Pelham - Windham News 6 - February 4, 2011


Sewer Study Recommended by Slight Margin


by Barbara O’Brien Sandwiched in between a proposed warrant article asking voters for $200,000 for parking lot improvements at Griffin Park and one that asks for nearly $78,000 to begin work on an addition to the Windham Police Station, both of which received the unanimous approval of selectmen, is one for $65,000 that has struggled to get enough support for any recommendation at all. Article 9, proposed by the Community Development Department via its director, Laura Scott, proposes continuing a study begun two years ago; one that will ascertain whether or not a sewer connection, through the Town of Salem to the Greater Lawrence Sanitary District, would be feasible for portions of Windham. “We need Phase 3 to


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know the projected costs,” Scott told selectmen. “This is the final phase before we know if we can move forward or not,” she added. Selectmen’s Chairman Charles McMahon has been pushing to complete this study all along. “We need to partner with the DOT [Department of Transportation] while the I-93 construction is underway,” he said. “We have about a five-year window here”, in which to put in the necessary pipes while Route 93 is still dug up. “This is a very time-sensitive issue,” he said. McMahon also commented on the need to protect Cobbetts Pond and Canobie Lake, something that he feels could be achieved through this project. Selectman Ross McLeod said that town officials need to understand the results of Phase 2 of the sewer study before deciding whether or not to embark on a third phase. He said he feels embarking on this undertaking could lead to millions of dollars ultimately being spent. “This is a huge issue,” McLeod said. Selectman Roger Hohenberger said he feels that it would be premature to spend more money studying the issue at this juncture. The first two phases of the study were paid for with Community


Technical Assistance Program (CTAP) money, provided through a State grant related to the reconstruction of Route 93.


This warrant article (#9) is part of Windham’s Capital Improvement


Program (CIP). According to the proposal, the additional $65,000 to fund Phase 3 of the sewer study would finalize all engineering and legal aspects in order to determine proposed costs, if such a project was implemented. It took two meetings to get enough votes, however, for Article #9 to garner a recommendation from the Board of Selectmen. Selectman Galen Stearns did not attend the public hearing on January 10, resulting in a 2 to 2 vote regarding the article. In the case of a tie vote, there is no recommendation forthcoming. On January 24, Stearns did not attend the meeting until he was contacted by phone and asked to stop by. As a result of his late hour attendance, selectmen are now recommending passage of the sewer study warrant article by a vote of 3 to 2. Voting in favor were McMahon, Breton, and Stearns. Voting against recommending the warrant article were Hohenberger and McLeod. Voters will have their say on this and all other proposed warrant articles, first at the deliberative session on Saturday, February 12, and then, finally, on Election Day, Tuesday, March 8. Both portions of the annual Town Meeting will take place at Windham High School.


Pelham Ice Garden’s Ice Hockey League Fun for Everyone


levels, including former competitive players and the occasional recreational athlete who is just looking for winter exercise. Lead Pelham Ice Garden volunteer Chris Mader describes the league as being a “mixed bag from a skill perspective.” This includes an A and a B division to separate the competition. Don’t come to expect any NHL like brawls of penalty boxes in these games. No referees are needed as everyone plays by rules of honesty. According to Mader, the league focuses on the “spirit of fun.”


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Players playing ice hockey at the Pelham Ice Garden


by Tom Tollefson For many of us, ice and cold weather bring mostly frustration, but


not always for Pelham residents in the town’s outdoor ice hockey league. This co-ed 3-on-3 league is for Pelham residents ages 30 and


older. The games consist of two 20 minute halves at the Lyons Park outdoor rink, the Pelham Ice Garden. Games are scheduled each week no Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday evening between 7-9 p.m. Each one of the eight teams plays one game a week, totaling 5 games.


No one is excluded. The league is open to players of all ability “It really brings the game back to its roots, playing outside,” he said.


Many of the players prefer playing outdoors as opposed to indoor ice rinks. Much of the difference comes from the size range, which is smaller outdoors. The Pelham Ice Garden measures 100 feet by 50 feet, which is smaller than most indoor facilities. “It’s more fun. It levels off the competition,” Craig Dempsey said about the outdoor league. “If somebody is really fast on the inside (rinks), they can just go by you, but it’s a more confined area so it relies on passing and stick handling.” This hockey league, players describe as “old school,” ends in


February with playoffs for both A and B divisions. The winners receive trophies and t-shirts. The league is in its third season.


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Plow Rates Rise Slightly Although there are different rates for


be approximately $2,100 for the remainder of 2011.


various pieces of snowplowing equipment, the proposed increase averages $2 per hour “across the board,” McCartney explained. “It will put our rates more in line with surrounding towns,” he added, citing Derry and Pelham in particular. He asked that the new rates be put into effect immediately, even though the winter season is already fully entrenched. “Nobody’s threatened to quit,” McCartney said of the multiple contractors who


currently provide plowing services to the Town of Windham. “But I do feel we would lose guys next year if we don’t raise the prices we pay,” he added. “There are just not enough [six-wheel] trucks around for all the towns that need them,” he explained. “So, we’re trying to keep the ones we have here in Windham.” “Well, we do need to get our roads


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plowed,” Selectmen’s Chairman Charles McMahon responded to McCarthy’s request for higher rates. Selectmen Ross McLeod said he didn’t think the $2 rate increase would “change the dynamics,” especially since other towns would still be paying a heftier rate than Windham. Selectman Roger Hohenberger said he wanted to encourage the contractors currently doing the plowing in Windham to remain working in Windham for the remainder of this year and beyond. “They’re doing a good job, here,” he said. “I wouldn’t want to lose any of them.”


Selectman Bruce Breton thought that any


changes to the pay rate should wait until next fall, when the subsequent year’s budget is being formulated, rather than to try to squeeze it into this year’s operating budget. Selectmen approved paying the additional $2 per-hour rate increase, effective immediately, by a vote of 3 to 1. Voting in favor of the increase were McMahon, Breton, and Hohenberger. Selectman McLeod voted against the rate hike. Selectman Galen Stearns was, again, absent from the weekly board meeting.


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