Ward 2 New Year Notes

Well we made it to another New Year. I hope this note finds everyone well and recovered from the end of the year holidays and festivities.

I’ll start with issues that effect our Ward and Penacook and then finish up with those that have a citywide impact.

PSNH 317 Line Project

Let’s start with the PSNH 317 line project. As many of you already know the Planning Board has required PSNH to limit the width of the clearing in their right of way to no more than 65’. PSNH can come back to the Board and ask to cut within their right of way greater than the 65’ width if they can establish cause.

While many of us preferred to see the line buried, it is generally agreed that had PSNH not stated that they wanted to clear cut the entire width of their 100’ right of way and had agreed to maintain the width at approximately 65’ as they had in the past, that there would have been very few concerns. Some of the abutters may have still asked for additional considerations because of the proximity of the right of way to properties that had been developed after the power had been shut off in 1980. However, it is my understanding that PSNH has agreed to limit the impact of the project for a number of those properties.

4 Winds Project - Borough Road

I received a call the other day to notify me that the 4 Winds property is looking once again to develop their property. This time - as they had stated at the Zoning Board of Adjustment - they are asking the Planning Board for a conceptual consultation for a multi family development for the elderly.

Although no public comment will be taken at the January 21st Planning Board meeting, the conceptual consultation is only to provide the developer with the opportunity to discuss in a very informal manner if this type of project will meet the requirements of the city’s zoning ordinances before they spend money on a more detailed and specific site plan. If the 4 Winds project does come back to the Planning Board for approval or to the ZBA with a request for variances for a new project, the abutters will be notified and public comment will be taken.

You can find the agenda for the January 21st meeting at:
http://www.concordnh.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/1935

And you can find an explanation of what is involved during a conceptual consultation by a planning board in the NH Office of Energy and Planning handbook in Chapter IV, page IV-2.
Here is the link for the handbook:
http://www.nh.gov/oep/planning/resources/documents/planning-board-handbook.pdf

Poulin Park Gazebo Project

Some really great news here. A number of local builders have generously offered to volunteer their time to construct the gazebo. This is a very welcome development for this project. To pay for the gazebo the Friends of Poulin Park are selling bricks that will be placed inside the gazebo and on the pathway in front of it.

To buy a brick and to find out more about this project go to: http://penacook.org/PoulinParkGazebo/index.html

And here’s a link to a recent Concord Monitor article about the Project (it’s the fourth story in the article):
http://www.concordmonitor.com/news/work/business/15293830-95/downtown-boston-olympics-bid-could-put-passenger-rail-on-a-faster-track

Fisherville Road Construction

This spring the city will complete the final phase of the Route 3 project. This will include the road from just south of Cheney’s furniture to just past Manor Road. The city will also be extending the sewer line to the recently opened Dollar General.

Sewalls Falls Bridge

I think we are all share the same sentiments. The sooner this project is completed the better. Here’s hoping the project is completed ahead of schedule.

Commercial Development for Ward 2 and Penacook

One of the strategies we as a city can pursue to help stabilize property taxes for residential home owners is to continue to emphasize commercial development. In Penacook, with the recent completion of the Village Street project there is no better time to aggressively work towards finding partners to redevelop the commercial base in the Village.

And here in Ward 2 on Fisherville Road, the same can be said. With the Dollar General project completed and another one slated to be built this spring, there is no better time to look towards a cohesive commercial development plan for our Ward . I encourage all of you to let us know what you think at our Ward 2 meetings or by contacting city hall. In particular Matt Walsh - Director of special projects for the city - continues to be a strong advocate for our end of town. He can be contacted at 225-8570 or emailed at: mwalsh@concordnh.gov

On a separate note I have continued to see car haulers on Borough and River Roads through the late fall and early winter. Concord not only has a weight limit that restricts these vehicles from using our roads to travel to Webster, but we have also won a court case that doesn’t allow them to exceed our roads weight limits. Should you see these vehicles (or other large trucks) traveling on roads with weight limits, please notify the police department. Having over weight trucks on posted roads only shortens the life span of these roads and creates added costs for all of us.

Medical Marijuana - Alternate Treatment Centers

Whether you agree or disagree with allowing marijuana for medical uses, the city is concerned that should an alternate treatment center (ATC) be located in the city, as the rules are written they would be exempt from property taxes. As many of you know those of us in the Merrimack Valley School District recently saw a 10% increase to our property taxes. The possibility of taking industrial property off the city’s tax roles would only continue to place a greater burden on those left paying property taxes.

Currently State Senator Reagan has sponsored a bill (SB 54) that will require ATC’s to pay all property taxes that they would normally be assessed through what is known as a PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes). The bill has been assigned to the Public and Municipal Affairs Committee. This is a bill that the city and your local state house representatives will be following closely.

Main Street

While I have voted against funding for the Main Street project and the recent lighting and sign proposals, construction will be starting this spring. I want to urge everyone - regardless of your feelings for the project - to continue to support our Main Street businesses throughout the construction project. An economically healthy and vibrant Main Street is something that benefits all of us. So while I continue to have concerns with the scope and costs of the project, I will continue to support our Downtown.

Here is a link that will keep you up to date on the Main Street project: http://www.concordmainstreetproject.com

Neighborhood Nuisance Ordinance

As many of you have read in Patch and the Concord Monitor, areas of our city are experiencing serious problems due to tenants who are participating in illegal activities. This has resulted in quality of life and safety issues for the neighborhoods where these activities are taking place. The Rumford Street address appears to have one of the largest impacts for neighbors with more than 140 police responses over the last 3 years, just to this one property.

A city resident has proposed an ordinance that would have the police notify landlords when these types of issues occur on their properties. If after a prolonged period and multiple notifications the landlord refuses to resolve the issues related to his building’s tenants, the city would have the option of assessing penalties to the owner of the property.

Homelessness

Much has recently been written about homelessness in our community. For many years there has been a patchwork of providers who have worked tirelessly to not only address this issue but to find ways to resolve it.
The city is now working on a unified approach to end homelessness in Concord.

Identifying who, how many and what proportion of the homeless fall into the categories of the chronic homeless, homeless veterans, families in transition, and so on, will help us to establish the programs that are necessary to address this issue and the costs involved.

I strongly believe that no matter what we decide or how we decide to address this issue that it needs to be approached as a state wide issue, and not one that is left to individual local communities or counties.

CIP - Capital Improvement Program

The city’s CIP looks at projects the city council has determined the city should pursue for the next 10 years. The administration than looks at costs and funding sources for these projects. In February the city administration will be making a presentation to the council to review these project for the next 10 years. These are projects throughout the city and throughout all the city’s departments. It is important that you let us know what is important to you and how you want us to spend your money.

Wrapping Up

My plan is to have our first Ward 2 meeting of the year during the first two weeks in February. I need to talk with our State Representative Paul Henle and Deb and Dave at the Newell Post Restaurant. As soon as we set a date I’ll let you all know.

In the meantime I want to hear from you. What do you think? What ideas to do you have for our Ward and city?
And please do not hesitate to contact me if you have a question, concern or a complaint. I can be reached at 224-6086 and you can email me at: allan4council@gmail.com.