Shall the Town of Hampton vote to raise and appropriate the sum of $177,724 for the cost of Hampton’s contribution to twenty-one (21) human service agencies in the Seacoast in the amounts corresponding to the agencies’ requests in the right hand columns as follows:

Human Service Agency		FY 2018	FY 2019 Request
American Red Cross		$  2,000.00	$  2,000.00
Big Brothers Big Sisters		$  8,000.00	$  8,000.00
Child Advocacy Center		$  1,250.00	$  1,250.00
Child and Family Services (now Waypoint)		$  6,000.00	$  6,000.00
Crossroads House		$15,000.00	$15,000.00
Families First Health & Support Center		$10,000.00	$10,000.00
Haven Violence Protection & Support Services		$  7,500.00	$  7,500.00
Lamprey Health Sr. Trans. Program		$  4,200.00	$  4,200.00
New Generation Shelter		$  2,000.00	$  2,000.00
One Sky Community Services		$  5,100.00	$  5,000.00
Retired & Senior Volunteer Program		$  1,800.00	$  1,800.00
Richie McFarland Children’s Center		$  5,400.00	$  5,400.00
Rockingham Community Action		$25,000.00	$25,000.00
Rockingham Meals on Wheels		$  7,174.00	$  7,174.00
Seacoast Family Promise		$  2,500.00	$  2,500.00
Seacoast Mental Health Center		$  8,000.00	$  8,000.00
Seacoast Visiting Nurse		$40,000.00	$40,000.00
Seacoast Youth Services		$  2,500.00	$  2,500.00
Transportation Assistance for Seniors (TASC)		$  9,600.00	$  9,600.00

Total:                                                                               $177,724.00      $177,724.00

These twenty-one (21) human service agencies shall each be required to give a written report at the end of the calendar or fiscal year 2019 to the Board of Selectmen highlighting what the funds were used for and what impact the funds had in assisting to achieve their goals and objectives? (Majority vote required)

What it means: Each of the listed agencies will receive a donation from the town in the noted amount.  The funds raised and donated last year are provided for comparison.  This is an “all or none” Warrant Article.  If the Article passes, all the listed agencies receive the specified donations.  If it fails, none do.

Those in favor say: This is something we do every year.  These agencies handle issues that the town would be dealing with if the agencies were not, so these donations avoid other, possibly more costly taxpayer expenses.

Those against say: This sort of funding should be voluntary, not mandated via property taxes.  A person should not be required to support all of these agencies if he or she has a philosophical disagreement with one or more on the list.

 Fiscal impact: The $177,724 cost in 2019 will create an additional tax cost for the average Hampton home valued at $405,000 of $21.62. (Take your property value divided by 1000 and multiply by .053 to get your specific tax impact.) This decision affects the current year only.

Shall the Town of Hampton vote to raise and appropriate the sum of $50,000 to continue the process of converting stored paper documents to electronic format as authorized by Chapter 226 of the Acts of 2016, with said sum of $50,000 to come from the Unassigned Fund Balance. This shall be a non-lapsing appropriation per RSA 32:7, VI and shall not lapse until the purpose is completed or by March 31, 2021, whichever occurs sooner? (Majority vote required)

What it means: Certain town records are required to be kept indefinitely.  As the years go by and the population grows, the number of documents and the space required grows exponentially.  This Article approves the use of unexpended funds from prior years to be used to continue the process of preserving the documents in an electronic format.

Those in favor say: Having historical documents in electronic form makes them more accessible for all.  It also helps to reduce the space required to store older documents.

Those against say: No one spoke against this article at the Deliberative Session.

Fiscal impact: There is no tax impact because the money was appropriated in prior tax years.  This Article is allowing the withdrawal of the money from the fund for the specified purpose.

Shall the Town of Hampton vote to raise and appropriate the sum of $90,000 to carry out all lawful functions allowed under federal, state and local criminal justice forfeiture programs and to authorize the withdrawal of said sum of $90,000 from the Police Forfeiture Special Revenue Fund created for that purpose under Article 55 of the 2003 Town Meeting? (Majority vote required)

 What it means: During normal police operations, items of value may be forfeited by individuals. There are expenses associated with the management of such property, including storage, auctioning, returning items where appropriate, etc.  NH law permits the auctioning of this property where appropriate, and the monies so received are put into a fund.  This Article seeks approval to use the funds to cover the cost of managing the forfeiture process and other activities approved via the RSA’s.

Those in favor say: This is a standard, annual procedure.

Those against say: Those opposed take issue with taking the property of others in the first instance (as opposed to the annual procedure of withdrawing money from the fund); or have issues with how the funds are spent.  Both of these issues are defined at the state-level and would not be affected one way or the other by the decision on this Article.

Fiscal impact: There is no tax impact because the money will be taken from a separate fund put aside for this purpose.  This Article is allowing the withdrawal of the money from the fund.

 

Shall the Town of Hampton vote to raise and appropriate the sum of $16,440 for the purpose of replacing the interior front doors at the Town Offices in order to make them ADA compliant. The doors will be replaced by sliding glass door(s) that are motion activated to allow unlimited access by the handicapped, with said sum of $16,440 to come from the Unassigned Fund Balance. The exterior front doors have already been replaced in this manner. This will be a non-lapsing appropriation per RSA 32:7, VI and shall not lapse until the work is completed or by March 31,2020, whichever is sooner? (Majority vote required)

What it means: Town Hall currently has exterior doors that slide open when motion activated, but the interior doors need to be pulled open, which can be difficult for anyone in a wheelchair or even with hands full.  The proposed doors would also slide open when approached to make Town Hall more welcoming (and compliant).  The funds will come from the unassigned fund.

Those in favor say: There is a ramp leading up to Town Hall, so a person in a wheelchair can access the building, and the motion-detector exterior doors allow easy entry into the lobby. In order to access the interior of the building, to visit the Town Clerk, or to pay property taxes, however, that person would need to await help.  Installing the motion-detector sliding doors would solve that problem and improve the Town’s ADA compliance.

Those against say: No one spoke against this article at theDeliberativeSession.

Fiscal impact: There is no tax impact because the money was appropriated in prior tax years. This Article is allowing the withdrawal of the money from the fund for the specified purpose.

Shall the Town of Hampton vote to raise and appropriate the sum of $10,000 for the purpose of creating and supporting the Town of Hampton Naval Committee Fund, with said sum of $10,000 to come from the Unassigned Fund Balance. This will be a non-lapsing appropriation per RSA32:7, VI and shall not lapse until the work of the Committee is completed or by March 31, 2024, whichever is sooner? (Majority vote required)

What it means: This requests the voters of Hampton to support the activities of the Naval Committee, which provides hospitality to naval personnel on vessels visiting the Town of Hampton.  Until now, a group of volunteers filled the role through volunteer time, and costs have been covered with private funds.

Those in favor say: We have been asked to host more ships. Residents of this town should feel honored that the Navy has asked Hampton to support this effort.

Those against say: It’s a volunteer effort and it should stay a volunteer effort. It should not be made a responsibility of the taxpayers. The proposal lacks specificity re: how money will be spent. It is inappropriate to use Unassigned Fund Balance for a project that is not specifically for the Town. 

 Fiscal impact: There is no tax impact because the money was appropriated in prior tax years.  This Article would use money from the unassigned fund balance.

Shall the Town of Hampton vote to repeal Sections 167-47, 167-47 A and Section 167-47 B Permissible unfounded emergency calls; Section 167-48 Service Charge; Sections 542-3 Service charge for unfounded emergency calls; and Section 542-4 Permissible unfounded emergency calls. New Hampshire statutes provide that false alarms, regardless of cause, are violations of law that are handled by the Police and the Courts not by Town Ordinances making it necessary to repeal these provisions. (Majority vote required)

What it means:  The references are to sections of Hampton’s Code of Ordinances.  The references have been deemed unnecessary because State Law covers the same issues.

Those in favor say: No one spoke to this article at theDeliberativeSession.

Those against say: No one spoke against this article at theDeliberativeSession.

Fiscal impact: No tax impact.

Shall the Town of Hampton vote to amend Chapter 149-16 Police Attendance to strike from the end of the paragraph the words “plus 30%” and substitute the words “plus 50%” or such rate as is voted by the Board of Selectmen under RSA 41:9-a” (Majority vote required)

What it means: This relates to the cost at which private businesses reimburse the Town for police detail. Other places in the Ordinances were previously changed to 50% to better cover our costs, but in Chapter 149 (Entertainment Ordinance) it was inadvertently left at 30%.  Approval of this Article would bring the surcharge for all detail work up to 50%.

Those in favor say: At 30%, the Town is not covering costs including benefits and retirement costs. Changing the surcharge to 50% will bring this Ordinance into line with the rest of the Town’s Ordinances and will cover the Town’s cost for the time of the officers.

Fiscal impact: No direct tax impact, but would generate more appropriate offsets to costs.

Shall the Town of Hampton vote to distribute to the general fund all remaining funds that are left in Fund 21 that was created through Article 41 of 1996 Annual Town Meeting for the improvement of Town owned infrastructure located in the Hampton Beach Precinct from 20% of the parking fees collected from Town parking lots by the Town under such authority was rescinded by Article 45 of the 2007 Annual Town Meeting and then to close such account, the remaining funds total $41,616.19 plus any additional interest earned thereon? (Majority vote required)

What it means: Fund 21 was established in 1996 to set aside 20% of the revenue from the beach parking meters to offset infrastructure costs within the Hampton Village District.  In 2007, a successful petitioned Warrant Article rescinded this provision, and put forward a corollary 2007 Article that diverted those same funds to the Parks and Rec Fund, used every year to update the playgrounds, etc.  (See 2019 Article 34.)

Meanwhile, Fund 21, which was rescinded in 2007 still had funds left in it, but the mechanism for receiving or disbursing money had been removed by the Warrant Article, which was passed by the voters.  The remaining funds were thus “stranded”.  Approval of this Article would take the money out of the fund and put it into the General Fund, and remove the account.

Those in favor say: Auditors have questioned why Fund 21 is still on the books, despite the fact that it has no mechanism for additions or subtractions. A “yes” vote allows the Town to take care of this housekeeping matter.  Any additional initiatives regarding the parking lot revenue (See “Those against say” below) could be pursued whether Fund 21 is still dormant on the books or has been resolved.

Those against say: A “no” vote gives the town the option to re-establish (via another Warrant Article) the fund for the purpose it was originally established – beach infrastructure and improvements.

Fiscal impact: No tax impact.

Shall the Town of Hampton vote to raise and appropriate the sum of $110,000 (One hundred and ten thousand dollars), $55,000 (fifty-five thousand dollars) from taxation and $55,000 (fifty-five thousand dollars) from the Conservation Fund for the fee simple purchase and permanent protection of a+/- 70 acres parcel (Map 63 Lot 1) located off of Timber Swamp Rd in Hampton for the purpose of conserving open space, protecting wildlife and aquatic habitat, and preserving wetlands and flood control areas in the best interest of the Town for the appraisal value of $108,000 (one hundred and eight thousand dollars) plus $2,000 (two thousand dollars) for legal and closing costs, of which the overall sum may be reduced if land conservation grant funding can be secured, said premises to be held in perpetuity by the Town of Hampton and placed under the care of the Conservation Commission, this parcel shares a common boundary line with both the Hurd Farm (120 acres) and Batchelder Farm (110 acres) Conservation Easements and will be the first parcel to connect these two easements, creating greaterprotection for the Taylor River Watershed, this funding will be non-lapsing appropriation per RSA 32:7, VI and will not lapse until the acquisition of the land or by December 31, 2021, whichever is sooner? (Majority vote required)

What it means: The Conservation Commission has worked with the owner of a parcel of land off Timber Swamp Road, and the two parties have agreed on a price.  The Commission finds this land to be a particularly attractive acquisition for the Town because it would join together two other protected parcels, making for greater contiguous conservation space and helping to further protect the Taylor River Watershed.  Of the $110,00 that will be needed, half will come from existing funds currently in the Conservation Fund.

Those in favor say: This will join together several contiguous pieces of land for better flood protection, water quality protection and wildlife passage & habitat.

Those against say:  No one spoke against this article at theDeliberativeSession.

Fiscal impact:  The $55,000 additional cost in 2019 will create a tax cost for the average Hampton home valued at $405,000 of $3.27. (Take your property value divided by 1000 and multiply by .008 to get your specific tax impact.) This decision affects the current year only.

Photo shows the historic James House in Hampton, prior to a recent refurbishing.

Shall the Town of Hampton vote to establish, in accordance with RSA 673:1, II and 674:44-a, a Heritage Commission as proposed by the Planning Board. As provided in RSA 67 4:44-b:

I.  The Heritage Commission shall have advisory and review authority, specifically, as follows:

a)  Survey and inventory all cultural resources.

b)  Conduct research and publish findings, including reports to establish the legal basis for a district and preparation of historic district ordinances within the municipality prior to its adoption or amendment as provided in RSA 675:6.

c)  Assist the Planning Board, as requested, in the development and review of those sections of the Master Plan, which address cultural and historic resources.

d)  Advise, upon request, local agencies, and other local boards in their review of requests on matters affecting or potentially affecting cultural and historic resources.

e)  Coordinate activities with appropriate service organizations and nonprofit groups.

f)  Publicize its activities.

g)  Hire consultants and contractors as needed.

h)  Receive gifts of money and property, both real and personal, in the name of the Town, subject to the approval of the Board of Selectmen, such gifts to be managed and controlled by the Commission for its proper purposes.

i)  Hold meetings and hearings necessary to carry out its duties.

II.  Property. The Commission may acquire, in the name of the Town, subject to the approval of the Board of Selectmen, by gift, purchase, grant, bequest, devise, lease, or otherwise, a fee or lesser interest, development rights, covenant, or other contractual right, including conveyances with conditions, limitations, or reversions, as may be necessary to acquire, maintain, improve, protect, limit the future use of, or otherwise conserve and properly use the cultural resources of the Town, and shall manage and control the same; provided , however, that the Town or Commission shall not have the right to condemn property for these purposes.

As provided in RSA 673:4-a:

I.  The Heritage Commission shall consist of 5 regular members and not more than 5 alternate members, all to be appointed by the Board of Selectmen, provided that:

a)  All regular members and alternate members of the Heritage Commission shall be residents of the Town.

b)  One regular member and one alternate member of the Heritage Commission shall each be members of the Board of Selectmen.

c)  One regular member and one alternate member of the Heritage Commission shall each be members of the Planning Board.

The Heritage Commission shall elect a Chairman and Vice Chairman from among its regular members, and subsequently establish Rules of Procedure. The Chairman (or Vice Chairman in the absence of the Chairman) shall designate an alternate member to sit for a regular member in accordance with the membership requirements identified above.

Note: This Article follows the prior abolishment of the Town’s Heritage Commission (Article 35 from the 2015 Annual Town Meeting), and is the result of renewed interest in efforts to encourage the preservation of buildings and places of historic, architectural and community value within the Town of Hampton? (Majority vote required)

What it means:  This would re-establish a Commission to assist the Planning Board in helping to document historical buildings, help preserve older structures where possible and give guidance to the Master Plan related to our historical resources.  The Commission would have elected members and would meet as necessary to carry out their duties.

Those in favor say: We need all the help we can get to hold on to our local heritage. This is especially true of losing older structures to development efforts in Town. The reason this is being put before the voters such a short time after the abolition of the previous Heritage Commission is that the Town and particularly the Planning Board has missed the guidance that a dedicated group of people focused on our local heritage can bring to the decisions being made about what is allowed, and about how things are done.

Those against say: The previous Heritage Commission was basically non-functional. Anything that the Heritage Commission can do, the Hampton Historical Society can do better.  ITKH note: A subsequent communication with directors of the Hampton Historical Society indicated that they do not have the statutory authority that a Heritage Commission has, and that it is not in their Mission Statement to serve as a Town Commission.  They do not have the manpower to attend Town meetings or to be “on call” for documentation purposes.  They are not interested in taking on the degree of responsibility envisioned in Article 45.  Thus, if you are in favor of having this resource in Town vote “yes” and if not, vote “no”, but the Hampton Historical Society, as a private museum, is not an option to accomplish these tasks.

Fiscal impact: No tax impact.