Windham Taxpayers

August 26, 2008
WMUR-TV

WINDHAM, N.H. — The start of the Interstate 93 widening project is causing headaches for some business owners, while others are trying to take advantage of the project.

Several businesses have been closed to make room for the expansion. Near exit 3 in Salem, a once-busy Dunkin’ Donuts has been shut down and will be demolished.

Pam Poole, owner of Hawaiian Heat Tanning, said she knew in February that she was going to have to move, but she wasn’t given a specific date.

“One day, they came in and said, ‘You have to be out in two weeks,’” Poole said. “So then, we had to shut down, and we didn’t have time to give our customers notice.”

The state helped Poole relocate to Range Road, but she said the money wasn’t enough to make up for closing for six weeks to get the new building ready. She said business has been slow because I-93 expansion work has begun near her new location.

“And now we have construction out here, which is awful,” she said. “I think it’s following us wherever we go.”

Owners of the Common Man restaurant hope to get some benefit from the project by voluntarily closing for six weeks for a major renovation. Owner Jason Lyons said he figured that roadwork would make it a hassle to get to the restaurant, so it will be renovated to add more seating.

“We could have stayed open during it while 93 was being expanded behind us, but at the same time, there was a need for us to renovate our building,” Lyons said.

Both businesses stand to benefit when the I-93 project is done. Lyons and Poole said the new exit 3 should drive more customers their way.

“I think it’ll be much better when it’s done,” Poole said. “It’s just the process of getting done.”

The project will be completed in phases and won’t be complete for six years. When it’s done, there will be four lanes of traffic in each direction between Salem and Manchester.

August 19, 2008
Eagle Tribune

WINDHAM — The selectmen chairman cast the deciding vote last night on a proposal to spend $53,450 on renovating the historic Bartley Building, home to the town’s administrative offices.

The vote came one week after the board, also in a 3-2 decision, backed a plan to build a new multipurpose Town Hall that would house administrative, town clerk, tax collector and assessing offices as well as the Planning and Development office.

Chairman Dennis Senibaldi said that his vote last night for the $53,450 expenditure does not mean that he no longer wants a new Town Hall. Rather, he supports the Bartley upgrade because residents approved money for the improvements in a previous warrant article.

He also said the upgrade, including window replacements, second-floor wall construction and installation of a folding staircase to the attic, will increase the building’s value.

Selectman Galen Stearns said the improvements will bolster energy efficiency.

“I’m for it regardless of what we do in the future,” Stearns said.

Selectman Roger Hohenberger also voted for the proposal.

Selectman Charlie McMahon, a strong supporter of a new Town Hall, said putting money into the old building is unwise.

“It’s a monumental waste of money,” he said.

McMahon and Bruce Breton voted in the minority.

The work was awarded to low bidder Kingwood Builders of Windham and is expected to be completed by Oct. 31.

The Bartley House is located at 4 North Lowell Road, across the street from Town Hall.

A week ago, selectmen forwarded a plan for a new Town Hall to the Capital Improvement Committee for the group to rank the $2.25 million project among others. The 15,000-square-foot building would be constructed on Fellows Road, across from Nesmith Library.

Selectmen want to set aside money through 2011, then bond the remaining balance.

Earlier last night, residents of the Breezy Gale neighborhood at Cobbetts Pond voted 17-5 to establish a village district for reclassifying private roads as village roads, and to raise money for paving and other road improvements.

The voters elected commissioners, a village moderator, a clerk and a treasurer. Only residents of the village will pay for the road improvements.

August 14, 2008
Eagle Tribune

WINDHAM — A proposed easement on 83 acres of town conservation land would protect the land from development forever.

At the town deliberative session Tuesday, residents and the selectmen laid out their reasoning for and against the proposal, to be presented to voters as Article 2 on the warrant at the Special Town Meeting Sept. 9.

Supporters said the conservation easement lends legal protection to land the town already has decided to protect. Furthermore, the town will benefit from a $177,500 well water protection grant from the state if Windham deeds the easement to a third party.

Opponents said there is no way of knowing the town’s future needs and it would be inappropriate to tie the hands of future generations.

Under the easement, the town would continue to own the land and manage it as it sees fit, said Phil Auger, a forester with the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension and a member of the Southeast Land Trust board of directors.

The easement merely extinguishes the rights to develop or mine the land, he said.

The only way the town could reclaim the development rights to the property would be through eminent domain court action — basically proving that there is an overriding public benefit for building on the conservation land.

Opponent Galen Stearns said there is no way of knowing what the town’s needs will be 25, 50 or 100 years from now.

“Let’s not give up our rights,” he said.

Supporter Margaret Crisler said the town has already decided it wants that area set aside as conservation land. She urged voters to trust the conservation effort of today and protect the land for tomorrow.

The land is made up of two parcels near several hundred acres of town conservation property.

Easement protection also would come through the oversight of a third party, the Southeast Land Trust. The trust would hold the easement deed and members would regularly inspect the land to ensure that it was not being built upon or used for dumping.

Selectmen have yet to vote on their recommendation for Article 2.

The town petitioned Superior Court to hold the special town meeting. Voting is slated for Sept. 9 between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. at Golden Brook School. The article needs a simple majority for approval.

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Note: Special meetings are ONLY supposed to be held for ‘emergencies’.

August 14, 2008
Eagle Tribune

WINDHAM — In a split decision, the selectmen sent a plan to construct a multi-office Town Hall to the Capital Improvement Committee for that group to rank among other projects.

A majority of the selectmen said a new Town Hall would save money on energy costs and better serve the public with one-stop shopping.

A minority of the board said the town should use its buildings for town services rather than build a new one, given the difficult economic times.

Construction of the 15,000-square-foot building on Fellows Road, across from Nesmith Library, would cost about $2.25 million.

Selectmen want to set aside available money through 2011, then bond the balance of the $2.25 million.

The new Town Hall would house offices for the town clerk, tax collector, assessing, administration, Planning and Development departments, and the cable station.

Today those offices are housed in older buildings at 3 and 4 N. Lowell St.

Selectman Charlie McMahon said it’s a waste of money to repair the old buildings and costly to heat them.

“I believe the time is now (to build), because of the energy crisis,” McMahon said.

He said a new building with an energy-efficient design would save money.

Selectman Galen Stearns countered that the tax impact from the new high school, set to open in 2009, and from a new elementary school, if it is approved, demands fiscal restraint.

“We have the facilities for people to get their business transacted,” Stearns said.

Selectman Roger Hohenberger said residents previously invested in upgrades to the Bartley Building with the understanding that it would continue to house town administrative offices. Most recently, in March, voters approved $50,000 to upgrade the upstairs of that building.

Hohenberger also said he doubted there would be available funds in the capital improvement plan if the school district decides it needs a new elementary school.

McMahon and selectmen Chairman Dennis Senibaldi said they do not think town needs should be trumped by school needs.

Selectmen voted 3-2 to send their Town Hall proposal to the CIP panel. The panel and Planning Board will review all the town and school proposals and return their recommendations, ranked in importance, to the selectmen and the School Board.

McMahon, Senibaldi and Selectman Bruce Breton voted in the majority Monday. Hohenberger and Stearns voted in the minority.

August 13, 2008
Eagle Tribune

WINDHAM — Support for a $1.25 million secondary road to the new high school gained traction last night with answers to lingering questions on the project’s cost, history and whom it would benefit.

The answers came at a deliberative session attended by about 65 people at Town Hall, less than a month before residents vote on the bond Sept. 9. The money would be used to establish the access road on what used to be London Bridge Road.

Town officials petitioned Superior Court and were granted approval to hold the Special Town Meeting vote.

One question last night came from resident Tom Case, who asked the fire chief if he ever approved a plan for the school that did not include an emergency access road. Some residents have said the secondary access road was not part of the original plan and became an issue after the fact.

“The answer is no,” said fire Chief Tom McPherson. He said that at no time did the Fire Department approve the project without secondary access.

McPherson again confirmed he will not allow the school to open without the access road.

The fire chief has the authority to waive a secondary access but said he will not because it would put the students and others at risk. The primary entrance is about a mile off Route 111.

The school is slated to open next fall, but the town will need much of the time before then to clear trees, remove ledge and construct the 4,000-foot-long and 24-foot-wide paved road with curbing and drainage.

The former London Bridge Road is a rocky, root-strewn path through the woods that wends around curves and climbs over rolling terrain.

Selectmen Chairman Dennis Senibaldi told the audience that the town road agent has assured him the entire construction cost would be covered by the $1.25 million bond.

The 10-year bond, at 4 percent interest, would cost property owners eight cents per $1,000 valuation in the first year, then decline to six cents in the final year, he said.

Some residents want landowners along the site of the proposed access to foot the bill since the road would make their property more valuable by opening it to residential development.

Project designer Peter Zohdi countered this assertion, saying landowners already have access to the undeveloped property without the new road.

Several of these landowners have offered to donate property for the road so long as the town constructs a paved road.

Town lawyer Bernie Campbell said state law has no provision for charging these people fees to build the road.

Campbell also researched ownership of the town road and found that it was legally discontinued in 1935.

Several speakers spoke in favor of the road.

Among them was resident Betty Dunn, who said she withheld her support until last night. Now, she wants the road. The town is in a bind since the school cannot open without a second access road.

“We would effectively be shooting ourselves in the foot (to do otherwise),” she said.

Still others said the road remains too costly and would be unsafe for pedestrians.

Resident Tom Cleary said the road design includes no sidewalk. This would endanger students walking to school in the winter, he said.

Resident Carol Pynn called the paved-road proposal “overkill.” She supports a gravel road available to just emergency vehicles.

Resident Ginny Campiola said an unpaved road would be a nightmare to travel during the winter.

In addition, Senibaldi said Road Agent Jack McCartney estimates it would cost tens of thousands of dollars each year to regrade the gravel road.

Another speaker suggested that the road be gated, allowing only emergency access.

Selectmen are to vote on their recommendation at a regular meeting. But a majority of board members have said they support the road.

Selectman Roger Hohenberger said he feels better about the road’s chance for success after last night’s deliberative session.

“There were some questions answered that were hanging out there,” Hohenberger said.

On Sept. 9, voters will also cast ballots on an article that would permanently preserve, through a conservation easement, more than 80 acres of town land near Goodhue Road.

The conservation easement, held by the Southeast Land Trust, would prevent future development of the land except through taking by eminent domain.

Approval of the article would qualify the town for a well-water-protection grant from the state.