[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6507151,"mediaKeyId","5813360-7037caada379b46cf1cb0652128a33b1","parentId",5813360,"title","Highway director outlines vehicle, equipment and bridge needs; committee told Hidden Springs clearing funded with ARPA","audioSeconds",3544,"startMs",2613000,"endMs",6157000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5813360-7037caada379b46cf1cb0652128a33b1&start=2613&end=6157","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5813360-7037caada379b46cf1cb0652128a33b1/thumbnail_2613000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6507151/New-Hampshire/Highway-director-outlines-vehicle-equipment-and-bridge-needs-committee-told-Hidden-Springs-clearing-funded-with-ARPA","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6507151-37cfd14f8e54ade48c6eeb4e3df60dea/orig.mp4?Expires=1770953836&Signature=fD5Cl5KtNHDNqm~x3je0XUnVx~LwIr-oNPvsQeoWhOUbLa5mCkcvOWDhQKVwrMgT7iswBrFKBlxec9CIzZqXCH~GO2caU56-KfnKOlXSN328RI0FwnHby~vTs5-K0Whph5j9NWggH~pPsdN4~Ec-3G9TKn5D~EZow5iPx15ExQPnvfwYxTl4CRFLnIo0W1DpIS69oiwFmHFe-4XM~6vGbFdDuRwPQX59AQb36-wqYDR6HYUjMwskPnKMok6428tPA2~4MV~JiiHbeMKvmBFNdLgzrz4smOGB031gWpb-jUhBIt9DiDQ3K6AI1HzK6hk19zYbKLOyybEtwVg6mWu-HA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Town of Alton, NH","date","2025-09-23T05:03:48Z","article","Seth (Highway Director) presented the highway and public-works portion of Alton’s CIP at the Sept. 22 meeting, asking the committee to add missing items to the plan, shift timing on several vehicle and equipment replacements, and consider a $100,000 CRF contribution for a bridge project expected in spring 2026.

Fleet and equipment schedule. Seth said two vehicles are showing emergent issues and proposed replacing a pickup included in the 2026 plan; he described a net replacement cost of roughly $70,000 that would include a plow and sander. He reported the department’s current highway equipment CRF balance is roughly $284,830 and described shifting purchases to keep the annual contribution manageable rather than produce spikes in the CIP.

Lease purchases and visibility. The committee discussed the 2025 Mack Granite roll‑off truck that the town bought this year on a five‑year lease-to-own agreement; the first lease payment is scheduled for December 2026 and the capital lease will be recorded in the transportation budget. Several other leased items (a 2016 Cat grader) are already visible on the plan.

Items missing from the published plan. Seth noted the bucket truck (used for lights, flags, hazard trees) and the loader had not been assigned years on the CIP spreadsheet and asked that both be added. He also recommended extending the backhoe replacement by a year while considering swapping it with a rubber-tire excavator; estimated costs for the different options were in the $225,000 range with trade‑in values near $75,000.

Street sweeper, sidewalk machine and rollers. Seth recommended buying a used full‑size street sweeper instead of new (used examples around $100,000). He flagged HD15, the town’s vibratory roller, as increasingly difficult to service and said surplus options and other manufacturers (for example Hamm) should be investigated.

Bridge repair quote and requested CRF deposit. The bridge reconstruction CRF currently holds roughly $325,000, Seth said, and he reported a contractor quote to repair the Roberts Cove bridge at about $3.75 million (he recalled a prior $3.25M estimate from a prior conversation). To secure funds against material-cost increases, he proposed adding $100,000 to the bridge CRF so the town would be positioned to begin work in spring 2026 if schedules permit.

Hidden Springs clearing and ARPA funds. The committee learned the board used remaining ARPA funds to clear about 14 acres at Hidden Springs as an exploratory step tied to future DPW-building planning; the clearing work was awarded to Boggs Logging at $5,000 per acre and will be paid from American Rescue Plan Act funds, not the highway CRF.

Landfill closure testing. For the landfill cap/closure account the public-works staff proposed using the CRF to cover recurring testing and maintenance. Seth said next year’s sampling/reporting quote is about $17,000 and recommended $20,000 in the CRF to ensure testing and twice‑annual mowing can be paid; the account balance was reported at about $41,000.

Solid-waste building and recycling capacity. Staff described interest in modest building improvements or a drive‑through configuration to expand recycling acceptance (cardboard and aluminum currently provide revenue; plastics are going into MSW because of storage and handling limits).

Next steps. Committee members asked Seth and staff to reconcile two missing items (bucket truck and loader) in the CIP spreadsheets, to provide repair-versus-replace cost breakdowns on aging vehicles (one dump truck failed inspection and may need close to $10,000 in repairs) and to flag lead times: ordering heavy vehicles can take a year or more. Seth agreed to update the plan and meet again with committee staff before the next round of CIP reviews.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","CIP Committee Mtg. 9.22.2025","oneSentenceSummary","Highway Director Seth presented a revised equipment and vehicle schedule, recommended timing changes for several vehicles and requested a $100,000 addition to a bridge reconstruction CRF after receiving contractor quotes. Committee learned that clearing at Hidden Springs will be paid from ARPA funds.","taxTitle","Alton Town, Belknap County, New Hampshire","taxId",74073,"location","New Hampshire","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":44,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6507156,"Alton police chief asks committee to clarify reserve funds, proposes vehicle reserve and added building savings",2510,103000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5813360-7037caada379b46cf1cb0652128a33b1&start=103&end=2613","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5813360-7037caada379b46cf1cb0652128a33b1/thumbnail_103000.jpg","/articles/6507156/New-Hampshire/Alton-police-chief-asks-committee-to-clarify-reserve-funds-proposes-vehicle-reserve-and-added-building-savings","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6507156-990e9c625b4ea0a553e5737e96d8eceb/orig.mp4?Expires=1770953836&Signature=jkrtosBcXhNlNBZPMHrwuA7XNRdkw2BGiKq-3jnuBXzDY03As5eevVUVENplqilm~EZ3VcoimR6Axm9oVInZZO5FgsiuGPkijxP3K90QkFy7mz6Q3AhMoKhH49eM892smz6wGKMf6hr7D4wTgK6EfJdjYdDiMXfKyKRen0C5K33feeAPPvPJc4uXn~Xu27YBBEEjI2jZm8RjpLwbXyb263wec6HD~OBv24sBZf05osM6VMIu4p7YqskPc3V1Uyhmzgf7KeTxLY3xqrEdEGljPJz8gqWS-r2wWUkJuBkZsn0u32Sc7JirZtqUmXE27J3ncWVOfdP5z6JU~Nr03tWRVg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Police Chief Todd MacGould told the Alton Capital Improvements Program committee on Sept. 22 that the police department’s capital reserve accounts are not listed the way he expects in the town’s CIP documents and asked the committee to correct descriptions and account lines so voters and reviewers can see the intended purpose.

MacGould said the warrant article that historically established a police building CRF (Article 6, 02/2004) lists the purpose as “renovation and expansion,” and that is why recent deposits intended for HVAC, septic and general maintenance appear in the CRF labeled for building expansion. “When I do an update to this plan, I’m gonna remove PD 3 because it just doesn’t exist,” MacGould said, referring to a separate PD3 line for septic/HVAC that was not funded as a separate CRF.

Why it matters: MacGould said he wants the CRF language to mirror the warrant article so residents and staff understand what funds may be used for and to avoid the appearance that money is being put aside for an unrelated building expansion.

Account balances and targets. MacGould said the original police-building CRF had been used for a past expansion and that the remaining balance on the current account was $10,198.25 as of July 31. He described a working target of $100,000 for the resurrected CRF over the next few years, noting the account was once targeted at $2,000,000 when first established but that is not his near-term expectation.

Equipment and subscription planning. The chief described a new equipment CRF established last year with about $30,000 and a multiyear subscription that is grant-funded now but will need town funding when the grant ends. He said the department budget plan proposed raising the subscription CRF from $30,000 to $35,000 this year to prepare for the next contract cycle. “We bought a 5 year subscription with a grant. But in 5 years, we’re gonna have to pay for it ourselves,” MacGould said.

Vehicle funding options. A substantial portion of the discussion focused on vehicle replacement and the police department’s revolving-account practice for detail revenue. MacGould explained the department uses a police-vehicle revolving account (payments received for details and other fees) to fund leases and equipment. He proposed creating a new CRF specifically for vehicle purchases to provide a steady, visible reserve so the department would not need to seek one-time warrant articles that create larger tax-rate spikes.

MacGould said the department currently leases most patrol vehicles and covers lease payments from the revolving account; equipment (cages, computer mounts, radar, K-9 equipment) can add roughly $22,000 per vehicle. He gave the committee several options the department would support, including putting $40,000 a year into a vehicle CRF so the town would have funds to purchase a patrol SUV or to offset a lease payment in a year with fewer detail revenues. “If we reserve 40 this year, 40 next year, there’s your 1 vehicle,” a committee member observed; MacGould responded that schedule would provide “a bit of pressure relief.”

Fleet condition and maintenance. MacGould told the committee most cruisers are 2019 Dodge Chargers with about 80,000 miles on several vehicles; one administrative vehicle is nearer 37,000 miles. He said maintenance spending rose this year to roughly $14,000 so far, above prior budgets of about $10,000, largely because the department relies on outside mechanics rather than internal shop labor. He warned that clustering many same‑year vehicles (all 2019) causes multiple maintenance issues to occur concurrently.

Committee follow-up and clarifications. Committee members asked MacGould to submit the official CRF paperwork with the precise language he would like used in the CIP so the committee can align the plan with warrant language and the town’s records. MacGould agreed to provide the forms and to work with staff to update the next iteration of the CIP.","At the Sept. 22 Alton CIP meeting Police Chief Todd MacGould asked the committee to align capital reserve fund (CRF) descriptions with warrant language, proposed creating a vehicle CRF and asked for additional annual deposits to a police building reserve and equipment subscription fund.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Highway director outlines vehicle, equipment and bridge needs; committee told Hidden Springs clearing funded with ARPA

Alton police chief asks committee to clarify reserve funds, proposes vehicle reserve and added building savings