On Monday, the public can get a copy of the 38-question Town Meeting warrant they will vote on in March. Town officials will post the document on Seabrook's website, www.seabrooknh.org, and paper copies will be posted at other buildings, such as Town Hall, the community center and the library.
The Board of Selectmen took time at a special meeting earlier this week to read the entire warrant. This year, the warrant includes the usual questions: the town budget, employee union contracts, new equipment and resources for town departments, funding for human services organizations, as well as a number of zoning articles, including one that will create a small New England village district in the part of town known as Smithville.
At the heart of the proposal is the creation of a new mixed-use, commercial/residential district in the Smithville area, which surrounds Town Hall and the southern portion of Route 1. If approved, the concept would promote redevelopment of the area into a pedestrian-friendly stretch of small businesses with residences stretching from the town's border with Salisbury in the south to Lakeshore Drive to the north, and running east from the railroad track to Secord's Pond in the west.
According to Selectman Bob Moore, the measure would prevent more "big box" retail stores along Route 1 in that vicinity, which is ripe for redevelopment when the economy recovers. The zoning would allow small stores and companies to locate there with apartments above them to foster small businesses in town and a traditional New Hampshire village atmosphere.
"The idea is to have a pedestrian-oriented village area where people could go to Town Hall and park, then walk to the post office and adjacent businesses safely," said Selectman Brendan Kelly.
The zoning amendment is contained in Article 6 of the warrant, which carries five pages of explanations, graphs and definitions, and admittedly, Moore said, the proposal is the most complicated on the warrant. He and his fellow selectmen strongly advise voters to read the information carefully and attend the deliberative session of Town Meeting on Tuesday night at 7 at the Community Center, where Planning Board officials will be to answer questions.
The Rockingham County Planning Commission helped Seabrook's Planning Board create the proposal over the past three years, Selectman Aboul Khan said.
• • •
A lot of good things have been happening at Seabrook Middle School. For example, the boys basketball team is having a banner year. The young athletes have 25 wins in a row, with only one loss all season. The team and coach are to be congratulated.
The school's eighth grade just finished creating 20 anti-bullying public service video announcements to be played on the local access channel.
And today, the school holds its Spelling Bee.
• • •
The Seabrook School Board will hold a public hearing on Monday, Feb. 13, at 6 p.m. at the Seabrook Middle School Library to discuss a proposal to delegate determination of the school's default budget to the municipal budget committee instead of the School Board, pursuant to RSA 40-14-b. This question will appear on the 2012 Seabrook School District warrant as Article 9.
• • •
The Ladies Aid Society will hold its monthly Bean Supper from 4:30 to 6 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 11, at Rand Memorial Church, at 134 South Main St., in Seabrook.
The menu will consist of hot dogs, ham and beans, with potato salad and coleslaw, along with homemade desserts, including Indian pudding.
The cost is $7 per adult and $4 per child.
For more information, contact Ellie Fowler at 978-465-5704.
The Ladies Aid Society holds bean suppers the second Saturday of each month.
• • •
Angeljean Chiaramida covers Seabrook for The Daily News. She can be reached at achiaramida@newburyportnews.com or at 978-462-6666, ext. 3271.
Probe Begins After Conn. Commuter Trains Crash
NTSB Begins Investigation Into Conn. Train Crash
Lotto Fever Sweeps the Country
Conn. Commuter Trains Collide; 60 Go to Hospital
Coffee Run Leads to Hatchet Hitchhiker Arrest
Fmr. IRS Head Insists No Politics in Targeting
CDC: Fecal Bacteria Common in Swimming Pools
$1 Million in Jewels Stolen at Cannes Film Fest
NM Mom Chases Down Child Abductor
Raw: Crash Sends Car Into Fla. Pool
Raw: Obama Sits Down With Elementary Kids
Raw: Bear Falls From Tampa Tree
Ousted IRS Chief: Errors Not Caused by Politics
Terror Suspect Due in Court in Idaho Friday
Raw: Driver Ejected From Truck, Over Bridge
Could Tobacco Be the Next Biofuel?
Wash. State Releases Draft Rules for Legal Pot
Dying Man's Blinks Lead to Murder Conviction
Officials: Texas Tornado Likely Had 200 Mph Wind
Brothers Arrested in NOLA Parade Shooting
