Canaan

Canaan Select Board: Pauses road reclassification hearing, approves brownfield study application

The board voted to rescind the Cook Street and Penn Road hearing until town meeting and approved a brownfield study application, among other items.

North Country

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Canaan Select Board · Meeting recap · meeting of Thursday, August 20, 2026

The Select Board met on Thursday, August 20, 2026. Chairman Dillon Begin called the meeting to order at 6:00 P.M. No members of the public took part. The board covered highway work, solid waste, grant bids and other business, and signed a payment warrant.

Decisions

  • Minutes: The August 6, 2026 minutes were approved with a correction to a dollar figure, by unanimous vote.
  • Road reclassification: The board voted unanimously to rescind the previous hearing and site inspection planned for the possible reclassification of Cook Street and a section of Penn Road. The matter is to be taken up at town meeting to see what direction the public would like.
  • Driveway permit: The board unanimously approved a notice to proceed for a driveway permit application from Barrup Properties LLC. Approval is subject to the normal regulations and the company's purchase of the property.
  • Brownfield study: The board unanimously approved a level 1 brownfield study application for the finishing building at Ethan Allen, at no cost to the Town, as recommended by the economic committee.
  • Personnel: The board held an executive session on personnel matters, beginning at 6:55 P.M. After it, the board voted unanimously in open session on a hiring motion for a part-time assistant sewer operator.

Also discussed

  • Highway: Two Grant In Aid projects on Judd Road are complete, and a Better Roads grant project began that day. Roadside mowing is mostly done. The board discussed the need for a part-time highway assistant and will begin looking for candidates.
  • Equipment: The board talked through repairs to the backhoe and grader and asked the highway department to look at all options.
  • Wastewater: The pump model needed at Houle Station is no longer manufactured, and a pump specialist is still working on it.
  • Solid waste: A Coos County Recycling Center subcommittee will meet September 8th at 5:00 P.M. Members also discussed private commercial curbside trash pickup for residents. No action was taken.
  • Other: The board noted no new appointments, five pending municipal ethics complaints, and that work has begun on the Alice Ward Library carriage house. Contracts for MERP grant work need to be done in September, and a final decision is expected at the August 31st meeting.

Money

  • The August 6 minutes were corrected to show $7,187.07.
  • The board asked the highway department to handle grader repairs for under $5,000.
  • The board signed Warrant 17-26 for $126,696.04.

This is an automated summary of the town's posted minutes. The official record is the original document. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.

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