Also on today’s menu:
Kuster Will Not Seek Re-election To Washington
North Country Prepares For Total Eclipse
Administrative Services Commissioner Charlie Arlinghaus, who has been overseeing the sale of the former Laconia State School property, has given Legacy at Laconia a final deadline of April 15 to complete the $21.5 million purchase of the 220-acre site. The closing date for the sale has been extended four times.
Developer Robynne Alexander of Manchester, who has a history of foreclosures, tax liens, and lawsuits, is working a new lender after the one she had hoped to finance the purchase pulled out. Spokesman Scott Tranchemontagne said, “The Legacy team is working diligently with our new lender to finalize their process and secure the necessary funds to close the deal and transform this property into much-needed housing for New Hampshire’s workforce, as well as community parks and venues, a retail center, and a resort which implements universal design for barrier-free accessibility.”
The legislatively created Lakeshore Redevelopment Planning Commission had been doing careful pre-development planning for the site when Governor Chris Sununu asked for a law change to allow him and the Executive Council to directly sell the property in order to speed up the disposition of the land. Reporter Annmarie Timmons exposed Alexander’s rocky history with development efforts prior to the Executive Council’s 3-2 vote to award the Laconia State School bid to her. Arlinghaus assured the council that it was the right choice at the time and, despite the delays and further revelations about her legal and financial problems, said he was confident that the state would get its money, even if her development plans were never realized.
Discussion: There is a lot on the line for the city of Laconia. Even if Alexander is able to complete the land purchase, there is little likelihood that she will be able to develop the property according to plan. She could not even pay taxes for a property she bought in Gilford. What lender would be willing to risk a default on such a large investment?
Kuster Will Not Seek Re-election To Washington
US Representative Annie Kuster (D-Hopkinton), announced on March 27 that she will not seek reelection to New Hampshire’s 2nd Congressional District.
Kuster is the daughter of the late Susan McLane, who had property on Newfound Lake and served in state government for 25 years, as both a state representative and a senator. Kuster’s father, Malcolm McLane, served on the Executive Council and as mayor of Concord. Kuster has served in Washington DC for 12 years.
Kuster’s departure will lead to a competitive race in the state’s Democratic and Republican primaries.
Discussion: I have found Kuster to be the least-responsive of New Hampshire’s Washington delegation, even though she has played a significant role in domestic and sexual assault prevention, substance use treatment, veterans’ services, and health care legislation. She has served on the Veterans Affairs Committee, Agriculture Committee, and Energy and Commerce Committee. Those were time-consuming roles, I’m sure, but constituent service is important, too.
North Country Prepares For Total Eclipse
April tends to be a quiet month in Coös County, with snowmobile season over and the summer ATV season yet to come, but this year, local officials are expecting crowds as big as 50,000 arriving for the April 8 total solar eclipse.
Colebrook Town Manager Tim Stevens says he has been working with local residents and public safety officials for the past year to prepare for the onslaught. That includes consideration of the possibility that local ATM machines might run out of cash and the need for extra porta-potties and trash cans.
Like many school districts, Colebrook has canceled school for the day of the eclipse, and it will have a remote learning the day after to avoid having school buses stuck in traffic. Stevens has advised local residents to stay off the roads as much as possible, given that many of the local streets are unpaved and heavy traffic on muddy roads can be troublesome.
Discussion: We’ll be watching the eclipse from our North Country property, so won’t have to worry about a place to stay. Our challenge will come from the weather, which always seems to bring overcast skies when we want to observe a celestial event. Should that happen on April 8, there will be a lot of disappointed tourists.