The Windham Town Council ended the public hearings over Peter Busque’s proposed rock quarry near the corner of Nash Road and Route 302 at its Tuesday, Dec. 12 meeting. A decision on the issue is expected to be reached at the Dec. 26 meeting.

With the tap of a gavel Council Chairman John MacKinnon ended eight grueling months of questions, concerns and comments by the residents of Windham, most of whom own land near the proposed quarry, that have dominated the council meetings since April 11.

The two topics discussed at the meeting were the use of explosives on site and whether the town should make Busque pay for Route 302 improvements to accommodate the many trucks who will enter and exit Nash Road from Route 302.

Traffic engineer William Bray, who said he was hired by Windham resident Margaret Pinchbeck, recommended that the town consider widening Route 302 and create a left-turning lane onto Nash Road for trucks entering the quarry.

Bray, who is public works director for the town of York, stressed that he was not directly suggesting the town install the lane, but that they should consider it.

The town has the option of making Busque Construction pay for road improvements as a condition of approving the quarry proposal.

Before the public hearing ended, Timothy Rath, of New Hampshire-based Green Mountain Explosives, answered questions on the extent vibrations from rock-blasting will be felt outside of the quarry. He was hired by Busque to explain to the public how vibrations would affect neighbors.

“Explosives are associated with violence, death and war,” Pinchbeck said. Pinchbeck argued that the explosives will bring an element of fear to her neighborhood.

Councilor Elizabeth Wisecup expressed concerns that the vibrations would be felt in some of the houses near the proposed quarry. While the state allows a certain level of vibration to be felt, a town ordinance states that no detectable vibrations are allowed to penetrate abutting properties.

Rath countered that this is not possible, as a car on a road will cause vibrations that can be detected in a nearby house.

“Technically, the highway violates it,” Rath said, referring to Route 302.

Town attorney Ken Cole said the ordinace mandating no vibrations may not be just or fair.

“If it’s not possible to enforce the absolute, then it’s an unreasonable standard,” Cole said. He added that the town council may choose to ignore the ordinance if they find it to make an unreasonable request.

Rath said that when vibrations need to be reduced, a large explosive can be replaced with a series of small explosives.

Busque1: Peter Busque, owner of Busque Construction, answers questions about his proposed quarry at the Windham town council meeting.Busque3: Margaret Pinchbeck of Nash Road reads aloud from a computer-printed document at the Busque quarry proposal. On the subject of the blasting that would be done periodically if the proposal is approved, Pinchbeck grimly read, “Explosives are associated with violence, death and war.”