I'll be honest, it's hard for me to talk about all of this objectively. I have strong opinions about some of the things that were brought up last night, but I recognize that it won't help the process to dissect the discussions from last night here.
So with that in mind, here's a quick recap of last night's meeting:
We had a presentation from Don Jutton, who talked about combining resources between the school and the town and regionalization. And then we heard from Tom Mahon, the chairman of the charter commission in Merrimack, and his experiences with the process. We discussed the challenges and opportunities facing Newmarket and the changing demographics of our Town.
When we meet again on July 8th, we'll first hear public comment. And then, I'm guessing that we will need to start making some decisions and decide on a direction.
Based on the conversation last night, I think we'll be looking at 3 different options: A Board of Selectmen style of government, a City form of government with a strong Town Manager and a dependent school district, and a reworking of what we currently have.
It's important that we hear from the public - not just about what form of government they would prefer, but also what residents see as our biggest challenges and our greatest opportunities.
Whatever the Charter commission ends up doing, it will eventually take the support of the residents of Newmarket to approve it.
Where do you want to see Newmarket in 20 years?
Weighing in now will help shape the process.
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