PERU — Selectmen voted unanimously Monday night to overrule Road Commissioner Lee Merrill’s decision to close the public sandbox Feb. 1.

They also voted to buy more sand.

Merrill said at the selectmen meeting Jan. 16 that residents and nonresidents were taking sand they were not entitled to and wiping out the supply at 85 Peru Center Road. The limit, posted at the sandbox, is two 5-gallon buckets per resident per storm for walkways only. 

His concern was that the town would run out in the next three months, so he said he would close the supply to the public Feb. 1. 

However, the “Town of Peru Courtesy Sand Policy,” dated January 2014, states it is selectmen who manage the sandbox, not the road commissioner. It’s signed by Merrill, who was a selectman at the time, and Selectman Larry Snowman.

Merrill was not at Monday night’s meeting.

Selectmen said the town would buy two security cameras to monitor the sand supply. Chairwoman Carol Roach said the town “fully intends to prosecute any who abuse the sandbox.”

The cameras will cost about $2,000, and selectmen are hopeful they will be set up by Feb. 1.

emarquis@sumediagroup.net


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