Rt 108 Corridor Study Committee Minutes 4/11/19

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Meeting date: 
Thursday, April 11, 2019

Rte. 108 Corridor Study Committee Minutes
April 11, 2019
Municipal Center, Hutton Meeting Room
10 Bunker Hill Avenue

MEMBERS PRESENT
Michael Dane, Joe Lovejoy (Chairman, Select Board’s Representative), Nathan Merrill, Richard Swett, Maria Stowell

MEMBERS ABSENT
Lucy Cushman

STAFF PRESENT
David Moore (Town Administrator), Tavis Austin (Town Planner)

OTHERS IN ATTENDANCE
Members of the Public

CALL TO ORDER
The Chair called the meeting to order at 7:07 p.m.

ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES
Merrill moved and Swett seconded a motion to accept the minutes of March 7.  Passed by unanimous vote.

REVIEW OF AER REPORT
Swett questioned some of the data in the report, asked if the Gateway District land area should be reduced to account for undevelopable areas such as wetlands and conservation area.  This would impact the per acre land valuation. Merrill cautioned that if the Stratham numbers were to be adjusted, the Exeter numbers would also need to be adjusted to get a meaningful comparison.  Stowell suggested that since the acreage and valuations reflect real numbers from the Town Assessing Office, they should not be changed. Staff will follow up with AER and Swett to resolve.  

REVIEW OF COMMITTEE REPORT TO SELECT BOARD
The Committee agreed that the report was well written and a good representation of the work accomplished and decisions reached.  The report presents the opportunities that will derive from water and sewer utilities: tax rate stabilization; fulfill goals of master planning; prevent sprawl, mitigate environmental issues; and sustain Stratham’s status as a desirable place to live.  The report also presents the challenge of determining the fair developer share. Merrill will follow up with minor edits.  (Email was sent to Committee members on April 12.)  Moore recognized Austin for his outstanding work on completing the report.

FUTURE MEETINGS
The Committee will need to meet on April 25 to vote on AER Report and Select Board Report.  Presentation to Select Board will be May 6.

PROJECT PLAN (FORMERLY REFERRED TO AS PROJECT TIMELINE)
Tasks and schedule were reviewed.  Research Phase is completed. Utilities and Legal review require assistance from outside the Committee. Outreach will be by the reconstituted Committee.

MEETING HANDOUTS (Emailed to Committee 0n April 10)

Stratham Route 108 Corridor Infrastructure Financial Feasibility Analysis (AER Report)

Route 108 Corridor Study Committee Final Report March 28, 2019

NEW MEMBERS
Committee was asked to send names of potential new members to Moore.

NEXT MEETING
The next meeting will be April 25 at 7:00 p.m. 

ADJOURMENT

Merrill moved and Swett seconded a motion to adjourn at 8:22 pm. Passed by unanimous vote.

SUBMITTED BY
M Stowell
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