Bow News : selectmen

Bow water, sewer project goes to bid

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 23:22:00 GMT

BY MATT SCHOOLEY

Bow selectmen have decided to put out bids for a potential water and sewer project that would potentially attract businesses to develop along Route 3A.

By a 3-2 vote, selectmen authorized the funding of the remaining designs and permits to prepare the bids, so a decision can be made in the near future whether to go forward with the project.

In 2002, the town approved a $12 million warrant article to go forward with the project, but after spending about $2 million of the allotted funds thus far, the town would only be able to build a partial system because of increased costs.

Selectman Tom Keane was one of the two votes against moving forward with the process, although he said it was because he felt selectmen did not have enough time to read over materials.

“I probably would have voted for it, but it was a matter of timing,” said Keane. “I thought the decision was premature. We didn’t have time to study the issue, and I don’t know why it had to be done that night. We received a packet of information that night and we didn’t even have time to look at it.”

One of the benefits to moving forward is the potential for federal funds being allocated to projects that are already in the works as an effort to revitalize the economy.

Another benefit to having the bids prepared is the cost of construction, according to Board of Selectmen Chairman Leon Kenison.

“We’re at a point in the construction industry where a lot of folks aren’t working or are working less and would offer some prices with very slim margins of profit. We could take advantage of that market and the bids would reflect that,” said Kenison. “There may be some, if not all, that is eligible for some stimulus money making its way to projects of this nature.”

Kenison believes the project would be in the best interest of the town, as it could help taxpayers who are feeling a heavy property tax burden.

“Homeowners are paying almost all of the property tax. We need to find another way to shift that burden on commercial property owners and get other benefits, like jobs,” said Kenison. “This is the only way I know how to do it. If anyone else has another way, other than reducing spending, we’d welcome those suggestions.”

The issue has surrounded the town for more than seven years, and, Kenison said, he looks forward to having an answer either way on the water and sewer project.

Salem selectmen invite contract proposals to build water/sewer project

Bow Editor — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 01:56:00 GMT

BY MATT SCHOOLEY

Bow town officials will open construction bids for a potential water and sewer project, but only for research purposes before they make a decision on whether to proceed.

During a Wednesday, Nov. 5, selectmen’s meeting, board members unanimously approved Jack Crisp’s motion to seek bids for the potential Route 3A development project after hearing community input from both sides of the argument.

“There were equally strong positions to go ahead and to forget about it,” said board Chairman Leon Kenison. “We had a wide range of views and, obviously, we will take those opinions into consideration as we move forward.”

In 2002, the town approved a $12 million bond for water and sewer to be installed on Route 3A, and selectmen will likely be forced to decide in the upcoming months whether to use $10 million that remains in the fund. Kenison said the bids will give selectmen an idea of which direction to go.

“One of the things that we lack now is how much it will cost,” said Kenison. “There’s a rapidly changing market out there for all sorts of construction. We were seeing prices going up, and that has changed. We’d like to know just what it would cost to build a system, and then determine if we should build what we wanted to build.”

One of the options the board could have is installing a partial system, which could mean putting the piping in for the sewer while the roads are being dug up for the water system.

The hope is that the system would draw developers to Bow, but there is no guarantee of interest in the area.

Stephen Heavener, executive director of Capitol Region Development Council who is working with the town on the project, previously said it is a difficult decision for officials to make.

“It’s impossible to predict the future. What we can say is that towns and cities across the country make the decision to invest without knowing,” Heavener said. “Many have been confronted with this very question. There’s zero guarantee. We can use models and illustrations, but can a political elected official guarantee that? No.”

By putting the project out to bid, Kenison said officials can get a cost estimate without having to commit.

“We don’t have to make an award, and all of the documents anyone sends out say we reserve the right to reject any or all of the bids for the project.” Kenison said.

In a perfect world, Kenison said officials would have the results of the bids in advance of Town Meeting in case there is opportunity to put a warrant article together, but, he said, it may not be the case.

“It may be too tight of a time frame,” said Kenison, who is looking forward to a resolution. “This has been in the works since 2002, so it’s certainly been discussed, and to nauseam to an extent.”

Bow selectmen still undecided about sewer project

Bow Editor — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 01:20:00 GMT

BY MATT SCHOOLEY

Bow selectmen are still uncertain which path they will choose when it comes to the potential development plans along Route 3A.

During a Thursday, Oct. 23, meeting, board members received input from Bill Klubben, director of Community Development, and Stephen Heavener, executive director of Capitol Region Development Council, on the best way for the town to handle the decision.

Selectmen Chairman Leon Kenison said the meeting was helpful for board members, but no decision was made.

“We didn’t bring anything to a conclusion as far as voting is concerned,” said Kenison. “Primarily, for a few reasons, one of them being that we like to have a full board at a meeting when we make decisions such as this.”

Board member Harry Judd was unable to attend the meeting. The town had approved a $12 million water and sewer bond in 2002, and officials are weighing whether to go forward with the project without any developers lined up. Voters, however, had told selectmen not to build unless there was an identified developer lined up. Residents also voted down a petition asking them to tell selectmen to ignore the previous warrant article and go forward with the project.

“Really, we have a couple of choices as far as I’m concerned,” said Kenison. “Number one, forget about it, and number two is to encourage the staff to have the engineering board to go forward with the plans.”

Kenison said if the board chooses the latter, officials could go forward in seeking out bidders and then reassess the state of the economy as the project moves forward.

The chairman also said he believes selectmen will discuss the issue again at its next meeting, which is Wednesday, Nov. 5.

Tax rate

When arriving at the 2009 tax rate of $22.53, Bow town officials used $300,000 of unused surplus funds to save the taxpayers money.

Town Manager Jim Pitts said that for every $100,000 applied to the amount, there is a savings of about 8 cents, so residents were saved about 24 cents for every $1,000 of property tax.

Had the surplus not been used on the rate, the total would have been $22.77, which would have been an increase of $1.75 over last year’s rate of $21.02. Instead, residents saw a total increase of $1.51 per $1,000 assessed property value.

Bow town income to rise from dispatch fees

Bow Editor — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 01:09:00 GMT

BY MATT SCHOOLEY

Bow officials will soon set the police dispatch fees for 2009, in the second year of a new system geared toward saving the town money.

During a Thursday, Oct. 23, meeting, selectmen were scheduled to make a decision but didn’t have all of the needed data. The move, however, is expected to save the town about $100,000 for the second consecutive year.

Last year, Selectman Tom Keane introduced a resolution to charge different fees to the five towns Bow provides dispatch service to based on the percentage of use by each town.

Bow officials arrive at the amount for each town based on a three-year rolling average to smooth out any irregular peaks and valleys, according to Keane.

“It comes up now because, unlike our budget, most of the towns that use our dispatch service have a traditional Town Meeting in March that they need to get a figure for,” said Keane. “Each year. you drop the furthest back year out and add the new year in, and that’s how you arrive at the figure.”

According to Keane, the town saved approximately $100,000 last year by making the decision.

Last year, Bow did not charge the full cost to the surrounding towns because it would have been a steep change so late in the budget process.

“I think other towns have said they thought it was a fair way of doing it,” said Keane. “We didn’t charge them the full fee last year because it was such short notice. They had done their budgets and it would have been kind of a shock. This year, we’re doing it earlier and they can see what the cost is and build their budgets accordingly.”

Selectmen Chairman Leon Kenison said he believes the set up is the best way to handle the fees.

“From our point of view it is,” said Kenison. “There are those who think we should be collecting more money, and we agreed that we would ease into it and then give a formula to run on its own.”

All’s fair on Bow Board of Selectmen

Bow Editor — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 00:26:00 GMT

BY MATT SCHOOLEY

There’s an expression Leon Kenison tells himself frequently.

“It’s about how to disagree and not be disagreeable,” said Kenison. “That’s a good slogan to try and follow. I try to remind myself that that’s what I should be doing.”

The Bow Board of Selectmen chairman uses the expression as a way to make sure the members of the board have a chance to give input and have a healthy discussion without going too far.

According to members of the board, it is having that discussion, and often disagreement, that is best for the town.

“You focus on the issue. People can have disagreements about the substance of what you’re talking about, but you don’t make it personal,” said Selectman Jack Crisp. “Town government in New Hampshire is best when that’s the way people do it. By and large that’s the way we’ve done it in Bow.”

Selectman Tom Keane came onto the board with a bang, as his proposed municipal budget cut was accepted at Town Meeting the day after he was elected in 2007.

At the beginning of his term, Keane said he was skeptical how well he would be received, but has since been pleasantly surprised with the attitude of board members.

“To say that I walked into a group that was less than hospitable would probably be an understatement,” said Keane. “The first few meetings I went to were extremely difficult and I felt extremely discouraged at times.”

Thanks in part to the leadership of Kenison, Keane said the board has become a place where he may disagree with other members, but each person gets the same input.

“I feel like I get my fair say,” Keane said. “Originally, I wondered if I would get a chance to express myself. I’ve felt under Leon that I get the chance to do that. At least we get the chance to get those ideas out on the table.”

Selectman Eric Anderson, who has been on the board for 21 years, said the key for board members is knowing they won’t always win an argument.

“You have to be able to go along with the give-and-take and what you think is right,” said Anderson. “That doesn’t mean everyone else thinks it is right. You have to allow for some compromise. Your position doesn’t always get support from the other four.”

Over his 21 years, Anderson said he has most been proud of his involvement with issues such as the building of the high school and the close relationship that was developed with the School Board during that process in the 1990s.

One thing Anderson said has changed during his tenure has been the amount of participation from community members in both the selectmen’s meeting and other groups in town.

“I can remember early on, I used to maintain a binder, and it was full of volunteer application forms,” said Anderson. “When a vacancy used to come up, we would have 10 names to call right away. Now, we don’t have that binder anymore.”

While attendance at board meetings may not be high, Crisp said the overall volunteerism of community members in town is impressive.

“It’s the people. The people that work for the town, volunteer for so many different boards, commissions, organizations,” said Crisp. “The volunteerism in town is incredible. Whether it’s the garden club, youth soccer or the people who make use of the library. It’s gratifying.”

Keane said he doesn’t mind having residents on the opposite side of an argument as him, it’s the input that is important.

“A lot of seats were contested (during this year’s elections), which is a good thing for the town. There was a very different set of opinions, and people had choices,” said Keane. “People don’t have to agree with me, but just show up at meetings and let their opinions be known.”

Curbing energy costs probed in Bow

Bow Editor — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 01:33:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

As energy and fuel costs remain at the highest levels they’ve seen in years, some Bow residents have come up with ways to reduce the town’s consumption of these valuable resources.

Members of the Bow Energy Conservation Committee presented the Board of Selectmen with numerous options for reducing their energy costs at their weekly meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 25.

“A lot of them are just behaviors that can be changed, or policies, and will cost the town no money,” said committee member Deborah DeMoulpied, who was accompanied at the meeting by fellow committee member and Bow Fire Capt. Dana Mosher.

Some other long-term solutions may be costly for one-time purchases, but the town will enjoy greater returns on their investment, DeMoulpied said. One suggestion was to make sure the tires on all town vehicles are properly inflated to get better gas mileage. Mosher said vehicles can get at least half a mile per gallon more from just this practice.

Town vehicles should also be regularly tuned up and driven at moderate speeds to save gas, and should be shut off instead of being left to idle, the list of recommendations said.

Better care should be taken in choosing the right vehicle to send out to an emergency or job site, and air-conditioning use should be limited as much as possible, the list said.

“If you drive at moderate speeds and have the windows down, air conditioning uses a lot more fuel because you’re using horsepower,” said Mosher.

Mosher and DeMoulpied also suggested to the board and Town Manager Jim Pitts that as many lights as possible be changed over to LED bulbs, which conserved a lot of energy and only need replacement every five to 10 years.

Unnecessary drains on the power, such as the light in the Coke machine at town hall, DeMoulpied said, can be turned off to realize even more energy and dollar savings.

Additional lights can be removed from some of the fluorescent light fixtures in town buildings, DeMoulpied said, further cutting costs.

The committee’s recommendations also include using programmable thermostats for heating town buildings, which would prevent the heat from pumping into buildings while they are not being used.

Bow selectman must decide fate of sewer/water plan

Bow Editor — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 20:20:00 GMT

BY MATT SCHOOLEY

Bow town officials may be forced to make a decision within the next two months on whether to go forward with a $10 million water and sewer project on Route 3A without having any developers waiting in the wings. Selectmen will discuss the issue further at its Thursday, Sept. 25, meeting, which begins at 5:30 p.m. Part of the discussion will be if they should proceed and how to abide by voters’ wishes.

A warrant article was approved in 2002 that gave the town the $12 million bond, and close to $2 million of that has been spent installing a well and paying engineering costs.

Recently, Stephen Heavener, executive director of Capitol Region Development Council who is working with the town on the project, said if the board wants to get the best prices for the construction it needs to make a decision within the next 30 to 60 days.

Because of increasing costs, Heavener said the town would only be able to get a full water system and partial sewer system installed for the $10 million.

“That way, there can be a marketing plan and they can go out and start recruiting companies,” said Heavener. “Right now, we can’t do that to know what kind of companies to go after. If they (Bow selectmen) don’t pull the trigger, I know the status quo will continue.”

If the town decides not to go forward with the project, it will likely be more difficult to attract larger developers because they would have to install their own water and sewer systems, officals said.

“We need to decide. If we’re going to do this project we need to get at it. It’s a great time to buy construction,” said Kenison. “If there’s ever a good time to seek bids, it’ll be this winter. We need to do this to aid in the marketing of the properties or enjoy the status quo.”

Along with the decision to go forward with the project comes a risk.

“One of the problems right off the bat is, if we bond this issue, the tax rate would go up,” said Selectman Tom Keane. “If you add the fact that the tax rate will go up with revaluation this year and then add the bond, you have a problem. You have to figure out a way to make this work for everyone in town. We have to get the answers to some of these questions.”

Although there would be an initial hit on the taxpayers if the project is done, Kenison said in the long run if developers come to town, the value of the land would double and add extra value to the tax base to help lower residential tax payments.

Bow is appealing because of its access to both Interstates 89 and 93, but Heavener said there is no way of telling if developers will step forward with the promise of water and sewer systems.

One of the biggest concern Keane has is going against what Bow taxpayers have already voted upon.

Keane said on two occasions there have been votes on the issue. The first told selectmen not to build unless there was an identified developer lined up. A second on a petition article asked voters to approve telling selectmen to ignore the previous warrant article and go forward with the project, which was voted down.

“The town voted twice to not do this project unless there was a user,” said Keane. “I loathe to go against what the town vote was. I’m hard-pressed to override what the voters said they want.”

Selectmen will be discuss the issue further at its Thursday, Sept. 25, meeting, which begins at 5:30 p.m.

Keane doesn’t believe the board needs to rush to a decision.

“It’s one thing to take a leap of faith, but I think that’s irresponsible without having some questions answered before,” he said. “I don’t know how it’ll play out. Do I think we’ll run out of time and money and it’ll come to a crashing hault if we don’t do this in 30 days? No.”

Bow could save money by purchasing services with other towns

Bow Editor — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 20:00:00 GMT

BY MATT SCHOOLEY

Bow officials are looking at the potential benefits of joining with area towns to buy services in bulk to save money.

Barnstead, Chichester, Epsom, Pembroke and Pittsfield make up the Suncook Valley Regional Town Association, a group that recently discovered it could save 12 to 20 percent on employee health insurance by purchasing it together.

Bow Town Manager Jim Pitts said it’s possible Bow could join the other towns in the future.

“We’re looking at it. You don’t always get a savings doing that, but in some cases you do,” said Pitts. “There’s not always an advantage in placing larger orders. It depends on what you’re doing.”

Budget Committee member Rick Hiland said he believes Bow should become one of the towns in the group.

“Yes, I would definitely support something like that, even if it just saves us a little bit of money. As a businessman, there are things I buy with others to get better pricing,” said Hiland. “I don’t know why the town wouldn’t do the same thing.”

Pitts said buying as a group doesn’t always mean savings.

“When you’re talking the purchase of fuel, sometimes it does get you a better cost. Sometimes it’s difficult to work it out,” said Pitts. “They seem to be making a success of it, and we plan to look at it and see if it is worth it. If we can save a buck, we plan on doing it.”

The Bow School District has been able to save money by purchasing as a group, and teams up with the city of Concord, the Concord School District and St. Paul School.

Starting about five years ago, the group joined to purchase electricity, natural gas and heating oil. According to Dwayne Ford, the school’s business administrator, the group goes out to bid together every year, sometimes every two years.

“When we have done bids, we have almost uniformly come in less than the price we would have with the default rate, if we weren’t purchasing with the group,” said Ford. “Just in electricity alone, two years ago we save $12,000 by doing so.”

Among the other advantages in buying as a group is that Bow benefits from Concord’s size.

“We’re the smallest player but we’re getting helped by the rest of the group,” said Ford. “It (purchasing in a group) has worked in a number of instances, and we’ve been very pleased with it. I am 100 percent certain we wouldn’t have gotten the pricing we’ve gotten over the past four years if we weren’t with additional people.”

Leon Kenison, Bow selectmen chairman, is also the town administrator for Pittsfield, one of the towns in the Suncook Valley group.

“This group is trying to find and look at ways to look at ways to reduce costs, and they are forced to do so because of economic times,” said Kenison. “Discussions have ranged from purchasing insurance to local things like police and safety, maybe public works thing, where instead of having one, we could have one and share it.”

Kenison said the Suncook Valley group came together mostly because of their proximity to each other, but it’s still possible for Bow to become a member.

“Right now, these folks are neighbors. That wouldn’t be the case in Bow, but it shouldn’t be a divider,” he said. These towns have gotten to know each other better through discussions. I could envision that taking place on a county level, although sometimes the larger numbers are difficult to manage.”

The state of the economy has forced town officials to get creative.

“The economy is a catalyst. We get so traditional that we don’t look around until something makes us do so,” said Kenison. “Times are upon us that you begin to look outside the box, and this is one of those looks.“

Bow selectman trim $481K from budget

Bow Editor — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 19:56:00 GMT

BY MATT SCHOOLEY

The town will now be operating with a reduced budget, after selectmen decided what items to cut, as mandated by voters at the May Town Meeting.

The most noticeable cut in service will come at the transfer station, which was closed as of Saturday, June 28, saving the town about $96,000.

One cut that did not pass was a motion by Selectman Tom Keane, who proposed cutting the Bow Police Department by two full-time members.

Keane did not receive a second to his motion, and he changed the motion to propose a cut of one full-time position. The motion was defeated 3-2.

In total, the cuts will reach about $481,000 after voters chose to cut the operating budget for the second consecutive year, with some cuts made to cover increasing costs for fuel and road salt.

The cuts were completed at a Thursday, June 26, selectmen’s meeting after several weeks of discussion. At the previous meeting, the selectmen found all of the areas to make cuts, except about $31,000.

Following that meeting, Town Manager Jim Pitts met with department heads to arrive at the final amount. The cuts went into effect as of July 1.

“It certainly wasn’t easy. It was more difficult than last year,” said Pitts. “We already had last year’s cuts and now we’re looking at the impact of two years in a row.”

Selectmen Chairman Leon Kenison said the decision where to make cuts was not an easy one.

“I think the time it took us and the length of the discussions we had are indicative of how tough it is to reduce a budget,” said Kenison. “There’s no question, with the rising energy costs and other associated costs beyond our control, we are cutting back. That means reduced service levels.”

There were 22 items on the list of cuts, including a police cruiser, street sweeping, road paving and overtime.

Residents who had used the transfer station will be able to go to Concord’s station, where they will face slightly higher charges.

“Not everybody used the transfer station. The service is still available, but they’ll have to travel to the Concord Station,” said Pitts. “The fees will be higher, but if we hadn’t closed it we would have raised those fees to about that anyway.”

Kenison said if officials are forced to make cuts next year, jobs will likely be reduced.

“If we were undertake this again next year, there would be departments affected. I can’t see how we could do it without reducing some people,” said Kenison. “That would also mean further cuts in services and programs.”

Bow selectmen tackle cuts

Bow Editor — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 21:56:00 GMT

BY MATT SCHOOLEY

Bow selectmen will begin trimming about $400,000 from the budget, combing through each of the town’s departments looking for cuts for a second straight year.

Board members will begin the process during a Thursday, June 12, meeting after residents voted at Town Meeting in May to trim the Budget Committee and Board of Selectmen’s proposed amounts.

Discussions were scheduled to begin June 5, but the meeting was canceled due to the conflicting schedules of board members.

“Nothing has happened. The selectmen canceled the first meeting because they couldn’t get a quorum,” said Town Manager Jim Pitts. “The target is to have it done by July 1, because that is when the new budget goes into effect.”

Selectmen Chairman Leon Kenison said last year’s cuts were made easier by a large amount that was eliminated during the process.

“Last year, we had a gold nugget in paving that we could eliminate. We don’t have that this year, and I don’t know what we’re going to do,” he said. “It won’t be easy and we didn’t get suggestions from those who were certain we could do this so easily without guidance. Most anything is on the table to start.”

Pitts agreed with Kenison that Bow residents will, for a second year in a row, see a decrease in certain areas.

“It’s a matter of identifying the services we normally provide that we’re not going to,” he said. “It’s up to the selectmen to decide where and when that will be.”

Following last year’s cuts, two of those services were several miles of scheduled paving and street lights, as the majority of the lights in town were shut off to conserve money.

“The hardest part is not being able to run through the regular budgetary process to talk to all of the departments,” said Kenison. “We’re given the charge of just doing it.”

According to Kenison, the structure of government needs to be looked at.

“We’re using the same government structure they were 250 years ago. We have to ask if this is appropriate in today’s economic and business structure,” said Kenison. “Would the candlemaker do it the same way we are? We need to maybe move onto some modifications, but that’s not for the next week or so.”

In terms of the budget cuts, Kenison said having to make them two consecutive years has made things difficult for selectmen.

“It is one pile on top of another,” he said. “I can tell you there will be some service cuts. There’s no fat left on this. It’s going to come up ugly to some for sure.”

Bow budget hikes taxes

Bow Editor — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 18:50:00 GMT

BY MATT SCHOOLEY

In the aftermath of last year’s budget cuts when selectmen turned off 222 street lights in Bow, voters are now faced with a proposed budget that’s up about $602,000 from last year.

This year’s warrant articles go to voters at the Bow Town Meeting Wednesday, May 14, at 7 p.m., at Bow High School.

The warrants, discussed at a Wednesday, April 9, public hearing held by the Budget Committee, will include 30 articles.

Voters will see two recommended operating budgets, one from the Board of Selectmen and the other from the Budget Committee, with a difference of $15,000. Selectmen recommended, by a 3-2 vote, to support an $8,332,912 budget, while the Budget Committee’s recommended budget, by a 4-3 vote, is $8,317,912.

During last year’s Town Meeting, selectmen came prepared with a budget of nearly $8.2 million, but then newly elected Selectman Tom Keane proposed to cut the budget to $7.7 million, an amendment that passed voter approval 114-89.

At the April 9 public hearing, Budget Committee Chairman Dan de Vasto told the 40 residents in attendance about the situation the town faces.

“Everyone is cognizant of keeping things down and not cutting our throats in the process,” said de Vasto. “Some think we can spend more, some think we can spend less. We try to find a happy medium.”

A large portion of the crowd at the public hearing were members of the Fire Department, as five of the warrant articles to be voted on at Town Meeting involve fire and rescue.

The Fire Department is proposing the purchase of a pumper truck, which will have no tax impact as the money will be taken from a capital reserve fund, if the article is approved.

In addition, voters will be asked to put $160,000 in the fire truck capital reserve fund and purchase a new fire truck to replace one that has been in use since 1984.

The purchase of self-contained breathing apparatuses will depend on whether the article is approved because the latter asks voters to put $60,000 into a capital reserve fund used for rescue equipment.

In addition to the self-contained breathing equipment that would be purchased if approved, residents will be asked to allow the Police Department to purchase a $32,000 special utility vehicle, using the remainder of the rescue equipment fund.

“I think it’s very important for voters to support these articles. It’s for their protection. We’ve maintained the equipment for years now, and it’s simply time for new equipment,” said Bow Fire Chief Dana Abbott.

Other than the operating budget, the item with the biggest tax impact will be $365,000 for road paving, an item that will mean a 31 cent tax increase per $1,000 assessed property valuation.

If approved, the proposed operating budget would have a $3.99 increase on the town rate per $1,000 assessed property valuation. That means the owner of a $300,000 home would see an increase of about $1,197 over last year.

If the 10 warrant articles with tax impact are approved, that same owner would pay an additional $1,467 in taxes. De Vasto said after seeing the action at last year’s meeting, he hopes to see a larger crowd at the May 14 Town Meeting.

“I’m only hoping that based on last year’s activities, more voters will come and express their opinions on things,” he said. “There’s a philosophy of a large number of people who feel there should be no increase at all. Using that as a yard stick to measure, most of these things will be controversial to some people.”

Here’s who’s running for election in Bow

Bow Editor — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 01:01:00 GMT

BY MATT SCHOOLEY

Bow residents heading to the polls on Election Day will have five contested races to decide, as candidates recently met the deadline to get their names on the ballot.

For one open seat on the Board of Selectmen, incumbent Harry Judd is running against challenger Robert Louf for the three-year term.

The most contested races are for two seats on both the Budget Committee and School Board. George Lagos, Steven McManis, Peter Cheney and Brad Hutton are vying for two seats on the Budget Committee.

Anne Baier and Deb McCann both filed for re-election to the School Board this year, and are running against Van Mosher, Marc Brunelle and Jack Finan for three-year terms.

Henry Uchida and John Caron are running for a threeyear term as trustee of trust fund, while Lisa Richards and Thomas Ives will face each other for a five-year library trustee seat.

Peter Imse is running unopposed for town moderator, while Jim Hatem will do the same for another three-year term as school moderator.

Also running unopposed is Sara Swenson for six years as supervisor of the checklist, Deborah deMoulpied for the fouryear position as supervisor of the checklist and John King for four years as library trustee.

No residents filed to run for three-year terms as school treasurer and school clerk.

Voting takes place Tuesday, May 13, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Bow Community Center. Town Meeeting is Wednesday, May 14, at 7 p.m., at Bow High School.

File for town and school seats in Bow

Bow Editor — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 20:41:00 GMT

BY MATT SCHOOLEY

Bow residents have until Friday, April 4, to file for open positions. Applications are being accepted at the Town Clerk’s office from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Residents can get involved in public office by filing for 11 open seats for this year’s town and school district elections. Election Day in Bow is Tuesday, May 13, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., at the Community Building. Town Meeting takes place Wednesday, May 14, at 7 p.m., at Bow High School.

Seats coming up for re-election include:

Town positions Budget Committee, two three-year seats; one three-year seat on the Board of Selectmen; one three-year seat as trustee of trust funds; one two-year term for town moderator; one six-year seat as supervisor of checklist; one five-year term as library trustee; and a four-year library trustee position.

School district

Those interested in serving on the School Board can file for two three-year seats. Voters will also choose a candidate to serve a three-year seat as school treasurer; a three-year term as school clerk; and a school moderator for a three-year position.

Budget Committee seats are currently filled by Peter Cheney and George Lagos, and Deb McCann and Anne Baier on the School Board, and Jim Hatem serves as school district moderator.

The Board of Selectmen seat is currently held by Harry Judd, while Peter Imse holds the town moderator position.

The Budget Committee will also hold a public hearing on Wednesday, April 9, at 7 p.m. in the Bow Memorial School music room.

Meeting causes strife, name calling among Bow selectmen

Bow Editor — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 21:17:00 GMT

BY MATT SCHOOLEY

Weeks after Bow selectmen voted to keep the Celebrating Children preschool a town-supported program, town members and officials are divided over alleged bigotry and political misunderstanding.

During the Nov. 28 meeting, about 75 supporters showed up to tell selectmen why they do not believe the school should be asked to switch to a privately funded organization. Among the supporters were three former Celebrating Children students, now at Bow Elementary School, who read cards saying how the preschool helped them.

Selectman Tom Keane, who questioned during the meeting if the school should remain town funded, voiced his opinion through a letter to the editor in The Bow Times on Dec. 13.

“I was extremely disappointed to find that there was no tolerance whatsoever for a discussion of which organizational status would maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of this quality program,” Keane said in the letter. “Most disturbing was the use of three young minority siblings to read scripted notes on how valuable the preschool was to their lives.”

Fellow Selectman Harry Judd responded with a letter of his own on Dec. 20, with harsh words for Keane.

“I am writing to assure the citizens of Bow that racism and bigotry will never be considered in setting policy by the Board of Selectmen,” he began his letter. “Tom, you may have found that ‘most disturbing,’ but the rest of the selectmen viewed it as yet another example of the community participation and tolerance that makes Bow a wonderful place to live.”

Residents have since written letters to the editor on both sides of the argument, with resident Brad Hutton saying in the Jan. 10 issue, “H.T. Judd should resign immediately as a Bow selectman.

His attack on Tom Keane is out of character for a person representing the town.”

Keane said he didn’t intend for race to be the main issue of his statement, as in the past he worked to set up a program that helps minority families. He has an issue, hoewever, awith any adult using any children at meetings to gain favor.

“In general, I’m always disappointed when adults use children for political purposes, no matter the issue,” said Keane.

“Those are discussions adults should have and voice opinions on. In this case they were reading from cards, and I felt badly they were being used by adults.”

Judd said he was glad to see younger residents taking part in the meeting.

“We should encourage all residents to participate. Particularly we should encourage young people to be part of the community, speak up and be heard,” he said. “We’ve had young people give presentations and I think it’s terrific they choose to participate.”

Board Chairman Leon Kenison said the disagreement has not yet come to a point where he foresees himself stepping in.

“I found some of (Tom Keane’s) writing to be somewhat offensive, and Harry Judd obviously did as well. I think, frankly, some people have missed the point,” he said. “We try to be as civil as we can be. We don’t need fist-pounding, stomping or anything because that’s when the system breaks down. I keep the peace and I’m not rushing in to write an opinion. Hopefully, I can keep a neutral posture and the people on right and left can be respectful.”

Keane does not see the issue becoming a problem at future meetings.

“It’s unfortunate and unnecessary that it happened. Our job is to represent the best interests of the citizens of Bow. It’s not the end of the world. Some of it is nasty politics as usual,” said Keane.

Judd and Keane have not yet spoken about the issue, though Judd said he would welcome such a conversation.

“Anytime, pick the time and place and I’d be happy to discuss racism and citizen rights. I would be happy to discuss any issues with him,” he said.

A meeting may be necessary between the two, Keane said. “I don’t know. I’d have to think about (having a conversation about the disagreement with Judd). If there’s an opportunity, I’ll say something to him.

If he really believes I am a racist and bigot, then we really do need to have a conversation,” he said. “If it’s politics, then it’s just politics. I’m big boy and I can move on with it. But if he believes those things then there is a problem.”

School saved

Bow Editor — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 21:12:00 GMT

BY MATT SCHOOLEY

About 70 supporters of Bow’s Celebrating Children preschool got the vote they had hoped for, as the Bow Board of Selectmen unanimously decided to keep it a town program.

The 5-0 vote during the Wednesday, Nov. 28, meeting assured Celebrating Children will not be asked to become a private group.

To cut the budget, board members were looking at a variety of programs, and had considered asking Celebrating Children to become a private school.

Currently, the program is run through the town’s Recreation Department, though it is financially self-supportive.

The program costs Bow $350 per year to be put on the town’s insurance, but also makes $2,900 annually that is placed into the town’s general fund.

Two main concerns that had been raised about the program involved any liability the town may be faced with because of Celebrating Children, and whether it was fair for Bow to provide the school with a free venue while there are other private preschool options in town.

Celebrating Children uses the Bow Municipal Building free of charge.

Colleen Hunter and Cindy Greenwood Young, co-directors of Celebrating Children, presented arguments to the board on behalf of the school, followed by testimonial from about 20 residents in attendance, many of whom stood or sat on the floor in packed room.

“I can’t believe we’re having this conversation. This program serves the needs of the community and school system in the long term,” said Marie Daniels, who serves Bow High School as the school pyschologist. “These women are our first line of defense in identifying kids and getting services so we don’t suck the resources of the school system dry.”

Hunter spoke of not only the education the program gives the children in the classroom, but also a different sort of learning.

“It’s able to give these children a sense of community at a young age,” she said. “It’s so important to be part of the community. We are the people of Bow, and we want that for our children as well.”

The preschool serves 32 children age 3 to 5, and in most of its 11 years in existence there has been a waiting list for the program, which is made up of almost all Bow residents.

Many parents spoke of the program’s ability to work closely with children of special needs, and help them be successful in the classroom.

A group of three children, now in fourth grade, who were adopted internationally, spoke to the board about how the preschool helped them overcome the challenges they had.

Board of Selectmen Chairman Leon Kenison said board members appreciate what the school does, though it is their duty to look into a variety of different programs in town to try and save money.

Kenison also had a message for the large crowd. “I want to be clear that it is just as important to attend budget and town meetings, but I didn’t see many of you in May. It’s important for you to show the same enthusiasm then, not just when a program is in jeopardy,” he said.