Windham News : selectmen

Windham planning director retires

Salem Editor — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 19:49:00 GMT

With 12 years serving as the Windham’s planning director under his belt, Alfred Turner has retired as the town prepares to implement a major restructuring of the planning department.

Turner said a number of factors had gone into his decision and that it was the “right time” to step down. In December, selectmen had effectively eliminated Turner’s position in favor of a new post aimed at attracting economic development. Turner’s last day on the job was Jan. 19.

The selectmen’s move to restructure the department came after an independent review of the planning department conducted last year by an outside consultant found Turner and his staff to be out of sync with the board’s economic vision for the town.

According to Turner, communication broke down between the department and the board early last year when selectmen began moving in a new direction when it came to encouraging economic development. By the time the department adjusted to the new outlook, Turner said both the economy and his relationship with the board had deteriorated quite a bit.

Selectman Charles McMahon said he was thankful for work Turner had done for the town and indicated that the decision to restructure the planning department and eliminate Turner’s long-held position arose out of a decision by the board to meet the challenge of paying for the new multimillion dollar high school.

“I appreciate the work he’s done in the past. He’s decided to move on in his professional life, and we’re moving forward to meet new challenges,” McMahon said. “We’re no longer just a bedroom community, because a bedroom community will not meet the challenge of a first-class high school.”

Though selectmen offered Turner the option of either accepting a vacant planner position – a demotion for the longtime department head – or applying for the new director of community development position, Turner has instead decided to explore his possibilities in the private sector.

Looking back over his 12- year tenure, Turner said he was most proud of developing two town-wide master plans and by bringing in over $68 million in new or expanded commercial establishments.

“The town’s been able to do that basically without much notice. You don’t notice a lot of change and that’s what attracts people to Windham,” Turner said. “Despite all the new community development, the town looks the same it did when you drive down Route 111 as it did 20 years ago. People find that very attractive, and that is why so many people are moving to Windham.”

According to McMahon, the town already had two candidates in mind for the positions of town planner and director of community development. An announcement would be made pending a background check on both individuals, he said.

Windham planning head will stay on for interim

Salem Editor — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 21:13:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

Though Windham selectmen have asked Alfred Turner to stay on as interim head of a restructured Planning Department, the department head’s future remains in doubt after the board eliminated his position.

With a unanimous vote on Monday, Dec. 8, to adopt a job description for the newly created position of community development director, which would emphasize responsibility over the long-term economic development of the town, the board hopes to invigorate commercial growth in Windham. The move also replaces the position Turner has held for the last 12 years as the town’s director of planning and development.

“Windham is facing new challenges because of the new high school that we have committed to build and open,” said Selectman Charles McMahon. “And as a result, we have a substantial tax burden, and we need to change the past attitude and anti-business attitude that Windham has exhibited in going forward and broaden our tax base. We have a 3 percent commercial tax base. It’s wrong to look at homeowners to pay the burden of the substantial increase in a tax bill to support the high school on their own.”

McMahon said the tax burden associated with the construction of the new high school served as a catalyst to look at bringing more commercial development to town just as the projects to widen Route 111 and Interstate 93 – expected to bring more traffic to the town — are under way.

Selectmen began considering making a change after an independent review conducted earlier this year concluded that the planning department was out of sync with the board’s goals for the economic development of the town.

Turner said he was waiting to see what selectmen were looking for from his department.

“I know they want to emphasize economic development in town and, of course you couldn’t pick a worse time, but in my 12 years, what I’ve done here is $62 million of economic development of new or renovated businesses. That’s $5 million a year,” Turner said. “I don’t know how much more they want than that.”

According to Town Administrator David Sullivan, the newly restructured department would likely oversee the town planning and zoning boards with the community development director focusing more on economic growth by bringing in new businesses.

With a job description for the position decided upon, selectmen will now turn to focus on what the newly restructured department will look like in the coming weeks. In the meantime, Sullivan indicated that Turner will stay on as the interim head of the department for the next six months.

Despite the attempt to refocus on economic development, Turner said whoever held that position would face opposition from residents who had consistently voted against bringing business to Windham.

“The voters have turned down Lowe’s coming in here twice, and the voters have turned down the rezoning of major residential land into commercial land, the same piece of land twice,” Turner said. “I don’t know that if you don’t have the land zoned for business how a person could come in here.”

While selectmen have indicated that Turner could apply for the position of community development director and have also offered him the job of town planner – allowing him to maintain a spot within the restructured department – Turner has said that he will continue to assess his options.

“I’d have to evaluate my situation,” he said.

Windham high school access road fails

Salem Editor — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 23:45:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

Windham voters turned down a special warrant article at the polls on Tuesday, Sept. 9, that would have allowed the town to enter a $1.25 million agreement to build a town road to provide a second access to the new high school.

Warrant Article 1 failed in a 986-794 vote, and now the town has to come up with another road plan that will be palatable to voters come their next trip to the polls in March. A similar article on the school district warrant was voted down at the polls last March.

The town was going to build a paved 24-foot-wide, 4,000-foot-long road over the existing London Bridge Road. The new road would have connected Route 111 to Castle Hill Road, acting as a second access for emergency vehicles to the school and also allowing them quicker access across town.

The New Hampshire State Board of Education recently sent notice to the town saying the high school project will not get 30 percent aid unless the building is in line with Fire Chief Tom McPherson’s charge to comply with state fire codes.

Before it opens in September 2009, McPherson said the school needs a second access to meet minimum state fire code requirements. It must be 20 feet wide, have a 13-feet, 6-inch vertical clearance, be able to carry fire trucks and have a design that can be maintained year round.

“We’re obviously disappointed, but I respect the voters’ decision,” McPherson said. “Somebody needs to step up to the plate and get something in there.”

McPherson supported the Board of Selectmen’s design for the public road.

“From a public safety standpoint, it’s disappointing,” he said. “I’m willing to work with any individuals or groups to make sure that school opens on time.”

Selectman Bruce Breton said the board will discuss their options for a new plan in upcoming meetings. “I just wish the School Board and the Board of Selectmen had really come together,” Breton said.

Voters approved Warrant Article 2 in a 1,170 to 571 vote to place 83 acres of land in the town forest into conservation with the Exeter-based South East Land Trust.

Windham high school road to be on September ballot

Salem Editor — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 19:05:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

The layout of a proposed town road that would provide a second means of emergency access to the new Windham High School was unanimously passed by the Board of Selectmen after a site walk and public hearing.

Windham residents who spoke out at the Monday, July 21, public hearing were split in their opinions about the road’s purpose and layout, with some agreeing that it should be a paved throughway and others saying it should be a smaller gravel road with limited access.

The board voted unanimously to pass the plans for a 24-footwide paved road that would extend from the high school over London Bridge Road and connect to Castle Hill Road.

The project, estimated to cost just over $1 million, will go before voters as a special ballot item during the Sept. 9 primary elections.

A deliberative session on the town’s warrant article requesting to take out a $1.25 million bond for the road will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 12, at 7 p.m. at the town hall.

According to the state Department of Education, the school needs to have a second access before it can open. It is slated to open in September 2009, which leaves the town the Sept. 9 vote and the March 2009 vote to secure funding for the road.

A similar ballot question appeared on the school district’s ballot this past March, but failed to get the 60 percent majority vote it needed to pass. Selectman Bruce McMahon had petitioned the article with the argument the school district could get 30 percent reimbursement from the state with the project’s passage.

Several residents voiced their concerns at the public hearing that the proposed road was too costly and should not be a paved street. The town may have a hard time getting approval for funding for the proposed road, some said.

“We don’t want to stop the school. We do want to have a second emergency egress in there, but beyond meeting those goals, why do more, and why do it at the expense of taxpayers?” said Betty Dunn of Woodvue Road at the public hearing. “You haven’t convinced me yet.”

Dunn suggested the funding could fall under a betterment clause, which would mean the developer would pay for the road. Town attorney Bernard Campbell said the state of New Hampshire does not have a general betterment clause, so that was not an option.

Windham Fire Police Chief Thomas McPherson has said the school needs to have an emergency access before it can open.

The fire department would like to see the road be made into a paved, standard-sized road that would allow police and emergency vehicles seamless access to the school as well as a means to get to the other side of town quicker, said Assistant Deputy Fire Chief Robert Leuci. Leuci added that creating a town road instead of simply a limited access way will ensure that the road is maintained throughout the winter.

The fire department wants to see the road paved because a gravel road could be full of potholes and ruts after the snow and rain seasons.

Selectman Roger Hohenberger said a paved 24-foot road would only cost $150,000 more than a gravel road, adding the gravel would be much more expensive to maintain over the years due to erosion.

Chairman Dennis Senibaldi said making the road a paved, official public road will allow for easier snow removal and more efficient repairs.

“At the end of the day, it’s not about how we got here, it’s about how the chief’s going to get there,” said Senibaldi, referring to the fire department. “If you can get there and save a life, no one’s going to be talking about this road.”

In order to expand the road, the town is going to have to eat up some of the abutting properties. The town currently owns about one-third of London Bridge Road, which is paved right now. The other two-thirds of it are dirt and privately owned.

Two attorneys, John Ratigan, representing abutter James Logan, and Patricia Panciocco, representing Kerry McKenna, said their clients would be glad to give up land for the road as long as it was paved and maintained.

Peter Schmidt, of Heritage Hill Road, said he’s concerned about the amount of traffic that will be coming down his street once the new road opens.

“You’re going to jam that road like there’s no tomorrow,” said Schmidt.

Former selectman will be tried for felony – Doyle faces Superior Court trial for striking election worker

Salem Editor — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 20:23:00 GMT

BY DARRELL HALEN

The New Hampshire Supreme Court recently ruled that a former Windham selectman can be tried on a felony charge of assaulting an election worker.

Christopher Doyle wanted the charge dismissed, arguing that Gail Webster was disqualified from acting as an election official at the polls on March 8, 2005, because her name was on the ballot as a candidate for cemetery trustee.

Doyle is charged with striking Webster in the chest after he lost a re-election bid to the Board of Selectmen.

Doyle’s father, Edward, and another man were arguing and Webster wanted to find a police officer when Doyle allegedly struck her in the Golden Brook School gymnasium.

Doyle was 26 and Webster was 61 at the time.

The felony charge that Doyle faces, assaulting a town officer, carries a maximum sentence of seven years in prison and a $4,000 fine, if he’s convicted.

Doyle filed an appeal with the state’s highest court after Superior Court Judge Patricia Coffey denied his motion to dismiss the felony indictment.

“While as a matter of law Ms. Webster ought to have been disqualified from acting as a supervisor of the checklist at the Windham election, in reality she was not,” Coffey wrote in her order.

The state Supreme Court held up Coffey’s decision and remanded the case back to Superior Court for a trial.

Doyle, who was a member of the state House of Representatives at the time of the alleged assault, did not run for re-election to the Legislature the following year.

He lost his bid to retain his seat on the Zoning Board of Adjustment in 2006.

Throw it out – Former legislator wants assault charge dropped

Salem Editor — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 20:02:00 GMT

BY DARRELL HALEN

A former state legislator, who is accused of striking an election worker two years ago, wants to have the assault charge against him thrown out.

Christopher Doyle, now 29, a former Windham selectman, is appealing the charge at the New Hampshire Supreme Court.

Doyle is accused of pushing Gail Webster, now 63, in the chest, knocking her to the floor in March 2005.

The alleged assault occurred in the Golden Brook School gymnasium as local election results were being announced. Doyle had just lost a bid for re-election to the board of selectmen.

Doyle’s father and another man were arguing, and Webster wanted to find a police officer when Doyle allegedly struck her.

Doyle faces a felony charge of assaulting a town officer at an election, which is punishable by up to seven years in prison and a $4,000 fine.

But Doyle’s lawyer, Michael Ricker, argues that the state cannot establish that Webster was discharging the duties of an election official when she was allegedly assaulted.

She was legally disqualified from performing her duties because she was a candidate for cemetery trustee that day, he argues.

Doyle wants the Supreme Court to reverse Superior Court judge Patricia Coffey’s ruling that although Webster should have been disqualified from acting as checklist supervisor, she was not, and therefore he can still be prosecuted.

In late 2005, Doyle agreed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge, in which a one-year jail sentence would be suspended if he apologized to Webster, performed 100 hours of community service, underwent anger management and resigned from public office.

At the time, Doyle was a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives and sat on the town’s Zoning Board of Adjustment.

Doyle, however, pulled out of the plea deal. At the same time, his lawyer, Cathy Green, withdrew from his case.

The next lawyer Doyle hired, Peter Anderson, also withdrew, citing Doyle’s inability to pay him.

Doyle did not seek re-election to the Legislature in 2006. In March, 2007, he placed a distant third when three candidates ran for the Zoning Board.

Two seats were available, which were won by Webster and former conservation commission member Dianna Fallon.

Webster denied she was seeking a “grudge match” with Doyle.

Last April, Doyle did not contest a charge, reduced from a misdemeanor to a violation, that he wrote a $333.50 check to register a car in Windham on an account that was closed.

A $500 fine was suspended provided that Doyle, who eventually made good on the check, stay on good behavior for a year.

Doyle could not be reached for comment on this story.