From the Eagle Tribune;
Deliberative session on water rules tonight
By Meghan Carey
Staff writer
ATKINSON — Voters will have another chance to debate additions to the water-control ordinance at a deliberative session tonight.
The session will be held at the Timberlane Performing Arts Center in Plaistow at 6:30 p.m. It precedes the Special Town Meeting, which has been scheduled to coincide with the Sept. 9 state primary.
Three warrant articles will be up for discussion, each aimed at strengthening the water-control ordinance enacted by voters at a Special Town Meeting in September.
That ordinance prevents businesses from extracting water in town and from buying or selling local water. It also allows selectmen to fine violators $1,000 a day and residents to bring the matter to court if the town does not enforce it.
Voters will be asked to make the ordinance a health ordinance, as well. They will also be asked to approve three amendments to the ordinance, designed to make businesses responsible for damages if they deprive people or ecosystems of clean water.
Residents would also be given the right to take action if they think their right to clean water is violated, if the second question passes.
The last question will ask voters to designate seven of the town's wetlands as prime wetlands. If voters approve the article, the Planning Board will have to hold a public hearing and add the wetlands to the master plan.
The first two questions were submitted as citizens petitions for Town Meeting by resident Carol Grant, but both were amended at February's deliberative session to have little impact.
When the Hampstead Area Water Co. reapplied for a large groundwater withdrawal permit from the state Department of Environmental Services, Grant and resident John Wolters submitted new petitions.
Atkinson Town Hall
The Norman Rockwellian picture of Atkinson
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
24 comments:
A reminder to all those who will be present tonight. When you get up to speak, or ask questions, noone, with the possible exception of the moderator, has the right to interrupt you. This includes the members of the Board or Selectmen, any other town agency, and members of the audience.
If you are interrupted, it is your right to remind any of the above you have the floor and you are under no obligation to yield it to anyone.
Contrary to what the certain members of the BOS thought at the last deliberative session, their roles and privileges at these sessions is no more and no less than yours. And just because they have a microphone in front of them does not give them the right to jump the line when they want to ask a question. They should wait their turn.
The last session was out of control. Between Mr. Sapia's behavior and that of certain members of the audience, it was a circus. Mr. Polito has an obligation and the responsibility to maintain order and make sure everyone is playing by the same rules. Let's not hesitate to remind him if needed.
Well, it's always fun to go to a public forum watch current and former members of town government basically call the petitioners idiots. Reality is, if they would/had done their jobs they wouldn't be looking at the idiot staring back in the mirror.
I can only hope the Planning Board is getting the message that the Atkinson residents are serious about their water and will stop kowtowing to HAWC and the Lewis family.
Jack, nice look. Wish you had gone to your kids game. Would have saved me from gacking at your platitudes.
Frank, nice job. BOS, you really do need to listen to people, not pretend to. The water issue is not going away; cat's out of the bag, the train has left the station, the fat lady has sung. Get with it.
Jack didn't just make an ass out of himself in the meeting, he was heard outside the meeting talking to an older gentlemen, yelling at him, and threatening a lawsuit!
I am so glad we sent this guy packing.
I agree wholeheartedly! When Jack Sapia started off his diatribe informing the attendees that we interrupted his night to watch his kid's championship game, you knew we were in for a self-centered gem. Mr. Sapia, do you not think we had other things we could be doing last night? His comment on how we could have been spending the money to hold a special town meeting on the Lapham children is DISGRACEFUL!
To be admonished by Jack Sapia and Paul DiMaggio (did anyone else hear him call us you people?) on how we are wasting tax dollars is a joke!
Mr. Sapia, Mr. DiMaggio, and BOS, let me remind you that had the BOS not watered down the original warrant article as it was proposed in 2007, perhaps this may have been avoided! If you want to look at sources of wasteful spending, I suggest you all stand-up and take a good look in the mirror.
Mr. Sapia's comment about spending the money it cost to hold the meeting on the Lapham children is especially laughable in light of the fact that when Mr. Acciard asked the board to spend $10,000 out of the donation account on the Lapham family, Mr. Sapia sat there on the board and chewed Mr. Acciard out for suggesting it. Told him maybe he should go home and make 500 phone calls first.
What a Jack-ass.
Isn't this the guy who sat on a committee to study a new phallic symbol in the center of town that never allowed any other option to hit the table?
Jack, we liked you better out of the limelight, three years of you was enough to last a lifetime!
Mr. DiMaggio was the guy who spent $15,000 to study a new tower, by not listening to any proposal other than the tower in the center of town.
And he wants to talk about wasting money?
And Mr. Sapia is the guy who voted to pay chief consentinos personal legal bill while he was selectmen, and he is going to lecture us about spending money? How much did HE cost the town in legal fees, because he couldn't do his job right?
Sapia told the crowd that the warrant article was illegal and suggested we get legal advice. He is hardly qualified to give legal advice himself! All the surrounding towns have put a stop to HAWC, now we will.
DiMaggio tired to argue that HAWC was not trying to sell the water outside the town. Is he kidding? If they were to withdraw at the rate of around 3/4 MILLION gallons a day, they couldn't build storage tanks fast enough to hold the excess. They ARE planning on selling outside the town and where has DiMaggio been during these discussions? Asleep?
It was so funny (and sad) to listen to the BOS, Polito, Sapia, DiMaggio and Killiam tell us that they are afraid of lawsuits.
How ironic is that? If they were so afraid of being sued, they would rein in those who are causing all the lawsuits. Do they think it's ok to have the town defend them when they abuse their offices? Of course!! Is it ok with them to defend residents who are in danger of having their wells run dry? Of course not!!
That these people could stand there and say they are worried about lawsuits is deplorable, it's so arrogant and so like them. They really showed their colors tonight.
SAPIA TALKED ABOUT GETTING LEGAL ADVICE?????
Isn't this the guy who IGNORED all legal advice that contradicted his position all the time he was selectmen?
What a #@*&$#* Joke!
What is really funny, is that this doesn't involve the town.
This is between the people and HAWC. And yet it is our public officials who are trying to defeat this, WHY?
What do our selectmen have to fear from this?
They haven't cared what HAWC has done in the past, why do they care if people don't like what they are doing now?
What does our planning board have to fear from this?
They have allowed a private utility to be built on town land throughout town, without plan, rhyme or reason, and have never cared, why are they so hot now?
And one last question;
Do these jokers represent US? or HAWC?
The 800 lb gorilla in the meeting all night was HAWC and the threat of lawsuits. HAWC was amply represented by possibly one employee and certain members of the Planning board.
HAWC has handled this who affair disastrously from the start. They probably thought they could get their requests through with the usual blessing of the Planning Board. Not this time. They were forced to go public and their approach was to put on a dog and pony they probably thought would impress everyone but backfired. Then, if you look at the data complied by their consultant, it provides further evidence that even that the extreme depths of their wells, recovery is still a problem, which means to me that the aquifer is not an unlimited resource.
So, who is going to sue the town, HAWC? Won't that do wonders for their image.
A lot of grousing was made by some about the cost of the meeting. Jack's comment about donating the money was beyond despicable (but I expect nothing less from him). May I point out we wouldn't have been there if the Planning Board an BOS did their jobs correctly the first time.
From what I've seen several things are apparent:
1) The Planning Board needs a good housing cleaning. Sue Killam seems to have HAWC's interests more at heart than the citizens.
2) Harold Morse has no business being on the Planning Board. Whether he recuses himself or not, he's still there and it his companies plans, along with sister company Lewis Builders, who are at the heart of this matter. This is not just about water, its also about the Atkinson Heights project.
3) It became clear why the BOS did not re-assemble on the Communications Committe under Mr. DiMaggio, Being kind, he doesn't seem to know anything about anything. And let's not forget, the cost of last nights meeting was about the same as that of the communications consultant hired to come up with that boondoogle of a communications system that by all appearances had a predetermined solution. The money for the consultant was wasted so Mr. DiMaggio is the last one who should complain about wasted taxpayer funds.
Jack, Jack, Jack, you never fail to disappoint. What theater. When spouting off your nonsense the only thing missing is a bible in your hand and a bottle of snake oil in your hand.
We all owe Carol Grant a debt of gratitude. Not only has see, so far, done the most to save our aquifer, last nights meeting finally shed light, with no lingering doubt, the true colors of certain members of the Planning Board. For me, the whole effort was well worth it.
To those of whom I speak. Resignation for personal reasons is a tried and true method for extracting oneself from an untenable situation.
GO to the Atkinson Factor to see footage of Jack Sapia undermind all of you and you and you. And to Mr Dimaggio, What the hell are you thinking ? Your attitude was out in left field with Jacks. When the town residents show concern about anything, all town officals should follow suit or resign your position.
I couldn't watch it again. Just thinking of it makes me want to toss.
What I heard coming out of Mr.'s Sapia's and DiMaggio's mouths last night was beyond belief. You can't make this stuff up.
So what do we have: Four members of the Planning Board who do not want the public involved in the HAWC request; Sue Killam, Jack Sapia, Paul DiMaggio and I have to presume Harold Morse. This is wrong, just plain wrong.
I believe Planning Board membership is assigned by the BOS. Time to de-assign a few people.
Who was the guy who originally got up and asked how much this would cost the town,,,,he was sitting behind Killam?
Don't know but I think he was a plant. Probably had to give Harold the bad news.
Sapia, who? Oh, you mean the X Chairman of the BOS? Ah, the man who lies about legal opinion to his fellow selectmen, public, wife and kids? The bully, who steals BLOG SIGNS, then tries to cover it up? A man who has cost the town thousands of dollars in lawsuits and would continue to do so, if he were still in office?
I would think that a man who has been exposed like he has, would be ashamed to show his face in public. After all that exposure, he has the nerve to speak at a public meeting like he has any creditability left?
This man has no morals, shame, or character. This is the man who brags about being a part of the Atkinson Italian Mafia, and struts around like he is God.
This man should pack up, sell out, and leave the town of Atkinson to the good people who live here. The only role model he could serve for, are the gangs in New York City. We would not want him around our kids.
Speaking of bullies…does anyone know the name of the “little midget” that spoke first and often to defeat the warrant articles? The guy with no manners and a “ Napoleon Complex”? The one that shouted at Mrs. Grant to get out of his way? Now there is a man that needs a good attitude adjustment. Must be Sapia’s half brother from a second marriage.
Anonymous asks...
What does our planning board have to fear from this?
Perhaps the question should be: What does our planning board have to gain from this?
Maybe the Atkinson Country Club will revoke their free memberships* if this doesn't go through!
*This is joke. I don't know if they have free memberships to the CC.
I have the answer to what the planning board has to gain from defeating the warrant articles. I will post the paperwork in the next couple of days, as the proof. Stay tuned. It will revolt you. Our selectmen and their counterparts should be beaten. All of them are disgusting.
It has been pointed out earlier that many members of the Planning Board, by their actions and associations, are more interested in protecting HAWC's interests than that of the public they supposedly serve.
They should be replaced but don't hold your breath waiting for the BOS to do the right thing.
Sounds like the makings of a citizen's petition to have the current board disbanded and a new one appointed. This would have the added benefit of allowing Mr. Sapia (who by the way is not totally gone as long as he serves on the PB and Conflict of Interest board) to give you one of his now famous emotional appeals, heavy on the heartstrings, devoid of facts.
And lets consider Mr. DiMaggio't track record. Lets start with the tower fiasco which cost the town the consultant's fee and got shot down at the polls, big time. Then, he tries to reassemble the same committee to try again, and he is shot down by the BOS. Then, Monday, he implies the audience is full of idiots and he tries to amend the second warrant by taking out all of the wording beyond the first sentence. Again, he is shot down. Now, I submit to you, is this the record of a successful representative for the town?
There are some good people on the PB, but I fear they are outnumbered. And after Mr. Sapia's and DiMaggio's over the top actions Monday, it should be clear a complete house cleaning is needed.
Is this submission harsh? You bet. But until the PB and the BOS realize that the citizens are not going to just roll over while the HAWC/Lewis bulldozer rolls its way to future profits at our expense, they can expect much more.
Wouldn't it be ironic if HAWC actually did move forward with a lawsuit? I mean, to sue the very community they "serve"? What a PR nightmare!
Should they do this, it should be clear to everyone(if it is not already,) whose best interests HAWC truly have in mind.
Bottom line is it's their bottom line.
I would like to point out that Jack Sapia is no longer a member of the planning board. He held ex-officio membership as a selectman, but was replaced by Bill Friel after last March's town meeting.
The PB members are appointed by the selectmen. They are limited to appointing people who volunteer. Very few do. There are currently two alternate member vacancies open. If you don't like the way things are, stop by town hall, fill out a committee volunteer form, and get involved. I did and I'm glad I did.
If volunteering doesn't float your boat, then your other remedy is RSA 673:2 II(b). The question you have to ask yourself is: Are you feeling lucky?
Post a Comment