BY MICHELLE KIM

The highly anticipated Zoning Board hearing for gas pumps at Pages Country Store and Deli was was postponed to Nov. 19 and relocated to the elementary school to accommodate overflow crowds of more than 50.

Board members voted to reschedule the Monday, Oct. 22, meeting when they realized some 20-plus people were unable to get inside the town hall meeting room, which was already packed and standing room only. Even store owner David Barkie and his team of five experts were unable to fit inside the room until it came time to present.

“Sorry, no baseball tonight,” said Chairman John Trottier, referring to the decision to call off the meeting. He said it was for safety reasons and to avoid aggravation, in addition to allowing interested members of the public to fully participate.

While Barkie’s party was disappointed, “We wouldn’t have advanced our cause at all by going forward,” said Barkie’s attorney, Richard Uchida. Denying a person a chance to speak about the application could be grounds for a reversal in court under New Hampshire law, Uchida explained.

Barkie’s team had hoped to hear public comment when they presented an outline of their application at an unofficial Planning Board hearing Thursday, Oct. 18, but the board voted not to open it to public input.

Chairman Brian Nordle said he was not ready to air the concerns at that meeting.

Abutter Karen Cusano said she was disappointed but that the rescheduling would give the owners of the properties surrounding the store, who had been notified of the application 10 days before the meeting, more time to prepare.

Attorney Amy Manzelli, representing the abutters, said they were preparing studies in response to the application that would address the five criterion of the special exception.

Barkie had submitted an application at the end of 2006, which had been delayed to February 2007, and withdrew it for further study.