Derry board covers much in short meeting New Sunday operator, hours at Transfer Station; Thompsonburg Road problem discussed

By Bruce Frauman
© 2018 Telegraph Publishing LLC

In its 35-minute meeting on Monday, April 16, the Londonderry Select Board changed personnel and time of operation on Sundays at the Transfer Station.

Board chair Jim Ameden said Matthew Wilder, who had been operating the Transfer Station on Sundays, was sent a letter requesting his approval of severance pay, but Town Administrator Robert Nied says the town has not yet received the return receipt for proof of delivery. Wilder had been the Sunday operator of the Transfer Station.

Earlier that day, the Londonderry Select Boar voted to hire Candy Bliss as the new Sunday Transfer Station operator starting on April 29. Bliss has been a volunteer at the station for 18 months, having sorted return bottles and cans among other duties. For the past week, Bliss has been working with Steve Twitchell to learn how much to charge for various size bags and is willing to learn how to run the tractor.

Board member Tom Cavanagh said the Transfer Station backhoe is still out of service and the mechanic is waiting for seals needed to repair the cylinders. In the meantime, the road crew backhoe is being used.

Starting on April 29, the Transfer Station will be open from noon to 4 p.m. instead of the current 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

On May 11, Board member Bob Forbes or Town Administrator Nied, or both, will represent Londonderry at a delinquent tax sale on eight properties if the owners do not pay taxes due. If no one bids on the properties, they will be authorized to bid, up to the amount of taxes due. If Nied attends, the board has approved that a letter be written that authorizes him to bid on behalf of the Select Board.

The board approved a broader RFP  to take care of a problem with Thompsonburg Road just west of the old Wiley’s Garage. Ameden said the road has been collapsing and no one knows why. There is no culvert at that point but there may be an old stone lined water pipe. The town will need to excavate and correct the problem before paving Thompsonburg Road. There is a chance that the project will be bigger than the road crew can handle with the equipment they have available.

Ameden also said that the salt and sand expenses will exceed the amount in the budget. He noted that the road crew is out salting and sanding again, on a snowy day in the middle of April.

The board approved a request from the Traffic Committee to authorize it to request traffic studies from the Windham Regional Commission for sections of Landgrove, Thompsonburg and Springhill roads. Board member George Mora said the Traffic Committee is continuing to do research and will work with WRC staff members to specify where traffic speeds will be monitored on each road.

When the results come in, the committee will consider whether speed limits are warranted. Mora told The Telegraph that studies have been done on Middletown Road as recently as 2015, so more studies are not needed.

Nied said that the state’s attorney did an inspection of the wall that Ed Brown admitted to painting as background for his case. Brown is due in Windham County Superior Court for a pre-trial hearing on May 11.