Residents press Select Board on Old Village Road, town website and rising taxes

Several residents used the meeting’s public-comment periods to press the Select Board on local infrastructure and municipal affordability.

Old Village Road residents described a decade-long pattern of failing patches and loose gravel that create hazards for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers. Alan Marx said the neighborhood is a walking area and that “the state of the road is simply horrible,” asking the board and highway department to visit the site. Julie Driscoll and other neighbors described sidewalks and curbs damaged by plows, standing water in yards, and a broad resident email response supporting immediate inspection and reprioritization of paving schedules.

Separately, Deborah Sims and another speaker criticized the town website’s navigation and search function. Sims told the board she has “been mentioning this on the regular since the last town manager” and said the site is “somewhat unnavigable” to many residents; the town manager later recommended using Google as an interim search approach while staff work on improvements.

On fiscal concerns Gary Craraven and others urged the board to prioritize affordability, pointing to payroll-driven budget pressure and recent capital choices. Craraven recommended exploring technology and operational efficiencies and reviewing finance-committee recommendations as the town approaches next year’s budget cycle.

Board members acknowledged the comments, noted the goal-setting workshop scheduled for next week and encouraged residents to submit written input if they could not attend. Staff said they would follow up through the appropriate departments (highway maintenance for the road and IT/communications for website usability).