Committee favors modular classrooms on rented land

WINDHAM, N.H. — Kindergarten students may start their public school careers in modular classrooms on rented land near Golden Brook School

That’s if the School Board accepts the recommendation of the committee charged with formulating a plan for the school district’s first kindergarten students next fall.

That plan would suffice in the short term, according to committee members, and the state would reimburse the district for the modular building and furniture costs.

Taxpayers would pay for, in part, seven teachers, seven classroom aides, an administrator and bus service. The state would reimburse the district $1,200 for every kindergarten student.

The state requires all school districts without public kindergarten to have at least a short-term solution in place by the start of the 2009-10 school year. The School Board has approved kindergarten for August.

The district has yet to decide on a long-term location for the kindergarten program.

Meanwhile, the modular building would house at least seven portable classrooms to accommodate 258 students, the estimated number of children eligible for kindergarten next year.

Kindergarten’s location, schedule and other considerations will ultimately be decided by the board as soon as next month.

The Kindergarten Committee recommends students attend half-day sessions, five days a week.

The morning session would last from 8:45 to 11:15 a.m. The afternoon session would last from 12:30 to 3 p.m.

This recommendation met opposition from one parent and support from another when announced Monday.

Parent Cindy Diener said full-day sessions — two of them plus one half-day a week — would better prepare students for first grade, and be more acceptable to other parents of kindergarten students.

“(It) is going to sell a lot better than half-days,” Diener said.

Parent Gordon Campbell said five-hour days would be too long for some kindergarten children.

“We only have one chance to start them off right,” he said.

Campbell said he wished parents were given more information about the plan earlier.

Assistant Superintendent Roxanne Wilson, who is on the Kindergarten Committee, said she would return to the School Board next month with an estimate of the cost for full-day kindergarten.

Wilson said the committee is recommending no outdoor recess under the half-day plan because time spent getting children into and out of their boots and coats would take too much time away from instruction during a 2 1/2-hour session.

The Kindergarten Committee includes school administrators, teachers and parents.

Golden Brook Elementary School is on Lowell Road near Windham Middle School.

The district is negotiating with the landowner to lease property so it locate the modular building next to Golden Brook School.

Members of the Windham School Board are standing behind the concept of providing laptops to each student attending the new high school when it begins operations next year.

Following a presentation by Assistant School Superintendent Roxanne Wilson and Information Technology Director Terry Bullard, school board members voted unanimously (5 to 0) to approve the one-to-one initiative being proposed, with the stipulation being made that the cost for the first year of the program is to be covered by money remaining in the furniture, fixture and equipment budget set aside for the construction of Windham High School.

“This initiative will enhance the education of all students who attend Windham High School, not only next year, but into the future,” School Superintendent Frank Bass said. “We are seeking to make our high school more rigorous, meaningful and relevant,” Wilson said, citing how much the world has changed in the last 30 years, moving from a largely industrial society to one which is much more service-oriented. “We need to prepare our students for this future,” Wilson said. “This is our mission.”

The “challenge,” Wilson continued, is to determine how best to assure that Windham High School becomes “that exemplary community,” producing students who can compete not only in a regional workplace, but in the global marketplace in which we now exist. “All instruction must be meaningful,” she said.

Wilson cited a quote by John Dewey, made in 1930, during the Great Depression: “If we teach today, as we taught yesterday, we rob our children of tomorrow.” Dewey was an American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer.

If the one-to-one laptop initiative becomes reality, Wilson said, Windham will be the first public high school in New Hampshire to provide such a program to its entire student body. There are only two private schools in the state which currently provide laptops for every student.

Wilson said the goals which staff and administrators will be striving to achieve at Windham High School include the development of life and career skills, creativity and innovative thought, literacy in both information and technology, and skillfulness in all core subjects, including English, mathematics, history, geography, global awareness and financial, economic, business and entrepreneurial endeavors.

A Twenty-First Century classroom must provide both abundant and readily accessible information to students, Wilson said. It must also be ensured that students are actively engaged in the learning process and that individual course material needs to be integrated with other subjects being taught. “This new generation of students needs to be multi-lingual, cross-culturally competent, technologically fluent, economically engaged, artistically expressive, academic life-long learners and democratic citizens,” Wilson said.

IT Director Bullard reiterated much of what Wilson said. “Students need to have 24-7 access to global information,” Bullard said, and instituting a one-to-one laptop initiative is an excellent way of achieving this goal. In researching other school districts nationwide that have used this idea, it has been shown that students who participate, show greater independence, are more engaged in learning, and are more highly motivated. They also earn higher test scores in all core subjects, Bullard said. “The one-to-one laptop initiative is making a difference in student learning,” she told school board members. “In the next five years, this will be the norm in most schools.”

As for the brand of laptop computer being considered, Bullard said several companies were investigated, but she found that the best system is offered by Apple Computers, specifically the MacBook, which can also use Microsoft Windows programs. “Apple is the leader and innovator in educational technology,” Bullard said. “I feel Apple will meet the one-to-one initiative of Windham High School the best.”

Bullard also said that the high quality hardware produced by Apple is designed for student use and if the Windham School District decides to make that purchase, “it will be an investment that will last long-term.” “It’s a one-stop-shop,” she said, where you can buy all equipment and services from just one vendor.

Bullard said a total of 506 laptops will be required for the first year of the program (teachers and students) for a cost of $642,157. Only freshmen and sophomores will be attending Windham High for the 2009-2010 school year. In years two and three, as more students enter the high school, an additional 455 laptops will be needed to implement the one-to-one program. The total cost of the initiative for the first three years of its operation will be $1,142,556.

The first year, the money for the initiative will come from the high school construction budget (furniture, fixtures and equipment). In subsequent years, the money will either need to be included in the annual operating budget or a lease-purchase agreement will need to be enacted.

School board member Beverly Donovan, who said she is currently working on her own Master’s Degree, remarked on how necessary it is now for students to have adequate technological equipment. School board member Bruce Anderson said it’s been demonstrated that most students tend to take very good care of laptops. “This is their life,” he said. “In today’s world, information can be obtained in a matter of minutes. Students must be able to process this information and evaluate it,” Anderson said.

Bullard said she will continue investigating the best methods by which to achieve the one-to-one laptop initiative endorsed by school board members, and will be providing them with regular updates on the progress being made.

The athletic director for Windham High School has proposed the programs he would like to offer during the first year of the new facility’s operation. Windham High School is scheduled to open for the 2009-2010 school year. In the first year, only freshmen and sophomores will attend the new high school. Juniors and seniors will continue to attend Salem High School under a tuition agreement.

Athletic Director Bill Raycraft met with Windham School Board members on Tuesday, October 7, to present the programs he feels will be important to students when the new high school opens next year. Raycraft, who took on the job of high school athletic director this past July 1, said he based his proposals on the level of participation in area athletic youth organizations, at Windham Middle School and at Salem High School. He also said he based his ideas on athletic programs offered at similar high schools in New Hampshire, as well as a student survey he recently conducted. That survey was provided to students who are currently freshmen at Salem High School and will be sophomores at Windham High next year, as well as eighth graders at Windham Middle School, who will be freshmen at Windham High School in 2009-2010.

Raycraft said he also obtained feedback from other newer area high schools, including Bedford and Bow, as well as Windham’s own high school athletic committee.

The programs Raycraft hopes to develop with Windham High students include both individual and team sports. “There are a wide range of opportunities” he hopes to offer students, Raycraft said.

During the fall next year, Raycraft hopes to offer the following sports to boys: cross-country, football, golf, and soccer. For the girls next fall, he proposes offering cross-country, field hockey, golf, soccer, cheerleading, and volleyball.

Proposed winter sports for 2009-2010 include the following for boys: basketball, indoor track, ice hockey (co-ed), wrestling, gymnastics, swimming and alpine skiing. If approved by the school board, the girls will be offered the following winter sports next year: basketball, indoor track, ice hockey (co-ed) cheerleading, gymnastics, swimming, and alpine skiing.

In the spring of 2010, Raycraft is proposing the following athletic programs for boys: baseball, outdoor track, lacrosse, and tennis. For girls in the spring of 2010, he hopes to be able to offer softball, outdoor track, lacrosse, and tennis.

Raycraft is recommending that during the first year of operation Windham High School enter the New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association (NHIAA) with all programs listed as “sub-varsity. “ “This will allow Windham High School to effectively offer new sports programs at a pace that will properly develop the student athletes using reserve and junior varsity teams,” he said. “Starting with freshmen and sophomores, this will allow our students to participate with opposing players of similar skills and abilities … safely and competitively,” he explained.

Following the initial season of each sport in which Windham High School students participate, Raycraft plans to evaluate each program to determine a recommendation for their status for the following year, based on several criteria, including: available facilities, feasibility, participation level, the safety of participants, the availability of qualified coaches, NHIAA approval, scheduling availability and program sustainability.

It is his goal to move into the varsity level for all sports in the second year of operation, Raycraft said. He also said that it is likely that Windham High School will be listed as Class I, based on projected enrollment numbers. When all four grade levels are in attendance at the new high school, it is anticipated that there will be approximately 700 students.

Windham property owners will be paying higher taxes due to an increase in the 2008 tax rate, which was set by the New Hampshire Department of Revenue Assessment (DRA) earlier this month.

Town Administrator David Sullivan announced the new numbers during the selectmen’s board meeting on Monday, October 20.

According to Sullivan, the 2008 tax rate has been set at $18 per $1,000 of property valuation. This compares with a 2007 tax rate of $16.10, translating into a $1.90 per $1,000 increase over last year’s tax rate.

As for the breakdown on the overall tax rate, the town portion of the 2008 assessment is $3.51 per $1,000 property valuation. The local school portion of the 2008 tax rate is $11.41 per $1,000 property valuation. The State School tax rate for 2008 is $2.20 per $1,000 property valuation. And the county portion of the 2008 tax rate, which saw a slight decrease from last year, is now set at 88 cents per $1,000 property valuation.

Sullivan said that the average home in Windham (approximately $400,000 in value) will see an increased tax burden for 2008 of about $800 over what was paid last year. Based on a $400,000 home, with a tax rate of $18 per $1,000 property valuation, the 2008 tax bill on that property will be about $7,200.

Sullivan said one of the major reasons for the increased tax rate is the fact that there was little increase in revenue this year due largely to the stagnant economy. During 2008, Windham saw only a one percent increase in net revenue. In recent years that increase has been about 4 percent, Sullivan said.

Tax Assessor Rex Norman said that the current equalization rate for Windham is at 105 percent, which indicates that property in Windham is assessed about five percent higher than market value. If the equalization rate were at 100 percent, then the tax assessment and the market value would be the same.

WINDHAM — The owner of a typical home in town will see a property tax increase of about $800, or almost 12 percent.

Town Manager Dave Sullivan told the selectmen last night that the state Department of Revenue Administration set the local tax rate at $18 per $1,000 of property valuation compared with the 2007 rate of $16.10.

The increase raised a few eyebrows and drew a few deep breaths when announced to the Board of Selectmen at its meeting.

Sullivan said a small overall gain in assessed valuation, about 1.5 percent, as opposed to the typical increase of about 4 percent, diminished the town’s ability to offset the tax increase.

The school portion of the tax accounted for the largest increase, rising from $9.98 to $11.41. The town rate increased to $3.51 from $3.01 last year.

Meanwhile, the state education property tax rate decreased to $2.20 from last year’s $2.22. And the Rockingham County tax rate dropped a penny to 88 cents.

The town’s median assessment for a home is about $400,000, Sullivan said.

This represents little change from the median assessment two years ago of $404,200.

The state set the town’s rate Friday. Bills are typically due within 30 days of being sent.

No announcement was made on when the bills will be mailed.

WINDHAM, N.H. — Voters soundly defeated a $1.25 million bond for a secondary access road to the new Windham High School yesterday, 794-986.

Article 1 on the special Town Meeting Ballot needed a 60 percent majority — 1,058 votes — to pass.

Voters were clearly dissatisfied with the town bringing forward a proposal similar to the one voters defeated in March.

“We said no and they wouldn’t take no for answer,” Linda Connors said after casting her ballot against the article.

Connors said spending in town is out of control, especially given the tough economic times. Her husband, John, agreed. He said the proposed secondary access road was an example of runaway spending.

Selectman Bruce Breton said the town may end up paying a hefty price for defeating the proposal.

“The town may lose their (school building) aid if the access road doesn’t go in,” he said.

Breton said he was disappointed the School Board had not done more to rally votes for the proposal.

But School Board Vice Chairman Bruce Anderson said he doesn’t think the defeat will influence the $17 million in school building aid the district is due to receive from the state.

“We have all of our state approvals,” he said.

Selectman Roger Hohenberger said it’s clear voters don’t want a paved secondary access road and he, for one, will not bring forward a similar proposal in March.

But he said it is crucial school officials, town officials and the fire chief brainstorm to find a solution to the problem.

“Everybody agrees the school has to open by 2009,” Hohenberger said.

Fire Chief Tom McPherson has said he will not sign a permit to allow the school to open without a secondary access road.

Voters did approve, 1,170-571, having 83 acres of town land near Goodhue Road managed as a conservation easement by the Southeast Land Trust of New Hampshire.

Windham voters are being given a second opportunity to decide whether a second access road should be built at the site of Windham High School. The school is scheduled to open in September 2009 now. Voters will go to the polls to vote in the state primary and cast ballots on the proposed access road on Tuesday, September 9.

The special town meeting was petitioned by selectmen. Permission to hold the meeting was granted by Rockingham County Superior Court in early August.

A similar warrant article was presented to voters in March during the annual school district meeting. That article was defeated, however, and failed to garner even a simple majority, not even close to the required 60 percent majority needed for a bond issue.

During the school board workshop on Tuesday, September 2, the entire agenda was devoted to discussing the town’s latest proposed warrant article. Despite information being presented that indicated a second access road is not required before the school is opened, school board members remained at odds on whether it should be built. The currently proposed roadway is designed to meet town standards and would not be used just as a second emergency access to the high school. It would also provide access to the other side of Windham and thus be deemed a public road. There also is talk of new homes being built in that area sometime in the not-too-distant future, resulting in residents who would most likely benefit from the paved road.

Glenn Davis, the school district’s representative for the $53 million high school project, said he would “like to see the road go through, but I don’t think we need this access road for the school to open” next September. Davis read several passages from documents written by state officials indicating that the state fire marshal has already reviewed all current plans for the high school. “We have all the required approvals to open,” Davis said. Based on this documentation, Davis said, “I’m not sure that the (local) fire chief (Tom Mcpherson) does have the final say.”

McPherson has maintained he wants a second access to the school for the safety of students and staff. He has also said he is willing to work with town and school district administrators to resolve the issue and to come up with a solution. McPherson did not attend the September 2 workshop, but has said previously he wants to see Windham High School open on time.

School Board Member Mike Hatem said it was the fire marshal who gave the local fire chief the right to issue a final decision. “The fire marshal is not going to back down on this,” Hatem said, adding that trying to open the school without a second access could lose Windham $18 million in state educational aid.

According to Davis, the two main issues surrounding the road dilemma are funding and timing. “I want the high school to open on time,” he said. “And I don’t want neighbors suing neighbors.” Davis explained that he would hate to see the school district and town become so embattled that the issue could wind up in court. “There are other reasons for this road beside access to the high school,” he said, referring to the proposal to make the access a public road, rather than just a gated dirt or gravel road to prevent public access.

The proposed cost of the paved road is about $1.25 million; money which Davis said does not exist in the high school budget. If voters fail to pass the article on September 9, the money needed to build the road will not be found in the remaining high school construction budget. The next opportunity to bring it to a vote would be at the annual town or school district meeting in March. Davis said it would be difficult to get the road built between then and the beginning of school, less than a six-month period. “If the road doesn’t pass in September or March, we are left with an unfunded mandate,” Davis said. Davis said the school district needs to plan for the worst-case scenario. If voters pass the article on September 9, then further discussion “is a moot point,” Davis said. If it fails to pass, school officials need to come up with other options, he added.

During the past year or so, school board members and town officials have tried to work together in finding a solution to the second access road situation, but so far the issue is unresolved. “We jumped through every hoop. We did everything we could to solve the issue,” school board member Beverly Donovan said. “It’s just sad the way it’s played out.”

Davis said he wanted to emphasize that, at no time, did the school board do anything inappropriate in proposing the article last March pertaining to a second access road. School officials had hoped to receive 30 percent state aid by putting the article through the school district, rather than through the town side of government. Davis said school board members always had the best interests of taxpayers at heart.

Mike Hatem said he doesn’t like the idea that some people are taking a tone that blames selectmen for the current situation regarding a second access road. Instead of placing blame, he said, school board members should be focusing on the pros and cons of the road. The only con, in his opinion, Hatem said, is cost. Referring to the divided opinions in town, Hatem said, “We have a very angry town. I don’t understand why anyone on the school board would be opposed. The bottom half of the road is already town-owned.”

School Board Chairman Barbara Coish said she is opposed to the proposed warrant article. “I don’t think we need it,” she said. Coish said she’s not satisfied because the plans for the proposed road are not finished, nor is the cost of the proposal known. “How can the public vote on this question under these circumstances?” she asked. Coish also said she believes plans to build this road are substandard. “The lowest cost is not always the answer,” she said.

School Board Member Bruce Anderson questioned whether the school district should try to buy the land on which to build a second access road, then construct a dirt or gravel road that is gated except for emergency access. He said the cost for doing the project in that manner would be about $800,000. If the town wasn’t allowed to use the road for public access, could the school district obtain 30 percent aid from the state department of education? he wondered.

School Board Member Mark Brockmeier, who attended the meeting via a conference telephone call, said board members are spending too much time on “pre-emptive worrying.” “We have to wait for the vote on September 9,” Brockmeier said, then, if it doesn’t pass, board members need to explore other options.

Superintendent Frank Bass agreed with Brockmeier. “There are so many variables to take into account,” Bass said. “By finger-pointing, you’re only embroiling the situation,” he said. “The best thing to do is to wait and see what happens on September 9.” Bass also said other options have not been discussed by the full school board and will be approached should it become necessary after the votes are tallied next week.

When asked how they plan to vote on September 9, Donovan and Anderson both said they plan to vote for the road as proposed. “Do we need it?” Anderson said. “No. Would it be nice to have? Yes.” Coish said she will not for the road, contending it is not a requirement for opening the school. Hatem said he will vote in favor of the access because it is needed. Brockmeier said he will be voting as a private citizen on September 9 and does not care to share how he will vote.

“It’s really up to the taxpayers,” Glenn Davis said. “It all depends on their vote.”

WINDHAM — Paying the lower state rate for road salt is a thing of the past for some Southern New Hampshire towns.

Windham and Derry long for the good old days — last year. Salt was much cheaper when they could piggyback on the rate paid by the state. But to save money this year, the state sought its bids for salt without making a deal that allows some New Hampshire towns to pay the same rate, said Caleb Dobbins, maintenance engineer for the Department of Transportation.

Windham selectmen recently accepted a bid for $72.46 per ton from International Salt Co. of Clarks Summit. Pa. This compares to the $57-a-ton state rate.

Town Highway Agent Jack McCartney figures Windham will spend about $15,000 more this winter on salt if it uses a typical amount — about 900 tons.

Derry recently accepted a bid of $68 per ton. This compares to $48.80 per ton paid last year when Derry paid the same as the state rate, Director of Public Works Mike Fowler said.

“Unfortunately, we have to take this bad medicine, but we never anticipated salt at $68 ton,” Fowler said.

The state has also seen a big increase in the price of salt this year, about 25 percent or $2 million more than it paid a year ago, Dobbins said.

The price would be even higher if the state included its usual provision that allowed highway District 5 towns to buy salt at the same rate. District 5 includes Derry, Londonderry, Salem, Windham, Concord, Manchester, Milford and Nashua.

Many communities lack the capacity to store enough salt for the entire winter, so multiple deliveries are required over the course of a season. More deliveries mean increased transportation costs, so the contractors included the added expense in their bids. The high cost of fuel is driving the price increase.

Salem won’t be affected by the jump in salt costs as much as other towns since its contract for $55.20 per ton runs through October. Public Works Director Rick Russell said he will have a full shed of salt by then and will likely only have to buy an additional 1,000 or 1,500 tons to get through the winter.

Neither Derry nor Windham has the luxury of waiting until October since they have already accepted bids for this winter. In addition, they are limited in how they can immediately conserve salt since the weather will dictate usage. Fowler said Derry won’t curtail its salt use if it means putting public safety at risk. In the event of a severe winter, the town will have to look elsewhere — scrimping on repairing catch basins, clearing culverts and repairing sidewalks — if it is to make up for the additional cost of salt, Fowler said. “We really don’t have a choice,” he added.

WINDHAM, N.H. — Athletic Director Bill Raycraft doesn’t have any sports teams, physical education classes or coaches. In fact, Raycraft doesn’t even have a school — yet.

But Raycraft has plenty to do in the year before Windham High School opens next August.

Superintendent Frank Bass calls Raycraft’s mission a daunting one.

It includes everything from determining what teams the school will field and whether there will be junior varsity and varsity squads, to hiring all the coaches and working with the New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association to schedule all the games.

He also must build a physical education program for the school.

“It’s a daunting task — no question about it,” Bass said. “But one of the reasons we chose him is because we sensed he had that kind of ability, including perseverance and fortitude, to get the job done and done well.”

Raycraft, 40, was most recently the athletic director at John Stark Regional High School in Weare. He’s the son of a veteran athletic director. He said starting an athletic program from scratch is challenging but exciting.

“I’m wearing many hats,” Raycraft said. “One hour I’m working on new curriculum for the physical education and wellness program for the high school, the next hour I’m looking at what sports we will play on which fields. It’s a high school being built on a lot of research. We’re taking the best components from other high schools and bringing them to Windham.”

R. Patrick Corbin, a former Salem High School principal and now executive director of the New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association, said he was impressed by Raycraft when he was at John Stark Regional High School.

Corbin said he knows what it’s like to create a new athletics program — and he doesn’t envy Raycraft. Corbin oversaw the creation of an athletics program at Nashua North High School, where he served as that school’s first principal.

“I have a good sense of how monumental a task it is to start an athletic program,” Corbin said. “But I think Windham school officials made a good choice with Bill Raycraft. He’s bright. He has a good analytical mind, and I know he’s excited about the new school and his role as athletic director.”

Raycraft said he has enjoyed watching the school’s athletics facilities take shape since he came onboard July 1.

“It’s sort of like watching your child grow,” he said. “Seeing the facilities in drawings is one thing. But it’s a different feeling when you walk into the gym or other facilities and see them coming along.”

The heart of the athletics program will be in the gym.

“I think the gym will be a centerpiece of the school,” he said. “It’s going to be a place where students will be proud to host events. It will be large enough to hold 1,200 people and for practices for two teams at the same time.”

The gym will have an adjacent weight lifting/fitness room and a separate cardiac fitness room, equipped with treadmills and stationary bikes. While these rooms will be used for the physical education curriculum, students and teachers will be able to work out in them, too, Raycraft said.

Windham High School will open with a freshmen and sophomore enrollment of 335 next year. Those student athletes likely will face the Pelham High Pythons, Oyster River Bobcats and Bedford High Bulldogs in their inaugural year. They won’t, however, compete against nearby Pinkerton Academy, Londonderry High or Salem High, all much bigger schools.

Raycraft wants to give the first students attending Windham High a big say in what sports teams the school will field.

He surveyed Windham students who are freshmen at Salem High this year and will be sophomores at Windham High next year to find out what sports they want to play. As expected, football and basketball drew the most support.

Raycraft said he will survey eighth-graders at Windham Middle School, the students who will be the first freshman class at the new school.

He also has met with the athletic director at Bedford High School, which just completed its inaugural year. The athletic director there, Thor Nielson, told him what worked and what didn’t work in the opening year, Raycraft said.

He has reviewed the athletics facilities for the new school, many of which are still being built, and recommended the addition of a track and a multipurpose playing field with artificial turf.

“I think we have a gem in Bill Raycraft,” School Board Chairman Barbara Coish said. “I’m extremely happy with him. Being an athletic director is in his blood.”

He lives in Weare with his wife and 13-year-old daughter, but he may move closer to Windham, he said.

New Hampshire and town officials are butting heads over who should maintain about 24 standpipes attached to Interstate 93 bridges.

The pipes, which are slated for installation as the I-93 widening project progresses, channel water from fire hydrants or water tankers on secondary roads to the interstate.

Directing water from a secondary road would keep some water tankers and the firefighters who operate them off the side of the highway, which can be a dangerous place to operate, said Windham fire Chief Tom McPherson.

Furthermore, by using standpipes, firetrucks hauling water would avoid traffic delays on the highway in their response to the blaze.

The standpipes would be a precaution against a major catastrophe such as an overturned fuel tanker.

Otherwise, in the case of a car fire, fire departments would have enough water with them to put out the flames.

Meanwhile, the state-town standpipe standoff is over who should pay for keeping snow cleared from the pipes, as well as periodic testing and inspection.

Southern New Hampshire towns have balked at the prospect of footing those bills.

Salem Assistant fire Chief Paul Parisi told a gathering of fire and police officials and state Department of Transportation engineers and managers last week that his boss said there was no way the town is going to pay for protecting the interstate | a state asset.

“It got shot down even before it got to the (town) manager,” he said.

Derry Battalion fire Chief Mike Gagnon said the long-term maintenance cost would be too expensive for the towns.

“Long term, it is going to kill us,” he said.

But Pete Stamnas, DOT project manager for the I-93 widening, said the state is under the same manpower and budgetary pressures as the towns.

“We are struggling to plow the roads when they need it,” he said.

Stamnas said the state is willing to pay for the installation of the standpipes, but it wants the towns to be stakeholders by paying for their maintenance. Otherwise, the towns might ask to have them installed at every bridge, he said.

As it is, Salem has requested 11 standpipes, Windham and Derry each want four, and Londonderry has asked for several.

Each standpipe costs about $8,000 to $10,000 to install.

The talks about the maintenance took place at Londonderry Town Hall at a meeting of the Technical Steering Committee, an I-93 incident management group where public safety and transportation managers hash over concerns related to the highway project.

Ultimately, the decision on what entity will pay for the standpipe maintenance will likely fall to state and local political leaders or the Department of Transportation commissioner’s office.

Still, in the trenches Wednesday, the steering committee members went to bat for their particular sides, even as they agreed to continue discussions.

Department of Transportation engineer Pamela Mitchell said the state would break with tradition if it paid for the shoveling costs.

“I don’t see how it is any different than a fire hydrant,” she said. “We don’t shovel them out.”

Earlier in the conversation, McPherson said shoveling standpipe sections would put his firefighters at risk from plows.

“I have no intention of sending personnel up there to clear out standpipes when state trucks are winging back snow,” he said.

The two sides agreed to continue the dialogue by exchanging proposals via e-mail.

Public officials in Windham are interested in seeking a political resolution, perhaps through the Legislature.

I-93 would be the first state highway in New Hampshire to have standpipes, as far as Mitchell knows.

Fire officers in Lawrence and Methuen, Mass, said they have no standpipes in their cities, but they have seen them on bridges in Boston.

Lawrence Deputy fire Chief John Marsh said the federal government provided a grant for two fire engines to carry foam in response to a major fuel fire incident on Interstate 495.
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