Selectman Peter Russell has a plan to broaden Hopkinton’s tax base and lower the burden on taxpayers by creating a Tax Increment Financing, or TIF, district in town.

Under the plan, an additional exit would be built in Contoocook between exits 6 and 7 on Interstate 89 on 300 acres off Pine Street.

According to Russell, the town owns several hundred acres of M1-zoned commercial land, which has been sitting vacant for 30 years. The TIF district, he said, would use a bond to build the exit to attract commercial warehousing to town.

Tax revenue raised from new businesses would be split 50-50 to pay off the bond and provide immediate offset to the tax burden on residential properties. The key component, said Russell, is diversifying the tax base in Hopkinton to ease the tax burden on residents each year.

“If you look at Hopkinton, we don’t have a very diversified tax base,” he said. “So for us to be able to pay less, we need to look for other sources of tax revenue.”

Two other major benefits include adding potential jobs in town and creating a business profit tax.

“It hasn’t been decided by any means, but it was my idea that if we create a TIF district that future development will pay for itself, that way the taxpayer doesn’t get burdened by the cost of infrastructure development,” said Russell.

The plan is not for the immediate future, however, but rather five to 10 years down the road as the project needs fine tuning, including the approval of the state Department of Transportation.

“The good news is this isn’t going on behind closed doors,” Russell said. “We want to be right up front and ahead of the curve, so everyone knows why we’re talking about this.”

Russell said there were 40 residents at a recent economic development committee meeting who provided thoughtful responses and legitimate questions, something he and the town are looking for.

By taking a proactive approach to the plan, questions can be answered and any future problems or concerns can be worked out earlier, rather than later.

“We’re not sure if it will be on this year’s warrant, but the great thing about it is that it doesn’t make any difference because we can go on with planning in preparation for 2008 (Town Meeting),” he said.

Though the location wouldn’t be ideal for retail development and because Concord doesn’t have a lot of development space remaining, Russell said he thinks Hopkinton will make a good alternative location for companies looking to add more commercial warehousing in the area.

Maintaining the rural character of town, as dictated in the master plan, is paramount to Russell’s idea.

“If we’re able to build this new exit ramp, we would be in a better position to preserve Contoocook Village by eliminating truck traffic in town,” Russell said. “And if we can accomplish removing that traffic from the village, then we’ve certainly accommodated that master plan by preserving its rural character.

“It could be a win-win situation for Hopkinton, the land owners, the tax base and the state of New Hampshire.”

John Dinapoli, business development manager for the New Hampshire Business Resource Center, has been brought in by Russell to evaluate the potential success of a TIF district in Hopkinton. If done correctly, with patience and due diligence, Dinapoli said a TIF district in Hopkinton would be an attractive location for commercial warehousing development.

“My vision and my idea is that if this community is trying to position itself for future growth and they have some land in place that they can assemble for a TIF district, and if they can get the money together that would bring in water and sewage and other infrastructure, I envision something like this being a successful venture for Hopkinton,” Dinapoli said.

He compared Hopkinton’s location to Route 101, Exit 4 in Raymond, where patience and persistence paid off in developing a TIF district. He also noted that Raymond already has a developer interested in moving into town in the immediate future.

“There isn’t a lot of open commercial-industrial land that has municipal water and gas and these guys (Hopkinton officials) have taken the appropriate steps. I think they’re doing the right thing to create good opportunities for the town. They know it’s a long haul and they are putting the proper time and resources in to make sure when they go before voters they have a well thought out and comprehensive plan to present,” said Dinapoli.