The Hooksett Banner ­ April 1, 2004

This week's stories: (click on the headline to jump to story)

The Pinewood Derby turns 50 ATV club calls financial strain on towns 'myth' Tough cuts made under default budget Residents move in, but stores move out along Rt. 3 Space crunch - Storage room is at a premium at town hall

Are you interested in chatting about Hooksett issues? Want to help plan Hooksett's future? Check out the new Internet chat group begun by the master plan committee at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hooksett_chat/ Auburn has a similar group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/auburn/

We have listed the warrants and candidates in advance of elections on March 9 so you can see them before the vote. Election results will be posted as soon as we get them on the night of March 9. See your town's warrants here: Hooksett School, Hooksett Town (for May elections), Allenstown, Auburn, Candia, Epsom and Pembroke.

Pembroke

The Pinewood Derby turns 50

By AMY FORTIER Correspondent This year marks the 50th anniversary of a beloved Cub Scout tradition ­ the Pinewood Derby. Like many other packs across America, Cub Scout Pack 270 in Pembroke celebrated the 50th anniversary of one of the longest-standing Boy Scout traditions by hosting a Pinewood Derby of their own at the First Congregational Church on Pembroke Road on Saturday, March 27. Although the Derby was open to the public, it was populated mostly by enthusiastic young Cub Scouts from local packs and their families. The Pinewood Derby began in 1953 in Manhattan Beach, Calif., when Cub Scouts from Pack 280 constructed small cars from wood blocks and raced them down an inclined race track. The following year, Boy's Life, a magazine published by the Boy Scouts of America, ran a feature on the Pinewood Derby including instructions for construction and rules for the race that has become one of the most popular Cub Scout traditions over the ensuing 50 years.

READY TO RACE ­ From left, Justin Young, 8, of Concord;Nick Labbay, 9, of Pembroke; Allan Gwinn, 8 of Pembroke; and Evan Shuey, 8, of Pembroke, raced their handcrafted cars in Pack 270's Pinewood Derby. (Amy Fortier Photo)

Today, the rules for the Pinewood Derby are much the same. Each Cub Scout is issued a kit that includes a block of wood, four wheels and four nails. The Scouts carve their wood into race cars and paint them with bright colors and designs. The cars cannot be longer than 7 inches or weigh more than 5 ounces. The activity was designed originally to bond parents and sons through a mutual interest, which is apparent from the excited parents and siblings cheering on the sidelines Saturday.

Pack 270 has brought the tradition into the 21st century however.

"This year we have an electronic timer, which has made it much easier," said Randy Shuey, a leader of the Bear den for the past three years. "In past years, we have had parents at the finish line acting as judges, and often times it was so hard to tell who won that we would end up having to re-race a lot."

There could be no such discrepancy at the Pembroke Pinewood Derby this year as the entire event was highly technical. There was an electronic timer in place that displayed each car's time down to the 1,000th of a second on a huge screen for the audience to see. Scout leaders used microphones for announcements and each race and car was introduced with special sound effects such as squealing tires or the "Jaws" theme music from the computer.

Every child was issued with a driver's license, complete with their photograph, made on a computer and laminated as a souvenir from the event. There was a pit station where Scouts could tune up their cars and winners were issued trophies and awards. The top racers from each pack will continue on to compete against other district packs at the Pinewood Derby finals on Saturday, April 10, at the New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon.

Over the past 50 years, millions of Pinewood cars have been crafted across the country. Considering that each kit starts off exactly the same, the variety of cars raced by local packs at the Pembroke Pinewood Derby is impressive. Each car has a unique contour, design, color scheme and name. More important than any of the race results is the time and energy devoted to the cars ­ each is a labor of love.

Allenstown

ATV club calls financial strain on towns 'myth'

By RUSS CHOMA
Staff Writer
rchoma@yourneighborhoodnews.com

The argument that all-terrain-vehicle trails will be a financial strain on Allenstown is a myth, said Rick Lacourse of Auburn, president of the New Hampshire ATV Club.

Specifically, Lacourse said, contrary to claims made by town officials, the state will provide money to pay for local law enforcement to patrol ATV trails at Bear Brook State Park. Unfortunately, he said, that information is not being made available.

"There's a lot of information that needs to get out," Lacourse said. "The people are being misled. They're being misled by their selectmen and they're being misled by (the anti-ATV residents.)"

What Lacourse said is missing from the public dialogue is that through a New Hampshire Fish and Game program, towns can get state money to patrol ATV trails.

Specifically, Lacourse said, Allenstown officials are ignoring the fact that they can apply to receive up to $42 an hour to cover the cost of patrolling the trails. That money would provide for an off-duty officer to work overtime, rather than using on-duty officers. Further, he said, more than 70 percent of money brought in by fines issued by the local department stays in the department's coffers.

"There's money to be made," he said. "Yet, Allenstown is saying they don't have the money for patrolling. They're misleading people by saying so."

Nevertheless, Allenstown Police Chief James McGonigle said the town has considered the state money, and still does not believe it will be enough.

Of the $42 an hour the department would receive, McGonigle said, $30 would go to the officer patrolling and $12 would go into an account. The money saved would eventually be used to purchase ATV machines for the officers to ride. The fund would be augmented by fine payments collected.

Unfortunately, McGonigle said, that money just isn't coming in fast enough.

"There is no grant money available to actually buy the machines. It's strictly for the enforcement," he said.

Currently, the Allenstown Police Department has two Bombardier ATVs on loan from the manufacturer. McGonigle said there is the possibility those machines could return to the manufacturer soon. At that point, the department would have to buy its own ATVs, for which there is no money.

McGonigle is not optimistic that the extra money from fines and grant money would be enough to cover the purchase of new machines. All-terrain vehicle riders are already allowed to use the same trails as snowmobilers when there is snowcover, so the department had already received grant money for 128 overtime hours. McGonigle said so far this year the department had used 98 hours and issued multiple fines, but they had only collected $972.

"At $8,000 a machine you don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure it would take you a number of years to be able to generate enough money in fine money to buy your own machines," he said.

Other complaints

In addition to the law enforcement grant money, Lacourse said he is unhappy with the characterization that ATVers would be a destructive force at Bear Brook.

Some Allenstown residents have complained that riders would be likely to go off the official trails trails and look for wetlands to drive through. Lacourse said this was untrue.

"That's bull," he said. "Are we looking for wetlands? No. What we're looking for is any trails."

Further, Lacourse said, his club would be willing to help maintain trails.

"With our club in place, our duty would be to apply for grants for trail maintenance."

Lacourse also said his club has 30 members who have been trained by state officials as "trail patrol."

Although not deputized, he said these patrols could help deter inappropriate activity.

Lacourse said that currently horseback riders and mountain-bikers are allowed to use trails without paying a fee or providing for trail maintenance. He said he doesn't hold that against them, he just doesn't understand why ATVers aren't allowed in if they are willing to help out.

"I think every group should have the right to use state and federal lands because we're the taxpayers," he said.

Allenstown

Tough cuts made under default budget

By RUSS CHOMA
Staff Writer
rchoma@yourneighborhoodnews.com

The failure of this year's town operating budget means the belt will have to be cinched a bit tighter in nearly every department this year.

Voters rejected the town's proposed operating budget, leaving the selectmen to work with a $2,915,911 budget ­ $184,565 less than what they asked for.

To close the gap between what was asked and what was given, the selectmen handed down cuts to the department heads.

"We did the cutting and it's up to the department heads to figure out what they're doing," said Sandy McKenney, chairman of the board of selectmen.

According to McKenney and Town Manager David Jodoin, no positions were cut, although the part-time night secretary at the police department will not be funded.

Jodoin also said the building inspector will remain a part-time position. According to Jodoin, the current building inspector, Monica Nann-Smith, already has her hands full, so that decision may be reconsidered at some point.

"She's working on 30-plus zoning violations currently," he said, "And there are some big-ticket building items coming down the pike pretty soon, so they may end up revisiting that."

Jodoin said that the highway department did not have its budget cut because it is already below budget. He also said the police and fire departments saw their budgets increase, but not at the rate which had been requested.

Departments that saw cuts, and the cuts they received were:

· Elections and administration: $12,000.

· Financial: $12,000

· General building maintenance/custodial salary: $5,200

· Civil defense/emergency management: $2,200

· Cemetery: $10,000.

Jodoin also said his own office is taking a $1,200 cut, and typical of many departments receiving cuts, there aren't many frills to begin with.

"There's not a whole lot in that area to cut, so it basically came out of supplies," Jodoin said. "If we end up going over in that line, we'll have to make it up somewhere else."

Hooksett

Residents move in, but stores move out along Route 3

By LARA SKINNER
Staff Writer
lskinner@yourneighborhoodnews.com

Before the shopping plaza near Exit 10 was even a bug in the town council's collective ear, Shaw's and Wal-Mart at the Granite State Marketplace were there for the residents of Hooksett.

Soon, only Shaw's will remain as the anchor store in the almost empty plaza. At the beginning of March, Wal-Mart announced it will close its Marketplace location. The chain store is looking for a larger building in town so it can open a superstore and sell groceries as well as retail items. Wal-Mart spokesman Mia Masten said the current store won't close until the new store is ready to open. "People will be able to shop at one store one night, and at the new store the next morning," she said. Next door, at KB Toy Works, Manager Ken Lajoie said the plaza has struggled to stay viable since the beginning. KB is closing the Hooksett location because the store isn't bringing in high sales. Lajoie has worked at the Marketplace store for the past seven years, and has seen a variety of businesses come and go. "I don't see the demand for tenants that (the management company) is selling for," he said.

GET YOUR WORKERS HERE ­ KB Toyworks was advertising the availability of employees along with discounted toys on a sign in its store window. (Lara Skinner Photo)

Unlike the Hooksett Crossroads Plaza at Exit 10, which is in a tax increment financing district, the Granite State Marketplace is owned by a private developer. Town Planner Charles Watson said the town doesn't have anything to do with the development of the plaza, and the private owners are responsible for keeping the space going.

"We're still, so to speak, at the mercy of private developers," Watson said.

The town does have some control with the master plan, he said, and one of the important parts of the plan is economic development and business retention.

Widening Route 3 to help the flow of car traffic could help development and retention plans for the businesses in the area, Watson said.

Lajoie, who drives to work from Concord, said it takes him less time to drive to Exit 9 than to drive between Exit 9 and the store.

Routes 3 and 28 see extra traffic during the summer because vacationers are using the roads to get to the lakes. Winter weekdays aren't too bad, but Lajoie said the weekends are pretty heavy for traffic. Auto dealerships line the road across from the Marketplace, and he doesn't see any room to widen the road even if the town wanted to.

"I think it's just asking for additional trouble," Lajoie said.

Heavy car traffic is part of the reason his store didn't get a whole lot of foot traffic, he said. The fact that there are also about five empty stores between KB and Olympia Sports is another reason. After Wal-Mart moves out, the Subway Sandwich Shop will start to look pretty lonely.

As more shops move out, Dawn Stanhope said it will probably get even more difficult to sell space.

Stanhope is on the board of directors for the Community Economic Development Corporation of Hooksett. It is a resident group that tries to promote economic development that will benefit the people who live in town.

"It's hard to be proactive and look to the future if you're so bogged down with what's on your plate now," she said.

Stanhope said that CEDCOH stays in touch with Watson, but tries to work with the belief that citizen involvement is power. She wouldn't say that the businesses along Route 28 are out of control, but the area does need help. Things could get worse before they get better, she said.

For the employees at KB, they at least have a manager who cares about them. For the last few weeks of business Lajoie posted a sign on the door advertising great employees for hire, just in case someone was looking for sales help as well as a closeout price on a board game.

Rumors about whether Shaw's or Wal-Mart would expand their stores at the Granite State Marketplace have circulated for years, Lajoie said.

Shaw's spokesman Terrence Donlion said the supermarket already has a strong presence in their location, and couldn't confirm any plans for a store expansion.

The Shaw's chain was recently acquired by Albertson's Inc. of Boise, Idaho, but a spokesman said the supermarket will continue to operate under the Shaw's name.

Watson said the town won't try to direct the private owners of the plaza about what to do with the property, but that doesn't stop him and others from being concerned about the future of the stores.

Hooksett

Space crunch ­ Storage room is at a premium at Hooksett Town Hall

By TIM RYAN
Staff Writer
editor@yourneighborhoodnews.com

Town Administrator Arthur "Chuck" Packard has many ways of describing the town offices.

"Grim is one word," he said.

Officials say the space in the town offices, especially the second floor, which houses the administration and planning offices, is particularly tight; Packard feels the best solution is if voters support a warrant article to convert the Hooksett Village School into a place to house town offices.

"This town needs new town hall offices," he said. Article 10, which was unanimously supported by the council, asks voters to approve acceptance of the Village School and more than 15 acres of land for governmental, civic and public education use. The measure would also include $75,775 for the maintenance and utilities for the site. Offices are cramped, and an overflow of documents has forced officials to keep file cabinets in the hallway. Many town documents are stored in the basement, which used to serve as a jail. "The first floor is the floor that most citizens see," he said. "A lot of them don't make it to the second floor." The town hall, built in 1882, was originally constructed as an open meeting hall. A second floor was built later, and an addition, which currently houses the town clerk's office, was constructed in the 1950s. Still, there was less activity in the building in those days, Packard said. Town Planner Charles Watson has so little space in his office that he cannot spread plans out to look at them.

PAPER EVERYWHERE ­ Town Planner Charles Watson's office is so full he is running out of room to store the many large rolls of plans he has to keep up with, and has nowhere to unroll them when they need to be looked at. He's resorted to storing plans at the highway department. (Tim Ryan Photo)

He keeps the overflow of documents at the highway department, where there is also enough room to review plans.

"When you unroll plans, they're large," he said. "When you store them, they're heavy. Space is our biggest problem."

The computer room, with the town's main server, is housed in a closet between the the breakroom and a bathroom.
"We don't have racks for the computers," he said. "They're just stuffed in there."

The limited space makes it difficult for the town to attract more business, said Watson.

"When they come to a place like this, (we look like) a seat-of-the-pants operation," he said.

Packard and other town officials recently visited the town of Pelham's new offices. The town took a school building and converted it into town offices and a police station (the $6.4 million project also included a new library). Packard said such a project in Hooksett would not cost anywhere as much, and would allow for much greater flexibility for the town.

"The town planner's office is as big as the whole top floor of this building," he said. "These schools have big rooms."
The rehabbed school building would likely not be limited to simply town offices, as a seniors center or rooms for other community groups may be part of the equation as well.

Last year, voters approved $20,000 for an architecture and engineering to examine the structure and make recommendations on what could be done with with it.

It may turn out to be most economically feasible to bulldoze the school and build a new facility, Packard said.

"I'm not suggesting we do it, I'm suggesting that we ask the question," he said.

The deliberative session of Town Meeting will take place Saturday, April 3, at 1 p.m., at Cawley Middle School; the vote on the budget and warrant items will be Tuesday, May 11. The meeting is the last point where voters can amend the ballot before it goes to a vote.

Voters will be deciding on the $12,883,164 town budget, as well as a number of other warrant articles.

"I think it's a lean budget," he said. "There's no waste. It's a matter of keeping our heads above water."