Bradley visits Portsmouth
Republican Congressman Jeb Bradley fluttered through Portsmouth for a brief visit on Thursday, April 13. That morning, Bradley stopped by Schiller Station in Newington to get a look at the power plant’s new wood-burning generator. In the afternoon, he toured a handful of local businesses with Mayor Steve Marchand and Chamber of Commerce President Dick Ingram.

In a brief press conference before the tour, Bradley offered his opinions on the war in Iraq, this summer’s impending high gas prices and the need for more renewable energy resources.

Bradley said Iraq “continues to be very challenging,” and he hopes the Iraqi parliament will soon develop a plan for governing the country. “That’s the major challenge helping fuel the insurgency,” he said.

Stops along the tour included Hatchling Studios, Edible Arrangements, G. Willikers!, Runners Alley and Strawberry Bazaar. At Edible Arrangements, owner Donna Downes asked Bradley about the difficulties new business owners have in getting a small business loan.

“They’re very hesitant to give you funding to start up a business,” she said. “I’d like to see people have more chances at funding.”

Bradley, who serves on the Small Business Committee in Congress, said he would look into ways of making funding for small businesses easier to come by.

new group advocates for South Berwick village

A group of residents have banded together to advocate for South Berwick’s village.
At a meeting on Wednesday, April 12, almost a dozen members of Smart Growth South Berwick gathered to discuss ways to revitalize the downtown, as well as ways to keep the Town Council from proceeding too quickly on a proposed zoning change.

The council is currently considering a new “business transitional zone” and will hold a workshop session on the topic on May 9. The BTZ would cover three areas radiating out of the town center—from the intersection of Routes 236 and 4 to Witchcroft Road; from Portland Street to the Links at Outlook golf course; and from Dunkin Donuts to the bridge that leads into Rollinsford. The district would allow certain types of businesses into areas that abut residential zones.

At the moment, Smart Growth South Berwick is still organizing itself, according to Amy Miller, former owner of SoBo Books and Coffee, located in the village.

“We’re working on coming up with different ideas and avenues to market the village and make it strong,” she said. Members of the group feel the council is rushing to pass the BTZ without first adopting a comprehensive master plan for the town. Instead of creating the BTZ, group members feel town officials should work on revitalizing the village area, which they say should remain the town’s economic center. Members of Smart Growth South Berwick would like the town to actively work on bringing new businesses into the village and make the downtown area more pedestrian friendly.
“We want to see if we can get the council and the planning board to look at this from a different perspective,” said resident and group member George Muller.

The group’s next meeting will be held Wednesday, April 19 at noon at the York Hospital Community Building on Portland Street in South Berwick.

Newmarket development group names consultant
The Newmarket Community Development Corporation has named The Cecil Group as the lead consultant in the redevelopment of mill buildings in downtown Newmarket.

The NCDC is a non-profit corporation and owns the downtown mill buildings. The Cecil Group will help the NCDC select potential developers for the project and guide the redevelopment process.

In the fall of 2005, a proposal to bring Smuttynose Brewery into the mill buildings fell apart after almost two years of negotiations. Since then, the NCDC has been looking for new developers interested in the buildings.

new board in sight for Rockingham Community Action
After months of turmoil, a new board of directors may be in sight for Rockingham Community Action. Executive director George Thirsk said new members could be approved sometime this week.

A list of almost a dozen names of potential candidates has been submitted to the state Attorney General’s office and the Department of Health and Human Services, and Thirsk expects those people to be appointed to the board. However, Thirsk said Monday that he’s concerned about the slow pace of the process and is worried about getting the board in place by the end of the month.

“There’s not a lot of time left to … recruit, interview, select and seat them, and it’s critical,” he said.
The agency must renew a number of large contracts by May 1, including its contract with the Head Start program, Thirsk said.

During a meeting on April 10, Thirsk said RCA’s program directors issued a vote of no confidence in the three remaining board members, Diane Givetz, Heather McKay and Michael King. According to Thirsk, the agency’s program directors expect the old board members to resign once a new board is in place. In an e-mail to state officials, RCA Head Start director Gerry Santilli asked that the old board be replaced.
Scott Phillips, a former member of RCA’s board of directors who serves as an advisor to the three remaining board members, said the process has been slowed by confusion over state regulations regarding non-profit agencies, which require at least a five-member board of directors to operate.
Because the RCA board of directors only has three members, Phillips said the board needed to apply for a waiver to conduct business.

“There was some confusion about who was actually applying for a waiver and how it would be handled and what it meant, and I think that has been resolved,” he said.

The vote of no confidence wasn’t helpful to the process, Phillips said. New board members could be selected as soon as Friday, April 21, according to Phillips. He said McKay, Givetz and King have no intention of stepping down.

“I think they offer value in terms of institutional knowledge and in terms of being able to at least orient these brand new board members (about) what’s going on,” he said.