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Alton Select Board to investigate alleged over‑clearing at Hidden Springs site
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Summary
Residents and selectmen raised concerns that a recent land‑clearing at Hidden Springs exceeded flagged limits; the board said initial reviews show no wetland encroachment and ordered further investigation, including invitations to the logging company, town engineers, and Ty and Bond.
The Alton Select Board on April 28 directed staff to gather more information after residents alleged that recent land‑clearing at the town‑owned Hidden Springs site exceeded the approved limits.
Resident Richard Finathy Jr. told the board the site “was over cut by roughly 30%,” asked who flagged the clearing limits and whether a forester had conducted stump or board‑foot counts, and urged the town to account for removed timber. Finathy asked whether the town’s forester or engineering staff had been consulted before the work was contracted.
Chair said the clearing was completed using federal COVID relief infrastructure funds, not taxpayer operating dollars, and that the timber tax had been waived when the work proceeded. The chair told the public the town’s engineers (Ty and Bond) and the contractor’s markings were used and that, in the town’s preliminary review, the clearing did not “encroach on anybody else’s property” or on wetlands. He said Ty and Bond are producing a fuller report on siltation and other environmental concerns and that the board will invite Ty and Bond, the DPW director and the logging company to the next meeting to explain how the clearing was conducted.
Several selectmen pressed the board to require the logging company to notify its insurer, and one member said the town could insist on a presentation from the logger explaining how the larger‑than‑expected clearing occurred. Selectmen discussed whether an independent consultant might act as a “clerk of the works” if the town proceeds with any remedial work or future construction.
Conservation‑minded residents urged the town to explore remediation funding and technical support. Jill Houser asked the board to consider directing the conservation commission to contact the University of New Hampshire’s forestry program for advice on possible remediation, including whether to grind stumps or leave them for stabilization and what plantings could restore habitat.
As an interim measure, the board said no new stumping or further clearing will occur until engineers and involved parties report back; the only allowed work would be stabilization if Ty and Bond or the town engineers determine immediate erosion control is needed. The board sought to convene the group for the next Select Board meeting, aiming to assemble DPW, Ty and Bond and the contractor to address outstanding questions.
