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SPENCER – Following more discussion about traffic and parking, the Board of Selectmen on August 11 agreed to grant an entertainment license to the Spencer Agricultural Commission for the Spencer Fair.
The Spencer Fair, to run September 3 to Sept. 7, has been the topic of conversation at recent meetings, mainly in response to complaints that last year’s event was plagued by traffic tie-ups and insufficient parking.
Police Chief Michael Befford noted some changes have been made—such as adding a drop off area to improve traffic flow and installing temporary fencing to keep pedestrians off the road and crossing where police officers are present.
Spencer Agricultural Association President Andy Lynch also talked about parking attendants covering the various lots and the 1,900 feet of crowd control fencing borrowed from Bolton Fair.
Lynch added they are prioritizing fencing along Smithville Road.
Selectmen Vice Chair Jonathan Viner asked Town Administrator Jeff Bridges to have the highway department repair potholes in anticipation of a lot of foot and vehicular traffic.
He also asked that all the signs used to guide traffic and for parking be “standardized and uniform.”
Viner said, “I don’t want someone spray painting on plywood as parking, directions and way finding kind of signs.”
The police chief replied, “We will use what the highway department has toward its fullest potential.”
“These things work better when people have clear guidance and standardized, uniform kind of signs,” Viner said.
He also said it is worth exploring the idea of a call line for residents in the area to communicate their issues. Viner suggested putting another dispatcher on during the fair so (people) know there is some place they can call.”
Viner added that people get upset when they have no one to whom they can voice their concerns.
“It’s a relatively easy thing to implement,” he said, and necessary because he heard complaints from residents “that live nearby about access to their homes…They don’t know where to go and how to get there.”
Befford said residents are aware of who to call and that he goes through the (police) logs every year after the fair. The chief said he has a full-time dispatcher handling fair-related calls and a second dispatcher down at the police station working.
“I’m confident that I have adequate dispatching power and if it gets too busy, the other (dispatcher) is there to help out,” Befford said. He assured residents that they would get messages out to officers and they would field complaints and help to work through them.
The vice chair said it would be a good idea to communicate either through reverse 911 or mailings.
Befford said he would consult with Fire Chief Robert Parsons about the best course of action.
