Select Board endorses letter asking state to stop or fund placements at Magic View Motel

The board unanimously endorsed a letter from Neighborhood Connections asking state officials to discontinue using the Magic View Motel as an overflow site for the emergency motel program unless the state provides service funding to support residents placed there. Committee member (S3) read the letter from Tom Simmons, executive director of Neighborhood Connections, which described the motel as "utilized by the state as an overflow homeless shelter with no kitchen or laundry facilities, no public fixed transit route, and lack of nearby essential services."

Multiple residents and volunteer responders testified about repeated calls, overdoses and safety incidents at the motel. One resident (S11) said, "in the last 60 days, I think there have been 3 deaths," and recounted instances of overdose and public disordernear the property. Pete Cobb (S4), president of the Londonderry Rescue Squad, said the squad had responded frequently and added: "So we've got at least 40 calls since the beginning of the year." Board members discussed outreach to the motel owner and to other towns that have used measures such as requiring owners to pay for security or, in some cases, shutting down hotels that failed to meet safety standards. The board voted to endorse Neighborhood Connections' letter and agreed to coordinate signatures from multiple town officials and emergency-service organizations.