Town utility policy ordinance formally enacted at Newbold town meeting

It was smooth sailing for town ordinance Chapter 19 Town Utility Permit Policy at the public hearing and regular meeting of the Newbold town board on April 30.

With attendees making no comments at the public hearing, held at the Newbold Community Center, Chapter 19 was formally enacted by the board at the regular meeting that immediately followed.

The ordinance, establishing a permit policy for utilities in the town’s right-of-way, had been adopted by the board at its March 26 meeting. 

Town chairman Dan Hess summed up the effect of the ordinance for the River News. 

“It gives the town the opportunity to meet with the service provider to make sure they’re putting in their utilities at the right depth and right locations, as well as when they’re done, making sure that they put their re-grass back to normal standards,” he said.

The meeting also saw the opening of bids for Newbold’s 2026 road projects. The opened bids were referred over to the town’s director of public works, Mark Fetzer, who Hess said will bring them back to the next board meeting with recommendations.

With signs of what Hess termed “a little bit” of wood splitting in the Newbold Community Center, the board agreed to look into the cost to add a humidifier to the building’s furnace.

“You can’t really see it (the splitting) unless you go right up to it,” he told the News, “and we’ve been putting oil on it, furniture oil…and it does show that on the furnace, it shows up on our little screen, ‘low humidity.’ So we’re going to look at that just to make sure the humidity is right in there.”

Among other highlights of the meeting, the board:

- Approved the purchase of two security cameras, not to exceed $800.

- Heard the monthly district library report from Bill Wright, one of the town’s two representatives on the Joint District Library Board.

The next regular meeting of the Newbold town board will be Thursday, May 14, at 6 p.m. at the Newbold Community Center.

Ardith Carlton may be reached at [email protected].