Resident criticizes Select Board over sewer plan split, threatens legal action

A resident at the Select Board meeting on April 15 criticized the town’s handling of proposed sewer work on Snow Mountain Road and said the town’s plan to separate projects had divided neighbors and endangered the larger scheme.

The resident said the board’s approach ‘‘split it up’’ and made it easy to defeat the whole plan, adding that some neighbors who opposed the package had told officials they ‘‘weren’t going to live long enough to see the whole thing’’ and that the result left others to carry the cost. The resident said they did not want to be included in a sewer district and would consider hiring an attorney to fight inclusion.

‘‘We don’t want to pay for any of it—construction of the plant, the cost of borrowing,’’ the resident said, arguing the town should create a sewer district that would not include their property. The commenter said the waterline on Boulder Path had been included previously and asked why it was no longer in the road layout.

Vice Chair Wendy Ratkabur defended the board’s decision to separate work on some projects, saying the intent was to ‘‘try to make sure it went through’’ for certain locations. Board members said the phased approach was meant to increase the chance of gaining approval for parts of the work.

Board members acknowledged concerns over long timelines and unresolved easements. Staff said some items—such as the Golden Eagle easement—remained under negotiation and that work had been delayed following the death of a former staff member who had handled some logistics.

The board did not take a formal vote during the public‑comment period. Members said staff would continue discussions with property owners and that a formal agenda item on sewer and water projects would return to a future meeting.