Grace L. Sisti: Running for Gilmanton Planning Board to make improvements

To The Daily Sun,

My name is Grace L. Sisti and I am running for Gilmanton Planning Board.

I have served on the budget committee for six years and continue to serve as a school board representative. Because of this I have the most experience with the primary task of the planning board: town planning. It has been far too long since our capital improvement plan has been updated. The board made some progress on it this year, but this should have been started years ago. Now that the process has begun, a lot more time needs to be committed to it. I have that time. I want to make sure that the residents and taxpayers of Gilmanton are not just represented, but represented well with time and effort and forethought. It has been too long since the planning board has focused on their primary responsibility: town planning. Our population has grown immensely from what it was in 2010 when the CIP was last updated. The current plans were created to cater to a population that is less than what it is now. We have way more houses, more people, more roads, more infrastructure, and more animals because at its core this is a farming community. I want to work hard on a CIP and soon a master plan that reflect the current needs of this town. The residents of this town deserved updated plans years ago, but we can’t look back; we can only look forward.

I want Gilmanton to thrive as a community. In order to do so we need to find a way to maintain the rural and agricultural charm of the community while making sure that infrastructure is on track to service our growing population. I hope I can count on your vote on Tuesday.

Grace L. Sisti

Gilmanton