Matthew Spencer hopes his collaborative approach will help make the Hilltop City a thriving gateway to New Hampshire.

During his inaugural address last month, Somersworth Mayor Matthew Spencer reminded his fellow elected officials that the decisions they make over the coming months will be felt by future generations. When Spencer looks ahead to the future, he envisions a city with a friendly downtown, a stable economic base and a new bridge providing a welcoming gateway to New Hampshire.

Spencer, a retired chief petty officer with the U.S. Coast Guard, defeated former mayor Michael Micucci last November to take over the seat made vacant when former mayor Lincoln Soldati resigned last August. The 41-year-old vowed to take a collaborative approach to his leadership role.

So far, Spencer said, things have gone smoothly. The City Council has been working with the School Board to craft a budget that won’t spike the tax rate. He’s been communicating with leaders in neighboring cities on ways they can work together to lower costs. And the city recently came to an agreement with a non-profit group to rehabilitate the Hilltop School building.
Spencer is particularly proud of the latter achievement. The Hilltop building’s fate has been a sensitive issue since the former elementary school closed several years ago (its replacement, the Idlehurst School, opened last year). On Feb. 6, the City Council unanimously passed a resolution to establish a public-private partnership with the Friends of Somersworth on the building’s rehabilitation. Spencer was pleased with the positive tone of the meeting and the public comments that surrounded the vote.

“It passed 8-0, so I think that was definitely a great step forward,” he said.

Friends of Somersworth now must establish a board of directors and begin raising funds to reopen the building as a community arts, culture and education center. The resolution enables them to apply for grants with city support.

Spencer said he has spoken to representatives from the University of Phoenix about becoming an anchor tenant at Hilltop. Spencer is currently a student at the university’s Central Massachusetts Learning Center in Westborough.

“I think that would be a great tenant,” Spencer said. “Not only would that bring education to the city, but it would also give working adults an alternative avenue to go back to school within their community.”

City councilors were not so united on a proposal to conduct free energy audits on city buildings. Yankee Thermal Imaging offered to perform the audits, identify problem areas and work with the city to fix them. Energy savings realized from the improvements would have been paid back to Yankee Thermal. 

But, in January, the council voted 6-2 to table the resolution and send it to the Sustainability Committee for further study. According to Spencer, the committee had not yet taken up the matter as of last week.

Spencer said he and other opponents of the resolution worried about locking into a deal with Yankee Thermal without sending out a request for proposals to other companies and getting additional quotes.

“That’s what my concern is. I don’t want to get locked in with one company. I don’t think that’s ethical,” he said.

But Spencer does see opportunity for weatherization, low-energy lighting and other measures to make buildings more efficient. He noted the city’s capital improvement plan calls for the replacement of windows at Somersworth High School, which could be done incrementally over several years to soften the expense.

Spencer is also looking to reduce costs by partnering with neighboring communities. Somersworth joined with Rochester to purchase salt and sand for the winter, and the two cities plan to hold a joint hazardous waste disposal day. Somersworth may also partner with Dover on a new trash removal contract with Waste Management.

“We’ll be hopefully working with Dover to submit a bid together to get our cost down. In numbers, there’s always a way to leverage the contract and price,” he said.

Unlike Dover and Rochester, Somersworth has not enacted a tax cap. But Spencer said he is committed to keeping the city’s tax rate under control while crafting balanced budgets that meet the city’s needs.

The School Board recently unveiled its $25.72 million proposed budget for fiscal year 2013. The board’s original draft reflected a $2 million increase over the current year, which would have resulted in a $2.40 increase in the tax rate, Spencer said. But the board has since trimmed the budget by almost $500,000.

“For the first time in a long time, residents are seeing that the council and the School Board are working together, not opposing each other,” he said.

About $15 million of the proposed school budget would be funded by the city’s tax rolls. But Spencer hopes to reduce the future burden on taxpayers by attracting manufacturing companies that would add to the tax base. He said there are parcels available on Route 108 where manufacturing uses are permitted.

“We have a great spot out there for manufacturing jobs, bringing some jobs to the city, and bringing not only jobs to the city but we can also manufacture things right here in the USA and get our economy back growing,” Spencer said.

He has not heard interest from any specific manufacturing companies. But he noted the Government Operations Committee is considering an ordinance that would enable the city to hire a new economic developer. Former director of developmental services Craig Wheeler resigned last year to become town manager of Raymond. Spencer said Wheeler’s job came with a number of supervisory duties, whereas the new position would be devoted solely to economic development.

That position could also help spur more economic growth downtown, he said. A couple of new businesses have opened downtown over the last month, including the Teatotaller Tea House on Main Street and Kiddies Korner on High Street. Spencer hopes other retail stores and restaurants will set up shop soon.

Central to making that happen are infrastructure improvements to create a friendlier downtown atmosphere that’s inviting to pedestrians and motorists. Spencer said he’s spoken to the Department of Public Works about repaving roads, redoing sidewalks and making other aesthetic improvements on High and Market streets.

“Right now the sidewalks are horrible. They can really only walk on one side, if that ... and there’s no room for bikes,” he said. 

Officials in Somersworth have also been working with the N.H. and Maine Departments of Transportation on the future rehabilitation of the Route 9 Berwick Bridge, which crosses the Salmon Falls River between Somersworth and Berwick, Maine. A public meeting was held in Berwick on Feb. 1 and another will be held in Somersworth in June, Spencer said.

Spencer views the bridge rehabilitation as an opportunity to firmly establish Somersworth as a gateway community between New Hampshire and Maine, paving the way for a prosperous future in the Hilltop City.

“That bridge is very important because not only is that a gateway into the city of Somersworth, but that’s also a gateway into the state of New Hampshire from Maine, so that reflects on the state, as well,” he said.