BY MATT HERSH
Salem’s Election Day may be over but there are still several issues for residents to consider at the town’s second deliberative session.
Planned for 9 a.m. on Saturday, March 17, at Salem High School, the session will give voters a chance to weigh in on a number of warrant articles that were not on the ballot.
Like the first deliberative session in February, residents will be able to propose amendments to any of the town’s articles. The main difference between the two sessions is that any changes made at the second session are final and will not appear on a ballot.
Several of these articles are part of the town’s 10-year capital improvement plan (CIP) which coordinates a series of projects to address various issues in Salem.
The 2007 CIP is broken up into two categories – planning and implementation. A handful of articles asks voters to raise money for planning future projects, while others request money to start construction.
The largest of these items, a roadway improvements program, asks for $2,280,000 to be placed in a trust fund established for reconstructing and resurfacing neighborhood roads. Of this amount, $195,000 will be taken from the town’s water fund and will be designated to making various water system improvements.
This year, the roadway improvement program will focus on the Linwood Avenue neighborhood and on Mary Ann and Elsie avenues. These areas will receive drainage improvements and pavement upgrades if the article is passed by voters. Other areas of Salem will be addressed in subsequent years, according to Community Development Director William Scott.
If passed, another $1.5 million capital improvement article would allow town officials to place money into the same trust fund to make similar road and sewer improvements to the Elmwood and Marsh Avenue area.
However, the Elmwood project would only ask taxpayers to come up with $490,000 for the project. The rest of the money will come from a two existing town funds.
Other CIP articles include $225,000 to engineer plans for the reconstruction of Shore Drive, $150,000 for design planning for an area in the western part of Salem known as Canobie II, and $65,000 to design plans for a new police station.
Fire Chief Kevin Breen hopes voters will give approval to an article which will bring four new firefighters to Salem.
Last month, Breen received the news that Salem qualified for a $414,000 Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant which will help bring the department up to par. The grant releases money to the town each year for five years. This year, it requires the town to come up with $53,670 as a percentage match.
This means voters will see a warrant requesting funds for the new positions on their ballots for the next five years.
Breen said the town needs the additional firefighters because the demand for service has been steadily rising every year, and response times have been slipping.
“We don’t want to scare people off with the five-year plan,” Breen said in an interview last month. “But why wouldn’t we want to take advantage of the money?”
For a full list of second deliberative session warrant articles, visit www.townofsalemnh.org/pdf/2007Warrant-2nd.pdf.