Shall the Town of Hampton vote to raise and appropriate the sum of $486,231 for improvements to streets consisting of a) paving overlays, b) adjustments to structures to permit paving, c) repairs and replacements to drainage, d) repairs and replacement to sewers if needed for pavement repair, e) repairs to sidewalks and driveway openings, f) crack sealing and curbing installation, and g) improvements and repairs to Town Parking Lots and parking areas. Upon completion of the work scheduled in this warrant article, if funds remain unused the DPW may proceed to the next street(s) on their priority repair list until said unused portion is spent. Said appropriation to be offset by the State Highway Block Grant estimated to be $323,509. This shall be a non-lapsing appropriation per RSA 32:7, VI and shall not lapse until the projects are completed or by March 31, 2022, whichever occurs sooner? (Majority vote required)
What it means: The Town of Hampton has been successful in receiving a grant from the NH DOTHighwayGrant Block Fund that helps to maintain Class IV and Class V “highways” (basically compact sections of town roads). Funds are applied to specific projects as identified by DPW and approved by the Board ofSelectmen.
Those in favor say: This allows the Town to pursue improvements to roads including paving overlays, repairs, crack sealing, curbing and associated utility improvements with a considerable offset from the NH highway grant program. Roads listed in the Capital Improvement Plan will be addressed according to the priority list, with the understanding that unforeseen circumstances will sometimes change the order of streets to be repaired. The current plan includes Park Ave, Elaine St, Richards St, the High Street parking lot, Cusack Rd and Acadia Ave.
Those against say: One speaker at Deliberative Session was critical of the fact that the street names to be repaired were not listed in the Article for reasons of accountability. Another speaker offered the explanation that street names had been removed to allow flexibility – if funds were left over after the projects were completed, the listing of names in the article might have been interpreted as not allowing anything further to be done with those funds. By referring instead to the priority repair list found in the Capital Improvement Plan, DPW has the authority to move on to the next street on the list.
Fiscal impact: If Article 21 is approved, it will create an additional one-time tax cost of $17.20 for a Hampton home valued at $400,000. Take your property value divided by 1000 times .043 to get your cost.