Residents urge clearer notice of tax sales and more-visible police vehicles; one resident objects to new comment limit

Several residents used the privilege-of-the-floor portion of the April 14 meeting to press for clearer public notice about tax-sales and to request more-visible marking on police vehicles.

Selectman Karen Redington Hughes told residents the tax sale is scheduled for June 18 at the Old Town Hall and that four properties are currently on the docket; Suzanne Loving and Tom Harris urged broader publicity, including press releases and town social media, because past auctions were not widely known. "If you don't know about the sales, then you're never gonna get there," Hughes said when answering a resident's question about where to find additional information.

Bert Stevens also rose to thank a retiring employee and to object to the board's limit on comments. "I object to that as a resident of Woodbury," Stevens said, referring to the board's practice limiting public comments to three minutes per person and 20 minutes per topic. Stevens said he felt the limit could restrict residents' opportunity to participate and asked the board to reconsider how it is applied.

On policing, Selectman Richard Coates summarized multiple resident requests to make new police vehicles more visibly marked with "Woodbury police" to increase perceived enforcement presence; he also relayed separate community interest in speed cameras. The board noted the matters for follow-up and agreed to look into ways to improve publicity for the tax sale and to consider vehicle-marking and speed enforcement options.