West Newbury Select Board Votes to Submit River Road Truck Exclusion to MassDOT

WEST NEWBURY -- January 9, 2025, West Newbury's Select Board approved a heavy commercial vehicle exclusion application for River Road and waived the town's right of first refusal on two Ash Street farm parcels at its January 9 meeting. The three-member board voted 3-0 to submit the MassDOT application despite board members' own reservations about traffic data showing only two qualifying vehicles over three days of monitoring; Chair Wendy Reed and member Barry Fogel questioned whether the application would succeed but agreed the submission was well-documented and unlikely to harm future petitions for Middle Street. The board also unanimously authorized submission of a Shared Streets and Spaces grant application seeking up to the program's $250,000 maximum for an already-funded school safety improvement, adopted a new employee reimbursement policy, and approved 2025 animal control officer designations. Town Manager Angus Hagerty said a large public meeting on the Page School conditions assessment has been tentatively moved to May, with a joint fiscal impact presentation now set for February 12 with the Planning Board. Nine new aluminum leash-law signs for Mill Pond were ordered following a January 2 dog-bite incident that drew dozens of public comments on social media.