SB2
Last year was Candia’s first vote under the official ballot law, commonly called SB2, after residents petitioned for the change.

Normally, Town Meeting is held on one day. A town classified as SB2 has a deliberative session followed by an official ballot vote weeks later. Some people worried this would decrease the amount of public input into warrant articles and allow uninformed people to vote.

Clark Thyng, a selectman at the time, counted 77 people at the town’s deliberative session on Feb. 3 to amend articles. In previous years, hundreds of voters had shown up for the regular Town Meeting. However, 733 people voted, far more than had attended at Town Meeting.

What to do with Exit 3?
The Exit 3 committee, formed to explore land sale options for a 12-acre piece of land off Route 101, recently got a response back from an interested developer. Candia had been considering this area for development for several years.

A warrant article passed in 2003 authorized selectmen to buy and sell the land, the first of which was done and the second which remains to be seen.

Residents said they wanted a grocery store at the site, and the committee sent out Requests for Proposal documents to grocery developers with in-depth details on the town’s intent for the site, including design specifications and funding requirements.

Some people in town are opposed to the development, and questioned whether the committee and selectmen were taking the correct steps.

Others want to maintain the town’s quaint rural character and still more believe the town is starved for growth and letting opportunity pass the town by.

A petitioned warrant item will ask voters to again authorize selectmen to sell the land, which several of the selectmen viewed as a stall tactic by a small group of residents opposed to building a grocery store in town.

Liquid Planet
Kevin Dumont got clearance this year for a modestly sized water park on Route 27.

Residents, particularly those with kids, have been excited for the park’s opening since the Dumont came to town in 2005.

Septage, water infrastructure, power and cable lines, and the pools have already been installed. Crews are now working on a first aid/snack building.

The water equipment, including several slides branching off a 30- foot tower and one of the largest water playgrounds in the state, will arrive in April.

A few eyebrows raised in September when Dumont announced at a Planning Board meeting that he would be applying for a liquor license. Some residents felt a kids’ water park was not an appropriate place for alcohol.

Dumont said only beer and wine will be sold at the park, and patrons who wish to drink will be confined to a fenced-in area until their glasses are empty.

The park, slated to open in July, is already getting some requests for season passes and reservations.