PERU — Selectmen authorized Bill Hine Monday night to proceed in his study of towns with ordinances on local conservation. This study will research the feasibility of putting together an ordinance to protect and develop natural resources.

Hine gave the board sample ordinances from several towns, and said he thought he could create one based on Falmouth’s ordinance.

Hine said such an ordinance would focus on protecting natural resources in the town’s open areas.

The board also discussed the lack of an ordinance addressing wind power and Hine was instructed to attend some of the meetings in adjacent towns regarding wind power to see what was being developed.

Selectmen will review the material Hine made available and he will return in a couple of weeks to discuss what action to take.

Road Commissioner Joe Roach told the board that the winter sand is ready to go and two of his three plow trucks are ready. The third one is having work done on the body.

Hine asked if the finish coat on the Pleasant Street capital improvement project was done. Roach replied that Gammon Road was so bad, they couldn’t plow it and there wasn’t enough money to do everything. He said Pleasant Street was holding up well and could wait while he took care of the worst roads.

Selectman Tim Holland asked Roach about the cost of road equipment he was renting to do projects. “People are asking and we need to pay attention to efficiency.”

Roach said he had worked on 6 to 9 miles with a tractor that would have taken much longer with the equipment the town owns.

Board Chairman Laurieann Milligan said, “We have an open-book policy and we all should know what we are doing.”

Roach replied that labor, material and equipment were the main components of the department. He also gave an agenda of what they do in the winter. When snowfall begins, he said they salt the roads. When 2 or 3 inches has accumulated, the plowing begins with the main roads opened first. He listed those as Greenwoods, Valley, Ridge and Dickvale Roads.

In other news, Milligan said she would contact Town Clerk Vera Parent on all the figures in the new computer contract and have that information available for the board and anyone else who is interested.

Selectman Secretary Kathy Hussey said the spring on Greenwoods Road will be out of service at least until the end of the month until all the tests have been passed.