Hooksett CIP Committee Meeting – April 15, 2026

The Hooksett Capital Improvements Program (CIP) Committee met on April 15, 2026, to review general government, police, and wastewater capital requests. The nine-member committee had five members present, a quorum for official action. Grant McGregor was nominated, seconded, and selected as chair, abstaining from the vote on his own selection. No funding decisions were made during the meeting.

Discussion Items

Organization and quorum

• The committee confirmed that five members constitute a quorum of the nine-member board and that the session was an official meeting.
• Grant McGregor was selected as chair.

General government requests

• Assessing revaluation: Christine Tooks Barry reported that Hooksett currently has no assessor and the request carries forward from last year. The 2023 revaluation cost $140,000, and former assessor John Deohamel estimated the next one at $250,000. Town Administrator Andre Garant wants the 2028 revaluation done statistically. The revaluation is legally required, and planning for it would avoid a future budget/default spike.
• GIS digital parcel compilation: The community development request would hire a consultant to upgrade the spatial accuracy of the town's online GIS. The capital reserve has roughly $140,000; the professional-estimate option, excluding deed research and a flyover, is estimated at $190,000. Discussion centered on adding about $60,000 over three years ($20,000 per year) to reach roughly $200,000. Jared Williams expressed support for the project as money well spent, citing inaccurate maps affecting abutter notices, planning work, law enforcement, and potential legal exposure.
• Solar farm administration: The item was skipped.

Police requests (presented by the police chief)

• Cruiser replacement: $153,830.50 for two cruisers in FY 2027-28, including vehicles and upfitting.
• South Bow Tower replacement: $179,000 for the tower itself; a comparable Henneker project totaled about $350,000. The state of New Hampshire is involved after the previous lease negotiation failed.
• Bailey Tower replacement: $179,000 placeholder. The tower is more than 20 years old but not failing; consultant guidance puts tower life at 30–50 years.
• Radio simulcast system: $307,600.75 requested. The fire department is purchasing a system that may satisfy the police need; if it works as described, police spending could be $0. The chief will check by June whether impact fees can fund the police portion.
• Body cameras: $197,362 to continue the program after two years.
• Taser replacement: Planned for FY 2028-29 at the end of the five-year support period; compatibility with current and future body cameras was discussed.
• Firearm replacement: $52,387 for pistols, holsters, and lights. The chief hopes to use roughly $140,000 in drug forfeiture funds to cover the full cost and may accelerate the purchase if that is approved.
• Portable radio replacement: $160,755 in FY 2031-32 after the 10-year useful life.

Wastewater requests (presented by Superintendent Ken Carney)

• Carney noted that it was Clean Water Week and that Hooksett's plant won the New Hampshire Treatment Plant of the Year award.
• Treatment plant roof replacement: About $200,000; engineers will evaluate next week. Most of the roof is over 30 years old.
• Aeration blower upgrade: Reduced from last year's $1,000,000 request to $650,000. A 60 hp blower would be efficient in winter, and removed 200 hp blowers would be kept as spare parts to extend the life of the remaining 100 hp units.
• Hooksett Road pump station upgrade (former Kmart station): About $1.3 million to relocate and rebuild the station with submersible pumps, moving it from the middle of the parking lot to the south end.
• Aeration media replacement: $750,000 estimate; the media will be 20 years old in 2029 and the project was moved up two years from FY 2031-32.
• Collection system repairs: $100,000 new request in anticipation of repairs identified by camera inspections beginning this year.
• Equipment garage: About $800,000 for a simple heated garage for trucks and equipment.
• Vehicle replacements: A 2020 truck with 63,000 miles and a transmission failure at 60,000 miles is planned for 2030 replacement. A one-ton dump truck with 83,000 miles is planned for replacement at 15 years, priced at about $95,000 through state bid versus roughly $120,000 retail.

Key Outcomes

• Grant McGregor was selected as chair.
• No formal votes or funding approvals were taken on capital requests.
• The police chief agreed to confirm by June whether radio simulcast costs can be paid with impact fees instead of capital reserves.
• The police chief will pursue drug forfeiture funding for the firearm replacement and report whether the timing can be accelerated.
• Ken Carney explained that wastewater is an enterprise fund supported by sewer users, and he plans to use budget savings and connection fees to build reserves for the moved-up aeration media project.
• Jared Williams left at approximately 5:44, after which the committee no longer had a quorum and took no further official action.