New traditions.

I am so excited about a new restaurant that will be opening this weekend in Newmarket: Popper's at the Mill. They describe themselves as:


...locally owned and operated full service restaurant and bar committed to a "snout to tail" artisanal style of cooking, using only locally grown, seasonal produce and humanely and locally raised protiens. We respect the animal and farmer by taking care to produce exceptional, handmade dishes with as little waste as possible.  

I'm not a food critic and have no idea if this will be a good fit for Newmarket, but I'm thrilled that someone is giving it a try. Don't get me wrong, I love Riverworks, but I'm super excited to be adding another option to the list in town. This started me thinking about the downtown in general and how much growth Newmarket has seen in the last couple of years. New businesses such as Good JuJu, Rocky's Famous Burgers, Organic Bonita Salon have brought so much to the downtown.

It's exciting to walk down the sidewalk on a Saturday morning and see the line out the door of the Big Bean. My kids are such early risers that my family is usually able to avoid the rush (think walking in at 7:30am) when my husband takes Caleb and Nate for "boy's breakfast", a tradition loved by all of us, but probably best by me. Of course the latest tradition is to go after baseball and it's much harder to get a table, but worth the wait every time.

We bought our house here almost 12 years ago and I remember walking downtown, seeing the old mill buildings, wondering what would happen here. We were hopeful then, and now I walk through the refurbished Mill buildings and am amazed that this is our town. Companies like  Independent Fabrication and BaileyWorks, successful established businesses, moved to the Mills recently and I counted a total of 13 business tenants in the directory, helping to bring Newmarket's downtown back to life.

I'm anxious to hear about the Brazilian restaurant that will open soon and have my fingers crossed that plans will continue for the former Joyce's Kitchen site also.

Until then, I wish Popper's the best of luck and plan to check it out as soon as I can.
Maybe we can start a new tradition?

For Sale

An article in yesterday's Portsmouth Herald explained that Portsmouth is considering partnering with a for-profit company that brings together school districts and local businesses in a fundraising venture that finds the lowest available credit card transaction fee for businesses. A portion of the fees are then donated to the school district. Part of the process is that the school board members are expected to work their own contacts in the business world to seek out partners in this venture,  changing the role of the SB to something more like what I imagine a Board of Directors to be -- making them active participants in fundraising.

The idea of creating corporate partnerships in Newmarket schools was floated a while back on one of the Facebook forums. One idea was renting space to a bank and then utilizing some of those resources in curriculum and employment opportunities (think "on the job" training) for the students. Another suggestion was Starbucks or something like it.

I'm not naive. It happens. But I don't want my kids to be advertised to while they're supposed to be learning. I know that we currently have fundraisers at Applebee's and encourage parents to shop at Stop & Shop and Target to get rewards for our schools. We collect boxtops and soup labels.
But where do we draw the line?

A quick Google search and I found...

• How Proctor and Gamble, who make Always pads and Old Spice deodorant reach 85% of America's 5th graders.
• Playgrounds sponsored by Coca-Cola. Maybe Coke didn't hang a sign over the entrance, but the students wrote thank you letters to the corporation illustrating the link pretty clearly.
• Curriculums sponsored by Shell and the American Coal Foundation.

Already we have PSNH come to the elementary school to talk about electricity and hand out rulers, folders and pencils stamped with the PSNH logo. King Arthur flour sponsors a bread making event in the district. I don't know what other sponsored curriculum or events we might already have in Newmarket. 

Something about it all creeps me out. Should schools allow this? Where do we draw the line? Is having a computer lab sponsored by Best Buy the worst thing we could do to our kids, especially if it's that or nothing? Would it be so bad to have our gym sponsored by Dick's Sporting Goods if it means upgraded locker rooms? (And no, we are NOT in talks with Best Buy or Dick's Sporting Goods -- I'm not trying to start any rumors here).

I don't have the answers, but I think it's something our community needs to consider.

Random Thoughts

Just a couple thoughts.

• About Facebook:  I love it and use FB all the time. I've been a part of 2 town oriented FB groups from the beginning and read pretty much everything on them. But if you have an idea that you would like to share with the powers that be (i.e. Town Council, School Board, etc) posting it on FB is not the way to get it addressed. It's a great and useful tool for sharing ideas and information, but cannot and should not replace formal venues for addressing concerns. If you want to make sure that you are heard, please contact Councilors directly. Their contact info is listed on the town website.

• Full Disclosure:  I'm a realist and I completely understand that many people enter politics for some self serving reason and not just because they want to make the world a better place. Maybe it's because they don't want taxes to go up, maybe they want to protect what's theirs, maybe they just like to see their name in the paper. Newmarket is no different and it's completely natural and understandable as far as I'm concerned. Through my crash course in town politics I have been trying to understand what people's motives are and one of the things that I like about attending meetings is watching how people interact with one another. WHAT one says is important, but HOW one says it can often fill in the blanks. So this brings me to the Black Bear TIF.  I mentioned before that I think Black Bear must keep Mr. Levy up at night and I don't think I've attended a meeting where he hasn't brought up closing down BB. Is it really only because he wants to see any captured revenue returned to the taxpayers? It's my understanding that Mr. Levy is building a new home off of New Road, which is either in or abuts the BB area, so is his opposition because he would prefer not to have 200-300 acres developed right next door to him for potential industrial uses?  Like I said, it's completely understandable, as long as we all understand it.

• Taking Sides:  Last week Mr. Bentley approached me before the start of the Town Council meeting just to say thanks for taking an interest in what's happening in town. (When the same 3 or 4 people attend the meetings, a newcomer is pretty obvious, I guess.) He mentioned that it's nice to see someone from the "school side" take an interest in what's happening in the town. He was being sincere and I know that when someone says something nice you should just smile and say thank you (which I did) and not complain. But I hate the perception that there's a "school side" and a "town side" and what I hate even more is that it's probably true. Sigh. 

• Cable Access: I watch a lot of Channel 13 these days and it rocks. In addition to the live broadcasts on Channel 13, they offer live streaming, a video on-demand site, some footage on Youtube and you can check them out on Facebook.  Most recently they posted this video--Government and Municipal Accounting 101.  It's a great resource for our community. Check it out!

Cheer up, School Board

Was it me, or did everyone seem a little down at the school board meeting?

Although I'm sure you all watched it Thursday night, I thought I'd mention a couple things that caught my attention.

• Chris Andriski gave a lengthy presentation from the NEASC accreditation. There were a large number of commendations, but also a large number of things that need to be addressed in 2 separate reports, one due in December of this year and one in 2014. Facilities and technology were 2 problematic areas. One thing I didn't catch is whether or not we actually received accreditation.

• Dr. Hayes gave an update on facilities. There will be an upcoming Facilities Committee on either June 11 or 12. They will discuss renovation numbers from the architect and a walk through of the Stratham Voc-Tech building. He talked with Chris Williams about it being televised/recorded. I'm assuming these are open to the public, but will check into that.

• The board accepted Joan Liporto's resignation. I haven't had any personal interactions with her, but I've watched her at meetings and it's pretty clear that she's on top of everything. She's brought some comprehensive systems to the SAU (her talk about the Facilities Use policy at this meeting is just one example) and has been a voice of reason. Let's not forget that she's also the person who found the DRA error that helped ease the tax issue. She will be missed.

• No mention of the new NES principle. Apparently a job offer is out there and they're waiting. 
  
  
• Apparently the Oyster River School district approached Dr. Hayes about the possibility of a tuition agreement and he met with members of their board recently.  Personally, I still need to process this. This article in the Exeter Newsletter explained some of the numbers that will matter, and there's a lot more that needs to be considered--things like, tuition vs. co-op agreement, cost and timeline. Not to mention giving up local control over our kids' education. What's tough for me is that I've really come to appreciate the small size of the Newmarket High school and the benefits that gives kids. Also, it seems to me that Oyster River can just be doing their own due diligence and kind of leading us on without a real intention of moving forward. Time will tell and we'll have to wait and see where this leads.
  
  
  And for those of you planning your calendars, there will only be one school board meeting in June on 6/21.

Waterworks

There's been a lot of talk about water during the past couple town council meetings and the Exeter Newsletter mentioned it in an article in today's paper. The DES has said that the water supply is inadequate and will impose a moratorium on all new construction if these concerns are not formally addressed and milestones met.

What I understand that to mean is that the voters need to approve the development of the MacIntosh well. We need more water, end of story.

What I don't understand is why do we wait until our hands are tied to make decisions in town? The development of the well has failed in the past and the council made a responsible choice in March to only put one water related article on the ballot, and that didn't pass. Will we wait until the 100 year old pipe bursts to replace it? Will we wait until DES fines us before we consider our water supply?

How long can we kick the can down the road?

About last night...

From last night's Town Council meeting:

"It's not a cash issue, it's an accounting issue."
--Mr. Nazarro, in regard to closing out the Downtown TIF
Basically this gets to the idea of the "missing money" that was reported a while back. It's not like a pile of cash had vanished. There were some accounting errors/stylistic problems, that needed to be addressed. After last night's meeting, it seems to finally be resolved.


"I really don't care"
--Mr. Zink, regarding the Black Bear TIF
Personally, I think this is a problem. I hope that was his frustration talking and that he does care, at least a little, about the TIF.


"We've been put in these seats to make decisions"
--Mr. LaBranche
Well said Mr. LaBranche. I couldn't agree with you more. As a taxpayer I might not always agree with the decisions the Council makes, but PLEASE start making some decisions. It is a miracle that anything gets done.


"We are mired in yesterday"
--Mr. Nazarro
Yup.


"To complicate this with the Black Bear TIF is absurd."
Mr. Zink, in response to Mr. Levy's insistence on inserting Black Bear TIF funds into the Downtown TIF/water fund conversation.
Yes. Absurd and irresponsible. One thing that's clear about the Black Bear TIF, is that it must keep Gary Levy up at night. He says that he just wants it closed and the money returned to the taxpayers, but  I have a feeling there's something else. At one point during the evening, Mr. Bentley suggested that if anyone has any extra "dogs in this fight" they should disclose them. I wonder what Mr. Levy's dog is?


"More about Black Bear next week."
--Mr. Nazarro
I have little doubt.


"I have a fair amount of skepticism about the numbers and where they've been."
--Mr. Levy
OK, this just made me giggle. It was a long night.


"Is he really comparing running an entire town to his business?"
--Overheard in the audience
Yes, he was.

"I'll make the motion now and it'll probably fail and that will be that."
"OK, so one dumb question."
"I'm just confused, but that's OK."
"I have just one dumb question."
--Mr. Levy
I wrote these quotes down and had some very snarky things to say about them, but on the advice of my husband, I deleted those comments. Here's the thing, though: Mr. Levy starts A LOT of questions with this sort of comment. It's frustrating. Mr. Levy, there are no dumb questions.

Hissy Fit

From the Town Council Minutes:

Vice Chairman Botterman moved to authorize the balance in the open space account, $381,073 be allowed to be put on the warrant to purchase the Carpenter and surrounding properties, understanding that the potential for school expansion is in standing with the original warrant article that was approved.  Councilor Bergeron seconded the motion.  Town Administrator Wojnowski polled the Council. 

Ayes: Council Chairman LaBranche, Council Vice Chairman Botterman, Councilor Bergeron, Councilor Nazzaro, Councilor Bentley

Nays:  Councilor Levy                                        Absent:  Councilor Zink

You can read the full approved minutes from the January 18th meeting here.

And this was on the ballot:


Article 1. To see if the School District will vote to raise and appropriate the sum of One Million Three Hundred Forty Thousand Dollars ($1,340,000) to purchase properties located at 216, 218, 220, and 2041⁄2 South Main Street for construction of a new Junior/Senior High School facility or renovation/addition to the existing Junior/Senior High School facility to be funded with Three Hundred Eighty Thousand One Hundred Seventy-Three Dollars ($380,173) from Open Space Bond Funds and authorize the withdrawal of Nine Hundred Fifty-Nine Thousand Eight Hundred Twenty-Seven Dollars ($959,827) from the Expansion of School Facilities Capital Reserve Fund created for this purpose for the balance of the amount. (Recommended by the School Board (5-0) and by the Budget Committee (8-2))


I voted in favor of this article on March 13, 2011. Me, and 1,476 other Newmarket residents.

Dr. Hayes went to the town council last month to begin the process of transferring the money and as a voter, I assumed that this was merely a formality.

But for some reason we are still debating this even though as Mr. Levy pointed out, that when the previous council voted in favor of releasing the funds (basically allowing the article to be placed on the warrant) that there were no amendments made at that time. In other words, they voted in favor of it. Not "in favor of it IF....".

Now, I understand that the public hearing is a formality and part of the process. But I attended the town council meeting when they discussed this. I was at the deliberative session. I voted on March 13th. And I was there again when Dr. Hayes approached the town council recently. And I was taken aback by the comments of the council members.

One of the concerns that was brought up was that they just wanted to understand who would have ownership of the land. Really? It seemed clear to me - at the time of the vote, and now - that the school district would have ownership of the land. Another concern was what would happen if down the road, the school doesn't get built and school district decides to sell off the land: Would there be restrictions then around the potential sale? (i.e. Would some of it need to be designated as Open Space because such funds were used to buy the land?) A valid concern if that were to arise, but it certainly shouldn't hold up the process.

During the meeting, one councilor suggested that people still had some concerns. Concerns that were raised by residents during the deliberative session but they felt were never really answered. I'm sorry that some people feel that their questions were never answered. All I can say, is that they should have kept asking them.

Apparently though, a lot of people did feel that they had enough information to vote on the article and a lot of people did.

The voters made a choice.
1,477 people voted to pass that article.

When can Newmarket move forward?

Who's Who

I thought it would be useful to introduce people to town councilors, budget committee members, etc. Give a little info about who these people are and my impressions of their civic lives. Maybe in the future I'll come up with a snazzy title for this series of posts, but for now you get the picture.

My hope is to make connections for people. It's easier to send an email or write a letter when you know a little something about the people you're addressing. And while I'm on the subject of sending letters I have this advice---just do it. If there is an issue that you have an opinion about and you're unable to attend a meeting, or you just want to make sure that your voice is heard, send a letter or email to the town council. Their info is on the town website. My experience with writing to them has been pretty positive and I do believe that they listen. Some more than others, to be sure.

So, back to my introduction...

I want to talk about Ed Carmichael. Honestly, I don't know much about him. He just joined the Town Council in March and has been fairly quiet at meetings up to this point. I suppose I could do a Google search and post his bio, but that's not my intention for this post. No, I just want to give you MY impressions of people based on the interactions I've had with them.

I stood next to Ed most of the day on voting day. The fact that he was there ALL DAY wasn't lost on me and signaled to me that, if nothing else, he takes this seriously. But, in personal interactions he's been a little lukewarm. I've appreciated his response to emails but there really hasn't been much substance and I have a feeling he's not really the poetic type.

So my opinion has been... meh.

Until last night. Last night was the Newmarket Elementary School PTA Spring auction. It's only the 2nd year we've done it and it still needs to find its stride. This is a community event and the committee that puts this together does an amazing job, but getting people there has been a little challenging. I would love to see town councilors, school board members and other town leaders attend this event, but few (none) do.

So I was truly thrilled when Ed Carmichael and his wife walked through the door. They don't have any ties to the school other than being interested in the town and I LOVE that they came. It was a pleasure to talk with them both and I hope they were able to pick up a deal or two.

Thank you, Mr. Carmichael.

It's all Nicole's fault.

I went to my first school board meeting about 2 years ago. Nicole Benson was trying to schedule people to attend meetings and then report back to her larger email group in the hopes of getting more people informed. I didn’t really know Nicole, but I was on the PTA and wanted to get more involved—school projects were looming and there was a need to get info out to people. So I went.

It was painful.

I didn’t know the board members or the couple people in the audience. I didn’t feel like I should be there. As the meeting went on, it turned out that the other people were there to present something to the board and as soon as they did, they left. Halfway through that meeting it was just me and the reporter in the audience.

Um….

The issues in town have been bubbling up over the past year. The school plans were in the works for a while, but very few were paying attention until the tax rate exploded.

And then the ceiling literally fell down. (OK, ALMOST fell down).

I became immersed in school board issues pretty quickly and started learning more about our crazy little town. One thing led to another, and I’ve started going to town council meetings too.

And I discovered that I like it.  I don’t expect you to like it as much as I do and doubt that people will start spending their Wednesday nights at Town Hall (but doesn't that sound like fun?)  A lot of it is incredibly boring and WAY too complicated to understand without some background info and that’s where I want to start.

My hope is to start getting that background info and to share it here. Who are the people? What are the issues? How does it impact me and my family?

Attending meetings is still pretty painful a lot of the time. Only a few people show up. I zone out when they start talking about the wear and tear from salt on town trucks and I won’t pretend to know much about the Black Bear TIF (I’m not even 100% sure where it is but it is a huge deal in our town right now) but as I learn more, I’ll pass it on.

Two years later and school projects are still looming. The grassroots effort in this town was amazing during the last town meeting cycle but all these other issues will affect the future of a school and of our town. Hopefully, through information and involvement we can find some solutions. 

We’re all in this together.