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Bow Selectboard OKs resident-funded beaver-deceiver at Rollins Road pond, grants maintenance authority to donor
Summary
The Bow Selectboard accepted a donated beaver-deceiver device to be installed at the Rollins Road pond and granted maintenance authority to the donating resident, Jeremy Simmick, with a requirement that any transfer of maintenance return to the board for approval; vote carried 4–1.
The Bow Selectboard voted to accept a donated beaver-deceiver device and allow installation at the Rollins Road pond, authorizing resident Jeremy Simmick to perform and maintain the device. The motion passed 4–1, with Selectwoman Selkman Colby dissenting.
Simmick told the board he had been coordinating with the Bow Pioneers and that the device vendor, Skip Lyle (trademark owner of beaverdeceiverbeaverdeceivers.com), could install the structure as soon as December. "I'm willing to pay for this, with my own money and just kind of maintain it myself however he wants," Simmick said, describing the device as requiring "a lot less maintenance" than the existing structure. He said the device would protect a historic Class 6 road branch from potential flooding.
Board members discussed the town's moratorium on work on Class 6 roads, ownership and transfer issues for donated equipment, and safeguards for abutters and town property. One board member noted that prior donations raised concerns when towns treated donated items as nonrefundable and permanent town property. "Once you purchase and place a beaver deceiver on town property, it becomes the town's responsibility and the town's property," a board member cautioned during discussion.
To address those concerns, the board agreed the device would be accepted as a donation once installed and paid for, with written documentation similar to other donated assets. The board also limited maintenance authority to Simmick, requiring anyone else to return to the selectboard for permission. A motion to accept Simmick's offer to install and maintain the beaver-deceiver was moved and seconded and carried by voice vote; the minutes record the outcome as "4 to 1 with Selkman Colby dissenting." The board said the broader moratorium on Class 6 road work remains in place and that any future work must come before the selectboard.
The board asked staff to prepare appropriate donation paperwork and documentation of ownership, and members said they would expect the installation to include oversight by town staff (Tim) and that maintenance arrangements be put in writing. The decision ends with the board affirming the moratorium's intent—centralizing approvals for work on Class 6 roads—while approving a narrowly tailored exception for this donated, professionally installed device.
