Boscawen voters address bus service concerns

Boscawen voters cruised through a speedy town meeting Friday night, one with so little controversy that one of the biggest concerns involved something the town doesn’t control: Canceled bus service and people released from the county jail.

“I think we’re going to have to work on advocacy again,” select board member Lorrie Carey told the 104 voters who showed up at Boscawen Elementary School.

At issue is the bus service that ran through Boscawen as part of the non-profit Community Action Program. After operating for a few years, it was cancelled in January, partly because of the program’s difficulty in obtaining funding.

The closest bus stop is now several miles away in Penacook. That’s a concern for anybody who needs a bus, but is a particular problem for inmates released from the Merrimack County jail in Boscawen who don’t have somebody to pick them up. They have to walk down the Daniel Webster Highway, which lacks a sidewalk, to Penacook.

Carey said concern about former inmates walking along the busy road had helped prod the town to push for getting the bus service in the first place.

Voters on Friday approved a warrant article to contribute $7,600 to the Community Action Program, which provides a host of services to the town, but that is a regular occurrence and can’t return the bus service.

“I understand their problem,” Carey said of the Community Action Program, noting that many non-profits have seen their federal funding cut.

During the 90-minute meeting, voters approved all warrant articles by voice vote in the school gym. The town portion of the tax rate will be an estimated $7.65 per $1,000 of property value or $3,060 for a property valued at $400,000.

During the meeting, voters approved spending $638,000 to expand the fire station. $466,000 will be collected from taxes this year and the remaining $171,000 from the town fund balance.

The work, which includes adding a third bay for trucks, has been contemplated for more than two decades. A 2002 town master plan said the facility needed to expand.

Voters also approved a $5.2 million operating budget, an increase of 4.9% from last year, boosted in large part by increases in health insurance and increased payments to Boscawen’s ambulance service, the nonprofit Penacook Rescue Squad. The town’s anticipated payment for its ambulance services has grown 47% since last year, even after the county agreed to chip in $50,000.

One good piece of news was the line item for the town library, which is usually around $100,000. This year, it was covered entirely by proceeds from the sale of the 1913 Library building, with $35,000 left over for the library’s use.

In a lengthy technical matter, voters approved changing the wording of five long-standing capital reserve funds that collect money for police, parks, highway, fire department and public works, to give more flexibility to deal with modern needs and make it clear that the select board must approve usage.

This issue came up during the sale of the 1913 Library building when questions arose over who had the authority to take and spend money from the sale, leading officials to examine existing funds.

Voters also approved turning Eagle Perch Drive, a 1,600-foot cul-de-sac, into a town road. The development, with 16 lots, was approved with a town road but caught in a legal limbo because Boscawen changed the way roads were accepted while it was in the process of being completed.

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