Salem Observer : Salem, Political

Parties seek guidelines for public meetings

Salem Editor — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 19:01:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

When it comes to adopting an overarching set of guidelines on whether town property could play host to political events, local political parties are reaching across the aisle.

According to Laurel Redden, chairman of the Salem Democratic Town Committee, her organization received varying responses from town officials when they have sought to rent public space for political events in the past. On Sept. 28, Redden joined Jeff Hatch, chairman of the Republican Town Committee, in asking that the Board of Selectmen determine whether such a policy is in place or, if not, draw up a set of guidelines.

“Depending on what staff person is in charge and who they’re asking or who they’re talking to, we’ve gotten different answers to use a townowned facility for political purposes,” Redden said. “What I’m after is one specific set of rules and regulations that all staff persons could apprise.”

Most recently, a forum on health care sponsored by the organization to be held in the Kelley Library in August was canceled due to its political nature, according to Redden, though she said the cancellation was not the motivation behind her request to the selectmen.

“I want to be clear, I am not specifically after the library. They are just one of a couple of town entities that we have approached over the years,” she said “This has been going on for a number of years.”

While the selectmen have no say over any policy the library might have in place – that would be under the purview of the library trustees – Redden would like to see the board work with whomever necessary to create a blanket set of guidelines for all of the town’s facilities.

According to Hatch, such an overarching policy would make it clear when and where town facilities could be used for political activities from any political or social organization in town.

“I would like to see some type of consensus townwide that you can hold a political function in these places and these are where you can’t,” he said.

The Republican Town Committee has not had many problems trying to rent space from the town in the past, mainly because the group rarely tried to rent or use public property, according to Hatch. He said it has been unofficial town policy to turn down requests to use public property for political events, though that had changed depending on who is running any given department.

“There’s no central location, no central figure of authority who has control of everything. That’s really our issue,” Hatch said.

On Sept. 28, Town Manager Jonathan Sistare told selectmen that the town required a certificate of insurance from an organization seeking to use public property. According to Sistare, the town had no formal set of guidelines or policy to use when deciding whether to rent a facility to an organization.

According to officials, Sistare is currently reviewing similar policies adopted by other communities.

“This is one issue that does cross party lines,” Hatch said. “We’re taxpayers too. We just want a place that we can meet. We want a place that we can feel safe, pass out information and just be accepted.”

Garcia takes District 4 state representative seat

Salem Editor — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 01:17:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

Republican Marilinda Garcia handily defeated rival Democrat Sheila Murray in the April 28 District 4 special election for the vacant seat in the state House of Representatives.

Garcia secured 2,050 votes in District 4 – comprising Windham and Salem – to Murray’s 1,250, according to polling results released by her campaign.

Town officials in Windham reported Garcia garnered 678 votes to Murray’s 335. In neighboring Salem, Garcia took in 1,372 votes to Murray’s 915, according to Greg Moore, a member of Garcia’s campaign.

In a statement released after the polls had closed, Garcia said the margin of victory indicated that voters in both communities had given her a mandate for fiscal responsibility in Concord.

“We need representatives who will be mindful of the families who are struggling with this economy, not crush them with the burden of more taxes to pay for higher state spending,” she said.

The special election drew a larger turnout of voters than the March primary. In Salem 2,287 ballots were cast, compared to about 1,000 last month. Windham reported about 10 percent of registered voters hit the polls, casting 1,013 ballots.

The District 4 seat was vacated earlier this year after Republican Mark Pearson stepped down to take a job with the town of Hudson.

4,000 attend Palin campaign stop in Salem

Salem Editor — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 01:18:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

Sarah Palin, Republican nominee for vice president, wrapped up her first trip to New Hampshire before a crowd of several thousand supporters and onlookers filling almost half of Salem’s high school football field on Oct. 15.

Introduced by Sen. John Sununu, congressional candidate Jennifer Horn and Shonda Schilling – wife of Red Sox star Curt Schilling – the Alaska governor addressed a roaring crowd in front of a sign depicting the state of New Hampshire and the words “Gateway to Victory,” a play on Salem’s town motto of “Gateway to the White Mountains.”

With her husband Todd – whom she called “Alaska’s first dude” – sitting behind her, Palin reiterated remarks on energy independence, low taxes and the need for Sen. John McCain’s leadership that she made across the state earlier in the day, at rallies in Dover and Laconia.

“There are two types of people here in Salem, the fine people of New Hampshire and the fine people from Massachusetts who got sick of all those taxes and came up here,” Palin told the crowd, earning the loudest applause of the evening.

People began showing up for the rally as early 2 p.m. and waited in long lines that at times stretched around the high school building to clear security checkpoints to get into Grant Field. Salem police and the Secret Service maintained a visible presence around the field before and after the rally.

Traffic backed up on Geremonty Drive – where the high school, along with the town offices, District Court and library are all located – just after 2 p.m. A thick line of people were still waiting as the sun began to set on Salem High School’s Grant Field at 6 p.m. Afterward, police and public safety officials estimated the count at just over 4,000 spectators.

Town officials adjusted their schedules earlier in the week in anticipation of the large crowd. Superintendent Michael Delahanty said he had originally planned to proceed with the regularly scheduled continuing education classes held at the high school following the end of the school day, but canceled them after plans to shuttle rallygoers from the Rockingham Park racetrack fell through.

Salem’s high school marching band was also relocated to Londonderry for practice, though soccer and field hockey games already scheduled took place on Grant Field prior to the rally.

The Budget Committee changed the location of their meeting from the town hall to the Ingram Senior Center to avoid the expected traffic.

For Matt Murphy, who drove up earlier in the day from Cape Cod, the rally fulfilled a regular journey northward to show his support for his candidate of choice.

“We came up here four years ago for George W. Bush and in 2000. It’s our pilgrimage to New Hampshire to see the presidential nominees,” he said.

Waving red, white and blue cheerleading pom-poms and waving glow sticks, rally-goers – largely McCain and Palin supporters – filled set of bleachers and spilled out onto the track and field to see the GOP vice presidential nominee.

“She was excellent,” said Tony Degennaro of Tewksbury, Mass. “She’s for us and she’s for the common person. She knows what we need. She’s down to earth. We’re so glad we didn’t miss it.”

“I just think its about time we had a feminist and not a liberal,” said Tracy LaSalle, of Goffstown.

Selectmen back new police station

Salem Editor — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 18:37:00 GMT

By Darrell Halen

A $7.3 million proposal to build a new police station was unanimously backed by Salem selectmen and appears to have the support of most Budget Committee members.

Plans call for a 26,000-square-foot building that would be constructed behind the current station. The new facility is being requested to accommodate a Police Department that has outgrown its station, which was built in 1966 and has been added on to several times.

“The building is not getting any younger. It’s not getting any easier to maintain,” Don Freeman, a member of the police station building committee, told selectmen during their Monday, Jan. 14, meeting. “It ultimately will be constructed. It’s not going to get cheaper than it is today.”

The Salem Police Department is the fourth busiest in New Hampshire, according to Freeman.

In the 1970s, officers answered 123,000 service calls. In the 1990s, they were answered 354,000.

The department had 27 officers in the 1970s. Now it has 59 full-time officers, 20 civilian employees and 20 part-time officers.

The current station suffers from inadequate space, its cell block, lockers and weapons storage are substandard and the building doesn’t meet current building and electrical codes, according to Freeman.

“We need to be out of that building,” said Police Chief Paul Donovan. “It’s just not suitable for a department our size.”

The new station can be built with minimal impact to adjacent wetlands, and the current station will remain operational while the new building is being constructed, Freeman said.

The warrant article that selectmen are putting before voters in March calls for appropriating $7,135,712 to construct the new station and for site improvements, to authorize the issuance of no more than $6,985,712 in bonds or notes, and to spend up to $150,000 in interest earnings on the invested bond proceeds.

In addition, it authorizes selectmen to accept state aid and other funds that may be available.

Some of the $7.3 million for the project will be funded with asset forfeiture money and impact fees.

The warrant article requires a two-thirds percent majority to pass. If approved, it would annually cost the average homeowner $42. A proposal to build a new station in 2004 did not get the two-thirds vote it needed to pass.

Baybutt Construction of Keene, selected for the project, submitted a bid of $5,985,525. The project’s total price tag includes contingency money and $827,500 for owners’ costs, such as wetlands permitting, equipment, furniture, communications, technology and construction oversight.

Most Budget Committee members, meeting after the selectmen adjourned, supported the article when they took a preliminary vote. But several said they wanted to see a breakdown of some of the costs.

One committee member, Stephen Campbell, said he doesn’t support the warrant article. School and town spending is going up, and people can’t afford the new station, he said.

“The question is: where are we supposed to come up with this money? The idea that it will never be cheaper doesn’t make it any easier to pay the tax bill when it comes.

“I’m going to vote no, not because we don’t need a new police station, but because there doesn’t seem to be any political will in this town by elected leaders to say no to anyone,” he added. “That’s why the increases are so crazy this year.”

Hargreaves wins selectman seat – Stephen Campbell returns to budget committee

Salem Editor — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 18:53:00 GMT

BY MATT HERSH

Salem voters have approved the school district’s $49,849,647 budget and more than $1 million in additional warrant articles.

Despite public criticism of the district’s budget by some members of the public, voters passed it by a 1,824-1,234 margin.

“Obviously, I’m grateful to the voters of Salem who supported the school board’s initiatives,” said school board Chairman Bernard Campbell shortly after the results were announced. “We have a lot of work to do this year.”

The school district’s expenditures drew a lot of attention during the voting season because with the passing of every article, Salem residents will see an 8.3 percent increase in their school tax bills this year.

The school tax will be $8 per $1,000 of assessed property value. A home valued at $250,000 will receive a tax bill of $2,000.

Superintendent Michael Delahanty said most of this year’s tax increase was caused by the rising cost of special education and retirement.

Due to several special needs students who require out-of-district placement, the school district will pay $656,228 this year.

Delahanty said the district was responsible for providing these students with the best possible education but were unable to do so in Salem.

Still, resident Stephen Campbell and others criticized school officials for not cutting back in other areas when they received the news about special education costs.

Though Campbell led an effort to stop the district from restoring $125,000 to the budget at their Feb. 8 deliberative session to fund a new technology position and teacher training sessions, most of the room was not swayed.

Upon hearing the results, Campbell said he wasn’t upset and the voters had spoken their minds.

“The voters get to decide and that’s what a democracy is all about,” he said. “Had the turnout been bigger, that might have been different.”

Also approved by a 2,109-934 vote was the district’s $394,604 capital improvement plan, which will address facility issues identified in a 2005 audit. The money will go toward repairing heating pipes, masonry, boiler tubing, doors and other needs at the district’s schools.

Voters also granted approval to give raises to teachers, secretaries, custodians, food service personnel, and aides. The raises are all part of multi-year collective bargaining agreements and range from 2.5 to 3.5 percent.

Bernard Campbell said while he’s happy with the clean sweep of the ballot, there is still a lot of work to do in the future which will require continued cooperation with the town’s budget committee.

“It’s very important that we continue to work with the budget committee to secure their positive approval of our initiatives,” he said.

Of the 11 warrant articles put forth by the school board, all but one received budget committee recommendation. The one that didn’t, a request to add $30,000 to an emergency fund, only passed by 38 votes.

More voting ahead – Road fixes, adding firefighters to be decided at second session

Salem Editor — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 18:29:00 GMT

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.

Zoners may be elected – Petition would make zoning board an elected body

Salem Editor — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 18:10:00 GMT

BY MATT HERSH

After the filing of a petition warrant to change the Salem Zoning Board of Adjustment to an elected body rather than appointed, several members are saying they would not run for a position.

Dan Norris, the vice-chairman of the board, said if voters change the member process, his name will not likely appear on the ballot.

“I haven’t thought enough about it yet,” he said. “But I’m strongly inclined not to run.”

Including Norris, three of the board’s five members said they might not run for election.

The planning board, which became an elected body last year with its first elections to take place this March, voted on Tuesday, Jan. 9, not to support the citizen’s petition to change the zoning board’s status.

Despite the contention of officials, the petition started by former planning board alternate Ron
Giordano will still appear before voters in March.

Since the zoning board has the unpopular task of sometimes denying projects, Norris said voter influence could negatively affect the process.

“We need to focus on a narrow set of legal criteria,” he said. “There’s no room at all for public opinion or popularity with respect to projects.”

Norris said he fears that elected members would be too worried about making unpopular choices that might affect re-election.

“Popularity is inherent in the process of campaigning and running for election,” he said. “Those factors will definitely come in to play.”

Similarly, James Randazzo, who has sat on the board for about a year, said he doesn’t anticipate running for a position.

“When folks back you in a campaign, there could be too much pressure (to make project decisions) from a voting standpoint,” he said.

Planning board members are facing a similar situation as the March elections approach.
Several current members said they don’t plan on running for the same reasons Norris and Randazzo cited.

Adam Webster, who was the planning board’s chairman until last November, expressed concern that boards that go from appointed to elected could soon have an entirely freshman roster.
Inexperienced boards could be a liability to the town, he said.

Still, Giordano said the petition is the best thing for the town, citing what he sees as corruption in the appointing process of the boards.

“We’re giving people the opportunity to change the process,” he said. “We need the diversity of regular people on these boards.”

Giordano’s petitions have been criticized by officials, who said he’s trying to get back at the town for not granting him a seat on the planning board.

In response to these claims, Giordano said he won’t run for election in March, but he’s baffled at planning and zoning board members who are refusing to as well.

“If these people who are on the boards now are crying foul, run and help new people learn the process,” he said.

Salem tax rate to rise 6.6 percent

Salem Editor — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 17:51:00 GMT

By Matt Hersh
Staff Writer

After a unanimous vote by selectmen, Salem’s tax rate will jump 6.6 percent from last year.

The rate, which was set by the state Department of Revenue Administration at $12.62 per $1,000 of assessed value, is a decrease from last year’s $22.06 but it won’t lower tax bills.

Since the town went through a revaluation this year, many properties have increased in value, which may lead to higher tax bills for some.

This means that someone owning a home now valued at $250,000 will pay $647 more in taxes than they did last year.

At the Monday, Oct. 30, board of selectmen meeting, Town Manager Henry LaBranche presented the rate and discussed its implications.

LaBranche said the town is expected to conduct a revaluation every five years to keep property values updated to reflect the market.

Still, some concern was raised by Selectman Ron Belanger that the recent property assessments may have incorrectly valued some houses.

Belanger said several residents have contacted him to tell him that their properties aren’t what is listed on the assessment.

“I have people coming up to me that have two-bedroom houses but the assessment says they have three,” Belanger told selectmen.

LaBranche said he recognizes the concerns raised by some residents and encourages them to appeal their assessment if it is incorrect.

Belanger said selectmen and other town officials have the responsibility of informing the public about how to file an appeal.

“Not everyone understands that piece of paper,” he said. LaBranche said Norman Pelletier, the chief assessor will be open to sitting down with any concerned residents to discuss their assessments.

The town has set aside $300,000 to help offset potential abatement costs, LaBranche said.

Senior Center fees go to general fund

Salem Editor — Thu, 05 Oct 2006 16:58:00 GMT

By Matt Hersh
Staff Writer

Observer/Matt Hersh
Salem Board of Selectmen Chairman Michael J. Lyons discusses the issue of membership fees with senior citizens at the Ingram Senior Center on Wednesday, September 27.

After a complaint by a Budget Committee member, more than $9,000 in Salem Senior Center membership fees to go to the Council on Aging will now temporarily go into the town’s general fund.

Due to a legal complication, the money will remain in the general fund until March, when a warrant article will be proposed to move the money into a specific senior center fund, said Town Manager Henry LaBranche.

The fees, $12 for Salem residents and $24 for out-of-town members, were unanimously approved by selectmen and were being collected in order to give to the Council on Aging, a nonprofit organization that funds programs at the senior center.

This was until Budget Committee member Kathy Cote brought up a legality issue at the committee’s Wednesday, Sept. 13 meeting.

According to state law, funds collected by the town must be approved by voters before they can be applied to a specific purpose, Cote said.

After conferring with the town’s lawyer, LaBranche confirmed Cote’s statement and ordered the collected money into the general fund.

Now, the money cannot legally be given to the Council on Aging and will remain inactive until it can be approved in March.

Patti Drelick, the center’s director, said she will play a part in composing the warrant article and that she wants to see the issues resolved.

A supporter of the fees, Drelick said they will be helpful in making sure seniors have programs to participate in.

Most of all, she said, she wants the seniors to be happy and that most have been accepting of the fees.

“It was the seniors who suggested instituting the fees,” she said. “It gives them pride to say that they’re a member.”

The senior center issue, according to Drelick, has mainly been one between the Board of Selectmen and the Budget Committee.

At the Wednesday, Sept. 27 Budget Committee meeting, Cote raised the issue again, saying she was against the idea of fees as well as the way the selectmen handled the issue.

Cote said she is against the idea of membership fees because she believes that as taxpayers, seniors should not have to pay more for the center.

Instead of collecting membership fees, Cote said she would support a booster club to raise funds for the Council on Aging.

“What they did was illegal,” she said. “Do I think I did a disservice (to seniors)? I think not.”

Budget Committee member Pat Hargreaves said he was against the idea of charging membership fees for Salem residents but not for non-residents.

“The Selectmen make the policies,” he said. “But somebody should have asked why we are charging Salem residents fees.”

Hargreaves also said he thinks selectmen have the seniors’ interest in mind but they should have realized the legal issues before making the policy.

Board of Selectmen Chairman Michael J. Lyons said he thinks members of the Budget Committee are stirring up controversy over nothing.

On Friday, Sept. 29, Lyons spoke with seniors at the center and addressed their concerns.

“The Board of Selectmen is a friend of yours,” he told a roomful of seniors. “There are some people who want to rile you up, but there’s no issue here.”

Senior reaction on the issue has been mixed. Several spoke up and told Lyons they supported the fee.

“I come here all the time to have coffee and talk with people,” said Salem resident Gerri Beck. “Where else can you do that for 23 cents a week? I don’t see what the issue is.”

Others said they disagreed.

“It’s not right,” said Mary Roy, a Salem resident who regularly uses the center. “This is a public building and we should be able to come here for free.”

Despite concerns by some seniors, Drelick said paying the fees is expected, but optional. If a member does not wish or cannot afford to pay the fees, they may apply for a free membership or “scholarship,” Drelick said.

Cote said the application process is unfair as it asks seniors to provide personal financial information, similar to a welfare application.

Fees will continue to be collected, adding to the sum already in the general fund. Voters will have the chance to appropriate the funds in March.