LYNDEBOROUGH – The Board of Selectmen on Wednesday, Dec. 19, signed a one-year contract with Milford Area Communications Center, (MACC) extending the current services and the original contract. MACC Base director, Jason Johnson, met with the board to discuss any changes and the future of the service, which is under debate in Milford.

Johnson said the service “has repeatedly asked for an equipment upgrade and has been repeatedly denied” by the town.

Chairman Fred Douglas said they have found the service “more than adequate.”

In other business, the board discussed a request from the Fire Department to “respond to their report” concerning their views of the future of the department, repair of the fire station, and the need for a sub-station in Lyndeborough Center.

The Fire Department does not recommend a sub-station at this time because future trucks can be custom-built to fit the current station. They agree that the station requires a lot of work.

Selectman Mark Chamberlain said an engineer friend “had looked at it,” found a list of deficiencies “and said you could throw a million dollars at it and fix two.”

Douglas noted that while the Safety Complex Committee did not make a recommendation, they made “a good case” for a sub-station near the town hall, based on demographics and response time to the north section of town. “They present some valid reasons for not staying only in the Village.”

The station would be built on town-owned land behind the town hall.

The board agreed the village station is needed for housing, at least, the emergency response vehicle since most of their calls are along Route 31.

It was agreed that “everyone needs to be on same page” in order to move forward. Any building would require a two-thirds vote of town meeting and that would be impossible with a division in backing. The board agreed to take the question to town meeting “with all the options,” for a discussion, and both sides could present their reasons.

Town Administrator Russ Boland will respond to the Fire Department request.

The board agreed to have engineering work done for the continuing rebuilding of Center Road, the section between Brackett’s Cross Road and Cemetery Road, the work to be done next year. The next phase would connect that section with work done this year closer to the town hall. Kevin Leonard of Northpoint Engineering, the contractor for work already completed, will be contacted to discuss the survey.

The deteriorating condition of the Curtiss Dogwood Reservation marker was mentioned. A resident has said he wondered if the large wooden sign beside Perham Corner Road was a safety hazard. The reservation is state-owned and Boland will contact them and Road Agent Mark Chase.

The next meeting of the board is scheduled for Jan. 2, 2019, 6 p.m., at Citizens’ Hall.