Residents of the Ludwig Road in Dresden came before selectmen on Monday to express concern about plans for a new gravel pit adjacent to their land.

“It brings down the value of our land," said property owner Don Swift.

Donald and Debra Swift attended the regular meeting to complain about the construction of a new access road leading to a 10-acre lot behind their property. The lot was recently purchased by contractor Dick Condon of Chelsea.

Swift said that road work had begun the previous Friday and threatened to pass over a section of land of disputed ownership. He said that Condon thought a critical property corner was 90 feet away from where he, Swift, thought it should be. The lot in question had been previously used by the former owner Andy Krechkin for gravel extraction, although he had used an alternate dirt road for access.

Swift also questioned how the 330-foot-wide strip of land could yield much gravel since the operation would have to leave a 150-foot setback from the rear of his property.

Selectman Alan Moeller Jr. said that Code Enforcement Officer James Valley had already posted a stop work order on the project.

"How am I supposed to police that?” asked Swift.

Moeller said that if Condon violated the order that would be a prosecutorial offense.

Reached on Tuesday, Condon said that he was planning to go to the Dresden town office to pick up the form for a site plan review.

He said that he had already conducted a boundary survey and that he was following the results in constructing the access road.

Administrative assistant Trudy Foss said on Tuesday, Aug. 25, that Condon would have to obtain approval for a site plan from the planning board and a business permit from selectmen before work could be continued.

In other business, the board said it would meet with Lincoln County Historical Society member Jay Robbins to develop a plan to better preserve aging town records. It also agreed to offer the fire department the opportunity to cash in on deposit bottles that were accumulating at the transfer station.