Proposed zoning change

Concord City Council will hold a public hearing at its August 12 meeting, 7:00 pm in City Council Chambers, 37 Green Street, regarding a zoning amendment that would give the Planning Board authority with a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) to allow new buildings up to 90' tall (about 8 stories) in and around Main Street in downtown Concord.  The current regulation of an 80 foot height limit for Concord's downtown buildings was put in place so as to not obstruct views of the State House dome from the highway, and has also served indirectly as a protection for the historic buildings.

This same zoning regulation applies to the historic buildings in Penacook's village center, and it will be confirmed that the amendment ordinance language will exclude Penacook.  

The City's April 17, 2024, report to the Planning Board states at page 5 that the "impact to historic buildings is difficult to predict."  The goal is for the new ordinance to remove unpredictability and not incentivize demolition of historic, architectural, or culturally significant buildings.  You can send your thoughts to the City Clerk, cityclerk@concordnh.gov, or attend the meeting on August 12.  The proposed ordinance and other related documents can be found here.

City-wide property revaluation

A full measure and list property revaluation as mandated by the State of New Hampshire is beginning in Concord.  The last full valuation occurred in 1990.  Representatives of Vision Government Solutions Inc., who will be carrying photo IDs and wearing identifiable neon vests, will be conducting interior and exterior inspections of all properties to verify the accuracy of information currently listed.  The goal of this project is to ensure that all city property assessments are at full and true market value, to provide fairness to all taxpayers.  Properties where improvements have been made that aren't reflected in the current data (adding a bathroom, finishing a basement, etc.), will see their valuations increase to reflect those improvements.  Inspections are scheduled to start in the City's South End and will continue through next year.  You can visit the City's revaluation web page for more information, including a map of the neighborhoods and list of addresses where inspections will occur.

Property revaluation can sometimes cause concern or confusion.  If the revaluation raises your property assessment above its current level, that doesn't mean your taxes will increase by the same percentage.  For example, if your property is currently assessed at $250,000 and the revaluation determines it is now valued at $500,000, that does not mean your taxes will double.  It just means your property value has doubled.  After the City and School Districts determine their budgets each spring, the NH Department of Revenue Administration will set a tax rate with the objective of generating sufficient revenue to cover the budgets.  Residents always have opportunities to weigh in on the budget process. 

Housing micro units in very preliminary planning

City Staff has had preliminary discussions regarding potential development of 100+/- micro units of housing at the former RIVCO site on Merrimack Street, marketed for young professionals.  The timeline of this potential project is unknown, and there have been no formalized concepts and no Planning Board submissions yet.  Watch here for more information as it becomes available.

Road work in Penacook

This summer and fall, the following road projects are planned:

• Full reclamation:

  • Hannah Dustin Drive (from Hoit Road)

• Maintenance overlay of pavement:

  • River Road (full length)

  • Bog Road (full length)

  • Abbott Road (from Manor Road to Sewalls Falls Road)

Memorial Day Parade 2024

Thank you to all the volunteers and to organizers Cindi Jaques and Irene Ortega for another great Memorial Day Parade in Penacook. The weather cooperated, the crowds came out, and the participants and the audience all had a great time. If you missed it, you can watch the video provided by ConcordTV and hear remarks from speakers Representative Steve Shurtleff and Mayor Byron Champlin.

Paving work scheduled

Approved in last year's budget, the repaving overlay for the full length of River Road and for Bog Road is planned for this summer.

Penacook Branch Library to open this fall

Our new Penacook Branch Library and Activity Center is slated to open this September.  Library and recreation staffing at the new branch is also included in this year's budget.  There are plans to conduct 52 programs at the new Library (an increase from the current 17), and additional programming will be created by the Parks & Recreation Department.  The plan is to evaluate usage metrics of the new open hours of the Penacook Branch, so we should make efforts to visit and use it.  After occupancy of the new space, the City plans to divest the property at the current library branch at 3 Merrimack Street, with the requirement to preserve and adaptively reuse the historic building.

City releases draft budget

The proposed fiscal year 2025 budget was released by the Concord City Manager.  City Council will be deciding on the recommendation this year for a $170 million budget with a 3.89% tax increase.  If approved, this increase in the City portion of our taxes would equate to $130 more annually on a property assessed at $350,000.

Highlights for Penacook in this budget are: $350,000 for structural repairs and design to extend bridge service life on Horse Hill Road over the Contoocook River, payable with general obligation bonds; and $500,000 for design for the collapsed Burnham Brook Culvert located at Whitney Road.  The cost for the culvert is to be divided between Water Fund general obligation bonds, donated funds, and the Penacook Village TIF District.

The budget can be found here, with a helpful overview starting at page 16.  Meetings will be held at 5:30 pm in Council Chambers on May 20 (discussing Police, Fire, General Services, General Government), May 23 (Library, Parks & Rec, Human Services, CIP projects, TIF Districts), and May 30 (Special Revenue Funds and Enterprise Funds), with a final meeting on June 3 to vote on approval.  You can attend any of these meetings and speak to budget items, or send your thoughts to the City Clerk at cityclerk@concordnh.gov. 

Update on the Monitor Way project

The Penacook Village Association hosted a community meeting for the Monitor Way project on Tuesday, May 7, 2024. ConcordTV recording the meeting for the community. The development team presented the preliminary design plans to the Concord Planning Board last October.

Canal Street Park groundbreaking and Penacook Landing ribbon cutting

The April snowstorm held back long enough to celebrate the groundbreaking for our new Canal St. Riverfront Park, and the ribbon cutting for Penacook Landing apartments phase 2.  As anticipated, demand has been great for the available housing.  The Caleb Group's property staff is working through a wait list of 170 people for the 20 apartment units.

Big Red Barn saved

In other barn news, you may have read in the Concord Monitor read that the landmark 1817 barn at the intersection of Horse Hill Black Water and Warner Roads will be saved.  The Big Red Barn, as it's been nicknamed, has been purchased by the Cedar Mill Group developers, who plan to restore it.

Sewalls Falls/Abbott Road barn saved

At the April Concord Planning Board meeting, the Board approved plans that will allow the historic barn at 119 Sewalls Falls Road to remain.  Million Dollar View, LLC purchased the barn from the prior owner, and the short-term plan is to preserve it and use it for storage.  The remainder of the site is 15 lots purchased by Country Estates of Concord, LLC, who are demolishing the existing home and will be constructing 15 new residences.

PVA meeting on Monitor Way project

The Penacook Village Association will be hosting a community meeting for the Monitor Way project on Tuesday May 7 at 6:30 pm at the Penacook Elementary School cafeteria, 60 Village Street, in Penacook.  Information will be presented on project updates, including a traffic study, along with an opportunity for questions and answers.  Last October, the development team presented to the Concord Planning Board for preliminary design review, and you can see those plans here.

Concord joins Community Power Coalition

The Concord City Council approved at its March meeting to join the Community Power Coalition of NH for electricity supply for current Unitil and Eversource customers.  Utilities will still maintain the infrastructure grid, but we will now have an option to purchase the power supply through the Coalition at an anticipated lower rate than charged by the utilities.  There have been lots of questions regarding this change, but we expect a robust information rollout before this takes effect.

Unitil Customer Portal changes

For Unitil electricity customers, Unitil is upgrading their online Customer Portal, which means automated phone system transactions will be temporarily unavailable from April 3 to April 7.  Credit card and ACH payments may be made online via their one-time payment portal: unitil.com/one-time-payment.  Outages can be reported at: unitil.com/report-outage.

Merrimack Valley School District tax rate

The Merrimack Valley School District budget has been approved, setting the education portion of taxes for Penacook residents at $14.71, down from the previous rate of $17.42, and resulting in a savings of about $900 on a property valued at $300,000.

Groundbreaking Celebrations

There are two exciting celebrations coming up for Penacook: the groundbreaking ceremony for our new Canal Street Park on Wednesday, April 3 at 10:30 am. and the ribbon cutting ceremony for phase II of Penacook Landing on the same date at 11:00 am with developer The Caleb Group, adjacent to the park site.

The plan is to complete the park this year, with the amenities expressed during community listening sessions. Penacook Landing phase II offers 20 additional housing units (18 affordable) to our community, and will add $45,000 of property tax revenue annually.

Memorial Day Parade 2024

The PVA Events Committee is planning the third annual Memorial Day Parade in Penacook, which will take place on Sunday, May 26, at 10:00 a.m.

Local businesses and organizations, including school clubs, are invited to participate and march in the parade. If you want to march with us, please email Cindi Jacques at nhfairgirl18@gmail.com.

If you're interested in volunteering to assist either in planning the parade or with the many tasks needed on the day of the parade, please attend any of our organizational meetings at the Penacook Elementary School Media Center, 60 Village Street:

• Wednesday, March 6, at 6:00 p.m.

• Monday, April 1, at 6:00 p.m.

• Monday, April 22, at 6:00 p.m.

• Monday, May 6, at 6:00 p.m.

• Monday, May 13, at 6:00 p.m.

• Monday, May 20, at 6:00 p.m.

If you cannot attend any of the meetings but still want to help, please contact Cindi Jacques at nhfairgirl18@gmail.com. There is always plenty to do and we can use your help!

Coffee with the Mayor

Mayor Champlin will be holding his Coffee with the Mayor meeting at our Penacook Market Basket Cafe on Saturday March 9 at 9:00 am. This is an opportunity to meet and have a conversation about topics that matter to you.

Merrimack Valley School District board elections and annual meeting

The Merrimack Valley School District will hold their board elections and annual meeting Friday, March 8 at 7:00 p.m. at Merrimack Valley High School at 106 Village Street. Budget details can be found here.

Polls will open for election of Moderator and Board Members at 11:00 a.m. and close at 7:00 p.m.; click here to view a sample ballot.

The annual meeting will start at 7:00 p.m. after the voting has closed.

The district’s proposed 2024-25 is available for review here.