GilfordGrok

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A petition with 65 signatures has been delivered to the Selectmen's office, effectively stopping their plan for a sweetheart deal with the non-profit Village Knolls group-- at least until the voters have their say at a special Town Meeting.

Here is the language of the petition:

As provided in RSA 41:14-a, and pursuant to RSA 39:3, we the undersigned registered voters of the Town of Gilford request the Board of Selectmen call a special Town Meeting to vote on “the proposed sale” of Town-owned land on 43 Potter Hill Road. We believe that the land must be sold as quickly as possible, without any special conditions favoring specific organizations, to a qualified buyer that submits the highest sealed bid offer.

The opposition consists of two camps: Those who don't wish to promote more tax-free or tax exempt subsets of citizens here in Gilford-- folks that won't feel the full impact of spending decisions made on voting day; and those that believe the village is already crowded enough in the area occupied by the parcel in question, and are concerned about the heavy impact of another multi-unit development.

Now we wait for the Selectmen to schedule the meeting. Waiting until the next annual meeting is NOT an option, by the way...

Posted by Doug at 03:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

            

To play (or "stream") a clip now, just click on it.  To download it to your PC, right click on it and tell the process where to save the file for you.
 

Special Note: 

This week, MTNP decided to concentrate on the local scene - the Gilford Selectmen race.  Each was gracious enough to come to our Gilford Studio over at WEMJ 1490 and was willing to be interviewed by Doug and I to find out why or if they should be our next Selectmen.

 

To see the entire Podcast page, click here or go over to GraniteGrok (GilfordGrok's big brother for state / national / international musings on politics, culture, or anything else that amuses us) for a look-see.    Otherwise click on the links below to play the interview for each candidate.  Each week we try to video any special going-ons in studio - this week was a banner week!

 

 

    Dennis Corrigan - interview

    Break - going from Dennis to Kevin
 

Kevin Hayes - interview

 John Goodhue - interview

Break - Going from John to Chan

 

Dale "Chan" Eddy - interview

 

                    Doug, Skip, and Chan discuss SB2 and why the GSFT is way off base.
                       SB2 & Social Services         Break-more on Social Services   
                       GTFS discussion -Goodhue endorsement

 

Posted by Skip at 07:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Last year we supported Gus Benavides for a seat on the Board of Selectmen. He promised to ask questions and consider all input before rendering decisions. For whatever reasons, Gus hasn't really been able to have a crack at everything that he would like try here in Gilford as a member of the Board. We think it's worth trying it his way, and see if there's a different way of managing and delivering municipal services in Gilford-- or at least provide oversight with a degree of questioning to satisfy the citizens that we are indeed getting the most bang for our bucks.

To that end, Gus has publicly asked that voters choose John Goodhue to help him in his efforts, and Skip and I are willing to join him achieve that goal. We will be supporting Mr. Goodhue this coming Tuesday, and encourage everybody to do the same. As a long time Gilford resident, always active within the town and its government, John provides a solid foothold both in Gilford's proud and traditional past and in the present as well. There will be no "on the job training" for Mr. Goodhue-- he will know how to be one of our Selectmen from day one. While we have not always agreed with John Goodhue on every issue, and probably won't each and every time once he's our Selectman, we trust that at the end of the day he will do what he thinks is in the best interest of Gilford. John Goodhue is a known quantity, and what you see is what you get. We think a Board of Selectmen that includes a Gus Benavides, a Connie Grant, and a John Goodhue is one that will serve the citizens of Gilford in a way our present times require.

Vote John Goodhue for Selectman!

Posted by Doug at 08:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Goodhue denies he’s gunning for Juris 

Nice headline in the Daily Sun today, eh? Nothing like a shot to stir up trouble or start a rumor. Or put a kibosh on a candidate just before the starting gun goes off.

Retiring selectman Alice Boucher, whom Goodhue, Kevin Hayes, Dennis Corrigan, Chan Eddy and Joe Hoffman are bidding to succeed, posed the question, prefacing her remarks by citing Goodhue’s assertion that selectmen must put the best interests of the town “ahead of personal agendas.” She said that she was moved to ask the question after receiving calls from “a number of residents” alleging that Goodhue intended to try and fire the two employees.

Ah yes, the "unnamed, anonymous residents" campaign trick. Funny, how come she didn't take the same line of reasoning she did over the printing of the salaries in the Town Report ("ANY one can come in and request that information") - why not just let those folks ask the question themselves?
Did she...

Continue reading "Peyton Place politics?" »

Posted by Skip at 09:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Two 'Grok Thumbs Up

Being on the Budget Committee means a lot of work, a lot of minutiae, and a lot of questions and hours. Departments and people pitch their ideas as to what they believe is in the best interest of the Town and why those ideas should be brought forward and funded. However, it can be a thankless job as no one like to say “no” to good ideas and initiatives. Sometimes, saying “yes” is the proper and right thing to do, even when they have been declined by others. Yet, in order to provide the best quality services to the town folk at the best cost to the taxpayers, it is “no” that needs often times to be said.

There are three people that deserve your vote in Gilford for the Budget Committee – Sue Greene, Bob Brent, and Terry Stewart. They have the knowledge and the wisdom to know when to say “yes” and when to say “no” without compromising the quality of life in Gilford. They've asked the questions, they asked for the proof and challenged the providers of that proof. And when they they have not been satisfied, they've gone out and done their own investigations to ensure that Gilford residents are getting the best result for their hard earned dollars. And most of all, they have proven, Sue and Bob over the years and Terry this past year, that they will protect the average taxpayers' wallets. Sue and Bob both bring years of experience on the Committee and Terry with years managing private sector budgets.

They know, and advocate for, fully funding the needs of Gilford as a requirement. They know and realize when wants conflict with needs and act appropriately. With their leadership, the budgets for both the Town and SAU budgets have slowed their rate of increases (the Town budget was less than the year before!). They have earned your votes; I ask that you return them to the Budget Committee when you cast your vote during our SB2 voting (March 11). We certainly will be voting for Sue Greene, Bob Brent, and Terry Stewart.

Skip and Doug
Gilford

Posted by Skip at 07:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This caught my eye over at PolitickerNH (a relatively new site that is aggregating political News here in NH [and am pleased to say, GraniteGrok is one of the few websites posted on its blogroll):

Towns looking for candidates to fill positions

New Hampshire has the world’s third largest elected body, but towns across the state are having a difficult time finding candidates to run for various offices.

Positions ranging from town selectman to cemetery trustee are being left unfilled.

“In about 15 local towns and school districts, there is not a single contested race,” The Concord Monitor reports.

Forgetfulness, increases in town population and hectic schedules have been blamed for the lack of candidates.

"People are drawn in many ways by jobs, family, other responsibilities. As small towns grow, there may be less and less of a feeling of ownership,” said Tom Haley, superintendent of SAU 53.

I can easily say that I am proud of Gilford as its citizens take their responsibility to make this Town their own with respect to Town positions.  Certainly, not all of our positions are being contested, but just look at the plethora of folks running for Selectman and BudComm!  I may not agree with some of the folks some of the time, nor will I agree with some of the folks ANY of the time, but I AM glad they run. 

Diversity of opinion is what is really important (and not the simple-mindedness, quota-based type of diversity you see talked about in some social engineering circles). 

Posted by Skip at 10:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

J. KEVIN HAYES
JOHN GOODHUE JR.
DENNIS CORRIGAN
JOSEPH F. HOFFMAN
DALE CHANNING EDDY

WRITE IN: __________________________

KAREN SAUNDERS
JOSEPH F. HOFFMAN

WRITE IN: __________________________

Continue reading "Who's running - candidates for offices" »

Posted by Skip at 09:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted by Doug at 07:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Selectman

Budget Committee

Fire Engineer

Continue reading "Vote totals of key races, questions" »

Posted by Doug at 05:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A group of Town and SAU employees (according to Roslyn Roy) is sponsoring a night where the candidates for the Selectmen, Budget Committee, and Board of Fire Engineers can each speak to the issues and their stances. Wish I could be there, but am here in Chicago instead.

All I say is GO, LISTEN to the candidates, and ask EVERYONE the same hard questions (yeah, sandbagging may be great on TV, but doesn't give the candidates a chance to really represent themselves).

Let them speak, and as it happens, let them get themselves in trouble.  Some may not need much prompting....   

Posted by Skip at 06:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)