BridgeFest '09

The Merrimack Heritage Commission is working on something fun and very special. We want to update the Chamberlain Bridge. Bring back some of it's aesthetic appeal which has been lost over the years to road widening and such.

The Chamberlain Bridge is an iconic masterpiece. We go over it everyday and don't even notice it's granite beauty. Take a stop at Swan's or the Fire Station soon and step back far enough to take it in. Cross the bridge. Step off the road and look back. Without the dam it's even MORE beautiful.

We'd love to put some beautiful period lights on the bridge. That takes money, and if we touch it, we have to do some other work to bring it up to code.

Enter BridgeFest '09. A celebration of the bridge and a fundraiser to boot.

We're thinking a weekend festival combining art, history and fun... So look for it in September... And every September thereafter!

Dave Nichols

ELECTIONS!!!

Thanks for being a part of this campaign. We're pressing on to make Villages for Merrimack a reality!

See you at the polls!

Balloons, coffee, kids ballots and wildflower seeds for bringing a touch of beauty to our town... ONLY at our table!

Dave Nichols

Viral -- it sounds so easy!!!

My fondest hope has been that this site would go viral. That we'd hear of folks gazing in amazement at the election news from Merrimack somewhere in Singapore.

In that hope, I shared with you my little April Fool's hoax. I did see the numbers spike yesterday to their highest page count by a long shot. Maybe that was my hoax, maybe it was just that the election is around the corner.

Thanks to those of you who read and enjoyed the hoax. Only one person that I know of got taken in, and to protect my own physical life and safety, I shall not expose him.

To those of you who wonder how it is a serious candidate can do something so FOOLish... It is the hobbits who bring goodness back to Middle Earth. It is the Ewoks who bring ruin to Darth Vader and the Emperor's evil reign.

I AM a serious candidate, but humor is a very serious part of being serious.

Dave Nichols

April 1 Annexation of Amherst -- Keep Free Amherst Free!!!

It's unconscionable!

Merrimack's current regime believes that they can just pull legal chicanery and make all our town problems disappear. Read this following news story. You'll be as shocked and appalled as I have been:

Merrimack to Annex Amherst in Hostile Takeover

Please, help me keep Free Amherst Free!!! Join my crusade!

PLEASE, leave your comments here.

Dave Nichols
www.merrimack08.com

$1.1 Million Accounting Error ...

$1.1 Million Mistake ...

The story

Bridge reimbursement mis-applied

Nashua Telegraph Story on $1.1 million accounting error...

The mistake isn't new. It happened way back in 2006. It just now got caught.

It doesn't look like it's deliberate. It's just not that kind of mistake.

So what happened?

When bridge funding was apportioned for the Bedford Road bridge rehab began, the state promised 1.1 million. Instead of putting that in the ledger directly against the bridge project, it was accounted for as revenue. Tax income.

So we've been going along thinking we had that money as general fund money. And we've been going along thinking that the bridge was being funded by the state. In the minds of the town money experts, they've been counting that money twice.

It's a big oops.

So what do we do?

There are calls for criminal investigations. I think that's not only knee-jerk but shows a basic antagonism to our staff that we hire to run the town.

A full accounting investigation must occur, but this isn't money that disappeared or was siphoned off. It was allocated improperly.

Should there be reprimands? Probably, it's a bad mess-up. That's what we have a Town Manager for, to deal with this kind of mistake appropriately.

A call for a quick overview

Town Manager Hickey is already describing new approaches to avoid this in the future. I think the bigger and more worrisome question is, why did our accounting practices not find this sooner?

I would call on Town Manager Hickey to report back to the Town Council within 2 weeks. I would ask him to give an initial overview of how it took this long for the error to come to light.

Two weeks is not enough for a thorough examination. That needs to be ongoing. But the town's citizens need to quickly have an outline of the probable areas of failure, and an assurance that the problems end here.


WE MUST HAVE a rapid initial report...
and we must have:

• A more detailed overview of the problem.


• An initial analysis of the where the accounting system failed to catch this.


• An initial determination if any other similar errors might be on the books.


• An initial determination of the steps needed to address the financial issues this has caused.

It's not going to be fun to go through this, but we can do it without recriminations. A level-headed approach and appropriate, measured responses will put us past this and on to building Vision for Merrimack.

VISION -- The Villages of Merrimack

From the campaign website Vision for Merrimack -- The Villages of Merrimack

The Vision --
Our Present Builds on our Past ...

The Vision --
"The Villages of Merrimack" ...

• I propose that we embrace "The Villages of Merrimack" to define ourselves moving forward. I propose that we work to see that all of Merrimack sees itself as "The Villages of Merrimack".


• I propose that we review all our planning in this light.


• I propose that we ensure all planning reflects the character of that shared vision of Merrimack.


• I propose that the Master Plan, the Capital Improvement Plan, the Heritage Commission, the Planning and Zoning Boards all be infused with the mission to see "The Villages of Merrimack" become a reality.

A new appreciation for the past and a determination to recapture it.

Let's get serious about making the Merrimack of the future celebrate, expose, cherish and even market our heritage. To be blunt, nostalgia sells and nostalgia identifies. We are a wonderful collection of the industrial and agricultural New England of old. Embrace that Merrimack! Protect the icons of our past. Require that new developments point to that past to maintain our distinctive character.

A new appreciation for the varied characteristics in the town and a determination to capitalize on it.

We are blessed as a community to have such a varied group of villages. Our center maintains a late 1800s look and feel. Reed's Ferry has the feel of Revolutionary times. Thornton's Ferry feels like our earliest recorded history -- open spaces and vistas. Our west has a rural New Hampshire feel. The Master Plan hints at this but it does little to celebrate it, to help us to value this wonderful diversity. One resident, Chuck Mower, put up a delightful sign to celebrate Reed's Ferry a few years ago. I suggest we need to be aggressive.... Let people know WE, the citizens of Merrimack KNOW what a special place this is.

A new determination to grow to honor our past and guide our future.

As your Town Councilor, I intend to advance the concept of "The Villages of Merrimack." I intend to highlight, support and advance the work of the Economic Development Citizens Advisory Committee, of the Heritage and Conservation Committees. I intend to advocate, to argue for, to advertise for a strong Town Center. I intend to do the same for a new Library, for new and creative uses of Watson Park, of the potential in our new assets to the south and the north, the Outlet Mall and the Airport Access Road.

Where do we go???

Make me your Town Councilor and I will use every effort, personal and legislative, to build this vision. I will make every effort to see it advanced with every town board and business development group.
Our choice ...

We stand at a unique place in my 16 years in this town. So many impediments to our future have disappeared. So much is moving quickly. Suburban America is screaming into our town. It WILL come. It is our choice. Will we embrace it with a creative, effective UNITED vision, or will we piecemeal attempt to control our growth. I guarantee if we choose the latter, we will get the sprawl and the homogenous lackluster look of so many suburbs.

If we choose to unite around this vision, the Merrimack of the future is an exciting place to be!

A vision workshop...

From the campaign site Merrimack08:

Vision Brainstorming
Working toward a common vision ...

First question: Are we rural?

The Master Plan points out that Merrimack is prized by its residents for its natural beauty and open spaces. The Plan points to the open, unused spaces in our west and urges us to keep those spaces open and green.

Do you agree? Would you be willing to put tax dollars toward protecting those spaces? Would you want access to them (paths, hunting areas, fishing areas, boat landings)?

Second question: what kind of town are we?

Are we primarily residential? Do we really WANT to attract business? What kind of business fit our image of ourselves? What businesses do we need that we don't have?

Third question: What about our roads?

Are our roads the way we want them? Are we satisfied with the way traffic moves in all directions -- north to south, east to west?

Hit the comment button!!! Let's get the conversation rolling!