I attended this evening’s meeting of the Bethel selectboard. I’m sure Chris Constanzo will write up everything in the Herald this week, so I will only focus on the specific issue that I raised.
Once again, the condition of the roads was raised. Toward the beginning of the discussion, Chair Neal Fox said he was happy that he had observed improvements in the road since our last meeting.
Town Manager Del Cloud got noticably irritated at the discussion, and I’d say selectman Rick Benson was as well. I have to say, I don’t blame them! I wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of constant criticism either. However, if this is what it takes to get some results, then maybe it is the only way.
Later in the discussion, the selex and the Town Manager pointed out that lack of money was the cause of the problems. The point of clarification I requested was here. If the roads have gotten better, that seems to contradict the theory that the lack of manpower and money is the cause of the issues we have with the roads. It cannot be both ways.
So the question remains – is the condition of our roads caused by a lack of manpower and equipment, or is it something that is easily remedied by some other means which the selex could not elaborate on this evening.
So again, I put the question out to the people of Bethel. Have you noticed an improvement in the condition of the roads in Bethel over the last couple of months? Are they better? Worse? No change? Check back here soon for a survey on this topic.