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

this week: Somersworth Mayor Mike Micucci uses past experience to address future change

Somersworth occupies a unique space among Seacoast communities. With a population just under 12,000, it’s much smaller than neighboring Dover and Rochester. But rapid growth over the last few decades has introduced a number of issues to Somersworth, putting pressure on city officials to respond. Having served on the Somersworth City Council for the better part of the last two decades, there are few people as familiar with those looming issues as newly elected Mayor Michael Micucci.

During the 2007 election cycle, Micucci ran on a platform of improving communication and transparency in City Hall. The first step in doing so has been making himself more available to the public. When he’s not working as an industrial pre-treatment coordinator for the wastewater treatment plant in Biddeford, Maine, Micucci holds office hours three days a week on the second floor of City Hall. The Wire recently stopped by his sparse office, which gives the impression that Micucci is still in the process of moving in. 

A resident of Somersworth for over 30 years, Micucci was sworn in as mayor on Jan. 9. In his inaugural speech, he stated that Somersworth was entering a new era.

“I meant that I was going to try to change the way that people saw Somersworth. In the past, we were seen as not so transparent, and people didn’t like that. They thought that we were hiding things,” he said.

Within the first few weeks of being mayor, Micucci has taken several steps to promote public input. On Monday, Jan. 28, he held a meeting at City Hall, inviting members of the public to ask questions or voice their concerns. He has also posted his email address on the city’s recently revamped Web site.

One issue that has already opened a floodgate of public input has been the fate of the Hilltop Elementary School. After a number of code violations and fire hazards were discovered, the school was deemed inadequate and unsafe for students. While a vocal group of residents want the existing school to be renovated, others have suggested building a new facility elsewhere. 
“At one point, I felt that we should renovate Hilltop,” Micucci said. But, as the price tag for that plan revealed itself, he started having doubts. “I just think it’s not going to work out the way we wanted. I think it’s going to be too expensive to renovate. Now, that being said, a new school is not going to be cheap. However, with a new school we can guarantee that our children are going to be in a safe environment.”

The mayor hopes to use green technology to build an environmentally friendly facility.
“If we’re going to do something that’s going to be brand new, this is the time to bring in the energy savings,” he said. “If you can’t save it on the building end, you’ll save it on how it will be operated. Hopefully, we can make it real energy friendly and I would really like to see that.”
Although a final decision regarding Hilltop has yet to be made, momentum seems to be moving toward building a new school on Stackpole Road. Micucci  acknowledges that some residents feel this location is too close to the busy traffic corridor. But Micucci believes otherwise.
“Go around to different cities and you’ll find out that schools are located near main thoroughfares, but you put in fencing and you try to be as safe that way as you can,” he said. “Being an elementary school, yeah, you have to be a little more safe than if it was a high school. And I think that that will all be taken into consideration.”

After a pause, Micucci added, “I’m definitely in favor of building a new school. I think that we can pretty much guarantee that when we do build it, it will be built the correct way.”
Hilltop isn’t the only school that has elicited concern among residents. A number of problems, including several deep cracks, have been discovered at the High School Career Technical Center. It has been suggested that, when the facility was built in 1990, the foundation wasn’t compacted correctly.

“We’ve got to get the full story on how that has happened. It is my belief that some footings were missed when they put this up. Now, do I know that? No, I don’t, but you get rumors. In a small town like this, you get rumors,” Micucci said.

At a recent meeting with the School Board, Micucci was assured that the High School Career Technical Center is not about to collapse and that the students are still safe.

“It doesn’t appear to be an immediate problem. It’s something that we’re going to have to deal with over the long-term,” he said.

Noting that the company that originally built the Technical Center is no longer in business, Micucci said the city must study its contracting options more carefully in the future. “I think that’s one of our biggest faults that we have. The people we choose to do our projects—schools, whatever it be—we go for low bid and we really don’t look into how successful their business is,” he said.

A lack of advance analysis has also caused problems near Willand Pond on Route 108. When several big box stores were built near the pond, which straddles the Dover-Somersworth town line, their impact wasn’t given much consideration. This past July, the pond was shut down due to toxic blue algae. According to the N.H. Department of Environmental Services, one of the factors that led to the contamination was the scale of commercial development nearby.    

“Being an environmental chemist, as I am, I warned (the Planning Board) at one of the meetings a long time ago, when Staples and Applebee’s and all this was going in over there,” Micucci said. He predicted that storm water runoff from the parking lots would eventually run into Willand Pond instead of filtering through the ground. “They took a chance. They wanted the growth because of the tax write-off—both Dover and Somersworth,” he said. “Sometimes you don’t know the problems until they occur, and now we have a problem and we will have to deal with it. Now, how are we going to deal with it? I’m not exactly sure. I believe there is already a committee looking into it for both Dover and Somersworth.”

Any long-term solution to the Willand Pond issue will require cooperation across city lines. Micucci acknowledges that Somersworth must work together with its neighbors on a variety of regional issues. “I think the reason we should work together is (that) we have similar problems. It’s a much better region if all of us at least know what the other is thinking,” he said.

In his inaugural speech, Micucci called for tri-city meetings, which have taken place in the past. One issue that would probably be addressed, if the meetings were resumed, is traffic congestion on the outskirts of town.

“Obviously, we’ve got the Route 108 corridor here that’s causing some problems, and I know that Dover wants to talk about it. I’m not sure if Rochester wants to talk about it, but we’ve got a congestion problem there,” Micucci said.

Growth on Route 108 has been a burden and a blessing, according Micucci. In the past few years, a number of doctors’ offices have opened and reinvigorated the corridor, bringing in jobs and much needed tax revenue. Micucci said he would like to see more of this kind of economic growth, as opposed to housing construction or other development that ends up costing the city money. “With the doctor’s offices, you don’t have to educate children. There is a tax base out there, plus there is nothing that has to go toward educating any kids and households,” he said.
Micucci said the City Council will do its best to write up a budget that provides essential services while minimizing tax increases.

“I would love to see a zero increase come in. Is that practical? Probably not, but I would really like to see us keep it very low,” he said. “I don’t want to see people’s taxes go up a dollar per thousand any more. It’s going to be a very tough budget year as far as making decisions through the Council.”

After serving the city for 16 years, Micucci is familiar with how the Council and its members operate when it comes time to make decisions. He is proud to report that councilors are generally able to set their differences aside and remain cordial.

“We may have hot debates in the council chambers, but I have always, always seen everybody leave the council chambers as friends. Nobody held a grudge. That’s one thing I can boast about,” he said.

As mayor, Micucci will play a different role than his colleagues on the Council. He’ll moderate meetings and cut ribbons, but it is his ability to appoint committees that will allow Micucci to have the most impact on city government. The Government Operations Committee, which will be responsible for reviewing the city’s charter, is one of the strongest newly appointed committees, Micucci said. 

A number of people would like to see Somersworth change from a city form of government to a town form of government, in which residents vote on community issues instead of leaving the decision to elected officials. A resolution to review the charter and consider the change is currently on the table.

“The charter review is weighing heavily on myself and the Council. We will probably have a binding referendum vote that will ask the people whether or not they want to have a charter review commission. The people will decide in the end,” Micucci said.

Abandoning the city form of government would be a significant change for Somersworth, but it would be another in a steady sequence of changes the city and Micucci have seen over the past few decades. In fact, change seems to be the one constant theme in Somersworth’s recent history. With his past experience and vision for a more open government, Micucci looks forward to facing the changes that come.