At least one Allenstown selectman is in favor of continuing trash pickup and other municipal services on private roads, including one along the Suncook River that was ravaged by flooding in 2006 and 2007.

“For me it’s not a question of whether the town is legally responsible to continue providing trash pickup, snow removal and minor repairs to these roads,” Gilligan said. “I feel that the town is morally obligated to. The residents that live on these roads have come to expect these services through the years, and to stop providing them now would be a major disservice.”

At their July 27 meeting, selectmen discussed the idea of terminating trash pickup, snowplowing, road maintenance and postal service on private roads, including Riverside Drive, where 20 homes are slated for demolition after severe flooding. However, according to several residents, it may be years before all the homes are gone. And, at least two new homes have been constructed there since the flooding, which only adds to residents’ frustrations.

“It’s a slap in the face,” Riverside Drive resident Paul Bernard, 66, said of the selectmen’s proposal.

Town Administrative Assistant Kelley Collins said the issue came up when selectmen discussed the cost of grading Riverside Drive, which is a dirt road off Route 28 that is notorious for growing enormous potholes every six months.

“That started a whole discussion as to why we are grading a road that is not a town road,” Collins said. “Then it opened up the issue that we are also picking up rubbish on Riverside Drive and we plow it … There are a couple of other private roads in town where we do the same, yet we don’t do it for the private roads in the mobile home parks.”

Selectmen chose to set up a public hearing on Monday, Aug. 24, so residents can provide feedback on the issue. Officials are expecting a large number of people to attend and have moved the selectmen’s meeting from Town Hall next door to St. John’s Parish Hall on School Street at 7 p.m.

Since the previous selectmen’s meeting, Collins said the local postmaster informed her that the U.S. Postal Service would like to discontinue mail delivery to homes on Riverside Drive as well.

Hiedi Sevigny, 36, whose home suffered less severe flooding than her neighbors, is a quadriplegic who requires a wheelchair. She also has a 3-year-old son and is concerned about emergency vehicles not being able to access her neighborhood.

“The town has to look at how their actions are going to affect the taxpayers,” Sevigny said. “We’re not trying to complain, we’re trying to come up with alternative ideas.”

Sevigny says her handicapped- accessible van is low to the ground and often gets caught in large potholes.

“If a police car had to rush down here, it could ruin their vehicle,” she said.

Longtime Riverside resident Susan Graveline, who had 8 feet of water in her basement in 2006 and lost many personal items, said she’s suspicious about the proposals in the tough economic times. The town has been providing municipal services for the past 15 years.

“I think it’s an odd time to start doing stuff like this,” Graveline said.

Bernard’s wife, Evelyn, 61, who was arrested when she refused to leave her dog behind in the flooding of 2007, said the residents’ latest battle is one in a series with the town that stretches back 30 years.

“We fought for what we have down here,” she said.