BETHEL — Plans are on track for the former Ethel Bisbee School building and property to be returned to the town in November, selectmen learned Monday.
The unheated building has been used for storage both before and since the superintendent’s office moved to the Norway Savings Bank building several years ago.
The issue of what should become of the property came to the forefront last year as Bethel discussed location options for recreational facilities in town. Some people suggested the EBS property.
At Monday’s selectmen meeting, Interim Town Manager Steve Eldridge told the board that SAD 44 was moving items out of the building and it should be ready to be turned over to the town in November.
SAD 44 Superintendent David Murphy, contacted for an update on the effort, said, “We have a little cleaning out left to do and will then have a sale for the towns followed by a yard sale, likely late October or early November. We should be ready on our end by mid to late November, perhaps a bit earlier.”
Eldridge said town officials had not yet discussed specifically how the building and grounds might be used by the town.
In other business Monday, Eldridge said the town has an option to install speed bumps on Vernon Street where a utility and road rebuilding project is concluding.
He said several residents have approached the town about the idea, to try to slow down traffic where the speed limit drops to 25 mph coming toward the village.
He said the bumps could be either permanent as part of the pavement or removable seasonally.
“I know people on Vernon Street would re-elect you a hundred times if you did something like that,” he said.
Eldridge said there have also been speeding problems on Intervale and Paradise roads. The Oxford County Sheriff’s Department has patrolled on Intervale, he said, but as soon as the officers leave the speeding resumes.
Speed bumps on Vernon Street might help cure the problem there, Eldridge said. He suggested selectmen think about it. He said he could research the costs.
One person speculated that empty trucks might cause steady noise as they hit the bumps, even at lower speeds, and that might prompt complaints.
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