Peterborough Select Board hopefuls take part in forum

Peterborough’s Select Board candidates River Marmorstein and Bonnie Tucker fielded questions during a forum at Peterborough Town Library Thursday.

The candidates, who are seeking a three-year term during the May 13 election, bring different experiences to the race. Marmorstein is a firefighter and EMT in Peterborough, a member of the New Boston Police Department and a small-business owner. Tucker is a public health consultant for the New Hampshire Community Health Institute/JSI and chairs the Peterborough Affordable Housing Committee. On housing, Marmorstein mentioned his concern that many of his generation –  he is a 2016 graduate of ConVal — have left the area owing to housing not being affordable. 

“Personally, my property taxes are up 50% over the past four years,” he said, adding he owns a business that builds affordable housing, and that “We have to live with the decisions we make about the town for the next 50 to 75 years.”

Tucker noted her experience on the Affordable Housing Committee, and referenced the town’s master plan as a road map to “help meet residents’ needs.” Asked for specifics, Tucker touted her business background.

“As a manager with a biotech firm, I have experience going line by line with budgets,” she said.

Marmorstein said that costs might be controlled by finding new vendors for town services. 

As to the biggest challenges at hand, Tucker mentioned two, suggesting the creation of a task force to focus on safety, expressing concern over children crossing heavily-trafficked roads. She added that retaining young families locally is also an issue. Marmorstein mentioned getting more people involved in public matters is essential. 

“I’ve been at Select Board meetings where I’m the only person attending,’” he said, adding that he agreed with Tucker on the safety issue.“My wife and I like to walk our dogs, and people fly by us. We should be looking at reducing the speed limit in town and enforcing laws about distracted driving.”

Asked how they would describe Peterborough’s character, Tucker referred again to the master plan and called to mind “our natural resources, our town center and the vibrancy of arts.” Marmorstein said he perceives the town as “a leader in conservation and very forward thinking.”

Asked how they collaborate with others, Tucker cited her work on the Affordable Housing Committee, which brought people together on the issue. Marmorstein said that in his work with fire and police departments, “I see people on their worst days, dealing with crises; this is good experience for working with others.”

Resident Ron Drogy asked the candidates about solutions to rising property taxes and housing costs, and Tucker cited progress on this front with the Vose Farm Residences development.

“It brings 96 affordable housing units here later this year. We also collaborated with Keene State students who designed affordable housing models that will be on display at the Town House.”

Marmorstein suggested that the town could address costs by engaging in “competitive purchasing,” adding that “Our purchasing policy hasn’t been updated since 2008.”

Ivy Vann asked the candidates how towns can cope with dwindling revenues from the state government.

“We can’t just say we need more money from the state,” said Marmorstein, acknowledging Vann’s point, and suggested that we look at a town of comparable size such as Plymouth.  “We have a more significant municipal tax commitment than other communities our size. (Plymouth’s) budget is about half ours.”

Plymouth, a town of 6,622, has a general governmental and department budget proposal for 2025-2026 of slightly less than $10 million. With 6,500 residents as of two years ago, Peterborough’s budget for fiscal 2026 is proposed at just over $19 million.

Tucker noted the large slice of tax revenues that goes toward local schools.

“Over 50% of spending (involves the school district.) I look forward to working with our with ConVal representatives to see if there’s anything we support in that realm” to address state spending on schools.

Tucker responded to a question about attracting new industries by noting that at least one local employer she knows spent considerable funds training 150 employees, but could not retain them and was left with 15 people at year’s end.

“It’s hard to recruit and retain people, because they can’t find affordable housing,” she said.

Marmorstein was asked if his municipal duties would make him biased on town matters.

“Actually, I’ve been a thorn in the fire chief’s side, being vocal about things we don’t need to buy,” he said.

Tucker noted her planning time with Town Administrator Nicole MacStay to understand the budget process. Marmorstein said that  it was an honor to be part of the civic process.

The Peterborough town election is Tuesday, May 13, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Peterborough Town House.