Lakes Region projects earn federal funding through Shaheen

WASHINGTON — Earmarks from the final government funding bills for fiscal year 2024 included over $100 million to projects in New Hampshire, including several in the Lakes Region, according to Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH). 

Among those projects are a new police body camera program in Alton, the reconstruction of a unique and historic bridge in Tilton and conservation efforts by the Lake Winnipesaukee Association.

Tilton bridge

The Tilton island bridge project, which will restore the only remaining wrought-iron bridge of its kind in the country, received a disbursement of $500,000.

“We were awarded $500,000 for the removal, repair and reestablishment of the Tilton island bridge,” Town Administrator Paul Branscombe said last week.

Town leaders estimate the project will cost roughly $2 million and could take several years to complete.

The bridge, constructed in 1871, is the oldest bridge of its kind in the United States. It must be removed and taken off-site for refabrication, Branscombe said. Accessibility to the area is limited, due in part to the presence of electrical lines and power poles owned by Eversource. Those poles must be removed for the project to proceed.

“The accessibility is very difficult,” he said.

Erosion around the stone walls which surround the island is also a problem that must be addressed and the town is working with representatives of the National Parks Service to make plans accordingly.

The town still needs to come up with another $1.5 million after a warrant article failed at Town Meeting last year, which would have raised another million dollars toward the project.

“I believe the board of selectmen will wait until all the funding is secured,” he said.

A meeting with the National Parks Service will likely be held toward the end of May and town officials will be able to hammer out more details after that.

“Moving the poles from one side of the river to the other is paramount,” he said. “I’ll arrange a meeting with the [Department of Transportation] and Eversource, and we need an easement with the Tilton School.”

Body cameras in Alton

The funding also resulted in a $255,000 award to the Alton Police Department to fund a new body camera program, which many police departments in the Lakes Region already have in place.

Police Chief Todd MacDougall said the funding hasn’t yet been dispersed to his department, pending an administrative process between the department and the New Hampshire Department of Justice.

“We should hear something any day now because the money has been released to the DOJ,” he said. 

Once the funds are released, MacDougall will present the award to the selectboard and then order 22 new body-worn cameras — one for every patrol officer and two to keep in storage.

The funding will also support device storage and the industry-standard software used to archive camera footage for five years. After five years, the town will need to designate funding to maintain the electronic storage software either on a year-to-year basis or through a capital reserve fund, MacDougall said last week. 

“We’ve been toying with the idea for several years,” he said, adding that body cameras are standard among law enforcement agencies and offer many benefits to officers and the public. “In the modern policing world, it’s expected that officers are going to have cameras.”

The body camera program is intended to increase transparency and accountability of officers and to bolster their ability to collect and archive evidence useful in court.

Alton applied for the funding after hearing about funding requests to Shaheen through the appropriations process from a representative of the New Hampshire Association of Chiefs of Police.

“This launches us to get going,” he said. 

MacDougall said body-worn cameras bring up privacy concerns and the town government will need to draft policies in-line with state law to that effect.

“I think it’s going to be an excellent thing,” he said.

Lake conservation

The Lake Winnipesaukee Association received a $150,000 disbursement from the funding pool to support ongoing efforts to mitigate stormwater runoff and erosion on Lake Kanasatka, which feeds into Lake Winnipesaukee at Blackey Cove in Moultonborough.

Lake Winnipesaukee Association President Patricia Tarpey said the funds will be used to further efforts to mitigate the spread of cyanobacteria in regional water bodies. 

“So with the cyanobacteria, different strains can release nerve or liver toxins,” she said. “That’s the health threat if you drink the water.”

Phosphorus from cyanobacteria sticks to sediment that enters the water from stormwater runoff, erosion or gravel roads near the lake and can contribute to cyanobacteria blooms. 

“[Cyanobacteria] can be present there, but when it concentrates, that’s when it starts to bloom,” she said.

Other forms of cyanobacteria can cause problems including skin irritation and intestinal issues. Dogs have died after drinking water with high levels of cyanobacteria, she said. 

The funds will be used to mitigate the problem in Lake Kanasatka, which the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services describes as severe, before it is introduced in large quantities into Lake Winnipesaukee, Tarpey said. 

Erosion from gravel roads which wash out from heavy rain and nearby drainage ditches will likely be the focal point of initial efforts, she said.