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Police chief outlines four ordinance updates; board flags idling, brake-noise and intersection safety
Summary
Police Chief Jon Woodworth told the town's Select Board the police department has updated four ordinances, including a new drug paraphernalia ordinance, and board members raised concerns about delivery-truck idling, truck brake noise and a dangerous intersection that will be discussed with DOT on Jan. 17.
The town's Select Board met at Town Hall on Jan. 6 and heard Police Chief Jon Woodworth describe updates to four police-related ordinances and several traffic- and noise-related enforcement concerns.
Police Chief Jon Woodworth said he has updated four ordinances — Disorderly Action; a new Drug Paraphernalia ordinance; Stopping, Standing and Parking (and its fine schedule); and the Noise & Open Container ordinance. Woodworth said an attorney drafted the model language, noted that nearby communities including Lancaster have adopted similar measures, and said Groveton has used the language and the provisions "passed the court test," according to the discussion.
Board members discussed the proposed changes to parking fines and enforcement. Woodworth said the fines in the draft are standardized across enforcement categories. He also said he can prepare a separate ordinance addressing truck idling for a future meeting after members raised concerns about delivery trucks idling overnight.
Select Board member Shane Beattie raised a related concern about a railroad engine that has been sitting and idling since rail service resumed. Beattie noted the town lacks jurisdiction over railroad operations, limiting local authority to intervene.
Beattie also asked the board to consider an ordinance targeting truck brake noise. Select Board member Kathy-Jean Lavoie asked whether the current noise ordinance already covers brake noise or vehicle idling; the board agreed those issues should be addressed by separate, targeted ordinances rather than folded into a single noise rule.
Town Manager Jessica Cyr told the board there is a meeting with the state Department of Transportation at Town Hall on Jan. 17 at 10:30 a.m. to discuss safety concerns at the Main, Mechanic and Elm Streets intersection, which she described as hazardous for residents and emergency responders.
The Select Board asked the police chief to draft any additional ordinance language on idling and brake noise for review at a future work session and noted they will raise parking and handicap-parking placement as part of related traffic discussions.
What happens next: Chief Woodworth will prepare draft language for an idling-truck ordinance and the board will discuss parking and noise ordinance revisions at a future meeting. The DOT meeting on Jan. 17 will address the flagged intersection.
