Please sign our petition to inform the Select Board that you support placing the comprehensive campus plan on the March 2016 ballot.
An Open Letter to the North Hampton Community
Fifteen or more years ago, the North Hampton community recognized the need to evaluate our town facilities, and to plan for their eventual renovation or replacement. Many meetings, many plans, and many elections later, we find ourselves still searching for a consensus on the way forward. Unfortunately, we also find ourselves with buildings that are fifteen years older, structurally compromised, and near the end of their realistic life cycle. The challenge before us as a town is how we coalesce support around a plan that can succeed at the ballot box when there are so many ideas pulling in different directions.
We respect and appreciate the significant, honest, and heartfelt differences that have been expressed as various plans have come and gone, and as the latest iterations of study committees have worked through this process again. However, it is our considered judgment that the various alternatives that have been proposed do not compare favorably to the plan first presented to voters in 2014.
We believe the best course for our community is to continue to pursue that comprehensive campus plan, which has seen considerable input and improvement since it was first outlined. While no plan is perfect, this option represents the most integrated, effective use of space, the most responsible use of taxpayer money, and the best opportunity to create a municipal center that will stand the test of time for the next 50 years.
Though the Select Board has thus far embarked on a different course, we are hopeful they will reconsider and once again work toward passing the comprehensive campus plan, and toward convincing voters of its merits. However, regardless of whether the currently proposed library warrant article remains on the ballot, it is our intention to present a citizen’s petition pursuant to RSA 39:3 to place a campus plan warrant article on the town ballot in March 2016. This is not a decision made in haste, or merely to deflect support from the currently proposed warrant, but because we sincerely believe this is the best long-term solution for addressing the facility needs of our town government.
The New Hampshire tradition of local control, allowing the greatest level of citizen involvement with the important decisions that affect our community and our lives, is one of our state’s greatest strengths. But this wonderful tradition does not come without its challenges. As with many major decisions that must be made by a small community, this process has been time-consuming and contentious. As much as we would like to find the perfect solution that meets everyone’s needs, we know that such a thing does not exist. But what does exist is a solution that we feel is the right one for our town and its future, and one we feel compelled to fight for.
We look forward to communicating with our fellow citizens on this issue between now and election day, and to continuing to make North Hampton the strong, vibrant community that we all know it to be.
Updates
November 7, 2015
I have spent this week meeting with neighbors who are just as tired of the crumbling facilities as my own family is. It is clear that we are all exhausted by these delays and ready to see a real path forward for our town buildings.
November 7, 2015
Watching the town rally behind this plan has been overwhelming after so many years of watching our school and town buildings decay. This momentum proves that we are finally ready to stop stalled conversations and actually fix the facilities our community relies on.
11 Comments
For many reasons, starting with sound planning, it makes no sense to separate the space that will at some point be a community rail trail from the library and focal point of citizen activity. I do believe a scaled down more harmonious design is needed for the Fire Department. Please view Rye, NH Firestation or Stratham, both of which offer design elements consistent with coastal New England.
The voters of North Hampton voted in 2014 and 1n 2015 by a 51% majority approving the plan which builds the safety complex first and then the library and Towns offices. It builds the best quality space for the least money in the shortest time.
The time is now for North Hampton to address the aging and expensive to maintain town office complex. This plan is the best of all the alternatives in my opinion and is something that will serve our community well for generations.
This plan is still the most comprehensive way for our town to get the much needed improvements to our safety complex. It is also the most responsible fiscal plan and allows the town to capitalize on the best rates and not waste money on repeated short term repairs year after year.
No perfect plan for the North Hampton Municipal Complex exists, but the 2014/2015 plan is comprehensive, practical and possible. Other approaches that are now proposed cost more, accomplish less, and likely will never be completed.
Thank you, to those who are leading such a purposeful cause.
It is time to put aside our smaller individual preferences and work together for the good of the community.
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Please sign our petition to inform the Select Board that you support placing the comprehensive campus plan on the March 2016 ballot.
An Open Letter to the North Hampton Community
Fifteen or more years ago, the North Hampton community recognized the need to evaluate our town facilities, and to plan for their eventual renovation or replacement. Many meetings, many plans, and many elections later, we find ourselves still searching for a consensus on the way forward. Unfortunately, we also find ourselves with buildings that are fifteen years older, structurally compromised, and near the end of their realistic life cycle. The challenge before us as a town is how we coalesce support around a plan that can succeed at the ballot box when there are so many ideas pulling in different directions.
We respect and appreciate the significant, honest, and heartfelt differences that have been expressed as various plans have come and gone, and as the latest iterations of study committees have worked through this process again. However, it is our considered judgment that the various alternatives that have been proposed do not compare favorably to the plan first presented to voters in 2014.
We believe the best course for our community is to continue to pursue that comprehensive campus plan, which has seen considerable input and improvement since it was first outlined. While no plan is perfect, this option represents the most integrated, effective use of space, the most responsible use of taxpayer money, and the best opportunity to create a municipal center that will stand the test of time for the next 50 years.
Though the Select Board has thus far embarked on a different course, we are hopeful they will reconsider and once again work toward passing the comprehensive campus plan, and toward convincing voters of its merits. However, regardless of whether the currently proposed library warrant article remains on the ballot, it is our intention to present a citizen’s petition pursuant to RSA 39:3 to place a campus plan warrant article on the town ballot in March 2016. This is not a decision made in haste, or merely to deflect support from the currently proposed warrant, but because we sincerely believe this is the best long-term solution for addressing the facility needs of our town government.
The New Hampshire tradition of local control, allowing the greatest level of citizen involvement with the important decisions that affect our community and our lives, is one of our state’s greatest strengths. But this wonderful tradition does not come without its challenges. As with many major decisions that must be made by a small community, this process has been time-consuming and contentious. As much as we would like to find the perfect solution that meets everyone’s needs, we know that such a thing does not exist. But what does exist is a solution that we feel is the right one for our town and its future, and one we feel compelled to fight for.
We look forward to communicating with our fellow citizens on this issue between now and election day, and to continuing to make North Hampton the strong, vibrant community that we all know it to be.
Updates
November 7, 2015
I have spent this week meeting with neighbors who are just as tired of the crumbling facilities as my own family is. It is clear that we are all exhausted by these delays and ready to see a real path forward for our town buildings.
November 7, 2015
Watching the town rally behind this plan has been overwhelming after so many years of watching our school and town buildings decay. This momentum proves that we are finally ready to stop stalled conversations and actually fix the facilities our community relies on.
11 Comments
The cost efficiency of the town campus project needs to become the common goal for the town. Phasing a project over four years and expecting a cheaper total package is a fantasy. Splitting a project onto multiple ballots and expecting voters to approve multiple bonds is just as ludicrous. The focus for the town needs to be for the future, and for every individual in the town to benefit from our planning for the future. It shouldn't be focusing on the past and the "right now" for the decision making process, which is what seems to be happening. Are there enough voices that represent the true consensus of the town? Perhaps the next petition should be to add seats to the select board?
For many reasons, starting with sound planning, it makes no sense to separate the space that will at some point be a community rail trail from the library and focal point of citizen activity. I do believe a scaled down more harmonious design is needed for the Fire Department. Please view Rye, NH Firestation or Stratham, both of which offer design elements consistent with coastal New England.
The voters of North Hampton voted in 2014 and 1n 2015 by a 51% majority approving the plan which builds the safety complex first and then the library and Towns offices. It builds the best quality space for the least money in the shortest time.
The time is now for North Hampton to address the aging and expensive to maintain town office complex. This plan is the best of all the alternatives in my opinion and is something that will serve our community well for generations.
This plan is still the most comprehensive way for our town to get the much needed improvements to our safety complex. It is also the most responsible fiscal plan and allows the town to capitalize on the best rates and not waste money on repeated short term repairs year after year.
No perfect plan for the North Hampton Municipal Complex exists, but the 2014/2015 plan is comprehensive, practical and possible. Other approaches that are now proposed cost more, accomplish less, and likely will never be completed.
Thank you, to those who are leading such a purposeful cause.
It is time to put aside our smaller individual preferences and work together for the good of the community.
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The cost efficiency of the town campus project needs to become the common goal for the town. Phasing a project over four years and expecting a cheaper total package is a fantasy. Splitting a project onto multiple ballots and expecting voters to approve multiple bonds is just as ludicrous. The focus for the town needs to be for the future, and for every individual in the town to benefit from our planning for the future. It shouldn't be focusing on the past and the "right now" for the decision making process, which is what seems to be happening. Are there enough voices that represent the true consensus of the town? Perhaps the next petition should be to add seats to the select board?