Ossipee selectmen and members of the public pressed for an accessibility review after the RFP for the Deer Run Trail specified ADA-compliant trails but the finished boardwalk appears not to meet those commitments.

Speaker 2, who said he served on the trail advisory committee, told the board that the original RFP repeatedly required ADA standards and specifically specified a 42-inch guardrail; the built handrail measures about 36 inches, he said. "My point is I believe the contractor... chose to proceed without it," he told the board, urging clarity about whether the contractor or another party is responsible for the discrepancy.

The board played a voicemail from Ellen Keith, who identified herself as a member of the governor's commission on disability, urging the town to contact the commission's ADA coordinator for a free site inspection. The voicemail said the coordinator conducts site inspections for municipal properties and can "completely back up what your position is," and suggested the town could get helpful compromise ideas that might reduce cost.

Public commenters asked whether the contractor would charge the town to add missing handrails and whether the board had paid the contractor before learning of the potential noncompliance. Speaker 10 said the prior payment vote "was kind of under false pretense" because board members may not have had the full information at the time; Speaker 2 said the board is awaiting a quote from the contractor and had not decided who would pay for any necessary remediation.

The board discussed bringing the ADA coordinator to evaluate the site and asked staff and the town administrator to arrange either a site inspection or a further public meeting with the contractor. No formal remediation contract or final allocation of responsibility for costs was recorded at the meeting.

Next steps: the board agreed to pursue an ADA evaluation and to wait for the contractor's estimate before making any additional payment decisions.