In The Know Hampton

Your Source For Unbiased Town Information

Article 12: Inflow & Infiltration Study ($100,00 offset by loan forgiveness)

For the full wording of the Article, see this link: Link to the Warrant as Amended following Deliberative Session

What it Means: This Article would cover the upfront cost of an Inflow and Infiltration (I&I) Study, a cost which would later be reimbursed by the State. I&I occurs when stormwater enters sewer pipes through cracks, leaky seals, or faulty or illegal connections. Excess water from I&I can trigger Sanitary Sewer Overflows, contribute to excess filtration and cause the Waste Water Treatment Plant to needlessly exceed capacity.  The cost of the study will be reimbursed to the Town by the State. It requires 60% of the votes to pass (3/5ths), because it is technically a loan.

Those in favor say: Water that enters sewer systems through I&I puts costly pressure on wastewater treatment facilities, and increases costs for taxpayers.

Fiscal impact: Cost per $1,000 valuation is $0.02. A household valued at $650,000 would see a tax increase of $13.00 for 2025, a cost that would be reimbursed to the Town.

Note: We use the average cost per property for Hampton. There is “Cost per Warrant Article Calculator” on the Town’s website that allows you to enter your specific property value, and the see the cost for all Warrant Articles. You can access the Calculator here.

Trash and Recycling Delayed

Trash and Recycling collection for Thursday will be delayed by one day due to the storm. Please make sure to bring your carts in and secure them if necessary.  Thursday’s collection will be picked up on Friday.  If you believe your collection has been missed prior to Thursday – please call the DPW office at 603-926-3202.

 

Ice Pond and Grist Mill Pond Field Work RESCHEDULED

Due to the pending storm, the field visits scheduled this week for Ice Pond and Grist Mill Pond have been rescheduled for next week.… 

Following the passing of article 22 in 2023 funding an ecological study for Ice Pond and Grist Mill Pond, a small team from GEI Consultants will be conducting field visits to Ice Pond and Grist Mill Pond next week. They are scheduled to be on the ponds April 9th and 10th. They plan to start on Ice Pond and then move to Grist Mill Pond. The field work will involve mapping the pond’s bottom, sediment sampling and surface water quality. They will be taking a boat out onto both ponds.  If you have any questions, please reach out to Brianna O’Brien, Conservation Coordinator, at 603-929-5808 and bobrien@hamptonnh.gov. 

Notice of Mosquito Control Measures

The Hampton Mosquito Control program begins the week of April 8. Crews from Dragon Mosquito Control, Inc. will be checking swamps, salt marshes, woodland pools, ditches, catch basins, storm drains and other shallow, stagnant water for mosquito larvae. When mosquito larvae are found, treatment may occur using one or more insecticides.  A list can be found here: List of Insecticides and Additional Details.

Beginning in June, a truck mounted sprayer will disperse Duet (prallethrin 1% & sumithrin 5%) along roadways at night. Road spraying may continue into September. It is not possible to predict the dates of treatment this far in advance. The frequency of night time spraying along roadways is based upon mosquito surveillance data and weather conditions.

Further communication will be given if emergency spraying is going to take place.

Residents who do not want mosquito treatment to on their property may use Dragon’s No- Spray Registry online at www.dragonmosquito.com/no-spray-registry or you may write to Dragon Mosquito Control, PO Box 46, Stratham, NH 03885. Be sure to include your name, physical address, phone number, house color and acreage. Residents may call 603-734-4144 or email Help@DragonMosquito.com for further information regarding dates, times, locations, insecticides, precautions, and other concerns.

How Textile Recycling Works in Hampton

You may have seen the DPW announcement that in the month of February, Hampton successfully saved 936 pounds of textiles from going into the landfill.  That’s great news, because hauling fees (taxpayer cost) are based on the weight of our trash.  The reason we were able to keep those 936 pounds out of the trash was that individual citizens used the new-to-Hampton Helpsy service to have used clothing, shoes, etc picked up and recycled.

We personally tried this new service, and here’s how it went….

We went online to Schedule a Helpsy Pick-Up and registered, leaving any notes (such as where to find the bag of items).  Not everything is acceptable, but quite a bit is – here’s a link to that information.  We gathered our items and placed them outside the door.  On the appointed day (pick-up is on Sunday – between 7 AM and 5 PM – but you don’t need to be there) the bag was picked up.  Done!  Could not have been easier, and it saved the Town money that would otherwise have gone to hauling fees.

In case you have other questions, we found this list of FAQ’s very helpful: Helpsy FAQ’s.

If you still have questions, you can email info@helpsy.co or call 800-244-6350.  Let’s keep decreasing the waste, decreasing the weight of our trash, and increasing the convenience of recycling.  Thank you, DPW!

 

SAU 21 Candidates 2022

What it means: There is only one position, highlighted in yellow, where there are more candidates than there are openings. You also have the option to write-in a name.

SAU 21 Article 1: Operating Budget of $29,515,058

Shall the School District raise and appropriate as an operating budget, not including appropriations by special warrant articles and other appropriations voted separately, the amounts set forth on the budget posted with the warrant or as amended by vote of the first session, for the purposes set forth therein, totaling $29,515,058? Should this article be defeated, the default budget shall be $29,209,115 which is the same as last year, with certain adjustments required by previous action of the School District or by law; or the governing body may hold one special meeting, in accordance with RSA 40:13, X and XVI, to take up the issue of a revised operating budget only. (Majority vote required.)

What it means: The FY 2022-23 Winnacunnet Cooperative School District Proposed Operating Budget is $29,515,058. This reflects an increase of +2.6% or a +$744,390 increase from the 2021-22 budget. The proposed budget is +1.04% or an increase of $305,943 above the default budget. Budget drivers, according to a presentation at the Deliberative session are increases in salaries, transportation and retirement; and a decrease in Special Education tuition costs as follows:

Salaries – Certified Staff: +$365,360; Contractual cost of living adjustment (COLA) and step increases for certified teachers as part of the SEA collective bargaining agreement.

Transportation: +$78,136; Transportation services for special education and regular, daily routes.

Retirement/FICA: +$137,265; The New Hampshire Retirement System (NHRS) employer contribution of 21.02% for teachers and 14.06% for employees and the FICA contribution of 7.65%.

Special Education -Tuition: -$198,652; Elimination of out of district placement for students requiring special services.

Hampton is responsible for 47.4% of SAU 21’s appropriations.

Those in favor say: There were both increased and decreased expense items that affected the operating budget for SAU 21 this year. The Board and staff worked hard to keep expenses reasonable for taxpayers.

Fiscal Impact: Using the example of a home valued at $400,000, adoption of the Proposed Operating Budget for SAU 21 will cause an increase in taxes of $36.70 versus last year. Take your property valuation divided by 1000 and multiplied by .092 to get the tax impact for your property (if Article 1 passes). If Article 1 fails, the Default Budget will cost the homeowner with a $400,000 valuation $21.61.  These numbers are based on Hampton’s share of the total.

SAU 90 Candidates

What it means: There are two open positions for the SAU 90 School Board, and 2 candidates. You may also write-in a candidate’s name on the ballot.