CHESTERVILLE – The Chesterville selectboard held an emergency meeting March 5 to discuss a plan for the remainder of the plowing season because Chesterville’s full-time road crew has resigned.
Former road foreman, Don Knight, stated that he was tired of the negative feedback from the Highway Committee, the lack of support from the selectboard and exhausted from working alone.
“I got done because they wouldn’t give me any help…some days I was out there by myself plowing for 14 hours, 16 hours, so I dealt with it. Then there was the repairs…they didn’t want me to spend any money on repairs,” Knight said. “I got fed up with it…they want you to run the whole town with two people, and I just couldn’t do it any longer.”
Knight stated that these have been ongoing problems creating a high turnover rate. Knight also said that during a previous meeting, the selectboard agreed not to post and take part in negative activity on Facebook. According to Knight, the following day the posting continued, and that was the final straw.
“I loved working for the town and serving the people, but the people that are prior selectman are very negative toward the people working there now, so they make it difficult for anybody to stay,” Knight said. “They don’t want to see any change…if you’re going to get people into the town, you have to make changes.”
Selectperson Tiffany Estabrook stated that the contingency plan for potential plowing needs will rely on Chesterville’s on-call drivers. The next meeting will take place March 17 where the situation will be discussed further.
Estabrook also expressed her support and understanding of Knight’s decision, both having stated that there’s a group of 12 people making things difficult for the town.
“I’m tired of the negativity,” Estabrook said. “Nobody wants to come work for the town of Chesterville because there’s so much animosity.”
