Claremont City Council and School Board decide and defer

By CHARLENE LOVETT
The Claremont City Council and School Board meet on a quarterly basis to address those issues that impact the community as a whole. The most recent meeting occurred Aug. 9 and covered a wide range of topics. The following is a brief overview of those discussions and the actions taken:

Public Information Officer (PIO) — The need for a public information officer (PIO) has long been a topic at both the city council and the school board. Since 2013, concerned citizens and members of the governing bodies have emphasized the need for better communication of Clare-mont’s accomplishments and opportunities, and management of the city’s online presence. While accomplishing this would certainly benefit those who live in the community, the primary focus was external communication in order to generate growth. 

Earlier this year, both governing bodies unanimously supported finding a solution to this issue. In response to the governing bodies’ directive, both City Manager Ryan McNutt and former Superintendent Middleton McGoodwin researched models used in other communities and developed a job description. Also discussed were the pros and cons of a full time, part time or contracted position. However, the concerns shared by the majority of the members of the governing bodies centered on timing and funding. Consequently, the governing bodies voted 7-6 to table the topic until a new superintendent was hired, estimated to occur in August 2019. 

Invitation to Gubernatorial Candidates — At our last quarterly meeting, the governing bodies agreed that it was important to invite the gubernatorial candidates to Claremont prior to the primary on Sept. 11. This would give the governing bodies and the public the opportunity to share priorities and concerns with the candidates, and learn how the candidates would address them if elected to office. Each candidate has been invited. At 7 p.m. on Aug. 25, the Claremont City Council and School Board will host a public forum with Steve Marchand. The event will be held at the Claremont Savings Bank Community Center, and is open to the public. Efforts to schedule this type of event with the other candidates are ongoing. 

Training with New Futures — New Futures is an organization that is dedicated to improving the health and wellness of New Hampshire residents through advocacy, education and collaboration. It has worked with the Claremont community on such issues as childhood lead poisoning and Medicaid expansion, and participates in the Sullivan County Public Health Network. While this organization offers free training on a variety of issues, the focus at the Aug. 9 meeting was training related to children’s behavioral health.

At our last quarterly meeting, former Superintendent McGoodwin commented that behavioral health is a major contributor to a child’s ability to learn. At our most recent meeting, Acting Superintendent Cory LeClair commented that addressing children’s behavioral health in the schools is quite costly. Given this and the fact that behavioral health impacts the community as a whole, the governing bodies have decided to make this a priority and will be working with New Futures to schedule the training. By doing so, the governing bodies will better understand the health system in New Hampshire and improve their ability to engage the legislature on those bills that impact the behavioral health of our children.

Community-Wide Energy Policy — Developing a community-wide energy policy will require the input of both governing bodies and the public. We will have to determine if we want to adopt a policy that pertains only to municipal and school buildings or to the community as a whole. While we are just embarking on establishing an overarching policy, certain issues need our immediate attention.

Senate Bills 365 (use of renewable generation to provide fuel diversity) and 446 (net energy metering limits for customer-generators) were vetoed by Gov. Chris Sununu in June of this year. There is an effort to override the governor’s action. The mayors of the 13 New Hampshire cities have been asked to sign a letter supporting an override of the governor’s vetoes. While there seems to be broad support to override the veto for SB446, there are Claremont residents who are against an override of SB365. Therefore, the governing bodies voted to further research the issue and make a decision by the next council meeting on August 22. 

 

Charlene Lovett is the mayor of Claremont and welcomes your feedback. Please email questions, comments or concerns to her at [email protected].