Clover Hill Rd. To Stay Public

Clover Hill Road will remain a public road for the foreseeable future.

A hearing on that topic Monday was effectively over before it started. The petitioner, Jesse "Sam" Sammis of the Green Mountain Stock Farm began the hearing by withdrawing his request that the town abandon the road, which runs from the lower Stock Farm Road to Fish Hill Road through property that is owned either by the Stock Farm or by folks who have bought property from the Stock Farm.

Sammis request would have resulted in the town abandoning the road so that it reverted to the property owners on either side of the road.

The proposal attracted about 15 people to a site inspection Monday afternoon on the road, and about 25 to the hearing later at the Old Dorm at VTC. Many of the visitors were associated with snowmobile clubs and were worried that snowmobilers would lose Clover Hill Road as an east-west connection that is key to the trails going to Bethel.

Since the road is a Class Four road, it is automatically open to snowmobilers.

Removing snowmobiles from that road is clearly one goal for the Stock Farm. Sammis Monday night focused on the safety problem of snowmobiles sharing the road with skiers, snowshoers, and sleds. He proposed that he would meet with members of the local snowmobile club to provide alternate access.

This is a goal of the town, too, said Selectboard Chair Jim Hutchinson. The current route, after Clover Hill Road, is along the side of Fish Hill Road, a Class Three road, for several hundred yards until it takes off into the woods. A different route up the hill might result in a better connection that keeps the machines off Fish Hill Road, he said.

Perry Armstrong pointed out that VAST, the statewide snowmobile club, had been instrumental in getting about $5000 in emergency money to fix the bridge on the road after it was weakened in the 1998 flood.

At the same time that he withdrew his request to abandon the road, Sammis put forward a new request. He would like the town to consider making the top 1400 feet a Class Three road, that would receive summer and winter maintenance from the town.

That part of the road serves two spurs that enter at the 1400-foot point, he said.

Another separate application and hearing would have to be held for this to be approved.

Other News

William Kevan led off the regular selectboard hearing by asking whether there was anything more to report on "the secret real estate transaction." He was referring to a matter discussed in executive session about three weeks ago.

No new developments, responded Hutchinson.

"Nothing's really happening, but we're interested if it happens, but it's not," he said in a brief foray into Yogi Berra Land.

River Damage

The board told Route 12A resident Karl Dewey that it can help get a Department of Agriculture grant to stablize the riverbank that is threatening his Dewey Boulevard home- but that it would still cost him $15,000.

This was a bit of a shock to the Randolph man, who said he didn't like it but would accept it.

It was explained that it's a $123,000 project, with the rest paid by the feds and with the Town able to get free granite fill from the Bethel quarry. The town does have to bill him for loading, transporting, and unloading the granite, however, Hutchinson told Dewey. That is expected to involve two trucks for nine days, plus an excavator for 75 hours.

Dog Issues

Town Manager Peter Butterfield told the board he thinks Randolph needs to beef up its enforcement of dog licensing. Also, he said, there have been two recent incidents involving pit bulls,

On the advice of Hutchinson, Butterfield will look into the recent Brookfield iniative. That town announced that it would- as it is allowed to- begin to round up unlicensed dogs and "humanely" destroy them.

Hutchinson said he understands that after the resulting uproar, everybody brought their dogs in for licenses and no canine had to be destroyed. The same pattern might work here, he said.

Butterfield will also look into dog training for the police and will buy some heavy gloves and a noose for handling the troublesome ones.

Insurance

The manager noted that owners of houses in the 100-year flood plain have until September to get flood insurance at the current rate.

He also congratulated the groups of Baptists from southern states who have been here for a couple of weeks painting some public buildings, including the gazebo, and working on trails.