Town meeting is New Hampshire’s most well-known political tradition after the primary. For several Seacoast communities, the annual vote on where the town should put its money and how the town will choose to grow is just around the corner, on  March 14. This is the second part of our profile of the choices facing the region’s residents. The first part ran in the paper of Feb. 22-28, and both articles are available online at www.wirenh.com. For a full ballot, you can either visit the town Web sites listed below or call the town offices.

Greenland
• 3,083 residents
• proposed budget of $2,300,905, up from $2,240,016 in 2005

One of the biggest issues facing Greenland voters this year is a request for $1.6 million for the renovation and expansion of the Weeks Public Library. The expansion would include the addition of two new wings on either side of the 110-year-old building, bringing the total footprint of the building to about 7,000 square feet. The library would also undergo extensive renovations and receive a new sprinkler system.

However, the high price tag has some voters worried. If approved, the $1.6 million bond would add 40 cents to the town’s property tax rate. The neighboring Greenland Congregational Church, located next to the library, has also expressed concern about the size of the addition and its impact on property lines. The town Budget Committee and Selectmen have come out against the project because of cost concerns.

Voters will also be asked to spend an additional $21,000 for the construction of jail cells at the town’s police station. In 2005, voters approved $20,000 for the first phase of construction; the total cost of the project is $41,000.

For a full ballot, visit www.greenland-nh.com-/docs/2006/2006_TownWarrantsBudget.pdf.

Newmarket
• 7,715 residents
• proposed $12,858, 727 school district operating budget, up from $12,731,476 last year

Newmarket will hold its annual town meeting in May; however, the town’s school district will hold a town meeting on March 14 to vote on plans for the construction of a new junior/senior high school in town.
The project has the support of the School Board and the Budget Committee, but has sharply divided residents. The total cost of the project will be more than $35 million. Article 1 of the warrant calls for $5.6 million to purchase a 104-acre parcel of land near the Rockingham Country Club, along Route 108. Article 2 deals with the actual construction costs for the proposed 185,000-square-foot building. Voters will be asked to approve $30.4 million in bonds to be paid over the next 25 years to finance construction.

The school would house grades 6-12. Proponents of the project say a new school is badly needed to replace the current high school, built in 1924 and in need of renovations and a new heating system. However, opponents are wary of the high cost of the project and the size of the school, as well as relocating the school from its current location along Route 152 to the more traffic-heavy Route 108. Both bonds require a three-fifths majority to pass.

For a full copy of ballot, call the Superintendent’s Office at 603-659-5020.