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by Guy Caron
Remember Article 13 last year, the Lynchville/Danis Park
water distribution plan? That article failed by a
mere 26 votes, yet had no tax impact whatsoever to the
voters of Goffstown. That same plan appears again
on Tuesday's ballot as Article 12.
Don't make the same mistake again.
Often, voters will simply glance at a Warrant Article
rather than take the time to actually read it
thoroughly. And in so doing, a voter will often
take notice of a large figure and nothing else, then
immediately vote against that article under the mistaken
belief that the article will hit them hard in their
pocketbook.
Case In Point: School Article 2
School Article 2 is an excellent example. At
first glance, the figure of $816,000 stands out
prominently. Without thoroughly reading this
article, and the accompanying information in the voter's
guide, one might easily jump to the conclusion that
School Article 2 is asking for $816,000 for renovations
to Bartlett School. It is, sort of, but such a
conclusion is misleading...
School Article 2 is, in fact, only asking for permission
to spend monies we already have. $216,000
would come from monies deposited in a school impact fee account paid for by developers,
and the remaining $600,000 would come from
the Bartlett Capital Reserve fund. These are monies we already
have set aside in previous years for much needed
renovations to the school. This article has NO TAX
IMPACT whatsoever. But unless voters are
fully informed, these renovations may not be realized
should this article fail due to lack of complete
information. It was disappointing to see our
own GRA membership did not seem to understand this
(voting 75% against in our member's poll), and the
current poll we are running that is open to the public
also shows Article 2 with only 41% voter support.
Other Articles to Consider
While considering Town Article 12 and School Article
2, also take a close look at the planning board's Town
Article 9. This article increases residential
wetlands setbacks from 50 feet to 100 feet, greatly
affecting homeowners' ability to develop on their own land without
first obtaining waivers (and spending substantial monies
for a wetland scientist). Effectively, passage of
this article could prevent a homeowner from putting up a
shed, building a swimming pool, extending a driveway, etc.
A map of this proposed wetlands extension is available on
the Goffstown Town Website, and can be viewed by
clicking here: http://www.town.goffstown.nh.us/Elections/Article_9_Impact_map.pdf . The streams are in green.
Article 9 does have its positive aspects such as
preventing someone from putting a horse stable within 100 feet of a
stream (water pollution issues), but it needs to be weighed against the
downside, the usurpation of private land rights.
But without taking the time to fully read and understand
the implications of Article 9 - and every other article
on the ballot - voters cannot possibly make informed
decisions when entering the voting booth on
Tuesday. And those decisions affect all of of us.
Take the time to truly understand what you are voting
for or against on March 11th. It is your
responsibility to be as informed as possible before
casting your vote.
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