The railings at Head Tide Dam had broken cables again and selectmen Sept. 7 made a move they expect will serve for years, if more incidents occur. The board decided to tap the dam site’s maintenance account for up to $2,000 to buy enough parts for years of fixes. The parts have a long wait time and could get harder to get, First Selectman Ed Pentaleri explained.

Resident Tom Aldrich asked if a different design had been considered “rather than saddling future selectboards among others with having to source those parts once the ones you get are used.” And he wondered if the damage was due to climbing.

“That’s the suspicion,” Pentaleri said. The newly broken cables are low, he said. “I can just imagine a kid hopping up on that and jumping on the cable and popping those cables.” He said a design change was discussed, but he has not heard back from the person who was going to look into the concept. Something could still be considered, but getting the spare parts for the railings now will avoid having to continuously place orders and pay shipping, he said.

“To me it feels like a small amount of money for a lot of progress.”

Also Sept. 7, selectmen announced Deputy Town Clerk Lynette Eastman is interim town clerk as the search for the next clerk or a deputy clerk continues. And the board named Katy Papagiannis to the planning board.

Pentaleri encouraged families to offer their children’s creative works for possible inclusion in next March’s annual town report. “We may not be able to include all submissions but we really would like to have a diversity of contributions to choose from, that reflect the diversity of talents of Alna students of all ages.” Decisions will start in December, he said.