Affordable housing, shared municipal services, long-term planning and broadband services were on the minds of area selectmen from four towns at a recent gathering to discuss collaboration.

The boards of Bethel, Newry, Greenwood and Woodstock met in Newry on Sept. 14 for one of their quarterly gatherings to share ideas on common issues. 

Affordable housing is a local and statewide problem. Bethel recently endorsed a grant application from the Northern Forest Center for an affordable housing project on the Gehring property, where the center recently renovated the old Gehring House into affordable apartments.

While several selectmen noted it would be ideal if developers agreed to set aside part of any development property for such a use, they agreed it would be highly unlikely any would do it because there is so much money to be made by using their entire property.

Mike Wilson of the center, who facilitated the meeting, said some towns have taken the step of preapproving types of home design that reduces housing construction time and costs. With such a proposal, “They go through the planning process quickly,” he said.

He also said another approach is to look at specific parcels in a town with the potential to be an affordable housing site, and envision what that might look like.

Woodstock Selectman Bob McQueeney said in his town, with no municipal sewer system, any site for a home would need to be at least two-thirds of an acre to accommodate a septic system, limiting the density of construction.

Woodstock and Bethel officials also noted they were drafting a short-term rental ordinance. The other towns do not have one. Newry held a town vote on an ordinance on short-term rentals last year, but it was voted down by a large margin.

REGIONAL PLANNING

The towns are working on or considering updated comprehensive plans, which are intended to guide towns over the long term on planning and ordinance development. 

Woodstock sent surveys to residents on what direction and priorities the town should take. Selectman Ron Deegan said a common concern was preserving the “town culture” by, for example, favoring businesses on the scale of “mom and pop stores.” 

Although the towns are in different stages on planning, Wilson suggested they meet once or twice jointly on the topic to further gather citizen input from the region.

Another possible source of collaboration mentioned was joint purchasing of bulk supplies such as fuel. The officials agreed to send information on fuel purchases to Woodstock so town officials could research if there might be a way to coordinate.

One area in which the towns already collaborate well is youth recreation, the selectmen noted.

Lastly, the selectmen expressed frustration that more people have not taken advantage of the broadband internet service that is available through First Light. A push for the service several years ago produced widely-available service, and the officials said they would encourage First Light to promote it more. They hoped they also could get the word out for property owners to consider it.

The next joint meeting is planned for early December.