Rochester City Council – Granite Grok

A Model for the Rest of New Hampshire

Tonight, the Rochester City Council voted against joining The Granite State Futures program, which is New Hampshire’s implementation of Barack Obama’s Sustainable Communities Initiative.

A few weeks ago, about 50 people (from Rochester and many surrounding communities) showed up at a City Council workshop to voice their opinion against this program, which includes an approximate $30,000 planning grant. It wasn’t until tonight’s vote that someone showed up to speak in favor of the program – Regional HUD representative (and Republican), Greg Carson, who was ill during the night of the workshop.

At least 70 people showed up tonight for the vote.

In these economic times, grant money like this is tempting for cities and towns that are likely in financial straits. But Rochester has accepted Federal grant money in the past and got burned; they apparently heard the warnings from the public, and gave sufficient weight to prior experience.

GrokTV: Rochester City Council – “Rochester City Councilors, just say “NO!” to the Granite State Future plan for Rochester!

by Skip

Granite State Future plan – that plan by which Federalizes (via “free money”) local zoning ordinances. And if you haven’t looked or known, they can have a LARGE effect on how you live and where / how businesses can be run.

Sidenote: From a post a while ago on when EVIL uses of ordinances by a Utopian wishing to get their way by using Govt to achieve their aim:

There is a long standing animus between a business entity called the Ames Farm and a lawyer by the name of Stephen Nix here in my hamlet. For years now, the latter has tried to shut down parts of the operation of this 120 year cottage / restaurant / boat launch resort by using a number of legal maneuvers. In essence, he is trying to take away one of our basic Rights, that of Private Property, from this family so as to enhance the value of his property. Gordon Gecko has no skin on this play!

Nix’s warrant failed, but not through his lack of trying. Federal Departments (EPA, DOT, and HUD) are trying to do the same thing by dangling easy money in front of cash hungry politicians – like gold seekers, some of the latter will do what is necessary to get that honey pot regardless of what the “strings attached” may do to the Property Rights of the taxpayers (yet another tale of Washington taking local money and saying “You can have your own money back, but only if you behave in the way we want you to (after all, we have our own version of what Utopia is – and YOUR Individual version no longer counts)). Well, those that attended this past Tuesday’s Rochester City want this program to fail as well. Lots of folks spoke up:

NH State Senator Fenton Groen NH State Representative Lou Vida

GrokTV: Rochester City Council Public – Shining a Big Flashlight into a dark corner

by Skip

“Why is the City subsidizing a private company at below market lease rates at the Community Center??“ Unlike most of the folks that went to Tuesday nite’s Rochester (NH) City Council that were there to berate the Councilors and Mayor TJ Jean for expending taxpayer monies in supporting President Obama’s campaign stop or to plead … Read more

GrokTV: Rochester City Council – Pleading and venting

by Skip

The last post – full out complaining that the Rochester (NH) City Council should not have subsidized the Obama Presidential campaign stop by expending taxpayer monies and not billing the Obama campaign (not that he’s bothering to pay – just that kind of guy, he is). Here are more folks going after the City Council for the same thing, but at the same time asking them that the Councilors NOT sign onto the Federal mandates (EPA, DOT, HUD) of the Sustainable Communities Initiative known here in New Hampshire as the Granite State Future plan.

Jerry Delemus, head of the Rochester 9/12 Project (one of the most visible and well known of the Liberty& Freedom groups in the State):

More after the jump!

GrokTV: “After Testimony” interview with – Sue DeLemus, Warren Groen

by Skip

Both NH State Representatives Sue DeLemus and Warren Groen, testified before the City Council (against the Granite State Future Plan); both agreed to talk with GraniteGrok afterwards about whether or not they had words that didn’t get said, or items they wished to emphasize, like: “These people worship at the alter of Energy Conservation…they want … Read more

GrokTV: Rochester City Council Public input on “Sustainable Communities Initiative”- Ken Eyring

by Skip

Ken’s mission at the Rochester City Council meeting( as it sought Public Input on its signing onto the NH version of the Federal Government’s Sustainable Communities Initiative (“SCI”), also known locally as The Granite State Future Plan) was to start connecting the dots between all of the groups that are pushing, advocating, and agitating for the passage of the Granite State Future Plan (to supplant local control of zoning ordinances with those mandated by the Federal Govt’s HUD, EPA, and DOT).

To wit: the Conservation Law Foundation (a partner in the Granite State Future Program) also runs the New Great Bay Coalition that is advocating for a new regional water treatment plant (which is going to cost Rochester mega buckeroonies) under the Water Sustainability Commission, whose final report will be incorporated into the Granite State Future Plan (Otherwise known as: a circular taxpayer firing squad hosted by NGOs and bureaucrats!).

Ken related a comment made during one of the Water Sustainability Commissions:

“Water and sewer rates are too cheap in the State” and at that point, a few of the Commissioners alluded to the Great Bay sewerage treatment project and chuckled that…

“The residents in those towns in that project would soon learn that water and sewer is not cheap.”

He also brought up the fact that the Planner for Rochester, Kenn Ortmann, has a conflict; he is also the Vice Chair of the NH Housing Finance Agency and has a fiduciary responsibility that supersedes that of his responsibility to the City of Rochester. Any further testimony by Ortmann needs to be challenged.

GrokTV: Rochester City Council Public input on “Sustainable Communities Initiative”- Tom Flaherty

by Skip

Another of the folks that spoke out against the Federal Govt’s move to further do social engineering via the Sustainable Communities Initiative / Granite State Future Plan was Tom Flaherty. He stressed that the key entity is HUD – it gets the final say via operating through the 9 Regional Planning Commissions under contract. One statement from them:

“Given that our State’s population can fit within the boundaries of many of the nation’s cities, we are presented with the unique opportunity to create a truly integrated approach to planning not just in one city or region but across the State as a whole.”

Who the hell do they think they are – to view citizens as mere lab rats? So, it is the unelected and unaccountable Planners that get to determine how our State is going to look like? How many citizens understand this? And the chutzpah – it seems that Planners are thinking “look at what we can do!” without never thinking “er, maybe Citizens are happy in what they are doing now?” I guess not – Utopians never do…

GrokTV: Rochester City Council Public input on “Sustainable Communities Initiative”- NH State Rep. Warren Groen

by Skip

Last night the ‘Grok was invited to attend the Rochester City Council meeting as it sought Public Input on its signing onto the NH version of the Federal Government’s Sustainable Communities Initiative (“SCI”, also known locally as The Granite State Future Plan). The folks in Rochester have already been through a previous expensive Federal boondoggle … Read more