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Select Board thanks students, routes ideas on nail salon, camps, trails and cleanups
Summary
Select Board members read letters from third- and fourth-graders proposing a downtown nail salon, horseback-riding summer camp, more snowmobile trails and an environmental cleanup team; board members encouraged private interest, referred recreation ideas to staff and noted existing forestry and cleanup efforts.
The New Boston Select Board read several letters from local third- and fourth-graders on April 20 and responded with encouragement and practical next steps.
One student suggested opening a nail salon in the downtown area to increase business and fund recreation programs. "Please consider adding a nail salon to our town," the student's letter read. In response, Vice Chair Kevin Collimore wrote that the town cannot operate a for-profit business but that the board would welcome private entrepreneurs and would offer the board's support to anyone seeking to open a business downtown.
Another student proposed a horseback-riding camp. Kevin Collimore told the class he shared their enthusiasm, recalled family experience with horses and said he would share the idea with the recreation department to assess whether the town could support such a program.
A third letter urged more snowmobile trails to encourage participation and trail grooming; Select Board member Jeff Byron, who said he grew up in New Boston and enjoys trail riding, recommended the students consult local snowmobile clubs and state resources and emphasized safety and trail stewardship.
A final student recommended forming an environmental cleanup team for the town's forests. The board said New Boston already coordinates forestry walks and an annual townwide cleanup; the board's written response encouraged continued stewardship, proposed trail-head signage and offered to explore a community cleanup day or targeted trail cleanup events.
"Our town is made so much better by people like you who care about our town," Kevin Collimore wrote in one response read aloud by the board.
Board members thanked the students for thoughtful suggestions and said staff would follow up where appropriate (for example, the recreation department would consider the horseback-riding proposal and the zoning/land-use implications of any business relocation).
