Hooksett Town Administrator Presentation on TIF District and Proposed Bond - September 10, 2026
Hooksett Town Administrator Presentation on TIF District and Proposed Bond - September 10, 2026
Town Administrator Andre German presented an informational overview of the Tax Increment Finance (TIF) district serving Exit 10 and Exit 11, including its history, current progress, and a proposed bond for future water and sewer infrastructure. The meeting took place on September 10, 2026, and was attended by committee members and the public.
Discussion Items
- TIF District Overview: German explained that TIF is a financing tool that uses the increased assessed value (captured increment) from new development to pay for infrastructure improvements without burdening general taxpayers. The district was first used in Hooksett in 2001 to fund roadway improvements at Exit 10. That $2.6 million bond was paid off in approximately 12 years (by 2013), and the assessed value in the district grew from $2.9 million to $57 million.
- Current District and Progress: The current TIF district (boundaries expanded in 2021 to include both sides of the Merrimack River) was authorized in 2019 with a $2.5 million bond for planning. Engineering firm Underwood Engineering was selected. The project originally focused on Exit 10, but a developer proposed a public-private partnership for sewer at Exit 11. Under that agreement, the developer built a half-million-square-foot facility and would repay the infrastructure costs once the facility opens and begins paying taxes. As of the meeting, the facility has not been built, and no repayment has been made.
- Proposed 2026 Bond and Warrant Article: German discussed a proposed bond for remaining infrastructure: upgrades to the Martins Ferry force main (currently ongoing), a new double-barrel force main under the Merrimack River, and a new pump station on Kimball Drive. The bond amount was initially estimated at $12 million, but because approximately $2.4 million is already available in the TIF fund (from captured increment), the bond would be limited to the amount that can be covered by existing TIF revenue. A previous warrant article in 2025 failed by 1.2% (receiving 58.8% support, short of the required 60% supermajority). German indicated that a new warrant article would likely be presented in March 2026 with a lower amount reflecting work already completed.
- Value Engineering and Route Changes: Engineer Ken (not fully identified) described value engineering changes to the Exit 10 sewer alignment. The revised plan routes sewer along Quality Drive and Riverside Drive to avoid expensive rock drilling under Interstate 93, which would reduce costs significantly. The new route also allows easier connection for existing businesses and opens up infill development.
- Business Interest and Septic Limitations: German noted that many existing businesses (e.g., Target, Kohl's, Bass Pro Shops, Wendy's) rely on septic systems that are failing or require frequent pumping. Bass Pro Shops has a failed septic system and is eager to connect to sewer; they have expressed interest in adding a restaurant and bowling alley once sewer is available. Wendy's has historically had flooding issues. The lack of sewer has limited development—for example, Bass Pro Shops is the only one in the country without a restaurant. The area is considered a "hot" development location, and sewer infrastructure is expected to attract additional businesses and restaurants.
- Job Creation: German highlighted that Marmen Wire and Cable is building a 354,000-square-foot facility (in addition to an existing 82,000-square-foot facility), bringing an estimated 210 new jobs over three years.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Samantha asked whether any new businesses have committed to locate in the district. German and others responded that no new businesses have committed yet, but the area is attractive and existing businesses are eager to connect. They noted that current businesses are limited by septic systems and that infrastructure will enable expansion and new development.
Key Outcomes
- No formal votes were taken at this meeting. It appears to have been an informational session to update stakeholders and the public on TIF district progress and to preview a potential bond warrant article for March 2026.
- German recommended against dissolving the TIF district, citing the substantial planning, easement purchases, and groundwork already completed.
- The next steps include continuing the Martins Ferry force main upgrade and exploring a reduced bond request for the remaining Exit 10 sewer and pump station work.
Meeting Transcript
My name is Andre German, I'm the China administrator. And I've been working with the economic development advisory committee and the tax increment finance advisory committee on this project for quite some time. I do gotta say when I was hired in 2019, this was the project they said we should be given special attention to. At the time in 2019, 2.5 million dollars of bond was approved by the um uh by the town to begin the planning of this uh of this area, this test increment finance district. And the goal was it was to um um target exit 10, exit 11 to put the infrastructure in there, uh meaning water and solar to encourage economic development. The tax increment financing is a tool, it's a financing tool. And I'll get into that a little bit uh a little bit more. It's a little bit different than the uh um then the ek now development incentives. Um there's a uh commercial industrial incentive that is uh that takes the new value of a proposed uh development, and the town gets given the option to one reduce the um the assessed value of the new portion of the structure by uh up to five percent. And um, and also um uh a status of duration of um up to five years. That is to lower their uh initial impact for a small period of time to get them in the door and establish um their business. This the tax increment finance district, again is the financing tool meaning that um with regard to the um infrastructure we want to get into place and the um and the um size of the project that we're doing this plate in this case providing water and sewer and between exit 10 and 11 is a big project, that's big dollars, and therefore a bond is the most appropriate way to do that. And this is a method of paying for that bond without going back to the taxpayers. So um purpose again, fund sewer and water upgrades and established district, and uh give it a little bit uh get get into a little bit of history with regard to tax increment finance districts. Uh stimulate business and uh business and economic development, seek private business investment, expand town base. Those are the goals of the purposes behind the tax increment finance listing. Um again, the revenue from the increased captured um value can only be used to implement implement the district. And I have a graph that kind of best um depicts that in the second. And once designated, uh the plan has been permitted and improvements are paid for, the um district will cease, meaning that the town council um uh once it's achieves a goal of um the water and sewer and pay the bill, then the district goes away, 100% of the revenue goes to the town to the taxpayers. And here's the grass I was telling you about. So the way the district works is that this frozen uh value is the uh is the area that you target, and in this case it was exit 10 and 11. And if the frozen uh the evaluation of that district was 10,000, that remained frozen throughout the time of this district. Now as we uh put in the infrastructure that we want to put in the water and sewer and development occurs, meaning that um the uh the economic development occurs where we from what we perceive it to be, meaning that new development occurs and we get this new uh new um redevelopment uh increment. So the $10,000 now goes to say $50,000. The captured value is the $40,000. We're this um foregoing our immediate um our unique uh immediate um um impact of the uh new development until the bond is paid. We're gonna use that increment. So $10,000 continues to go to the general fund, but the $40,000 that is the difference between 50 and what we um 50,000 and what we have here is what we're gonna be using for that for that. And then at the end, 100% once we um once we um just uh terminate the uh district, uh, because all the work that we had planned for has occurred, the town gets 100% existing and different policy. This is the uh uh tax increment district. Um Steve, where am I? All right, exit 10 here. Target Coles on this side, and then Harley Davidson, you're going up to um Dominion Ultimate, you're trucking in this area. Um BassPro, uh Market Basket, um Walmart over here. Um on this side, you have the um Bartons Ferry Road area, uh pump station here. Um Marman uh wire and cable is building their facility in here or the uh up further, yeah. Behind Caden behind it. Okay, right, fine. Yeah, right there left. Uh because this is Legends Drive, I believe. Uh yeah, yeah, right. Yeah, so uh they're building their facility, Shaw's um plaza. So this extends all the way down to close to memorial school. So um, so this is how um we define our TIFF map. This is the only place that the TIFF funds can be spent. So all of our project occurs in this area, the both uh water and the floor project. And there'll be a map to show you that. Okay. So I think I know and I won't spend too much time there, but the graph that I showed you, you know, shows the existing uh TIFF increment and the new um basically the new development that occurs through the implementation of the water sewer and then and therefore the new increment. So that $10,000 existing, that $50,000 increase and the $40,000 increment is what this is pretty much saying here.
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