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This week's stories: (click on the headline
to jump to story)
 Town
deliberative session marked by angry barbs
Kindergarten
plan goes to the voters
Big ticket
items draw little criticism
Goffstown's
candidates
Weare
Town deliberative
session marked by angry barbs
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By KATE BENWAY
Staff Writer
kbenway@yourneighborhoodnews.com
A petition to make the police chief's position
an elected one touched off controversy at this year's deliberative
session of Town Meeting on Monday, Feb. 2.
Voters will make their final decisions on the more than 50 warrant
articles on Tuesday, March 9, when they head to the polls at
Center Woods Elementary School.
Selectmen Doug Cook and Leon Methot were absent from the meeting.
The petition warrant article to allow voters to elect a police
chief to a three-year term was signed by 25 residents and ushered
through the meeting by residents Brenda Lashway and her husband,
state Rep. Gary Hopper.
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MAKING A CASE: Selectmen
(from left) Tom Reynolds, Brian McDonald and Laura Petrain, along
with Town Administrative Coordinator Bob Christensen, listen
to Police Chief Myles Rigney's proposal to bring on two full-time
officers. (Kate Benway Photo)
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The move brought harsh words from Police
Chief Myles Rigney, who said the petition was rooted in politics
and personalities.
Lashway is a former police commissioner. Her daughter, Anna Hopper,
is married to Stephen Hess, the Weare man charged with falsifying
evidence in connection with the torture of Barney the poodle
last summer.
The chief, angry at what he believes is retaliation for pursuing
the case, fired back at the two, holding up a collection of police
reports.
"Is this just revenge because someone's relative got locked
up," he asked. "When you find that these trusted citizens
have records that are miles long, you have to question it. This
is a popularity poll. I'm not a huggable, cuddly type of character,
and I don't plan on being a lackey for state reps."
Rep. Hopper, in an interview later, said he didn't initially
intend to sign the petition.
"I wasn't going to sign it because it looked vindictive,"
he said. "But when I found out people were afraid to sign
it, I decided to sign it."
A motion to amend the petition warrant article that would have
essentially nullified the question failed, 43-33.
The question will go before voters in March, leaving it up to
residents to decide whether they'd like to make the police chief
post an elected position.
Before the amendment failed, several residents spoke in favor
of nullifying the article, concerned that changing the process
by which the police chief position is filled could affect residents'
safety.
"This is stupid," said resident George Bugher when
he stepped up to the microphone. "You're putting my safety
at risk by doing this, and I will not stand for it. Anybody could
run for police chief you could be 18 years old or 118 years
old. I just can't believe this article was put on the ballot
and you found 25 people to support it."
Resident Forrest Esewine said he didn't want the police chief's
position to be filled based on politics.
Selectman Brian McDonald took the sentiment a step further.
"This is obviously an attempt to remove Chief Rigney from
his position," he said. "It blows my mind that we're
going to take it to this level."
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But Hopper invoked voters'
constitutional rights to petition the government.
"I think people in Weare are intelligent enough to elect
a police chief. If you amend the article, you deny people their
right to petition the government," he said. "If the
chief is right and I'm part of an inner sanctum of discontent
in town, then he doesn't have anything to worry about."
The budget
Meanwhile, after two failed amendments, the proposed $3.52 million
operating budget listed in Article 11 will appear intact on the
March warrant. Under the article, the default budget is $3.46
million if the proposed budget is shot down at the polls.
Selectmen Tom Reynolds and Brian McDonald made an unsuccessful
attempt to amend the article, offering a $3.37 bottom-line spending
package. |
Neal Kurk has been town
moderator for some 20 years. (Kate Benway Photo)
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"Not one person said 'good job' on the budget amount and
the budget committee did not approve our operating budget proposal,"
he said. "We listened to people and we may be off on our
numbers, but we always have deliberative sessions to correct
it, and that's what we're trying to do. Some things are going
to get cut and some things won't get done."
And as that amendment failed, resident Frank Campana offered
another, motioning to alter the proposed operating budget to
$3.31 million.
"That still gives them $250,000 more than last year,"
he said, adding that selectmen had been willing to deal with
a spending plan that came in under the proposed default budget.
Campana's amendment failed as well, but not before Rigney urged
voters to shun an attempt to pass a budget below the originally
proposed default budget.
"If you drop below a default budget with an operating budget,
you'll kill yourselves in the next few years," he said.
"Don't make quick decisions without putting research into
it."
The proposed operating budget would raise property taxes by $3.73
per $1,000 of assessed valuation.
Milfoil
Voters also let through Article 28, which asks that $3,000 be
devoted to exotic weed inspection at the Chase Park boat ramp.
The ramp, granting both residents and non-residents boating access
to Lake Horace, was closed late last summer after town officials
said the threat of introducing milfoil into the lake was too
great to keep the launch open, especially during the evening
hours when it was traditionally unmanned.
The parks and recreation commission studied the threat, and with
input from the Lake Horace Landowners Association, determined
that providing a staffer to inspect entering boats from 6 to
9 p.m. during the summer months would solve the problem.
The $3,000 would go toward paying for the additional manpower.
"Right now, Lake Horace doesn't have any exotic weeds, and
we'd like to keep it that way," Chuck Metcalf, chairman
of the commission, told voters. "If there was no money,
it'd be likely that we would close the ramp at 6 p.m."
Other articles
Residents will see a warrant article at the polls asking whether
or not they want to see the former fire station torn down. The
station, now empty after the department moved into the new safety
complex, could be torn down or kept as a historic building, but
selectmen want residents to guide the decision.
"We just want to put this out to find out what voters would
like to do," said Reynolds.
There is no cost attached to the article.
Residents will also have a chance to return the board of selectmen
to three members.
Campana asked selectmen to put the article on the warrant out
of concern that the intention behind having five members serve
is not being met.
"The idea was that the two additional people would draw
more friends and acquaintances to serve and volunteer, and that's
just not happening," he said. "In the year or so we've
had five selectmen, I just haven't seen it work."
Selectmen issued no recommendation on the measure.
Should it pass, in March 2005 all five members' positions would
lapse and three new positions would be open. Up for grabs would
be a one-, two- and three-year term.
"It's nothing personal against the members," said Campana.
"And let me clarify: I'm not running for selectman."
And in the only major amendment, voters supported an effort to
zero out the $500 in Article 38 that would have gone toward supplying
a vehicle for the building department. Selectmen said there is
no current need for the appropriation.
Goffstown
Kindergarten
plan goes to the voters
By RUSS CHOMA
Staff Writer
rchoma@yourneighborhoodnews.com
Residents received no surprises during
a school district meeting where the main topic of discussion
was a proposed new kindergarten.
The auditorium at Goffstown AREA High School was less than half
full for the Feb. 2 meeting, with only 115 registered voters
turning out about than 1.2 percent of the town's total
voter population of 9,239.
Up for discussion were four warrant articles with the kindergarten
proposal taking up the majority of the time.
The district's operating budget and approval of a renegotiated
AREA agreement with New Boston and Dunbarton also were discussed.
No amen-dments were made at the meeting, so all four articles
will appear on the March ballot as originally written.
Kindergarten proposal
As part of an information blitz to get the word out on a new
proposal for public kindergarten, Peter Osiecki, chairman of
the kindergarten planning committee, and School Board Chairman
Scott Gross outlined the proposal for residents.
The core of the plan to build a 10-room kindergarten building
on donated land off Tibbet's Hill Road is the same
as last year's public kindergarten proposal, but the cost to
taxpayers has been drastically reduced.
The total proposal will cost $3.3 million, but residents will
only have to pay a one-time cost of $256,202. State aid, amounting
to $2.2 million, will defray the brunt of the cost, and another
$800,000 will come from impact fees and the district's unreserved
fund.
The $256,000 picked up by Goffstown taxpayers will not be bonded
and will cause a one-time tax increase of 21 cents per $1,000
of assessed value. For the owner of a $250,000 home this
would translate to an extra $52.50 on this year's tax bill.
During their presentation, Osiecki and Gross touted the benefits
of a public kindergarten.
According to Gross, there will be quantifiable improvements in
student performance. National educational studies tend to show
this, said Gross, adding residents need only look to their own
district to see the proof.
Gross said there is a noticeable difference between students
from Dunbarton and New Boston towns with public kindergartens
and Goffstown students.
"Their assessments are higher and they're achieving at a
higher level," he said. "You can look at these national
studies, or you can see it just in our backyard."
Gross also said that contrary to what he sometimes hears, the
lack of adequate kindergarten education is not "something
that goes away or evaporates." Gross said Goffstown is forced
to spend extra money and resources on programs such as Reading Recovery
to help students at Mountain View Middle School and GAHS catch
up to where they should be.
Following the presentation, a handful of residents asked questions,
mostly pertaining to the possibility of expanding the proposed
kindergarten building.
There is currently no proposed expansion on the table, but district
officials are predicting in the next several years that additional
elementary school space may be needed. With that in mind, this
year's kindergarten planning committee had the blueprints drawn
up in a manner that allows for that expansion in several years.
AREA agreement
Article 3 addresses the recently renegotiated Authorized Regional
Enrollment Area (AREA) agreement. The agreement allows New Boston
and Dunbarton to send their students to Mountain View Middle
School and GAHS. Originally negotiated and signed in 1971, the
agreement was renegotiated this past fall.
According to school board member Philip Pancoast, the major difference
between the old agreement and this one is a hike in rental fees
that the other towns must pay Goffstown.
"We've gone through a significant number of capital costs
(improving Goffstown schools)," Pancoast said. "It
is a fact to say we will recoup most of that" with the new
terms.
At five-year intervals the value of Goffstown schools are evaluated
and the other towns must pay a fee based on that figure. In the
past, it was 2 percent of the total value, but that number has
been bumped up to 2.5 percent.
Another change to the agreement stipulates that the sending towns
must pay for their own special education needs. By law, a school
district must pay for any special needs of disabled children. Pancoast
said those costs, which include the price of certain items like
special hearing equipment or tuition to send an especially challenged
student to another school, will be paid for by the respective
towns.
Gross urged voters to approve the article, saying Goffstown benefits
greatly from the other districts. As an example, he cited a situation
where 14 Goffstown students may qualify for an Advanced Placement
course, and because of New Boston and Dunbarton students, the
cost of hiring a teacher for that class is defrayed.
"We're pretty happy with this," he told residents.
"The two towns do bring in quite a bit of revenue and there
are great economies of scale with an agreement like this.
Budget
After much controversy surrounding budget committee cuts to the
district's proposed budget, the operating budget slid through
the deliberative session with very little discussion.
The proposed budget totals $27,135,334 up about $1 million,
or 3.86 percent over last year's. If approved by voters,
it would increase taxes by 58 cents per $1,000 of assessed property
value, or $145 for the owner of a $250,000 home.
This year's budget would add a number of positions to district
schools, all of which are needed said board members.
Gross singled out the new dean of students position at the high
school as a necessary item.
He said that due to increased enrollments, it is a reality that
student discipline is a growing problem and needs to be dealt
with.
"We are a suburb of Manchester, with 1,340 kids," he
said, "And we need to be proactive the dean will address
these problems."
New Boston
Big ticket
items draw little criticism
By LARA SKINNER
Staff Writer
lskinner@yourneighborhoodnews.com
Big money items, such as the library proposal
and scales at the transfer station, drew little comment during
the Monday, Feb. 2, meeting.
All of the articles up for discussion, numbers 14 through 39,
passed with a majority of yes votes.
Library trustee Timothy Cady presented the revised building plans
and fund requests for a new Whipple Free Library building.
A smaller building and additional fundraisers have reduced the
total cost of the project by $345,886.
The project will cost $1.2 million, and the library trustees
have raised just over $200,000 in private donations to offset
that bottom line.
The fundraising goal of the trustees is $275,000, but Cady said
donations are slow because the building is only a proposal.
"People don't necessarily want to give money to something
that hasn't been approved yet," he said.
Money put into the capital reserve fund for the building will
take $86,100 off the total cost, and $12,300 left over from a
2000 warrant article will also go toward the balance.
This year's library article is $888,500 for a 15-year bond that
would add 32 cents per $1,000 of assessed value to the tax rate.
At the rate of $27.95 per $1,000 of assessed value, that addition
is only 1.1 percent of the total.
With voter approval in March, Cady said the new library could
open in October of 2005.
"A check in the box is what it takes," he said.
Roger Gagnon objected to Cady's proposal because of the proposed
location. Trustees of the library purchased 11 acres of land
behind the post office near Mont Vernon Road.
Though Cady said the building lot is out of reach of the Piscataquog
flood plain, Gagnon has reservations about the dam up river.
He asked if the town would look into the integrity of the dam
before building the library.
Both the selectmen and the finance committee recommend approving
the warrant, and it needs 60 percent of the vote in March to
pass.
When the question of the town operating budget came up, Gordon
Carlstrom, chairman of the board of selectmen, reminded residents
that the town hasn't put any money toward the upkeep of the current
library building because of the proposal.
People appeared satisfied with the proposal of $2.74 million,
and the article was approved unanimously.
The operating budget will add 17 cents to the tax rate. If all
of the warrant articles are approved as well, the total increase
is 46 cents per $1,000 of assessed value. This would add $115
onto a property tax bill for a house valued at $250,000.
Residents also approved article requests for:
· A $40,000 skateboard park.
· A $50,000 capital reserve fund for a recreation department
building.
· Two scales at the transfer station for $37,000.
· Funds for the cemetery capital reserve account at $25,000.
· Jaws of Life for the Fire Department at $20,500, to
be split between a grant and taxes
· Funds for the fire department vehicle capital reserve
fund at $90,000.
· A replacement sedan for the police department,
complete with radio and camera equipment for $31,200.
· A portable traffic monitoring unit at $14,000.
· Funds toward the state bridge aid engineering study
of the Lyndeborough Road bridge at $20,000.
· Funds for the backhoe capital reserve fund at $45,000.
· Funds for the highway dump truck capital reserve fund
at $28,000.
· A replacement loader for the highway department at $139,000,
split between capital reserve fund and taxes
· Upgrades on Twin Bridge Road for $65,000.
· Funds toward completion of the master plan for $15,000.
· Funds for an architect to assist with future town hall
renovations at $1,500.
· Funds for the town hall roof/chimney capital reserve
fund at $32,000.
Goffstown's
candidates
The following people have declared
their candidacies for school and town offices.
· School board choose three for three years:
Lorry D. Cloutier
Scott Gross
Ellen Vermokowitz
· Selectmen choose two for three years:
Laurent P. Beaulac
Jeremy Dupuis
Barbara J. Griffin
Bruce Hunter
Frederick Plett
· Budget Committee choose four for three years:
Eric Geissenhainer
William J. Gleeson
Phillip E. Kendall II
Raymond J. Labore
Jeffrey A.Tate
· Budget Committee - choose one for two years:
David W. Rowe
Gordon Schaaf
· Budget Committee choose one for one year
Vivian Blondeau
· Cemetery trustees choose one for three years:
Jean Walker
· Library trustees choose two for three years:
Lisa M. Iodice
Susan L. Osburn
Kenneth J. Rose
· Library trustees choose one for one year:
Henry C. Boyle
Stephen Brzozowski
· Planning Board choose two for three years:
James Raymond
Lowell S. Von Ruden
William Wynne
· Sewer Commission choose one for three years
Paul E. LaPerle
· Supervisor of the checklist choose one for six
years:
Rosemary Garretson
Sara Ann Sarrette
Town Moderator choose one for two years:
Rodney Stark
· Trustee of the trust fund choose one for three
years:
Kenneth J. Rose
· Trustee of trust fund choose one for one year:
Earl S. Carrel
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