Date: November 11, 2008 3:52:01 PM EST
To: citycouncil@ci.dover.nh.us, Mike Joyal
Subject: Upcoming Washington Street bridge vote
Dear Councilors,
As you are aware, you will be voting Wednesday night on whether or not to build the proposed Washington Street bridge. Please vote YES.
-If you support careful, prudent planning, vote YES. The planning for the development of the waterfront and construction of this bridge has been almost two decades in the making, incorporated into multiple City Master Plans, with a number of committees of Dover taxpayers providing input over several years. Nothing has been rushed.
-If you support small government, vote YES. There are two alternatives if the council votes no: leave 20 barren acres in the heart of the city fallow, owned by the government and used by nobody, or the city of Dover could enter the real estate and developer business (again, some would say) - imprudent for a number of reasons. The proposed waterfront solution puts cash into the city of Dover, and requires no additional staffing.
-If you support easing the property tax burden of Dover residents, vote YES. With almost 80% of the assessed property value being residential, the easiest way to reduce pressure on residents is to increase the amount of commercial property in use. The waterfront development offers this diversification. Voting no ensures we residents must continue to bear the brunt of the burden.
-If you support funding one-time projects with external grant money rather than Dover tax dollars, vote YES. With Dover's ~$1 million loan to the project (for which we get reimbursed!), we qualify for ~$3 million in grant money. The grant money WILL be spent - the question before you is does it benefit Dover, or someone else? Rochester, Portsmouth, Nashua, Manchester, and others are all places with nice people who probably feel they deserve the money more than we do - as an elected representative of Dover, are you prepared to send that money to another town with a 'no' vote?
-If you support pedestrian and traffic safety, vote YES. The completed bridge project will offer cleaner, safer vehicular and pedestrian traffic. Far fewer cars on Henry Law means few parking problems, safer seniors, and safer children - all three of which converge as Henry Law approaches downtown. If you were nervous about cars pulling up George and Williams Street in winter with the conversion to one-way traffic, imagine no alternative route for traffic over the coming decades.
In short, there may have been reasons to vote 'no' ten, five, or even two years ago. But thanks to the hard work of a dozen city councils, hundreds of volunteer citizens on committees and in public forums, the early proposals that overlooked or ignored many details have been overhauled to look like something Dover deserves, with the attention to detail that you as councilors rightfully demand. Vote YES with confidence and pride that your positive impact will be seen in Dover for generations to come.
Sincerely,
Jan Nedelka
