Ward 7 Resident Meeting, Master Plan Update and More

Ward 7 Resident Meeting and More

There will be a Ward 7 Resident Meeting Tuesday September 22nd from 7:00-8:30 pm at the West St. Ward House (41 West Street). All are welcome to attend.

Master Plan Update

The city’s Master Plan Update kicks off this month with a Citywide Visioning Open House: September 19, 9 a.m. at the Governor's Hall at the Capitol Center for the Arts, 44 S. Main Street, Concord NH.

I believe we have a shared interest in promoting broad input from all the city's stakeholders--residents, business owners, people who work in Concord, etc..  Participating in the Master Plan Update engagement process is a once in a decade or two opportunity shape the texture of our shared future. Please participate as you are able.

The Sept. 19 event is just the first step in a series of engagement channels (forums, neighborhood meetings, surveys, etc.) planned by the city and consultant partners (Utile).  More information is available on the City’s Master Plan Update webpage. 

I hope to see you at the Sept. 19 event.  It should be fun.

Middle School Bus Routes

There has been much discussion and debate about the bus routes planned for the new Middle School. We discussed this issue at the last Ward 7 Resident Meeting. I referred the issue to the city's Transportation Policy Advisor Committee (TPAC) which includes city councilors, public representatives, engineers and traffic experts. TPAC considered the issues at their July 23rd meeting (Draft minutes HERE). Input was received from 10 area residents at the meeting and there has been additional input by email and letters since. An attorney representing some of the Cypress/Noyes residents summarized the statutory elements including the city's prerogative to regulate traffic on city streets.

Residents powerfully communicated safety concerns for buses using Cypress and Noyes Streets. Narrow streets and lack of sidewalks makes these streets a challenge to bike or walk safely during school pick-up and drop-off times.

After extensive discussion, TPAC recommended that the City Council or city staff speak with the School District to consider a plan that utilizes the South St. entrance or other alternatives that do not include Cypress and Noyes St. for bus routes.

The issues and options have been extensively studied and debated. The Middle School Building Committee, the School Board, the city's Traffic Operations Committee (April 21 meeting) and TPAC's April meeting have all previously reviewed the resident concerns and various configuration options. A common theme of these deliberations is the student safety benefit from separating parent and bus traffic.

The best review of the available options is from the Middle School Circulation Options Discussion at the Building Committee's April 9th meeting.

The TPAC July minutes will likely be included in the Consent Agenda for the City Council Sept. 14 meeting. I plan on pulling the minutes from the Consent Agenda so that the Council as a whole can discuss the issues and vote on the best path forward. Balancing the competing risks and benefits of competing traffic configurations is a difficult decision.

Bike Park

Russell Martin Park abutters recently received a letter from Parks and Recreation Director David Gill about a report he will present to the City Council at our Sept. 14th meeting. Gill will recommend that the City Council authorize the Bike Park group to raise funds to further evaluate the Martin Field site.

Gill wrote:

"...approval at this stage would not authorize construction of a Bike Park at Russell Martin Park. Rather, it would allow the group to formally raise money to thoroughly investigate whether the site is appropriate and feasible.

If approved, the group would be required to retain qualified professionals to assist with a detailed design process, complete the necessary environmental reviews, and develop an operational plan. The group would work closely with the City's Parks and Recreation Department throughout this process to ensure that all applicable standards are met and additional community input is part of the design phase.

Once the final design, environmental review, and operational plan are completed, the project would return to the City Council for formal review and approval. Only after that review, and if the project is approved, would we allow the group to proceed."

The general area of propose Bike Park.

Further input or questions may be directed to Mr Gill (dgill@concordnh.gov). Additional information is also available on the city's Bike Park webpage.

Property Revaluations

Property owners should have received their new valuations last month. As expected, residential property values increased, on average, more than commercial/industrial properties (approximately 63% vs. 41%. The increase in property value is not the same as increase in property taxes. Owners will get the tax changes around November when the new values and the tax apportionment is approved by the state. More info and all property values are list on the Citywide Revaluation Project webpage.

Karmic Landscapes

A shout-out and warm thank you to Ward 7 resident Kris Reynolds and Karmic Landscapes for planting the trees and flowers in the yard of the West St. Ward House. The yard looks beautiful!

Community Concordia

Community Concordia, a neighborhood group started by Ward 7 resident Renee West will hold a meeting immediately before the Sept. 22 Ward Meeting starting at 6:00 PM. It is a wonderful group of resident connecting with each other over shared experiences and shared action. Please consider attending.

Thanks for reading.

Warm regards,

Jim Schlosser, Ward 7 City Councilor

781-879-2089 jim4concord@gmail.com jim4concord.com

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