To the Editor:

Dear Hooksett residents,

Ginger Kozlowski, editor of The Hooksett Banner, cautioned our governing body in her editorial not to be taken advantage of in preparing the terms for the TIF. I attended Sen. McCain’s function in Concord several weeks ago. I was converged on by several state reps, state employees and private citizens from Manchester and they inquired if I was going to support the Cabela’s TIF. I answered a very definite “No.” There was horror on their faces. Of course, they immediately assumed I did not like Cabela’s. I told them I had moved here from Kansas City and was very aware of the Cabela’s stores. My problem was not with Cabela’s, in fact they had looked at a piece of property in Tilton.

My problem: I do not trust some members of our town council that will broker the agreement. Remember, voters of Hooksett, I sat on the governing board for five years and I was privy to those closed-door sessions that we seem to have too many of.

Sept. 28 was the first meeting with Cabela’s and it was closed to the residents of Hooksett, but not to the privileged public. In that room was the council, Cabela’s representatives, real estate agent brokering the property, representative from the DOT, the engineering firm and a representative from the state economical development committee and several non-Hooksett residents. The Hooksett residents were standing in the hall with the blinds drawn in the council chambers.

They asked you in their letters to become farmers and plants seeds, and pleaded “trust me.” The last time I believed the words “trust me” was at a drive-in theater, the movie “Gilda” was playing and I was with the high school star quarterback.

Hooksett voters, you trusted them and gave them $18 million to broker. Yet at last Wednesday’s council meeting, a motion was made to put a $250,000 cap on the elderly exemption.

Chances are, if you are 80 or over, you worked in one of the failed mills in Manchester that moved to the Carolinas. You are not collecting a pension and Social Security is very meager. You are cautious where you invest your money, so chances are you are only getting 5 percent interest on your savings. If you receive $10,000 a year in Social Security, and your savings yields $12,500. The house you paid $3,000 for is now appraised at $125,000. You qualify from the income end of it, but if you have $251,000 in the bank you are knocked off the rolls. Your income will be $22,500, but your property taxes will be almost $3,000. Does not leave you much money for anything.

You trusted them to vote in a TIF for $18 million and now they are going to squeeze you. Call your council rep and complain, attend the next council meeting and yell like “hell.” If you do not like the way they vote, there are avenues to have elected officials removed. Call me and I will instruct how. It was done once a few years ago, it can be done again.

Pat Rueppel
Hooksett

To the Editor:

My understanding of the purposes for granting an elderly exemption covers two purposes. The first purpose is financial assistance. The second purpose is a type of reward for reaching an age that most of us hope for.

Some may think that $300,000 is a lot of money, but to someone at the age of 70 expecting to live another 25 years with no other income except Social Security that would probably average somewhere between $10,000 and $20,000 per year. That person or couple would have to draw down these savings at about $15,000 per year which would dissolve those savings in less than 25 years. This does not take into consideration any unforeseen emergencies they may encounter. It also assumes that they owe no outstanding bills such as a mortgage, car payment, etc.

A real problem with setting these limits on assets is: how do you enforce it, as there are many ways to avoid disclosing anyone’s real worth? Privacy laws prevent anyone from prying into people’s personal finances. I really doubt whether we have any so-called millionaires out there getting exemptions, as the interest on the money alone would move them over the $35,000 or $50,000 income cap. Also, these earnings have to be reported to the IRS annually.

The other problem with elderly exemptions is the method of applying them. As we saw in the last appraisal of town property, the elderly took a hit of several hundred dollars on their tax bill because the exemption was fixed and not flexible. This same occurrence is about to happen again as residential property is about to be increased by about 15 percent.

In my opinion, we should adopt three levels of exemptions based on percentages that would float upwards and downwards as property valuations fluctuate. If property values are raised 15 percent, then the exemption should be raised by that same percentage.

George Longfellow
Councilor District 6
Hooksett

To the Editor:

On Thanksgiving, 2004, I removed 15 bags of trash from a half-mile unpaved stretch of Raymond Road in Auburn. I did it because I enjoy walking in my neighborhood, for exercise and peace of mind. But, the enormous litter problem we have in Auburn prevents the latter.

On Sunday, May 7, 2006, I headed out to pick up trash. Even though it had been several months since the last time I had done it, I did not think that the problem would be as bad this time so I took only six bags with me. Unfortunately, I was able to fill one bag by the time I walked the mile between my house and Raymond Road. The next one-quarter mile, however, took the rest of my bags. I gave up for the day, intending to go back on Mother’s Day. Because of the flooding I did not return until today, May 21, to finish the job.

Today I collected eight more bags of trash, on top of the six I removed two weeks ago. I don’t understand why there appears to be so many people who seem to think that it is OK to leave their garbage on the side of the street. I don’t understand how people can drive through it, walk through it, and ride their horses and bicycles through it and not be outraged. I can’t understand why, here in New Hampshire, we do not require a deposit on beer cans, which really, really makes up most of the street garbage! Mostly, I am discouraged. I cannot stand how angry I am becoming over this problem. The feeling I am getting is the exact opposite of what I seek when I walk. The problem is becoming insurmountable and I am considering doing all my walking at the Audubon Center from now on.

Dorothy Brousseau
Auburn

To the Editor:

With the recent rain and abnormal flooding causing much damage, loss and sorrow was experienced by both residents and businesses within our town.This was a tragedy that many have never had to endure. However, for several residents living on Whitehall Terrace, the slightest rain can bring on similar problems.. Ever since the new Cawley Middle School’s construction, rain drains off the new ball fields and empties into the back yard of those living on the east side of the Terrace. These residents experience wet basements, ruined lawns and a incredible amount of ice buildup in the winter. When questioned about this newly found condition, the school board blames the builder, the architects, even the highway department, but no one cares to help rectify the problem. The culverts on the street go unattended and overflow. Pools of water settle and sit for days after the rain has stopped. So much for health concerns. It seems that monies can be suggested for the Village Town Hall project and several proposed ventures within the town, but as far as those who have been affected by the new middle school’s construction, it’s “Oh well, that’s progress.” Hopefully, someone will take this end of the town into its future revamping plans.

Bill Beaulieu
Hooksett

To the Editor:

Apparently Weare has a growth ordinance that worked and would address Hooksett’s problems adequately! It addresses subdivisions, wherein the planning and zoning boards cannot accept or act upon projects that create three or more lots. The court said a town can adopt such measures where “unusual circumstances” exist. Well, Hooksett’s unusually rapid growth is obviously unusual and causing hardships to the current residents!

The definition is easily validated when compared to our neighboring towns. We have an unusual circumstance that requires immediate attention. This should be reason enough for the courts to allow us more time to fine-tune what we have, and our trustees should ask for this time and a “moratorium” in the meantime. If our planning and zoning boards really wanted to help the current citizens, they would be all over this, but nary a whisper has been heard. They’re probably too busy helping a developer or box store who wants to fill some more wetlands or build a road. What is the plan for Hooksett Road’s flooding problems? It isn’t a new problem. Anyone can see that the Kmart plaza was built in a hole.

The letter sent from Cabela’s Mr. Eckman was quite congratulatory. The whole tone of it was, eerily, too much so. Here is some of it: (The grammar and punctuation is his, not mine, obviously) “This is a brief note to say thank you to all of you for all your many efforts and my personal request that this thanks be forwarded to too many to list including Dave Jodoin, Mike DiBitetto and the Selectman, to Dick Marshall and the Planning Board, to the Task Force, Charles Watson, and everyone involved in the meetings and deliberations that got us to this point.”

Who is in charge here? It read like a memo to an agent or employee, to me. Who was, or are, the “Task Force”? Did you know that Cabela’s was working two sites at once? Both with much secrecy; their M.O. for such projects. The other was in Plainville, Mass. The reason given by Mr. Eckman for pulling out of that site seemed to be a bit untrue, as the quote from their town administrator implied. I need to get more details, and will share them when I do. If it is true, I will be very uneasy and even more cautious dealing with them. Honesty is critical, especially when $18 million of public money, your money, is at stake.

David Ross
Hooksett

Ross was recently elected to the Hooksett Town Council.

To the Editor:

We, the residents of Hollyberry, want you people in Hooksett to know what a wonderful and caring fire department we have, and also a very caring town administrator. He was here helping everybody when we got the word we had to evacuate.

We appreciate the good care we received from everyone, including SNHU, Red Cross and all the volunteers. We are a fortunate town to have such good care available.

We want to thank everyone involved. As the water kept rising, the fire department stayed right with us.

Louise Blais
Hollyberry resident
Hooksett