West Leb

LINK IN PROFILE TO CITY SURVEY ON THESE

How much has the City spent on planning exercises on this hypothetical project on the (heavily utilized) back parking lots behind City Hall? It was already north of $400,000 a few years ago…

The City is amid an exponential tax increases: (8% in 2024, [proposed 11.9%] in 2025, and projected to rise similarly in 2026, 2027, 2028). Cutting LebRec and Library- as the City Manager suggested during budget process- isn’t the issue. It’s addressing a bloated bureaucracy that burns money on no-ROI projects costing taxpayers millions.

These proposals suggest $3M to $11M of new municipal spending, but includes no financial projections of what tax revenue any of these scenarios would produce to pay for improvements. Unless there’s new tax base, this is funded off the taxpayers.

There’s a better chance of building this using Rock n’ Roll than taxpayer dollars…

Westboro 🚂 art appreciation post. Favorite piece?

It is exhausting to have the planning department repeat the same studies and surveys instead of taking concrete steps towards what past committees and studies (and best practices, and comparable examples, and common sense) have already called for.

“A downtown full of empty and rundown buildings will never attract good tenants. No one wants to put their kickass company in your dumpy district. So no matter how many business plan classes you offer or SBA loans you can secure, you aren’t going to convince a savvy business owner to chance their baby on your downtown if it isn’t ready.”

Buildings Before Businesses A building is a business. I repeat, a building is a business. If you manage your own life, you can understand this principle. You have to spend less than you bring in. If you are the one responsible for your home, you have to pay attention to income and expenses if you have any designs on staying in...

The relevant sections of the 2021 Action Plan for West Leb that reference addressing procedural changes necessary to stimulate investment in West Leb, per the City’s previous studies, master plan, and year of meetings of the 2021 WLRAC

I’ll be presenting about River Park at the WLRAC tonight, on how we see it as a keystone parcel for economic development, riverside recreation, and public transportation improvements in West Leb. If the City helps, River Park can be a source of new tax revenue to fund long-demanded improvements in West Leb, in addition to what we’re already doing on-site.

And I’ll preview our upcoming appearances before the Planning Board, City Council, and Appeal Board(s) in the coming month.

🤞

Join me and of Pittsburgh-based downtown consultancy “Revitalize, Or Die” on Tuesday at 9am for the first meeting of as we talk about why the traditional approach to planning so frequently fails to produce the results we want. (link in profile)

Breaking News in West Leb

N.H. Government Unveils New West Leb Waterfront Park Delay — The UV Observer Collaborative effort will continue public inaccessibility to waterfront WEST LEBANON— A few representatives from the NH Department of Transportation Rail Bureau gathered alongside the Connecticut River at the former Westboro Rail Yard to address the 20-year community effort to transform the wate

Many thanks to Daybreak for covering what else could be done in West Leb!