Meredith meeting theme: Pride in the community

MEREDITH — Voters on March 9 passed all of the articles on the town warrant — some following a great deal of debate but most of them unanimously — with the main theme running through the meeting being pride in the community.

Barnard Ridge Road resident Paul Weston expressed that sentiment at the end of the meeting when he said, “I’d like to commend each and every one of you here tonight on conducting this meeting. This is democracy in its pure form, and I’m very proud to be a resident of Meredith.”

Weston went on to give special recognition to outgoing selectboard member Nathan Torr: “On July 10, 1967, Lydia and Nate Torr moved to Meredith. Lydia was our librarian for 28 years, and Mr. Torr was a high school teacher here for 40 years, and he’s ending 12 years of service on this board of selectmen.”

A standing ovation met his remarks, and then board chair Jonathan James approached the lectern.

“I was told not to give him a plaque, but I’m sorry, he’s gonna get one, anyway.” James said. “I will truly miss him and I’m sure the rest will also.”

Lynn Leighton, another member of the board, presented a photograph to Torr on behalf of the Meredith Board of Selectmen.

“All I can say, folks, is thanks a lot; you know how to make an old man cry,” Torr responded. “I always say this town is like going to a party. It’s not the food; it’s not whatever else. It’s the people who come to your party that make it, and you people are pretty special.”

He continued, “As Lydia and I sit sometimes down by the lake, it’s fall, and we watch the cars go by, and I can hear the wife saying, ‘Honey, I wish we lived here.’ All I can say is, “Dammit, we live here, and we’re proud of this town.”

Budget concerns

Meredith’s total budget shows a 7.6% increase of $1,212,681, to $17,187,906. The main budget article, for general operations, calls for an appropriation of $16,767,908, with separate articles accounting for the difference.

Former selectboard member Ray Moritz tried to amend the budget article to increase revenue projections and use money from the town’s fund balance to reduce taxation. The current numbers, he said, would raise tax bills by 18%.

Officials pointed out that the budget article only sets the total amount to be spent. It is up to the selectboard to review actual revenue figures in the fall when the N.H. Department of Revenue Administration sets the town’s tax rate. At that time, the town is able to apply money from the so-called fund balance — money set aside to cover obligations of the town — to reduce the tax rate.

After a lengthy back-and-forth discussion, Moritz settled on a non-binding request that the selectboard take those steps to prevent taxes from rising so much.

When taking up articles to set aside money in expendable trust funds for such things as waterfront infrastructure, equipment replacement, and open space conservation, resident Rusty McLear questioned the value of placing money into accounts that produce very little interest. He suggested replacing all of those accounts with a bond that the town could draw upon when spending is necessary.

Town Manager Phil Warren responded, “Almost like a commercial line of credit, for lack of a better way of putting it?” He said municipalities have more restrictions on the use of money. “They generally want to see a project spelled out 100% — what you’re going to do.”

He said the town plans on spending for items like equipment replacement, but if the life the vehicle can be extended, they postpone those replacements. “We would not be able to do that; it would be a very rigid schedule,” Warren said.

In passing the articles on expendable trusts, voters agreed to place $275,000 into public works equipment replacement and then to put another $252,085 into that fund with money derived from the closure of a water systems replacement expendable trust fund.

Also appropriated were $125,000 for waterfront infrastructure and $34,800 for open space conservation.

Resident Fred Strader spoke on behalf of volunteers working on a veterans’ memorial that would include all veterans of the town. The current monuments in Meredith do not include all veterans or all wars, and some are in disrepair.

The article that voters passed would allocate as much as $250,000 from the unassigned fund balance to make up any shortfall in fundraising for the memorial.

Voters also agreed to use money from the unexpended fund balance to spend as much as $150,000 on replacement playground equipment at Prescott Park.

Also approved was an article allowing the selectboard to enter into a power purchase agreement that would bring solar power to town buildings. Resident Frank Michel commented that he hopes any solar array would be run past the Meredith Planning Board. “It’s a great idea, but they’re ugly sometimes,” he commented.

Voters agreed to modify the elderly and disabled exemptions from property taxes to increase the dollar levels. The elderly exemption was increased from $40,000 to $50,000 for those between ages 65 and 74, from $55,000 to $70,000 for those 75-89, and from $75,000 to $90,000 for those 80 and older. The exemption for the disabled was increased from $75,000 to $90,000.

The selectboard had asked to increase the net income limit for married couples receiving either of those exemptions from $33,000 to $35,000, but voters increased the income limit to $37,000.

Voters also agreed to dispose of town-owned land on Bear Island and to discontinue Blackey Road, a section of old Route 104.