October 23,
2009
EDITORIAL
The School Board is at it again!
By COLLIS
ADAMS
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Over the last couple of years a group of dedicated volunteers has worked hard in a search for land that would allow Goffstown to provide for the much needed expansion of our recreational facilities.
The group quickly came to the conclusion that the parcel of land located behind the Villa, and owned by a Mr. Monty, presented the best option for a whole host of reasons most notably; availability of municipal utilities, a central location with good access off Mast Road, good soils, proximity to the high school, and a willing seller with a reasonable price, to name but a few.
This group even went so far as to have an engineer prepare a conceptual site plan that would accommodate a wide variety of opportunities such as 60 foot baseball and softball diamonds, one or more 90 foot diamonds, multi-use fields for soccer, lacrosse, field hockey, football, etc.
The plan also had provisions for other age groups such as playgrounds for children and trails for older generations. The plan even depicted an area for a much larger Parks and Recreation building.
This plan was prepared and presented in full view of the public to the Board of
Selectmen (BOS). Ultimately, the BOS decided not to support this plan because of the tough economic times and the additional burden that it would place on already strapped taxpayers.
We wholeheartedly agree with that decision, and so the plan now sits on a shelf waiting “the right time”.
Now we have come to learn that the Goffstown School Board is courting Mr. Monty to purchase the same land and is contemplating a warrant article to float a bond for the purchase.
If we as taxpayers can’t afford this plan now from the municipal side, what on earth makes the School Board think that we can afford it from the school
side?
The money all comes out of our same collective pockets!
We hope that someday soon the time will come that we, as a community, can afford to move forward with a plan of this sort.
But if the property were to be purchased by the SAU
instead of the town, then it would be the School Board, not the community,
that would have full control over the development and use of the property.
Do we need to remind folks of the debacle that ensued just recently when Goffstown Junior Baseball and Goffstown Babe Ruth Softball were so much as told...rather matter-of-factly…that they would likely not be allowed use of the Mountain View Middle School fields for practices?
We urge all taxpayers of Goffstown to support expansion of our recreational facilities,
when the time is right, and in a way that places control of these facilities squarely in the hands of our community rather than the tight fist of the School Board.
Keep an eye on this one folks, it already stinks and it has yet to rear its ugly head.
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