Now that I have a few meetings as a Town Councilor under my belt, I thought I would give a quick update about some recent happenings.
Our first few meetings were quick and uneventful, but there's been more substance recently and Wednesday's meeting addressed some town business that I wanted to share in case you didn't attend or watch it on TV. We dealt with 9 resolutions, and both the agenda and the backup data are posted online if you care to read through the documents. I'd like to focus on 2 items:
We voted on a resolution to contract engineering services for the bike
path project along Route 108. This has been a long time coming! Here's
the background:
I support this project and was happy to vote in favor of the resolution Wednesday night. My concern is that we appropriated that money 4 years ago--it remains to be seen what the cost will be in today's dollars and whether or not that will impact future votes.
The second item is paving. The Council approved a resolution to appropriate funds to pave an additional mile of Ash Swamp Road and put the finish course on the part that was done last year. One mile. Our DPW Director explained that we have about 55 miles of roads in Newmarket--if we continue to pave a mile/year, we better hope for some milder winters.
Our next meeting is June 4th at 7pm.
Heading into last night's meeting, I knew who the next Town Councilor would be. I'm sure we all did. Perhaps that's one of the reasons no one felt the need to ask the
candidates any questions about their backgrounds or experience.
Though I cast my vote for someone else, I look forward to the
opportunity to serve with John Bentley. His experience will benefit the
town in the coming months.
For me, selecting the candidate who would receive my vote was a
difficult decision to make. The people who threw their hats into the
ring came from diverse backgrounds with varying levels of experience in
Newmarket. I considered these factors before casting my vote.
I'm encouraged that six (yes, SIX!) fellow townspeople answered the call to serve. It gives me hope.
I urge the other candidates to continue to be involved. There are many ways to serve the community--both officially and unofficially. There are current vacancies on several boards in Town and there will be upcoming opportunities on the CIP committee and cable contract negotiations. But the most important thing you can do is attend meetings and be informed.
Learn more. Get involved. Participate.
