New Ipswich residents are petitioning the town’s Board of Selectmen to take control of the full length of Cedar Ridge Drive.
They discovered that a portion of the road is officially listed as privately owned by an association that does not exist.
“We always thought the road in front of our house was a town road, come to find out it’s a private road,” resident Dennis Lambert said.
The road has been plowed and maintained by the town in the past, and is up to class 5 standard as a condition of a lot subdivision in 2005.
The Cedar Ridge Home Association owns the road, but has no members and is not officially licensed. Residents of Cedar Ridge Drive had never heard of it until a potential buyer moving in saw the private road agreement.
They will petition the board to adopt the road. Alternatively, they could put it on the ballot for town meeting.
Additionally, the board is moving forward on appointing a fire chief. This is the first year in which the chief is an appointed position, as opposed to elected.
The town will advertise the position on its website, the state municipal association and fire sites, and in the newspaper. Board members said they hope to find someone with five years of experience as an officer. Much of the description was recommended by the current chief, Meredith Lund.
“When you put out a job description, you shoot for up here,” David Lage said. “No one is going to meet all the qualifications, and that’s where the negotiations come in.”
This winter, New Ipswich Department of Public works employees will work on a flex schedule in order to best serve the town during snow storms while minimizing overtime.
Brandon Latham can be reached at 924-7172, ext. 228.