Bow voters swiftly approved nearly two dozen warrant articles at the town’s annual meeting Wednesday night after first pausing to give thanks to an outgoing selectman for his 18 years of service.
Harry Judd received a standing ovation from voters as he accepted a gift from fellow selectmen, Christopher Nicolopoulos and Colleen Hunter. Judd, who served on the board since the early 2000s, was defeated by Bruce Marshall at the polls Tuesday in a vote of 845-563.
“I’ve always felt that Harry’s had the best interests of the town at heart and at the top of his agenda. He’s been a mentor and a friend,” Nicolopoulos said. “Harry, the board will not be the same without you.”
The high-profile select board race played out in the backdrop of growing concerns about a recent rise in residents’ tax bills after a town-wide property reevaluation. The coal-fired Merrimack Station Power Plant doesn’t produce much power these days and is now a source of declining tax revenue for the town.
Even with the issue afoot, it didn’t keep residents from approving the $11.6 million operating budget or other big-ticket items, such as the purchase of a new cruiser for the police chief, a new ambulance for the fire department and two new dump trucks for the public works department. For most purchases, money had already been set aside in capital reserve funds for the purpose, meaning a minimal tax impact.
Voters had no questions on the proposed operating budget Wednesday and approved it as their first course of business. The 2020 budget of $11,633,474 is down from last year’s budget of $11,782,325, which was up partly because Bow paid for the town-wide assessment. The estimated tax impact is $6.96 per $1,000 of assessed value, which is 15 cents less than last year.
The town is also working to align with its 10-year capital improvement plan, and voters allocated $550,000 for reconstruction and paving of town roads. All together agreed to set aside a total of $593,116 in nine capital reserve and expendable trust funds for future expenses, to include emergency equipment, bridge and highway construction and recreation improvements.
The Dunklee Road bridge at the industrial corridor along Route 3A will also get a facelift this summer. The bridge, which is red-listed by the state’s department of transportation, will be replaced at a total cost of $2,646,518, with $1,934,626 paid for from state and federal grants and $711,892 of the town’s portion covered by money already set aside in a reserve fund.
Since 2008, the town has worked toward the replacement of its existing salt storage shed at a cost of $275,000. Select Board Vice Chair Colleen Hunter said the town’s public works department will manage site work and necessary drainage to help keep the project’s cost as low as possible.
Voters also approved an amended warrant article asking for money to replace streetlights in town with efficient LEDs. The majority of the $50,264 project will be paid for by utility incentives and rebates totally $31,316, and the remaining $18,948 will come from general taxation. The tax impact is about 2 cents per $1,000 of assessed value.
Further, voters agreed to spend the following for new department vehicles using funds already set aside in capital reserve: $249,900 for a 4-by-4 ambulance that will replace a smaller 2008 model, $225,854 for a 10-wheel dump truck to replace one from 2004, $178,720 for a 6-wheel dump truck to replace a 2007 model, $76,500 for a utility truck, and $43,000 for a new cruiser that will replace a 2012 Chevy impala driven by Police Chief Margaret Lougee.
The police department will also get new vests for its officers at a cost of $13,830.
Voters also said ‘yes’ to $75,000 to renovate two bathrooms on the main level of the municipal building in order to bring them up to code and to setting $20,000 aside for future improvements to the library.
Two petition warrant articles did not pass. One called for the hiring of a full-time recreation director and the second asked the town of Bow to call upon its state and federal representatives to enact carbon-pricing legislation.
In a special ceremony at the start of the meeting, former selectmen Eric Anderson was recognized as the 2020 citizen of the year. Anderson was compassionately referred to as Bow’s “shutterbug” because he so often has a camera in hand to capture moments from town-sponsored events.