Town Attorney Lays Out Rules for Deliberative Session
Benjamin C. Klein
Londonderry Times

The Town Council and Town Counsel Bart Mayer laid out the rules for the Official Ballot Law form of government Monday night, saying many of the components of traditional Town Meeting are the same under the Official Ballot Law.

But several are not.

Mayer, an attorney with Upton and Hatfield, said the deliberative session, also known as the "first session of the annual town meeting," is a place to discuss, debate and amend warrant articles.

Mayer said that under both Town Meeting and Official Ballot, also known as Senate Bill 2 or SB2, any warrant article wording prescribed by law cannot be amended except by the dollar figure. That is the same in both forms of government, he said. more

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Elder Affairs Committee Tries Again for Senior Housing Grant
Kathleen D. Bailey
Londonderry Times

Dan Lekas, a member of the Elder Affairs Committee, is a ways from retirement. But he's looking ahead and doesn't like what he sees. In particular, Lekas isn't sure he'll be able to spend his golden years in Londonderry

"I hope," he said of affordable elderly housing, "that it will be there when I need it."

Members of the committee; its partner agency, Southern New Hampshire Services; and the general older population are clinging to their rabbit's foot and picking up lucky pennies after their latest attempt at funding for a low-income senior complex failed. As they prepare for another grant cycle, the seniors are hoping that none of their peers, or future seniors, will be denied the chance to retire in the town they love.

The latest stalled attempt was a denial this fall of a New Hampshire Housing and Urban Development grant. The grant, part of the government's Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly program, was disbursed to two other New Hampshire facilities but not to Londonderry, Susan Haussler, Elder Affairs member and housing liaison, said at the committee's meeting on Jan. 16. more

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Woodmont Process Delayed by Conflict of Interest Charge
Kathleen D. Bailey
Londonderry Times

The Woodmont Commons project will be on hold for a few more weeks as the developers, town staff and Planning Board grapple with a new complication.

As the staff, board and public gathered Thursday night, Jan. 19, for a special Planning Board meeting to learn the subcommittee's recommendation for a third-party consultant, the Planning Board went into an unexpected nonpublic session. When he returned from nonpublic session, Chairman Art Rugg announced that the town's legal counsel had discovered a conflict of interest with one of the finalists.

"We were quite dismayed," Rugg said. "We have had all this information for several weeks." Rugg added that the new information meant that the board and staff had to consult with all the parties involved.

"We want to keep this open and fair," he said. "We need the information to make a fair, honest and open judgment." more

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