PORTSMOUTH — Third-graders Jonathan Cabral and Avery Warren were front and center at Town Hall Monday night, pleading with the Town Council for help in making improvements to their playground at Hathaway School.
“The playground is a magical place to have fun,” said Jonathan. “It is very important for the playground to remain safe.”
Added Avery, “The playground gives our mind a rest and lets our energy out.”
Council members were impressed and did, in fact, agreed to assist the school in finishing work on the playground to make it safe for all. Members voted unanimously to release $30,000 from the town’s impact fees for the project.
The vote came after Hathaway Principal Lisa Little showed the council a musical slideshow of pictures of the playground. “We’ve done some of the upgrades and we’re in the process of doing more,” said Ms. Little.
She also shared comments and pictures drawn by kindergarten students, who said they liked everything from the monkey bars to the bouncy bridge. “Our kindergarteners have two times for recess every day,” she said.
According to Superintendent of Schools Ana Riley, the total cost of the playground improvements is more than $73,000, and the Hathaway PTO has raised $40,000. The school district agreed to use $5,000 from a United Way grant toward the playground work, she said.
As for the remaining $30,000, Ms. Riley requested that it come from the impact fees, which are charges collected by the town from new construction. James Lathrop, the town’s finance and personnel director, said there was about $194,000 in that fund and that the playground project would be an appropriate use for the money.
Objection raised
Larry Fitzmorris of the taxpayers group Portsmouth Concerned Citizens said he had a problem with the impact fees as general policy.
The theory is that the new fees generated will offset the increased services necessary to serve the additional students in the public schools. However, he pointed out that the student population in Portsmouth has been in decline for a decade.
“The premise is false. It’s not good public policy,” he said.
Mr. Fitzmorris also said the $30,000 transfer would amount to an increase in the school budget. Mr. Lathrop, however, said it would be treated as a capital expenditure and therefore would have no impact on the operating budget.
Despite the council’s approval of the impact fee transfer, council member Joseph Robicheau remarked that Mr. Fitzmorris’ comments on impact fees “need to be revisited.”
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