Non-Elected Citizens to Make Up Majority of Casino Committee
Selectmen advanced the committee during a final discussion on Jan. 28.
Salem Selectmen moved forward with a Casino Advisory Committee on Jan. 28, opting to increase the amount of citizen participation for the group.
The new committee, which was suggested to the town by the local casino advocacy group N.H. Casino Now, will be comprised of six residents, a total that was amended after board Chairman Pat Hargreaves suggested that five citizens be involved.
The nine-member organization will also include one selectman, one Salem School Board member and one legislator – either state Sen. Chuck Morse (R-Salem) or a representative of Salem.
The additional citizen came at the suggestion of Selectman Jim Keller. He also called for a member of the Budget Committee to participate, but Hargreaves was against it, noting that they don't meet in the summer and are only consulted at the end of the year during budget proposal season.
Selectman Everett McBride Jr. noted that it doesn't preclude a Budget Committee member from applying in a citizen capacity.
Other individuals who didn't make the final cut were Salem Community Development Director William Scott and Town Manager Keith Hickey.
Dan Norris, chairman of N.H. Casino Now, said that the most important thing is that the board moves forward with the committee as it deems suitable.
During a meeting on Jan. 14, Norris said that the goal of the committee is to quantify the gaming revenue amounts from a casino as well as how that revenue would be used in Salem.
Board member Stephen Campbell will serve as Selectman representative. McBride will serve as alternate.
The board didn't give a specific time for the first committee meeting, but said that it will likely take a couple of weeks to put out a call for citizen candidates and conduct interviews.
Jeff Hatch
9:02 am on Tuesday, January 29, 2013
The BOS make the right call by taking the TM & CDD off this board.
Riley Reid
9:27 am on Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Agree !
Tom Linehan
9:22 am on Tuesday, January 29, 2013
I just wish they took off Scott the Bureaucrat. I don't trust the guy. Any deal involving him would be suspect to me.
Jeff Hatch
11:16 am on Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Tom they did take off both Scott and the TM
Soujourner Truth
7:58 am on Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Missing: anyone from Planning or Zoning. No one's gonna consider the impact of a casino drawing 1 million visitors a year on, say, Salem's wonderfully modern water and sewer?
Tom Linehan
9:20 am on Wednesday, January 30, 2013
@Soujourner Truth Very astute observation.
Years ago former Selectman Joe Gagnon showed that the Mall at Rockingham Park consumes most of the spare capacity for public water in Salem. Since then, we have added Arlington Pond pipeline. But major development of Rockingham Park might quickly eat that up. We have not had a major drought in years which would be a good test as to what our capacity really is.
I also understand that Rockingham Park has an ample source of water on the site. But it is not suitable for a public water supply. Some of our sewer system is 100 years old.
Any major development at Rockingham Park might require major infrastructure improvements. And that has not yet been part of the public discussion on Casino gambling.