Participants at a special Hanover Town Meeting on Sept. 27 shared space with books piled on the picnic table from nearby Gardner Roberts Memorial Library. Rose Lincoln/Bethel Citizen
HANOVER — All winter, Chris Barber leaves his truck near the beginning of South Shore Road so neighbors can snowshoe to the truck and drive out of the neighborhood in case of an emergency.
Seating was limited at a special Hanover Town Meeting. Rose Lincoln/Bethel Citizen
While the residents pay privately to plow the road, snow drifts back on the road’s dip, so Barber and his neighbor snowblow that part. His neighbor did it 32 times one winter before he and his wife finally sold their house and left.
On Sept. 27, at a Special Town Meeting, Hanover voters met under the pavilion beside town office and voted 38 to 4 to leave South Shore Road off the town’s winter maintenance schedule again this year. Besides choosing a moderator, it was the only article on the warrant.
Selectboard Members Frank Morrison, Brenda Lee Gross and Jim Barker sat at the head table with Town Clerk Kelly Harrington and Deputy Clerk Ellie Andrews.
“South Shore Road [on Howard Pond] has 37 camps or homes and additional properties that are paying taxes in Hanover. By my estimation we represent about 20-plus percent of the total of the taxes paid in Hanover … the residents, because the road is not maintained, get a 15% discount on the taxes on their land value. The total taxes for the town is $700,000 about 20% of that is about $140,000. So if you didn’t give us that 15% that represents about $21,000 that could be used to plow that road,” said Barber.
Morrison said the credit that they [South Shore Road residents] are receiving totals $14,684. “Some people are saving $400 [a year], some people it’s over a thousand. Some people will be subsidizing many people on that road…We’ve got to think about the poor neighbor,” he said.
“It’s based on valuation?” said a resident.
“That’s right,” said Morrison.
Barber said, “Of the 37 homes [on South Shore Road] 19 are winterized and 14 get used regularly through the winter. We have at least the possibility of 14 households getting stuck up on that road … it just feels like the town should take some responsibility for the only town road in Hanover that is not maintained in the winter.” He said there are fewer winterized homes on Howard Pond Road, which runs alongside the north side of Howard Pond and has the snow cleared by the town each winter.
“Excuse me, why did you move here? … Why did you have to put the burden on us? We are senior citizens… Take that 15% and do your own plowing,” said a resident.
Another resident suggested the neighbors get together, take the 15% discount and buy a truck to plow themselves.
“It’s neighbors taking care of neighbors,” responded Barber. He said he had researched buying a truck and it would cost $60,000 plus insurance.
Plowing
Both the town and the South Shore Road residents were finding it difficult to secure a contractor to plow.
Selectboard Member Morrison said the town’s current contractor has warned him that he will likely be done in April when the contract expires because he can’t find staff. “The problem is we can’t get people to do this work,” he said.
The town pays $33,000 for the 3.5 miles that Hanover currently plows. South Shore Road is 1.1 miles long.
Paul Tabor who lives off South Shore Road said he has been working with Morrison. The contractor the South Shore Road neighbors finally found said he would let them know if he was interested in plowing the entire town in the Spring.
A resident suggested they re-visit the vote next year and others agreed.
Tabor’s wife, Tracey Moir, said they will be back next year for another vote. Their new South Shore Road plow contractor, who is charging around $12,000 for their road, may be needed to plow the entire town, she said.
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