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Residents urge clean-up of hoarded property and call out dumping, vandalism at transfer station
Summary
Several residents told the Select Board on Feb. 25 that a heavily hoarded property is causing a persistent rodent infestation that is damaging neighboring homes, and multiple speakers reported vandalism and missing locks at the town transfer station; the board said staff would inspect the sites and follow up.
Multiple residents used the Select Board public-comment period on Feb. 25 to press the town to address a hoarded property that neighbors say has become a public-health and safety problem.
"It's getting tiring of spending money that we don't have to fight off these rats and rodents that are caused by that house and have damage done to our homes," said Sean Mackey, who described rodents getting into attics and basements and urged the town either to tear the property down or to clean it out.
Residents also reported recurring vandalism and unauthorized dumping at the town transfer station and missing padlocks and chains that previously restricted access. One speaker said cameras may have captured recent activity and asked the board to check them. Contractors and municipal plow crews later raised separate but related concerns that ad-hoc barricades and new padlocks are sometimes blocking legitimate access to salt and sand piles used for snow removal.
Ricky Richardson, a contractor for municipal properties, said crews have historically been able to access salt and sand piles and that unexpected chains or locks can prevent routine snow‑removal work. "Who authorized putting all these barricades up and putting padlocks on? This is town property," Richardson said, urging clarification of access protocols and keying procedures.
The board acknowledged the complaints and said staff would inspect the transfer station locks and the hoarded property and follow up. No enforcement or abatement vote was recorded on Feb. 25.
What’s next: Board members said they would check the transfer-station locks and cameras and investigate the hoarded property; staff follow-up was requested at a subsequent meeting.
