Selectboard presses Mason and NH DOT on Onyx gravel‑pit concerns, requests interjurisdictional meetings

Selectboard members reviewed a letter prepared by Town Planner Michele Decoteau, Alan Rosenberg, and Brendan Denehy that catalogued Brookline's concerns about the Onyx (Mason) gravel pit and recommended steps including collaboration with the Mason Selectboard on road management, protections for the aquifer, and review of any future phases of the project. The board discussed specific infrastructure concerns including the Nissitissit River bridge and the Route 13/Mason Road intersection, pedestrian and bicyclist needs, and potential weight or speed limits on Mason Road.

Michele Decoteau noted that the NH DOT maintains a public infrastructure dashboard that lists several Mason Road assets as in 'poor' condition and that NRPC and NH DOT engineer Richard Radwanski are involved in related conversations. The Planning Board will hold a public meeting on July 9 to collect resident concerns for submission to the Mason Planning Board. The Selectboard authorized Chair Brian Rater to sign letters to the Mason Selectboard and to Mr. Radwanski and plans to request time on Mason's July 14 agenda; the motion passed 5-0.