DIXFIELD — A proposal for a new all terrain vehicle policy was presented by police Chief Richard A. Pickett at Monday night’s selectmen’s meeting.
The policy would ban the use of ATV’s on town property, except for a few listed roadways to access ATV trails and local fuel services.
“We realize that ATV use is very much a part of life in Dixfield,” Pickett said. “But we are trying to come up with a policy that works for both the ATV user and the safety of the citizens in town.”
The intent of the policy is to allow ATVs to operate in a safe manner in order to obtain fuel and other services while at giving local area law enforcement guidelines to work within.
“Basically, the old policy allowed ATVs to access every roadway in town,” Pickett said. “We have had numerous complaints about ATV traffic on roads in town and we need to have something better than the current policy.”
A map and list of streets that would allow ATVs was presented to selectmen. The roads listed were Coburn Avenue, Nash Street, Brackett Street, Bradley Street, Blayne Street, a small portion of Weld Street by Ellis Variety, and a portion of Hall Hill Road.
Pickett said he attempted to reach the ATV clubs when creating the map but was unsuccessful in getting feedback from them.
Town Manager Eugene Skibitsky stated he had talked with ATV club President Dan Mitchell and advised him to contact Pickett before the meeting. Pickett told selectmen he was never contacted.
Selectmen Malcolm Gill and Katherine Harvey said they would like to hold the vote on the ATV policy until the last selectmen’s meeting in October so they could hear feedback from both the ATV club and concerned citizens.
In other news, Skibitsky reported the sewer bypass line was completed on the new bridge project. Construction on the bridge is moving forward on schedule.
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