Following in the footsteps of their Penacook neighbors, Boscawen voters gave their stamp of approval Tuesday on a plan to clean up and remove buildings at the old Allied Leather property, contingent upon the town’s receipt of a federal grant.
The anticipated cost of the project is $600,000; however, the town would contribute just one-sixth of that amount, or $100,000, with the remainder paid for by a Brownfields Cleanup Grant.
“There is a belief that our $100,000 match, we can do with in-kind contributions, meaning not tax dollars,” Edward Cherian Jr. told the approximately 70 voters in attendance at the annual meeting.
Cherian, the chairman of the select board, explained that debris from the three buildings at the site, currently owned by the town, will be taken to the construction material landfill, which would serve as an in-kind credit. Further, any town employees who perform work associated with the project will save Boscawen money, as well, he said.
The site is contaminated by lead paint, asbestos and PCBs and, therefore, can’t be developed in its present state. The long-term goal is to make the riverfront property available for construction, including micro-apartments that could be attractive to senior citizens or younger people just starting out in their careers, officials said.
“I travel through there almost every day,” said John Porter, a resident of River Road. “One of those buildings is in imminent threat of crashing down, and it could crash onto the road. In addition to clean up, there is a huge liability for the town.”
Clean up would come on the heels of a similar project completed in Penacook, where an apartment complex is under construction. Boscawen residents cited Penacook’s success Tuesday night, with one voter asking, “Why shouldn’t we grab some money and get it done?”
In addition to tidying up the old tannery site, voters ultimately approved a $4,074,145 operating budget. That approval followed significant discussion and an unsuccessful effort by retired fire chief Ray Fisher to cut the budget by $30,000.
Fisher, who retired last year, said the on-call fire department had a $20,000 surplus at the end of 2018 for its approximately 20 firefighters who receive stipends for attending training and answering fire calls. Going into town meeting Tuesday, $30,000 budgeted in 2019 was unused, he noted. As a result, he proposed reducing the budget by $30,000, arguing enough money would be available.
The motion ultimately failed after town officials explained that the money is there as a cushion in case there is a high volume of calls in 2020 or a serious fire that requires an extensive response. If the town is short money at the end of the year, it would have to call a special town meeting in order to pay its volunteers.
“The number of volunteers fluctuates all the time. The problem with reducing the budget by that whole number is we just added three new members,” said Fire Chief Timothy Kenney. “We have the same amount of people show up to calls, we’re short money now.”
Although the approved operating budget of $4.1 million is up about $325,000 from last year, the number is deceiving at first glance, officials said. That’s because a major part of the increase is a $200,000 town contribution to the Penacook Rescue Squad, which voters considered in prior years as a separate warrant article, not as part of the budget. Selectmen said health insurance costs for employees are also up over 2019.
While voters were fairly swift in approving many of the articles at Tuesday’s annual town meeting, they narrowly defeated a request by officials to make electrical improvements to the Town Municipal Complex that includes the police department. The upgrades would have allowed the town to connect the offices to an existing generator so they could ultimately use that space as an emergency operation center down the road.
The $62,500 project was eligible for a 50% matching grant from New Hampshire Homeland Security. However, several voters told the select board that they couldn’t justify the cost given that the town’s fire station is already set up for that purpose.
The dozens of voters in attendance Tuesday narrowly approved a warrant article for $1,500 to help fund the operating costs of the Boscawen Church Park, which was created in 1920.
Voters overwhelmingly approved the designation of 375 acres of land to become a second town forest. As a result, the town-owned land will be managed by the conservation commission moving forward. They also approved $5,700 for the Penacook Community Center, $6,000 for the Boscawen Historical Society and $500 for the Court Appointed Special Advocates program in the state.
Additionally, voters set aside varying amounts in five existing capital reserve funds for highway equipment, police vehicles and other services essential to town function. The town also created a contingency fund, which would help cover the cost of emergency expenses, such as when the town hall was struck by lightening in 2017.
Longtime select board member Roger Sanborn received a standing ovation as other town officials saluted him for his service and welcomed newly-chosen selectman Paul Dickey to the seat. Cherian called Sanborn an “encyclopedia of Boscawen history” and said that while he’ll be missed on the board, his work for the town is far from complete. Sanborn has served on the zoning board for four consecutive decades.