Residents Robert St. Pierre and Glen Page want the Highway Department to plow 230 feet of road

HAVERHILL — Residents Robert St. Pierre and Glen Page want the Highway Department to plow 230 feet of road, so they can safely travel to and from their homes during winter. The only problem: It’s not town road. That’s why the Select Board on Aug. 29 voted 5-0 to discontinue maintenance of the roads in question: State-owned Meadow Lane and private way Merchant’s Lane. Unhappy, St. Pierre (11 Merchant’s Lane) and Page (7 Merchant’s Lane) returned to the board on Dec. 19 and asked them to reconsider, pointing to health and safety concerns and emergency responder access. The Select Board met them halfway. The board voted 4-0-1 to reconsider plowing arrangements for the state-owned segment, as long as St. Pierre and Page sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the state to allow for third-party snow clearing. However, residents will have to take care of Merchant’s Lane themselves, due to town policy on maintaining private ways.