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!

Town Meetings and Taxes ...

I've added some new content up on the website. I'd love to hear what you think... Put your feedback here!

In Praise of Town Meetings and Local Politics
Thoughts on Merrimack's Periodic Tax Revolts

Also, I'm tweaking the web site today to increase the font size. Thanks to you who have suffered through the teensy type... I know *I* have had trouble reading it--and I created and typed it!

Dave Nichols

What's with the signs???

I hope you're here because you've seen the signs. Streaks of 5 signs with rhymes on them.

WHY? Why have I chosen to use this campaign method?

And most importantly ...

Am I nuts?

Let me know!

And do you know where I got the idea? I can't really claim it... It's famous...

Prize for the first person who puts the answer in a comment!

Dave Nichols
davennnnn@yahoo.com

A Thought-Provoking Campaign Blogsite

My goal is to get us as a town to not just adopt a Master Plan -- we actually already have one -- but to embrace a vision.

What is Merrimack, NH? What is the essence of our town?

I have felt for a long time that we have become simply a stretch of roads and houses. Not because we're not good people, but because growth has pushed us apart from each other.

• I believe we need to create and adopt an identity, and then craft that identity onto our town.
• I believe we need to embrace a place and a vision for our town center. Where is our town center?
• I believe we need to revisit our road plan. Too many roads are in horrible shape. We have only 3 routes to run easily from east to west.
• I believe we need to seize on the opportunities coming our way in the Outlet Mall and the new Airport Access road. These areas are going to boom and we need to be ahead of the curve, and craft that growth the way we want it to go.
• I believe having Starbucks is a good thing, and that caffeine is an inalienable right.
• I believe that we craft the best solutions as a community when we include the "For" and the "Against", the "High Tax" and the "Low Tax", the "Left" and the "Right"

Come along with me on this ride. We'll make this website fun, and try to get each one of you at least ONCE to send the site address to a friend or neighbor ... because it's fun, because it's interesting, or because it's just so darn-outright GOOD.

Dave Nichols
davennnnn@yahoo.com
17 Woodland Drive
Merrimack, NH