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Record of Proceedings

EDAC Meeting Discusses TIF Bond, Exit 10 Infrastructure, and Old Town Hall – December 17, 2025

Town Council & Boards — Wednesday, December 17, 2025

BodyHooksett, New Hampshire

SessionTown Council & Boards

DateWednesday, December 17, 2025

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 51:17

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:14

I left Alden one, but not you apparently.

0:16

Oh, thank you.

0:20

All right, it is 4 30.

0:21

So let's do uh call to order, Pledge of Allegiance.

0:26

Pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States of America in Republican.

0:32

Which it stands one nation under God with liberty injustice.

0:41

Okay.

0:41

Attendance starting uh to my right, your left.

0:45

Uh Jim Sullivan.

0:47

Matt Barrett.

0:48

Dave Scarpetti.

0:49

Anthony Poole.

0:50

Alden Bushman.

0:53

Perfect.

0:54

Uh staff and other departments.

0:58

Ken Collins Sword.

1:02

Grant McGregor Town Planner.

1:03

Perfect.

1:04

Thank you guys for uh joining us today.

1:07

So there's no appointments, so let's just dive right in here.

1:11

Um let's we'll we'll start with all the TIFF stuff.

1:16

So the first one here, exit 10 engineering design update.

1:19

Do we have anything for that?

1:22

Oh beautiful.

1:32

This looks like what what we discussed um the last time we talked about this going.

1:38

Well, you can't see you can't see it, but it looks like somebody marked out one up.

1:42

Okay.

1:44

Does that go up quality?

1:45

I can't tell that go up quality.

1:46

It's the blue, I think is going up quality drive.

1:49

Well, uh, Grant, Grant will jump in the gun here and granting.

1:52

Oh yeah.

1:53

I um just scanned in the handout that Alden gave to the board and staff uh a few meetings ago from Underwood Engineering, and we had uh a meeting uh I want to say about a month ago when um some cross-country um sewer lines going up Kimball Drive in an alternative way that wasn't initially planned were discussed.

2:15

Um so I I don't know if anyone has any further updates, but that's the background on how that map came to be, and it I had marked it up, marked it up a little bit.

2:24

Okay.

2:28

I'm sorry, you you had your hand up.

2:30

No, no, I don't know.

2:31

I'm yeah, my hand goes up automatically.

2:34

Okay.

2:38

I thought you were just van a winding and pointing to that.

2:40

Oh nice article, Andre, in the newspaper and the the one that came with the all the tax bills too.

2:48

Uh uh on the TIF district, uh yeah.

2:51

I uh thank you.

2:52

I appreciate that.

2:53

Um I'm hoping that that uh that kind of template uh resonates with folks that uh especially the term that uh we're only gonna spend what the TIFF district gives you to spend.

3:05

Yeah, right.

3:05

And and no more, no less.

3:07

And um but with regard to this plan, uh I I gotta say I um from the last meeting I did get in contact with underwood engineering.

3:15

And um uh the good news is that um I I think they are aware of this, and the bad news is that we've gotta have to amend their contract and make sure that uh we can include some additional work that we need to get done in it.

3:29

So that's where we are.

3:31

Um the another good news is that at least the project manager that was um was our lays on on David Mercier is now the president of Underwood, so uh hopefully we'll have an end to get that that done quicker.

3:47

So um but yeah, uh I I just need to share this with them and see what it would take in order to amend the plan accordingly because obviously that's that's different from the plan that we have shown.

4:00

Right.

4:01

And what it would have taken in order to alter that and and if you do alter it in the in the uh in the fashion by which the um uh Alden had uh marked on the plan, you know.

4:14

Um was that due to the green section and and how much of that um what's it gonna take to uh engineer that and uh what what would the contract look like.

4:25

So there's there's a lot unfortunately there's a lot of moving parts of that, but uh I I did talk to Dave about that and and now it's just getting it down on paper to get it done.

4:35

So we're not doing the green uh down quality drive, are we?

4:40

Or we could just gonna go straight up quality drive to through pa in front of coals and target.

4:48

I don't I don't know if a decision's been made, but what's in green is phase two and what's in purple is phase one, and I guess the most immediate thing is just the infrastructure getting across the river and all of these lines underneath the road.

5:00

It's not actually part of the bond, but for the discussion with with Underwood.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Public Engagement███████████████████████████27%

Engineering And Infrastructure███████████████████19%

Historic Preservation████████████12%

Budget Equity Analysis█████████9%

Economic Development█████████9%

Water And Wastewater Management████████8%

Technology and Innovation███████7%

Zoning And Land Use██████6%

Procedural███3%

Summary of Proceedings

EDAC Meeting Discusses TIF Bond, Exit 10 Infrastructure, and Old Town Hall – December 17, 2025

The Economic Development Advisory Committee (EDAC) met on December 17, 2025, at 4:30 PM. The primary focus was on the TIF district bond warrant article, infrastructure planning for Exit 10, voter outreach, and a fundraising initiative for Old Town Hall. The committee also received updates on several commercial development projects in Hooksett.

Discussion Items

Exit 10 Engineering Design Update: Grant McGregor, Town Planner, reviewed a map from Underwood Engineering showing an alternative sewer line route (green line) along Quality Drive, discussed at a previous meeting. Alden Bushman had marked the plan. Andre reported contacting Underwood; the project manager (David Mercier) is now president, and the contract needs to be amended to include additional work. The committee discussed that a decision on the alternative route (green vs. purple) must come from the TIF committee and ultimately the council.
Financial Breakdown for TIF Bond Warrant Article: The committee reviewed the proposed warrant article for the TIF bond. The article seeks voter authorization for a $12.5 million gross budget, funded by $860,000 from existing TIF funds, $2.1 million from the Board of Sewer Commissioners, and a bond not exceeding $9.54 million. There was confusion over the sewer commission's contribution ($2.1 million vs. $2.9 million); the warrant language states $2.1 million. The bond requires a three-fifths (60%) vote. The committee noted that the bond would only be issued when sufficient TIF funds are available to service the debt, ensuring no taxpayer burden. A public hearing on the bond will be held at the January 14, 2026 council meeting.
Public Outreach to Exit 10 Business Owners: The committee determined that outreach is at a standstill pending final cost estimates from Underwood Engineering. Andre noted that businesses are unlikely to contribute financially before the bond passes but may see value after infrastructure is in place (e.g., potential for increased property values and development).
Voter Outreach PowerPoint: Grant McGregor presented a simplified PowerPoint focusing on the bond question, removing extraneous information. The committee suggested adding more slides (including historical context and a success story) and sharing the draft with members for further input. The final version will be used at the informational session and posted on the town website.
Informational Night Planning: The committee has booked the library for January 26, 2026, 5:00-6:30 PM. The format will mirror the Hooksett 101 program with introductions, a slide presentation, and Q&A. The library's AV equipment will be used; a Zoom component may be available. Outreach will include posting on the town website, Facebook, and electronic signs. A walkthrough of the presentation is planned for the EDAC meeting on January 21, 2026.
Old Town Hall Fundraising Update: Jim Sullivan reported on a meeting with Dave Scarpetti, Leanne, and a potential donor. The committee decided to make one more fundraising effort. An initial catalyst donation of a few hundred thousand dollars may be available, which could be used to leverage matching grants (up to $600,000). The goal is to raise $1.5–$2 million to make the building habitable. Limiting occupancy to 100 people would avoid expensive sprinkler requirements; parking is sufficient. The committee will pursue this before considering a sale to a nonprofit.
Development Updates: Grant McGregor reported:
- Two College Park Drive received conditional approval for the Signal building renovation into 81 apartment units; subsequent phases include a commercial building (possibly a restaurant) and another 80-unit apartment building, despite neighborhood opposition.
- Marman will submit a site plan to the Planning Board.
- Durable Trailers may still locate in Hooksett; an update is expected by Christmas.
- Panera construction is progressing slowly, interior work underway.
- A conceptual plan was presented for Mr. Gas near the Manchester line, proposing a new store, eight gas pump spaces, and a Dunkin' drive-through.
- The car wash received final approval; auto wholesalers have been demolished.
- The Planning Board approved a tweak to the performance zone to reduce over-saturation of similar businesses; it will appear on the ballot.
- Old Dominion has started construction on Technology Drive extension, with blasting planned through winter.
- Irving is renovating the former Dunkin' Donuts space at exit 9 into a grab-and-go restaurant.
Recognition: The committee congratulated the wastewater department for winning the Plant of the Year award and the Hooksett Village water system for best tasting water award.

Key Outcomes

The committee will forward the TIF bond warrant article to the council for a public hearing on January 14, 2026.
An informational session is scheduled for January 26, 2026, 5:00-6:30 PM at the library.
Grant McGregor will share the PowerPoint draft with committee members for review; final version to be presented at the January 21 EDAC meeting.
The committee will proceed with fundraising for Old Town Hall, leveraging a potential catalyst donation to apply for matching grants.
The meeting adjourned on a motion by Matt Barrett, seconded by Anthony Poole.

Meeting Transcript

I left Alden one, but not you apparently. Oh, thank you. All right, it is 4 30. So let's do uh call to order, Pledge of Allegiance. Pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States of America in Republican. Which it stands one nation under God with liberty injustice. Okay. Attendance starting uh to my right, your left. Uh Jim Sullivan. Matt Barrett. Dave Scarpetti. Anthony Poole. Alden Bushman. Perfect. Uh staff and other departments. Ken Collins Sword. Grant McGregor Town Planner. Perfect. Thank you guys for uh joining us today. So there's no appointments, so let's just dive right in here. Um let's we'll we'll start with all the TIFF stuff. So the first one here, exit 10 engineering design update. Do we have anything for that? Oh beautiful. This looks like what what we discussed um the last time we talked about this going. Well, you can't see you can't see it, but it looks like somebody marked out one up. Okay. Does that go up quality? I can't tell that go up quality. It's the blue, I think is going up quality drive. Well, uh, Grant, Grant will jump in the gun here and granting. Oh yeah. I um just scanned in the handout that Alden gave to the board and staff uh a few meetings ago from Underwood Engineering, and we had uh a meeting uh I want to say about a month ago when um some cross-country um sewer lines going up Kimball Drive in an alternative way that wasn't initially planned were discussed. Um so I I don't know if anyone has any further updates, but that's the background on how that map came to be, and it I had marked it up, marked it up a little bit. Okay. I'm sorry, you you had your hand up. No, no, I don't know. I'm yeah, my hand goes up automatically. Okay. I thought you were just van a winding and pointing to that. Oh nice article, Andre, in the newspaper and the the one that came with the all the tax bills too. Uh uh on the TIF district, uh yeah. I uh thank you. I appreciate that. Um I'm hoping that that uh that kind of template uh resonates with folks that uh especially the term that uh we're only gonna spend what the TIFF district gives you to spend. Yeah, right. And and no more, no less. And um but with regard to this plan, uh I I gotta say I um from the last meeting I did get in contact with underwood engineering. And um uh the good news is that um I I think they are aware of this, and the bad news is that we've gotta have to amend their contract and make sure that uh we can include some additional work that we need to get done in it. So that's where we are.

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