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Hooksett leaders outline renewed push to fund Exit 10 sewer infrastructure via TIF
Summary
Town staff and the economic development committee described plans to educate voters and business owners about a proposed bond to extend water and sewer infrastructure to the Exit 10 commercial area after a prior bond failed.
Town staff and members of Hooksett’s economic development and TIF committees outlined plans to restart outreach and education ahead of a proposed bond to extend water and sewer infrastructure to the Exit 10 area.
Town engineer Bruce Thomas said the TIF mechanism allows the town to use captured tax increment from redeveloped parcels to pay debt on infrastructure improvements without a direct tax increase to current taxpayers. Thomas said the town has roughly $2 million in captured increment available and hopes to leverage that into a $10 million to $12 million bond to install water and sewer infrastructure across the Merrimack River to the west side and along Exit 10.
"The way the TIF district works is that we have identified an area which we foresee economic growth happening ... by putting the water and sewer the value of that property ... could go from a 100,000, say, to 200,000," Thomas said, explaining the captured increment concept. He said the prior bond proposal did not pass at town meeting and that the committee must do more to explain the mechanism and the net tax effect to voters.
Committee members discussed targeted outreach to large property owners and retailers in the Exit 10 area, including Walmart, Bass Pro and Market Basket, and splitting subcommittees for business outreach and public education. A committee member said Walmart had previously expressed interest in contributing to sewer construction and that the town is seeking letters of support and direct conversations with major landowners.
Public relations proposals include short videos, PowerPoint vignettes, a landing page on the town website and social media amplification. The committee discussed public forums and breaking educational content into small segments, with an explicit message that the TIF uses captured tax increment and is not a new tax increase on current residents.
No formal vote was taken; the group split outreach tasks, and staff said they will prepare written materials and outreach schedules. Committee members said they plan to reconvene subcommittees to meet with business owners and craft a communications plan before the next town meeting when a bond could be presented.
