Voters pass $3.5M bond for Jaffrey Fire Department addition

Jaffrey Town Meeting on Saturday approved a multi-million bond article funding an addition to the Jaffrey Fire Department.

The meeting kicked off with the proposed $3.5 million bond to construct an addition to the current fire station on Turnpike Road.

Selectman Andy Lawn spoke to the article, which would pay for an 8,690-square-foot, two story addition, that includes new locker room, shower facilities and berths so firefighters and emergency management could sleep overnight during emergencies. Those additions would also make the station ready if the department moves to a full-time service.

“The short version: We built that fire station in 1981, and we probably had over 4,000 people in Jaffrey. Now, we have 6,000 people. It’s time to grow,” said Lawn. He pointed to the current project to build a new fire station in Peterborough, which is anticipated to cost more than $12 million, calling $3.5 million a “bargain.”

Resident Kevin Chamberlain spoke of the need for a decontamination area at the station, saying that it’s a “much needed addition.”

“I can attest to exposing my family to some stuff they probably shouldn’t have been exposed to,” Chamberlain said.

Fire Chief David Chamberlain also spoke of the need for decontamination facilities, citing the increased risk of cancer for firefighters, who have a 9% higher chance of developing cancer, and a 14% higher chance of dying from cancer than the general public, calling it “very much a rising concern.”

If the town borrows the full $3.5 million over 20 years at 4% interest, Lawn said the tax impact would be about 25 cents. Town Manager Jon Frederick said that with several debts set to be retired this year, the net tax-rate impact would be closer to 8 cents.

Voters also unanimously approved using $249,350 from the unassigned fund balance to pay off the remaining debt on Fire Engine 1 a decade early, saving the town about $38,000 in interest.

The fire station bond passed by ballot, 151-10, easily clearing the required three-fifths majority.

Collective bargaining agreement

Voters unanimously approved a collective bargaining agreement between the town and the Police Department union.

Select Board Chair Franklin Sterling said the agreement is largely similar to the current contract, but includes a 2.5% market-rate increase in pay and a 3.1% cost-of-living adjustment. The contract also adds a $2,000 physical fitness incentive, a $2 shift differential for overnight shifts and longevity pay for top-step officers.

The three-year contract includes $99,334 in increases for the first year, $108,372 for the second year and $137,963 in the third year.

Voters passed the article unanimously without discussion.

Voters were also quick to pass the budgets for the Water and Sewer Departments, which are paid through user fees, not taxes. The Water Department budget this year is $1.79 million, and the Sewer Department is $4.07 million.

Voters also approved a total of $282,743 for the operation of the town’s two tax increment finance districts — the Stone Arch TIF and the downtown TIF. The funds to operate a TIF come from tax revenue from that district. The motion passed with a handful of no votes.

In a separate article, voters also approved $150,000 for the downtown TIF capital reserve, and $60,000 from the stone arch TIF. Those funds will come from taxes captured from those districts.

Budget to increase 5.8%

Voters unanimously approved Jaffrey’s proposed $8.08 million operating budget, a $443,014, or 5.8%, increase over the 2025 budget of $7.63 million.

More than a quarter of the increase is associated with health, dental and workman’s compensation insurance increases, which went up by about $133,000. Salaries were another driver, with $54,000 in increases for police, $31,000 in increases for the Fire Department, and $103,000 in salary increases for other employees.

Estimated revenues for the coming year are also up this year, with the anticipated total net increase in taxes to be collected being about 5.3% from last year. The estimated tax rate would be a 33-cent increase from the current tax rate.

The article passed in a unanimous voice vote.

Voters also unanimously supported an article for $1.3 million to be added to a total of nine capital reserve funds. The funds are used as savings accounts to collect money for large capital costs, such as the purchase of vehicles or equipment or for road maintenance.

The article included $575,000 for road paving, $200,000 for highway equipment, $80,000 for fire equipment, $5,000 for land acquisition, $175,000 for municipal buildings, $120,000 for bridge rehabilitation, $40,000 for police cruisers, $10,000 for recreation equipment and $100,000 for sidewalks.

Voters also approved a total of $40,150 for expendable trust funds, with $5,000 for cemetery tree maintenance, $2,000 for gravestone restoration, $5,150 for the Meetinghouse fund, and $28,000 for the retirement buyout fund.

Voters also approved $40,000 for the ambulance services expendable trust fund.

Voters table article to close portion of Harkness Road

In the only article that did not pass at Town Meeting, voters decided to table a move to close a portion of Harkness Road.

Sterling spoke in favor of closing a 30-foot section of Harkness Road, calling it a “safety issue article.”

The section would close one of the entrances where Harkness Road meets Main Street and Bryant Street, and divert traffic onto a separate entrance to Main Street, a short distance away. Sterling said the intersection is dangerous, with significant sight-line issues, and has resulted in at least five accidents since 2018, including two head-on collisions, one crash that required a medical helicopter transport to a trauma center. There is only one home between what would become the main entrance to Main Street and the closed entrance, and Sterling said that the homeowner is in favor of the change.

Sterling said the road would be closed with barriers for the next 12 to 18 months, but would eventually be blocked off with fencing or plantings.

Resident Sally Keller acknowledged the safety issue, but said that it wasn’t all down to the intersection layout, noting that speed is a factor. She said the Harkness Road entrance wouldn’t resolve that problem, or the issue of sightlines from Bryant Road. Her main objection to the article was that conversations about the closure had not included the Village Improvement or Historic District Commission.

Keller suggested there were other solutions that hadn’t been explored, such as putting in a blinking light or speed calming measures.

“There are many alternatives to this. I just feel this is a really bad solution to a problem,” Keller said.

Bruce Hill, a member of the Village Improvement Society, echoed those concerns, agreeing that more conversations should have been had between the town and stakeholders like the Village Improvement and Historic District Commission. He called for “more study, more communication” and asked voters to defeat the article with the aim of bringing it back next year.

Alex Bird, whose home is at the end of Harkness Road, said he was in favor of the closure. He said the road was not laid out with the amount of traffic it sustains in mind, and said the intersection was dangerous.

“It astounds me, sometimes, the level of speed people take,” Bird said.

Resident Bill Raymond moved to table the article, which was passed in a voice vote, which means there will be no action taken on the road closure this year.

Voters approve town leasing property

Voters offered no objection to an article that allows the town to lease property for terms of up to five years at a time.

Selectman Charlie Turcotte said the article was put forth this year because the town has a piece of property it would like to lease.

“As you know, we’ve moved into our new town office, and we have an old town office that is now vacant,” Turcotte explained. The former town office is located on Goodnow Street and is still owned by the town, which has made the decision not to put it up for sale, as there is interest from the Jaffrey Historical Society in renting the building. However, while the town has authority to sell town buildings, it does not have the authority to lease them, which the article asked voters to grant.

Peter Lambert, president of the Jaffrey Historical Society, spoke in favor of the article. The Historical Society is located in the basement of the Jaffrey Civic Center, and Lambert said there are significant advantages to moving to the former town office, including major increases in storage and display space, better visibility and accessibility for visitors.

The article passed unanimously.

Voters were also in favor of three petition articles that requested the town convey votes related to state issues to the governor and General Court. The articles instructed the Select Board to convey the town’s dissatisfaction with the state’s funding formula for public education, protest the downshifting of costs for essential services from state funding to towns, and called for accountability for the Education Freedom Account fund, and to limit its eligibility to families with demonstrated financial need.

All three articles passed unanimously.