Carroll County Independent
© 2005
MARCH 17, 2005

Tamworth passes noise ordinance

By LORI LENART

Staff Writer

TAMWORTH — The majority was not silent in their votes in favor of a noise ordinance last Wednesday night at Tamworth’s town meeting.

According to supervisors of the checklist, 261 people voted in favor of Article 10, an ordinance that would require any private driving instruction and exhibition facilities to maintain a noise level of 69 decibels or lower at any point on or beyond the property line of that facility.

Moderator George Cleveland refused to have the article tabled based on a question of its legality. When some in the audience asked the town’s attorney, Rick Sager, whether the proposed ordinance was legal or even defensible, Sager said that he would not share his views in a public forum, but would do so with the selectmen if asked.

“I’m pretty assured that CMI (Club Motorsports) will challenge it,” Sager said. “I do have some reservations [about the ordinance]; given the political climate, there will probably be a lawsuit.”

The ordinance, according to Steve Gaal, is the same as the previously established race track ordinance in sound levels, but does have lower limits on Sunday because the ordinance does not regulate hours of operation, he said Wednesday.

The 142 voters not in favor of the ordinance were concerned that the ordinance was too restrictive. “The issue is being fair,” said Roger Overshiner. “Any highway study says 72 decibels is normal” for normal background noise of a highway.

Others were not put off by legal matters. People in towns with tracks similar to this one, Leanne Prentice said, “are embroiled in long-term legal battles [with the town] to reclaim the value of their land.”

Of the 406 voters, three people abstained from making a decision.

Fire Chief
For more than 40 years, Tamworth has been lucky enough to be protected by two families — the Remicks and the Bowles, Margo Mallar pointed out.

With the promise of saving the town money and having someone to complete all those unfinished jobs, current fire chief Jim Bowles encouraged voters to create the position of a paid full-time fire chief under Article 16.

Bowles explained that if the town hired a full-time fire chief, that person would be able to take care of vehicles as opposed to paying someone else to do that work, thereby prolonging the time the department kept other trucks. He added that the fire department members also felt a paid fire chief was so important they would be willing to put less money into their fire engine capital reserve fund and put no money into the fire department land acquisition fund.

Those speaking in favor of the position spoke mainly of the importance of having a fire department and chief in the town and supporting those people. Asking them to give so much of themselves without compensating them is absurd, Susan Kjellberg said. “They are protecting your life and your land,” she added. Ultimately, 252 people voted in favor of hiring someone to be a full-time fire chief in Tamworth, compared to 44 people who voted no.

Chocorua Village
Whether or not there will be three buildings at the intersection of Route 16 and 113 in Chocorua has yet to be decided, but the town will soon own a parcel of land that currently includes the old Chocorua Village Store. Representatives from the Chocorua Community Association said Wednesday night that they still need to determine whether or not to tear down the old store building, but do intend to improve the safety of that intersection in whatever way the Department of Transportation thinks is best.

And better yet, it will cost the town nothing, Jim Bowditch said. It will all be covered by a federal grant.

Both selectmen Mariette Ross and David Haskell wanted to amend the article removing the cost and the source of the money, allowing them to negotiate the cost of the property and not use federal grant money to do so.

Ross said that amending the article would allow them to do their own negotiating “rather than being told how much to spend, so they’re not locked in” to anything.

Bowditch said the association has already done a purchase and sales agreement, and the selectmen signed it already. Although Sager said that they had not signed the extension yet, Peg Huddleston of Lloyd and Day Real Estate said she had gotten at least three opinions to the contrary.

“If we open this up to negotiation, it’s going to cost the town lots more money,” Tom Peters of Chocorua said.

At the request of Ann Abear, the administrative assistant, Huddleston said the total cost of the project would be $175,813.20 including closing costs, all covered by the grant. Any back taxes owed on that lot and building will be paid for by the current owner.

Others debated the cost of the building and the land. While the previous owner proported it wasn’t worth $170,000, Peters claimed she was selling it for over $350,000 before returning it to the Deigles. Bowditch added that the cost of the land and building was based on the currently assessed value, despite what others claimed.

In the end, 162 residents agreed with the Chocorua village association and agreed to allow the town to purchase the land and the building on it, allowing the Dam Ice Cream Shop to keep it’s rights to the well also located on that location. Just over 40 people of the 203 people still present at midnight when the vote was taken preferred not to purchase the land and building.