NEW GLOUCESTER – Selectmen will request a state study after hearing a complaint Monday night about speeding on Intervale Road.

Vaughn Hardesty said tankers, trucks and other vehicles are exceeding the 30 mph posted speed limit. He praised selectmen’s efforts to give voters a say in hiring a police officer, although residents soundly rejected the idea in May.

Earlier this month, a Cobb’s Bridge Road resident complained to selectmen about speeding cars, vandalism and vehicular harassment in his neighborhood.

Residents say they are frustrated by the lack of speed enforcement by the Maine State Police and Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department’s rural patrols.

Hardesty said he contacted state officials in Augusta about video camera surveillance to track speeding vehicles. A surveillance system could provide license plate numbers to police departments, which can issue summonses.

Hardesty said that system would be beneficial for New Gloucester.

However, state law must change to make that feasible in a town without police departments.

“There has to be a change in legislation. Video cameras are cheaper than hiring a constable,” Hardesty said.

A few towns are also tracking vehicles at stop signs and red lights by video devices, Hardesty said.

“I urge you not to give on a constable, put it on the agenda again,” he said.

Selectmen agreed to contact state officials to request a speed-assessment study. In addition, signs that tell motorists how fast they are traveling might help.

In other business, selectmen tabled sending out three bid packets to purchase a one-ton truck for the Highway Department, and a snowplow and dump body for a new highway truck. Selectmen say they want the specifications rewritten so other vendors may participate.