West Swanzey dissolves West Swanzey TIF Committee, recognizes volunteers; town updates park bench project

At the meeting, town staff said the West Swanzey TIF Committee was formally dissolved last week and that participants were awarded certificates in recognition of their work creating and publicizing the proposed district.

Staff named committee participants and thanked volunteers, citing Kathy Bergstrom, George Nikafrakis, Steve Bill, Scott Self and John Oden, and noted that Brian and Jen Rogers donated materials for a guard shed. "We greatly appreciate that," the staff member said, adding that materials were delivered and assembly is pending.

Staff also provided a separate update about a park improvement: officials are planning a granite landscape-style bench for AA Park but said the installation must meet grant requirements and obtain approvals from the New Hampshire dam bureau and another agency identified in the transcript as Elmchip (transcript: "Elkchip"). Staff said the bench will be a granite bench with a concealed landscape base and that they are still resolving whether a permanent stone base would comply with grant terms.

Because of an audio problem during an earlier meeting, staff said they had not been able to publicly record the dissolution at the time and wanted to acknowledge it at this meeting. The town did not provide a citation, motion text, or roll-call vote in the meeting record when announcing the committee dissolution.

Staff said the bench installation would not include heavy equipment in the park and that a portable bathroom might be present at the site during work. They also noted they are awaiting a final communication from the dam bureau and a contractor contact before proceeding.