Concerns over the sanitation and the safety of residents around Kendall Pond came back into the spotlight during the Town Council’s most recent meeting on Monday night, Dec. 4, at Town Hall.
Original plans for the discussion were for members of the Conservation Commission, led by Chair Marge Badois, to expand upon what the commission has been planning to do with the Kendall Pond area. Ever since the suggestion was made to spruce up various areas around Londonderry in 2014, the commission has worked to make areas such as Kendall Pond more attractive and accessible to the public.
It was noted that members have already worked to increase police presence in the area and place cameras around as well, since there have been reports for several years of various crimes and vandals occurring near the properties of abutters to Kendall Pond.
While the commission also tried to highlight the fact that they are hoping to expand parking in the area and introduce a viewing platform close to the pond, Councilor John Ferrell was quick to draw the discussion back towards the issue of lewed behavior. More specifically, he asked Lieutenant Jason Breen whether or not these activities have lessened at all since the Police increased their presence in the area.
“We haven’t see that activity in a while”, Breen noted.
However, several abutters that were in attendance that evening were quick to argue against this claim. One such resident, Doug Noyes, who lives across the street, noted that although these activities seemed to stop once police were on the scene, their presence seemed to be the only deterrent.
“As soon as the policing stops, it picks back up,” Noyes said.
After residents had also suggested that increasing parking would only exacerbate these issues, Councilor Jim Butler made the suggestion that a gate should instead be installed at the entrance of the pond in order to close it off during the night. Although Badois seemed opposed to the idea, arguing that they would be punishing all of Londonderry for the needs of a few, Ferrell was very vocal of his support for this, or any, solution, as this issue has been going on for years and Ferrell felt that nothing has been done to truly solve it yet.
In order to keep things organized, Council Chair Tom Dolan suggested that Town Manager Kevin Smith begin to work with both abutters to the area and the Police and try to come up with a solution that the Council could consider at a later date.