’26 Article 28 – Hampton Conservation Fund – $30,000

Shall the Town of Hampton vote to raise and appropriate the sum of $30,000 to be placed in the Hampton Conservation Fund? This Fund is used to “acquire, maintain, improve, protect or limit the future use of, or otherwise conserve and properly utilize,” open spaces and conservation easements in Hampton in accordance with RSA 36-A:4.

What it Means: This Fund is used by the Conservation Commission to protect open spaces via acquisition or conservation easements, on behalf of the Town. This Warrant Article helps to build the Fund so that it can be used to pay for future conservation opportunities as they are identified.  Examples of recent uses of the fund include the 2022 purchase of the Barkley Property and the establishment of a conservation easement there, and the 2019 establishment of a Conservation Easement on the Batchelder Farm.The Commission tries to build up this Fund gradually to help reduce, if not eliminate the need to ask the voters for additional dollars when conservation opportunities arise. The Commission always uses this fund first before going to the townspeople for additional financial support for these opportunities.

No one spoke for or against this Article at Deliberative Session, other than to explain it.

Fiscal impact: The estimated tax rate impact in 2026 is less than $0.01 per thousand. The estimated tax impact

for a home valued at $600,000 is $2.96.