Town News

What are we, a bank?

fshnski wrote:I wouldn't do anything until they resolve the responsibility question. One thing for sure, it isn't the responsibility of the Town of Wolfeboro

Since the beginning of this petition submittal the homeowners on Winnipesaukee Dr. have been very straightforward that they wanted to pay for the road repairs in a "betterment assessment" as defined in RSA sections 231:28 and 231:29 of state law. The town came up with a price of approximately $1.1 million to fix the road, which the residents seemed more than happy to pay, with no cost to the town taxpayers.

The whole scenario changed when the attorney for the developer got up and cited case law from the Embassy Estates on Wolfeboro Neck. In that case The Embassy Estates petitioned the town to lay out their roads as town roads and the selectmen refused. The NH Supreme Court subsequently ruled that the selectmen must accept the layout and the residents should not be charged a "betterment assessment" (approximately $235 thousand) because the Town signed off on the road completion at the time of construction. The Town accepted the layout, as directed by the Supreme Court, but never did the full scope of the road repairs (according to Dave Ford). The attorney for the developer of Winnipesaukee Dr. hinted that there was room for negotiation on the scope and price of the road repair, so I'm assuming that could happen before a warrant article is written.

The BOS meeting (11/20/13) is streamed on the town website for anyone to watch.

News Buzzard wrote:

fshnski wrote:I wouldn't do anything until they resolve the responsibility question. One thing for sure, it isn't the responsibility of the Town of Wolfeboro

Since the beginning of this petition submittal the homeowners on Winnipesaukee Dr. have been very straightforward that they wanted to pay for the road repairs in a "betterment assessment" as defined in RSA sections 231:28 and 231:29 of state law. The town came up with a price of approximately $1.1 million to fix the road, which the residents seemed more than happy to pay, with no cost to the town taxpayers.

The whole scenario changed when the attorney for the developer got up and cited case law from the Embassy Estates on Wolfeboro Neck. In that case The Embassy Estates petitioned the town to lay out their roads as town roads and the selectmen refused. The NH Supreme Court subsequently ruled that the selectmen must accept the layout and the residents should not be charged a "betterment assessment" (approximately $235 thousand) because the Town signed off on the road completion at the time of construction. The Town accepted the layout, as directed by the Supreme Court, but never did the full scope of the road repairs (according to Dave Ford). The attorney for the developer of Winnipesaukee Dr. hinted that there was room for negotiation on the scope and price of the road repair, so I'm assuming that could happen before a warrant article is written.

The BOS meeting (11/20/13) is streamed on the town website for anyone to watch.

I'm confused by your last sentence.

The Public Hearing on Winnipesaukee Dr. happened at the BOS meeting on Wednesday night, and that can be viewed on the Town Website. Click on Meetings On Demand, Live And Archived Videos (yellow backdrop) and then the BOS meeting on 11/20/13.

In the last paragraph. You were talking about Embassy and switched to Winni DR.

The attorney for the developer of Winnipesaukee Dr indicated that the developer felt that the $1.1 million was too much money and he presented a couple of alternatives for much less. I think one was in the $90 thousand range and another around $345 thousand. Near the end of his discussion he hinted that there could be some discussion and compromise on the price tag of the repair that would satisfy the developer. It seems to me that the developer is going to fight the $1.1 million project and cite the case from Embassy Estates.

WHL wrote:

Achigan wrote:

fshnski wrote:That is his opinion and his only.

Comments like this is the main reason I find it hard to participate in this forum.

I know, Bye-Bye!

Wait a minute, that's not fair.  He said it was the opinion of the writer which it is isn't it?  At least it's the way the writer saw the meeting, just as when a reporter goes to a meeting it is reporter as that reporter sees it.  But he also said in his later post in response to my question that he did enjoy reading about what is going on and thanked me for posting it.  So aren't you getting a bit touchy for nothing???  I really would like to get some local discussions going on here.

It doesn't take a genius to know that it was "his opinion", so why the comment about that fact.  fsh was just trying to be his old self and start an argument.  I don't care what he said after Mother Hen slapped his pee pee.  You just keep defending him no matter what he says and that is another reason why other members won't participate in this forum.  Why don't you let him stand on his own two feet once in a while.

fsh is a republican so he can do no wrong...well BS!

OK …   … ?

The national forums are open game to fight like cats and dogs as far as I'm concerned, but I like to check my ideology at the door when discussing town issues. We are all local taxpayers, so I think it's only right to have objective discussion in everyone's best interests.

News Buzzard wrote:The national forums are open game to fight like cats and dogs as far as I'm concerned, but I like to check my ideology at the door when discussing town issues. We are all local taxpayers, so I think it's only right to have objective discussion in everyone's best interests.

Maybe we need a separate section for Wolfeboro politics?

We can disagree all we want on local issues and then we all get to vote at Town Meeting (SB2). New Hampshire Town Meeting is the closest thing to real democracy as far as I'm concerned, and I like it very much!

I hate SB2. Concerned Wolfeboro citizens used to get together and vote together. Things were decided by the folks that took the time to become involved. It made for a tighter town.

fshnski wrote:I hate SB2. Concerned Wolfeboro citizens used to get together and vote together. Things were decided by the folks that took the time to become involved. It made for a tighter town.

I never experienced Town Meeting. SB2 got here before I got to vote, but I find the Deliberative Session to be a very democratic assembly. Anyone who attends can make a motion to amend a warrant article, and with a second and a majority vote the amendment will pass.

If we could all just stick to the topic and not comment about who wrote it, then things would be much better.  The guy who wrote the article has his own way of expressing himself and did a good job.  So when fsh says it was "his opinion" then that to me is a comment that he doesn't like Bob and no matter what he says fsh will cut it down and not try to understand what Bob is saying.

So why did it take Mother Hen to get fsh back on topic???  Do they know each other and are playing games with us?

That's all I'm trying to understand before I comment on anything in this forum. We should all be treated the same regardless of our political beliefs...and that doesn't happen on this forum.

Wolfeboro felt more like a community back then. The real Town Meeting was fun.

Achigan wrote:That's all I'm trying to understand before I comment on anything in this forum.  We should all be treated the same regardless of our political beliefs...and that doesn't happen on this forum.

At the very least there should be no politics with local news, and WHL should see to that!!

News Buzzard wrote:

Achigan wrote:That's all I'm trying to understand before I comment on anything in this forum.  We should all be treated the same regardless of our political beliefs...and that doesn't happen on this forum.

At the very least there should be no politics with local news, and WHL should see to that!!

I agree whole heartedly. But we need another section for Wolfeboro politics first.

News Buzzard wrote:"...At the very least there should be no politics with local news, and WHL should see to that...!!

How does the Moderator remove the following politics?

It must be a miserable life for those who wake up every morning with the hope that their President will fail!!

Achigan wrote:If we could all just stick to the topic and not comment about who wrote it, then things would be much better.  The guy who wrote the article has his own way of expressing himself and did a good job.  So when fsh says it was "his opinion" then that to me is a comment that he doesn't like Bob and no matter what he says fsh will cut it down and not try to understand what Bob is saying.

So why did it take Mother Hen to get fsh back on topic???  Do they know each other and are playing games with us?

That's all I'm trying to understand before I comment on anything in this forum.  We should all be treated the same regardless of our political beliefs...and that doesn't happen on this forum.

I agree with you. I think Bob did an excellent job writing that article. As I said he reported it the way he said it just the way any reporter does. I have been to town meetings in the past and read the article in the GSN afterward and there have been mistakes in names as well as things that the reporter interpreted differently than I did. So everybody does that. I think that is what fsh was saying which he didn't need to say because it is obvious. I do not know fsh. I try to treat you the same as fsh, I am sorry if I don't. I am not the administrator here, I just try to help him out. I am not a babysitter and admin. wants as little control as possible, he wants people to feel free to voice their opinions. If you don't like what someone says, just ignore it, or tell them your disagree and why. It is as simple as that. Don't just get mad and go off on a rant. OK?

fshnski wrote:I hate SB2. Concerned Wolfeboro citizens used to get together and vote together. Things were decided by the folks that took the time to become involved. It made for a tighter town.

I have mixed feelings on SB2. I too, used to love Town Meetings and always, always went. However, not a lot of people went so in Wolfeboro's case I would say maybe 300-500 people decided for the whole town how it was run because most people just did not go. At least more than that go to vote. The problem is, a lot of the people who do go to vote are not informed voters just as in the national elections. And the other thing about town meeting, it was pretty obvious people blew with the wind. It was funny sometimes, it would be going one way and then a few people would get up and speak the other way and you could see people changing their minds-it only took a few to get others to change. Most people are afraid to go against the majority, so the private vote does have it's advantages in that way. Now, with SB2, you still can go have the discussions, and make amendments and it is a little bit like the town meeting, without the voting.

News Hawk wrote:

News Buzzard wrote:"...At the very least there should be no politics with local news, and WHL should see to that...!!

How does the Moderator remove the following politics?

It must be a miserable life for those who wake up every morning with the hope that their President will fail!!

You're right! I'll remove it now.

I think WHL makes some good points about Town Meeting. Wolfeboro has somewhere in the vicinity of 4,500 eligible voters, and to only have 450 show up at Town Meeting would mean that only 10% of the voters were deciding town business. At least now we have somewhere between 25% to 30%, and in the case of the election of 2012, 89%

We had a group of citizens who cared enough about our town to show up. We took the time to listen and become more informed voters. I would rather have 500 educated voters than 2,000 uninformed or misinformed voters.

I agree, I would rather have informed voters vote. The problem is you know what often happens. Those who have a dog in the fight over a certain issue stack the meeting. It can happen with SB2 also though.

It is a lot easier with SB2. Look at the two sides of the story we have going on here with the politics threads. It's just as easy in a little town to manipulate the facts.