part three of a series on the issues facing the Seacoast’s top elected officials

this week: building community with Rochester Mayor John Larochelle

Rochester Mayor John Larochelle made a solemn New Year’s resolution regarding his civic duties in 2008. Accused of running City Council meetings with too loose of a hand during his first term, Larochelle has vowed to tighten his grip—without putting too strict of a muzzle on councilors or members of the public.

“I need to take a little firmer control during council meetings,” Larochelle said when asked if he made any mistakes during his first term. “My resolution coming into the next term is to try to run a tighter council meeting and try to keep things more on point, be a little more firm without being repressive.”

Larochelle originally took over as mayor in 2006, having previously served one term on the City Council. He had to beat two former mayors to get reelected in November, and he now leads a council with several new faces. He acknowledges that it takes time to build trust and credibility when settling into a new role—especially with more veteran councilors. He also acknowledges that his style contrasts sharply with that of former Mayor David Walker, who challenged Larochelle again in 2007 and lost his council seat as a result.

“The reason I ran for mayor the first time was to provide an alternative. I have a different style. I’m not saying it’s any better, just different. Mine is more of a team building collaborative kind of thing,” Larochelle said.

The mayor hopes to work together with other councilors and department heads to move forward on a number of issues facing this rapidly growing city in the heart of Strafford County. As the population grows, one of Larochelle’s priorities is to attract new high-tech businesses that will offer good jobs close to home. Many current residents of Rochester commute long distances to work in other communities, which impacts their quality of life and puts a strain on their wallets. Commuting 40 or 50 miles to work drains gas tanks and harms the environment, Larochelle noted.

“Right now, some people view us as a ‘bedroom community.’ They jump on the highway and drive south to those kinds of jobs. I don’t think that’s sustainable,” he said. “It’s not a sustainable practice for the globe, and I don’t think it’s a sustainable practice for people as individuals.”

Part of the solution involves encouraging “homegrown” businesses to emerge in Rochester. Having a diverse array of smaller businesses in the city will prevent the local economy from becoming overly reliant on a single, big employer. Larochelle recalled the tremendous loss of jobs that occurred when Cabletron left Rochester.

The ability to get desirable businesses to relocate to Rochester hinges on having good schools, low crime, adequate safety services, nice housing, good shopping opportunities and other attractions. Without these amenities, high paying businesses that require skilled labor will look elsewhere.

Larochelle feels that Rochester already offers quality schools and transportation infrastructure, with several major roads passing through town. Frisbie Memorial Hospital is undergoing a significant expansion that is scheduled for completion this summer, and roadwork on South Main Street should make the gateway to Rochester more inviting. But, there are other areas in which the city could stand to make improvements.

A common complaint among Rochester residents is slow police response times to non-emergency calls. The Police Department consistently requests funding for additional officers, but Police Commissioners have been divided about the necessity for more staffing. Larochelle says he would support additional officers as required to develop a more proactive force. He touts “community policing” as a way to reduce crime and keep neighborhoods safer.

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” he said. “To get the level of police staffing high enough so they’re not just totally reacting to crime, but they’re out there being proactive.”

Years ago, the people of Rochester knew police officers on a first name basis, Larochelle said. Cooperation and understanding between officers and citizens enabled police to act more as facilitators and less as enforcers.

“As we’ve gotten bigger and we’ve had the turnover in police officers, that connection is not there,” Larochelle said. “Going to the proactive policing, getting officers assigned to different wards, is a move toward establishing that sort of relationship where the officer is seen as part of the community.”

Asked if the current level of staffing at the Police Department is adequate to promote community policing, Larochelle said the city will probably have to expand its force soon. He noted that some recent estimates suggest the population is approaching 40,000 citizens, which, if accurate, would represent a huge increase over the last census numbers.

“I think we’re going to see additions to the police force here in the future,” he said. “We need to keep a sufficient police force to manage and deal with the increase in population.”

Adding funds for more officers to the Police Department’s budget will be a financial challenge for the City Council, which already must balance taxpayer dollars between several city departments. Doing so will require the council to look for areas where the city can be more efficient in an era of increasingly expensive energy costs. Larochelle noted that a recent city audit reflected favorably on the council’s spending habits—an outcome that many dissatisfied taxpayers seem to overlook.

“It’s interesting that people send me emails complaining about this and complaining about that, but no one sent me an email saying, ‘Oh wow, I just heard that we got a very good audit and that Rochester’s seen as spending their money very well and we’re fiscally very healthy.’ No one ever sends you those kinds of emails,” he chuckled.

Larochelle said he has heard a number of complaints from the public regarding road maintenance. Although studies have suggested most of Rochester’s roads are in comparable shape to those of surrounding communities, some roads are old and in poor condition. Instead of spending money on expensive short-term repairs, however, Larochelle believes the city should focus on maintaining already healthy roads.

“One thing we’re going to try to do is not bond things that are short-lived, like road repair,” he said. “I advocate bonding for putting in things that are new, but I don’t advocate bonding for repairing roads. I’d like to do that on a cash basis.”
When new roads need to be built, the city must ensure that they are built to last. Larochelle lives on Chesley Hill Road, where a bridge was wiped out by flooding in the spring of 2006 and remained impassable for close to a year. When the bridge was finally replaced, the new structure was stronger, the mayor said.

As in most Seacoast communities, flooding over the last two springs caused significant damage in Rochester. Strengthening the city’s infrastructure to prevent future weather events from having such a disastrous impact is another priority for Larochelle. Addressing factors that exacerbate water flows, such as impervious surfaces and depletion of wetlands, will help the city prepare for weather patterns that are likely to become more severe in years to come, he said.

“There was a time when people thought the folks that were trying to protect wetlands were just nature lovers and tree huggers, but wetlands serve a purpose of not only cleansing the environment but holding back floodwaters,” he said. “I don’t want to raise global doom, but I think we’re going to see that global climate is changing. We need to prepare ourselves for more frequent hundred-year floods.”

As for housing, Larochelle believes the city can do more to utilize existing spaces. While development on the outskirts of town is inevitable, areas closer to downtown must also be used wisely. Some downtown buildings are currently vacant, but he expects them to be filled with businesses and residences in the near future.

“As I go downtown, I look forward to seeing businesses on the first floor and residence rentals on the upper floors,” he said. “It’s good to have economic growth and housing being developed in new areas, but I think it’s core that we reinvest and maintain and improve the quality of what already exists in the city.”

An issue currently of concern to the City Council is the future of Skyhaven Airport, located on Route 108. The airport is owned by the state, but Rochester has been offered a chance to take over its operations this year. Many residents worry that operating the airport will put an undue financial burden on taxpayers, however, and if the City Council does not make a decision by March, the state will turn the facility over to the Pease Development Authority. 

Larochelle believes having control of Skyhaven could be a major asset for the city. An industrial airport directly behind Skyhaven could serve as the future home of new businesses attracted to the convenient transportation options. However, the mayor has not decided whether the Council should make a move.

“Personally, I haven’t made up my mind one way or another,” he said. “I try not to make up my mind unless it’s really clear before I go into a council meeting so I can hear both sides of the issue and make an informed vote.”

A relatively recent council vote that drew public criticism was the decision to hand over $12,000 to the Rochester Opera House to help the venue get back on a solid financial footing. Larochelle said he would like to see the Opera House become a self-sustaining enterprise, but helping it get on the right track should ultimately prove beneficial to the city, as it attracts visitors to Rochester and increases the city’s vibrancy.

“The Rochester Opera House is a unique facility in downtown, and we need to encourage and maintain that,” he said.
Disagree with the mayor? The City Council recently altered its rules to allow more public participation during committee workshops and meetings. The new rules allow members of the public to address a committee at the beginning of each meeting and participate in discussions on other agenda items during the meeting, when appropriate.

“They can participate just like any other councilor in the discussions,” the mayor said.

He hopes that with civil dialogue between concerned members of the public and councilors, city officials can push Rochester in the right direction. To check meeting schedules or contact Larochelle, visit www.rochesternh.net.