Bedford Town Council Meeting Summary - October 22, 2025
Bedford Town Council Meeting Summary - October 22, 2025
The Bedford Town Council met on Wednesday, October 22, 2025, at 7:00 PM. The meeting included administrative matters, public comments, a public hearing, presentations, and the submission of the town manager's budget. Councillor Strand participated remotely after a council vote approving his attendance. Key topics included recreational facility funding, road discontinuance, library services, skate park funding, a clean energy program, and the proposed 2026 budget.
Consent Calendar
- Minutes: Approved the public session minutes of October 8, 2025, and the non-public session minutes of the same date, both by a 7-0 roll call vote.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Pickleball Courts: Heather Stewart (31 Bedford Drive) and Jen Piacentini (5 Spring Hill Road) advocated for lighting the Legacy Park tennis courts to allow evening pickleball play. They suggested using already-lit courts at County Park as an alternative. They noted the growing popularity of pickleball in Bedford and that players often travel to other towns for lit courts. Council members discussed that lighting was approved in a 2011 plan but not yet funded, and the Parks and Recreation Commission could recommend it as a capital project.
- Field Funding: Molly Top (14 McAfee Farm Road) requested that the town budget or reallocate funds for larger projects on town fields, such as the Riley Field House rebuild she spearheaded (raising over $178,000 privately). She proposed adding $20,000-$40,000 annually to a fund for such projects. Town Manager Rick noted the Recreation Facility Improvements Capital Reserve currently has $252,000, funded by $125,000 annual voter-approved contributions. He clarified that requests typically go through the Recreation Commission, and the fund has not been used for structures.
Discussion Items
- Administrative Resolution on Councillor Strand: Councillor Strand had missed three consecutive meetings. Per town rules, the council voted to allow his continued remote participation. Councillor Strand explained his absence due to a new travel-heavy job and assured he would schedule future absences to comply. The council voted 7-0 to allow his participation.
- Public Hearing - Discontinuance of Runlet Hill Road: Planning Director Becky presented a petition from St. Anselm College to reclassify a 120-foot section of Runlet Hill Road from Class V to Class VI (subject to gates and bars), matching the adjoining gated section. This arose from a condition of the planning board's approval of the college's athletic complex. The college will construct a hammerhead turnaround for town plows and convey an easement for private utilities. No public comment was offered. The council voted 7-0 to approve the discontinuance and related easements.
- Library Annual Update: Director Miriam Johnson and Board of Trustees Chair Lee Joyce presented. Circulation rose ~1% from 2024, with e-audio format growing from 4% to 7% of circulation. Study room use increased after adding two study pods. The library hosted ~13 adult/teen programs monthly (~200 attendees) and children's programs with over 7,300 attendees year-to-date. A 30th-anniversary renovation plan includes ADA improvements, bathroom updates (including unisex stalls), and space reconfiguration. The front garden renovation is fully donor-funded. Councilor Radke requested future reports include strategic visions for the library's evolution.
- Skate Park Warrant Article: Representatives from the Rebuild Bedford Skate Park Committee (Ian Moltenbray and Dave Gilbert) requested council approval to place an $800,000 warrant article on the 2026 ballot for a new concrete skate park at the existing location. They noted $12,800 already spent on repairs and $88,000 in committed donations. They asked the council to consider using funds from the Recreation Capital Reserve to lower the appropriation. Discussion centered on the durability of poured-in-place concrete vs. prefabricated options, safety concerns with the current park, and usage observations. Councillor Besque requested more cost options. The council did not make a decision, agreeing to revisit during budget discussions.
- CPACE Program Presentation: James Key Wallace, Executive Director of the NH Business Finance Authority (BFA), presented the Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy and Resilience (CPACE) program, a private lending mechanism for commercial property owners to finance energy efficiency, renewable energy, and resiliency improvements. The town's role is limited to recording documents and releasing liens. Councilors raised concerns about administrative burden and potential litigation. The BFA offers model ordinances and will provide data from other states. The council took no action but may consider opting in after further review.
- Facility Survey Update: Town Manager Rick reported that the community facility survey closed on October 17 with 508 responses. A detailed analysis of data and comments is underway, and a comprehensive presentation is expected at the November 19 council meeting.
- Town Manager's Budget Submission: Rick presented the proposed 2026 operating budget of $37.2 million for the general fund, a 2.8% increase over the 2025 adopted budget (but 3.45% over the default budget). The default budget for 2026 is 0.6% lower than 2025's default. Key items: $4 million for roads program (including $2 million in operating budget and a $500,000 warrant article), health insurance increase of 9.8%, new part-time records clerk in police, enhancement of library clerk to full-time, and no new funding for social service agencies. The budget proposes using $1.25 million from fund balance. If the operating budget passes without other articles, the municipal tax rate would drop to $3.62 per $1,000 (a 25-cent reduction from 2025). With all proposed warrant articles (capital reserves, roads, etc.), the rate would rise to $4.21, a 34-cent increase. A budget workshop is scheduled for November 1, with public hearing January 14, deliberative session February 2, and election March 10.
Key Outcomes
- Vote to allow Councillor Strand's remote participation: Approved 7-0.
- Discontinuance of Runlet Hill Road and related easements: Approved 7-0.
- Minutes approval: Public and non-public minutes of October 8 approved 7-0.
- No final decision on skate park warrant article; further discussion expected.
- Budget process underway; workshop scheduled for November 1, 2025.
Meeting Transcript
I don't want to be a non-participant. Good evening. Welcome to the Town of Bedford Town Council meeting on Wednesday, October 22nd, 2025. Before we begin the meeting, we'll have our roll call. Over to my right is Councillor Carter. Good evening. Counselor Beemis. Good evening. Counselor Besk. Good evening, Bedford. Counselor Sowell. Hi, Bedford. Counselor Griazzo. Hello. And I'm Council Chair Radke. We do have a joining us is Councilor Strand. However, before we can continue, we just need to do some administrative discussion here according to our rules of procedure. And I'm going to read part three. It says a councilor planning an extended more than three consecutive meetings with a teleconference included on the phone. Absence must receive agreement of five remaining council members in advance of the absence. Should the planned absence be unacceptable to the remaining council members, the chairperson shall ask the council seeking the absence to resign his or her seat prior to the start of the absence. Should an instance of this nature occur, the chairperson shall immediately seek resident volunteers to fill the vacated seat until the next scheduled town election. The town charter shall be followed in appointing a replacement. So just to give you a little background, Councillor Strand has missed three meetings, including him being here either through Zoom or the telephone. So we need to take a vote from the remaining counselors sitting here whether or not to allow him to continue on with the council and to also participate in this evening's meeting. So with that said, I will take a vote from actually I'm going to do almost a roll call vote for each councilor members. If you are in favor of having Counselor Strand uh join us for this meeting. So I'll start with Councillor Carter. Aye. Counselor Beamis. Aye. Counselor Besk. Aye. Counselor Sowell. Aye. Counselor Griazzo. I am also in favor of having Councillor Strand join us. So we'll finish our roll call. Councilor Strand, you are again part of the meeting this evening. Do you have anything you want to add? Good evening, Bedford. I appreciate uh the vote of confidence and just uh briefly wanted to provide some contact for public transparency purposes. Um I appreciate the opportunity to speak spoken with all of you individually. Um obviously uh took a new position recently that is uh you know heavily you know travel based, uh at least for now. And um the short answer is I wasn't aware that there was a potential risk of breaching the charter um, you know, by doing you know remote attendance. Um and so one thing I can assure uh both you know my colleagues on the council and the public is that uh obviously had I known I would have avoided this and scheduled a little bit differently going forward, we'll remedy you know that issue and we'll no longer um you know we'll we'll never be remote for more than two consecutive meetings. Um it will be short to schedule accordingly uh to be more physically present in addition to the other remote attendance. Thank you, Councilor Strand for that explanation. So with that said, we'll move on to the Pledge of Allegiance. Counselor Beemis, would you please lead us?
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