By Chris Frost
News Editor
CLAREMONT, NH — On a 6-2 vote on the first reading, the city council approved ordinance 612 during its Wednesday, Oct. 13, meeting.
Asst. Mayor Deb Matteau introduced the ordinance, which Councilor Jonathan Stone seconded. Councilors Spencer Batchelder and James Contois voted no.
Ordinance 612 updates the procedures to implement special assessments for city improvements and makes the language more closely conform with the language of New Hampshire RSA 49c:25, which says, “the elected body shall have the power to determine that the whole or any part of the expense of any public improvement shall be defrayed by special assessments upon the property especially benefited and shall so declare by resolution.”
City Manager Yoshi Manale said the special assessment is not a complete change but gives the option for the city manager to present a special assessment to the council.
“It streamlines the process and makes it a little easier,” Manale said. “The old process was quite burdensome, and ultimately, I don’t believe the city has ever gone through a special assessment since it was enacted in the 1970s.”
Councilor Nicholas Koloski said members of the public asked him about moving the ordinance forward and was asked if it was a tool where residents would need a special assessment to get their road paved, plus bear the cost amongst neighbors.
“My personal feeling is that I would be very angry if my neighborhood got paved in that manner, and I would not support that,” Koloski said. “If this passes and moves forward, I would use that to pave individual streets that have been neglected.”
He noted that Claremont is way behind on the roads and is a top priority, and he expects road maintenance to be part of the taxes he pays.
“This, to me, would be more of a development tool. If water and sewer are missing in a certain area of the community and the developer wanted to come in and needed to extend water and sewer,” he said.
Manale said the ordinance doesn’t change the procedure, and the process would be for the city to provide a project to the city council and determine it on its merits.
“If a side road is a city or RTPW brought it to the city and the council, and you say, ‘No, that’s ridiculous, we’re not going to do a special assessment on a side road,’ you would have that option,” he said. “This doesn’t automatically allow for that to happen. Right now, the only way I can bring it to you is by petition.”
Councilor Spencer Batchelder recommended taking away 50 percent of the landowners’ petition to eliminate that hassle.
“I agree the council has the authority to approve these special assessments, but we’re not going to be the one footing the bill,” he said. “With the language as it’s currently written and as broad as it is, it could be.”
Manale said it’s why they haven’t used a special assessment in the last 40 years.
“It’s for larger projects,” he said. “I don’t believe the city would ever come forward with a smaller project,” he said. “I don’t think it would be financially feasible for us to do that.”
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