Road. The plan is to move the intersection across town lines from Northwood into Nottingham and to install a traffic light. This would be the town’s first traffic light. 

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