NEWPORT — A key to the future growth of Newport will be decided Tuesday at the polls on Town Meeting Election Day.
The polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the Newport Opera House.
In the days leading up to the balloting, three Warrant articles have surfaced based on their importance.
Article 11—A long-term agreement to lease portions of town-owned land for the erection of solar arrays (1 year for construction, 25 years for the power purchase agreement and two additional five-year extensions).
Article 12—Raise and appropriate $200,000 for architectural, engineering and construction management fees and related design costs for the development of a new community center.
Article 22—Shall the town adopt the provisions of NH RSA 79-E, Community revitalization Tax Relief Incentives?
With the passage of this Article 22, Newport will be in a better position to attract new business by revitalizing the Downtown area and parts of Sunapee Street, North Main Street and South Main Street by granting requested tax relief, a spokesperson related. This abatement delays the additional tax on the qualifying rehabilitations for a defined period of time.
Jay Lucas, founder of Newport Sunshine Initiative, expressed his thoughts on the importance of those three articles: “11, 12 and 22: A Better Newport for Me and You!”
The long Town Meeting ballot has 27 articles for voters to consider. They were thoroughly discussed at the annual Deliberative Session.
Article 10 covers the town operating budget for 2018-19 calling for an appropriation of $9,989,732. Should this article be defeated the default budget would be $9,675,266.
With the passage of all money articles, the projected town tax rate would climb 63 cents per $1,000 with 46 cents of that amount earmarked for the Community Center appropriation.
Newporters will also cast their votes on whether or not to allow KENO in their community.
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