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There has been much discussion on
this web site recently regarding the TIF District Articles (#22, #23,
#24). It seems as though many people in town believe that the only thing a TIF will benefit are the developers’ pockets.
While this is partly true – the developers’ do stand to win – as they will not have to pay additional monies for offsite improvements, the town also wins because they were able to attract additional business into their community. I have heard many people say, they will come anyway.
Our town is a bedroom community – on the road to no Weare (lol), unlike several other towns like Londonderry, Derry, Merrimack, Hooksett, who all have interstates running through them.
When a business looks to invest in their operation, they first look at population, traffic counts, etc.
We all think that Mast Road has a lot of traffic, but let’s face it, it has nothing compared to So. Willow Street, Route 3 in Hooksett, Route 102 in Londonderry, etc.
So in order to entice developers to invest and locate their business in our community, a TIF is an option the town would like to offer.
I can only speak from experience that TIF’s are very successful – not only for the developers, but for the communities that have offered them.
However, having said all of this, I think the TIF we are voting on this year needs refining.
This TIF will collect monies as projects are approved, and put them in a fund.
As the fund builds, a road will be built that will run parallel with Mast Road behind the Shell Station and end at Henry Bridge Road.
Having thought this through, I don’t see how this road will ever be built, since this is a piecemeal approach. If we are seriously looking at a TIF, we should look at all areas of town, perhaps concentrate on areas that have more potential, and establish a bonding mechanism to do it right.
Let’s take a year to do the necessary research, perhaps form a TIF Committee, and make sure that when and if we take that leap, it is both understood and accepted by the residents of this community.
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