Tuftonboro “Island Day” (junk removal at Pier 19)

[CowTimes]

For all Tuftonboro island residents that utilize “Island Day” at Pier 19–where island residents can dispose of (with payment of appropriate fees) construction debris, appliances, etc., at the pier from their boat—I encourage you to contact the town selectmen. At a recent meeting, the board of selectmen agreed with the transfer station supervisor to change Island Day in 2020 from a Saturday, as it always has been, to midweek (middle part of second page of the meeting minutes: https://www.tuftonboro.org/sites/tuf...th_updates.pdf).

For those of us island residents that work full time and are only on the islands on weekends, this will effectively preclude its use unless we take a vacation day from work. As island residents who receive very little in services from the town (no schools, roads, snow plowing, etc), this is a meaningful service that many island residents utilize. Island residents that work should not be required to take a vacation day to utilize this service. There is a particular insult with this to Tuftonboro island residents this year in light of the fact that Tuftonboro island properties were just reassessed with a huge increase of 40-50%, as compared to a much smaller percentage increase (15% range) for mainland waterfront.

This change appears to be due to a few bad apples (likely including both mainland and island residents) that disposed of junk at the dumpster overnight without paying appropriate fees, or by disposing of hazardous materials that were not accepted (paint, etc.). The town can certainly find a better solution than effectively eliminating Island Day for most islanders. So if you are in a similar position as we are and rely on Island Day every year, please contact the board of selectmen at selectmen@tuftonboro.org, or 603-569-4539 ext 10.

At the risk of stating the obvious, stating your views on this forum will likely not make any impact. You need to contact the board of selectmen directly.