Public Safety Committee

Public Safety Committee Meeting Minutes April 15, 2026 6:00 PM Council Chambers Members Present Members Absent Councilor Timothy Fontneau, Chair Councilor Chuck Creteau, Vice Chair Others Present Councilor Christine Gianotti Deputy Chief Andrew Swanberry, PD Councilor Les Horne Jarrod Norris, P.E. Assistant City Engineer Councilor John Larochelle Gina Golden-Silvestro, GIS/AM Technician Councilor Susan Rice, Ten Rod Road Councilor Fontneau brought the meeting to order at 6:00 PM. 1. Roll Call Ms. Boisvert took the call attendance. Councilor Fontneau, Councilor Creteau, Councilor Gianotti, Councilor Horne, and Councilor Larochelle were present for roll call. 2. Approve Minutes from March 18, 2026, Public Safety Meeting Councilor Larochelle MOVED to approve the minutes from March 18, 2026. Councilor Gianotti seconded the motion. MOTION CARRIED by unanimous voice vote. 3. Public Input Councilor Rice, a resident of Ten Rod Road, was present and asked with the warmer weather if the portable safety crosswalk signs for downtown could be put out at this time. She said these make drivers more aware where the crosswalks are. 4. Old Gonic Road- Paving/ Patching Plan Councilor Fontneau summarized the issue. Councilor Creteau said he received an email last month from a constituent about potholes. He said he did go to the area recently there was one that makes you go into the center of the road a little bit which can be a problem for oncoming traffic. There are many roads that have a lot worse conditions, but by no means is it an acceptable condition. Mr. Norris said that after the committee reported the potholes a service request was made at Department of Public Works. These requests can be reported to Public Works directly as well by calling 603-332-4096. Staff reviewed the area and after inspection the potholes were not found to be deep enough to warrant filling with cold patch. Mr. Norris said you need some solid walls to put the cold patch for it to stay. This Page 1 of 3 Public Safety Committee Meeting April 15, 2026  is more surface delamination and if cold patch was placed it would not last. This spring our in-house crew are planning to apply a thin application of hot mix material that will be placed for spot repairs. He said it is possible that next year the development at the end of Old Gonic Road may overlay a significant portion of this street once the construction of the residential buildings is completed. Mr. Norris said the paving program for this year was discussed at the Public Works Building Committee meetings in May, June and July of last year. The minutes can be found on the City’s website. Further discussion of the program is scheduled for fall or winter of this year. 5. Union St., Bridge St., & No. Main St -Roundabout Traffic Timing (kept in committee) Councilor Fontneau summarized the issue. He said that last Wednesday afternoon around 4PM he was headed out of town towards the roundabout and traffic was backed up almost all the way to the roundabout. Councilor Creteau said there are many days that the traffic is backing up to the roundabout. He said on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturday’s depending on events that are going on you are almost guaranteed to have it backed up. He said with the population growth he thinks this is one of the things that is happening and he sees it on a weekly basis that it is at the roundabout. He said when it gets backed up to the point of getting to the roundabout there is almost no traffic coming down Union Street. He asked if the timing could be changed for 5 of 10 seconds and thinks this slight change may help enough. Councilor Horne said the traffic back has been an issue since the 60s and 70’s. He agrees that the traffic is going to back up more and there will be problems there. Councilor Fontneau said he thinks the bigger concern is that now the roundabout is there if you get traffic backed up into the roundabout, that could start to get confusing. Councilor Creteau said that that has happened one time and is his worry is that it will start happening more. Mr. Norris said they do work with the consultant for traffic signals. The biggest question they get from the consultant is when you are making the observations, what day and time did it occur as that helps the consultant diagnose what the problem might be. Mr. Norris asked if the times and dates when the congestion occurs to please relay that information to DPW. Councilor Larochelle asked if someone could observe the camera and adjust the signals remotely. Mr. Norris said they can adjust signals remotely and know what the cycles are. He said it does go back to knowing when the congestion is happening and trying to adjust knowing that. Councilor Fontneau said if we put the word out and asked Councilor Creteau if he could ask his neighbors that might help observe the issue. 6. Flat Rock Bridge Road- Sidewalk Request Councilor Fontneau read the email received from the resident asking for sidewalks to be installed on the west side of Flat Rock Bridge Road between Route 125 and Salmon Falls Road. The concern is walking on the road is dangerous and this would improve the safety of walking on the road. Councilor Fontneau asked if Mr. Norris has investigated this and if there are any plans. Mr. Norris displayed on the Page 2 of 3 Public Safety Committee Meeting April 15, 2026  screen the sidewalks in red that are in the area. He reviewed the City’s 2020 transportation master plan and that plan recommended 16 sidewalk locations based off connections and Flat Rock Bridge Road did not make that list. If you were to do a sidewalk project here, he would expect it to connect to the existing sidewalk on Milton Road and extend to the river. That would be a million-dollar project that is not budgeted for and is not included in the 2020 master plan. The plan does take into consideration the interest from the public and would encourage the resident to contact the Planning Department that organizes the master transportation planning effort. Councilor Larochelle asked if there are alternative sidewalks, sort of a packed material that provides a good walking surface but is not asphalt that may be easier and cheaper to put in. Councilor Fontneau said that by regulation if you have sidewalks, they must be plowed. Mr. Norris said it would still require significant funds to construct and maintenance. 7. Other Councilor Horne mentioned the increase of population and traffic. There are a lot of problems with speed and violations of driving downtown. He asked all participants to think about how this can be addressed. Councilor Fontneau said in his time on the Public Safety Committee it is the biggest complaint that we hear is speeding. He said the legislature increased some penalties and fines for certain speeding violations this year. Councilor Fontneau said that Christine from Waste Management located at 15 Taylor Ave asked if they could install a mirror for improved visibility at the exit/ entrance. She would like to know the restrictions or limitations that are in place regarding the installation of this. Mr. Norris said there are other places that have sight-distance mirrors and there is no code that would prevent a property owner from placing a site mirror on their property outside the right of way. He said we would not enforce removal if it does not interfere with public travel or road maintenance operations. Mr. Norris said the city would not be responsible for its maintenance or placement. Mr. Norris said that the RRFB for the crosswalk that crossed Union Street near the Union Street parking lot project should be functioning by the end of this month. Mr. Norris said the two new regulatory speed limit signs along Washinton Street are now in place. Councilor Fontneau ADJOURNED the meeting at 6:42 PM. The minutes were respectfully submitted by Ronda Boisvert, Business Coordinator Page 3 of 3 Public Safety Committee Meeting April 15, 2026