Met: Tuesday night



Issue: Selectmen re-elected Mark Duquette as chairman of the board and picked William Henshaw as vice chairman. They also appointed Alan Leblanc as the new Public Works director/road foreman.

Issue: A member of the audience and police Chief Thomas Fales both complained that the intersection of routes 132 and 126 is getting dangerous. It’s been the scene of several crashes.

Up next: Since that junction is wired for a traffic light already, Town Manager Gregory Gill is going to ask the state Department of Transportation to install one.

Issue: New springs were approved for a town dump truck; not replacing them could have lead to frame damage. Up to $1,500 was OK’d for springs and front-end repairs.

Issue: Told that the cut-off saw (cuts culverts) was worn down and Marden’s had the lowest local price to replace it, selectmen approved $799.99 for a new TS 800.

Issue: The Planning Board increased fines for building code violations from $50 to $100.

Issue: Town office staff asked selectmen for permission to close early the day before Christmas and remain closed the day after without having to tap into their vacation time.

The scoop: Public Work employees and police already receive that time off, with pay, due to their contracts.

Up next: The town office will close at 2 p.m. Dec. 24 and remained closed Dec. 25 and Dec. 26 with office workers paid for the time off.

Contact reporter Kathryn Skelton via phone at 689-2844 or via e-mail at [email protected]