Voters say no to road bond

Friday, March 12, 2010

BEDFORD – Voters denied the $30 million road bond, which town council members, the town manager and the director of public works called “high priority.”

The warrant article was denied Tuesday by a vote of 1,868 to 1,966 and required a two-thirds vote to pass. It would have involved a roughly 5 percent tax increase in 2011 and a 3 percent increase in 2014 to complete the current backlog of road work, which is estimated at $29.4 million. Bedford has 190 miles of roadway with 55 considered, by Public Works Director Jim Stanford, to be in need of full repair.

Other warrant articles denied by voters included Zoning Amendment 1, which was proposed by the Planning Board. It would have allowed the Town Council to make all future zoning amendments after at least two public hearings were held: one by the Planning Board and one by the Town Council. Voters denied the amendment by a vote of 2,030-1,554 but passed the other five Planning Board zoning amendments, which the Town Council referred to as “housekeeping items.”

Warrant article No. 4, the initiative petition, was voted on by residents in towns across New Hampshire. It stated that citizens should be allowed to vote on amendments to the New Hampshire constitution, specifically one that defined marriage.

State Rep. David Bates, R-Windham, launched a program pushing citizen petitions to place the question on town ballots. Bates started the program after a law making same-sex marriage legal was passed by the Legislature and governor last year. The law went into effect Jan. 1, and according to Bates, most citizens didn’t even know it was being discussed by state representatives.

The article was approved by Bedford voters 2,738-1,040.

Kelly McGrath can be reached at 673-3100, ext. 27, or kmcgrath@cabinet.com.