If ever there was a funding slam dunk, this was supposed to be it.
Derry was ranked among the Top 5 communities in the state in need of federal stimulus funding targeting neighborhood stabilization. Derry had earned this "honor" because it has the highest per capita foreclosure rate in the state of New Hampshire.
All that community officials needed to do was come up with a suitable project that would generate housing units while protecting a neighborhood from plummeting property values and, as a result, possible additional foreclosures.
The Derry Housing Authority targeted the vacant Floyd School, an albatross around the neck of the Derry Cooperative School District and a festering eyesore contributing to falling property values in its neighborhood. Better yet, the plan called for turning the school into affordable elderly units, providing housing for a segment of the population most vulnerable to high property taxes and potential foreclosure.
The project would also generate jobs for New Hampshire contractors and construction workers.
The only question that remained was how big a piece of the stimulus pie the project would be awarded and how soon construction could start.
But a funny thing happened on the way to the ground-breaking ceremony.
A representative of the state met with the Derry Town Council last week and explained that Derry would not get a dime of the neighborhood stabilization funds. All four of the other "priority" towns (Nashua, Manchester, Rochester and Berlin) received funding for their projects, as did other towns deemed less of a priority. Derry got nothing.
The explanation offered by a Alice Veenstra, a representative of the New Hampshire Community Development Finance Authority, was lacking. She said the Floyd School project did not meet the "spirit" of the project. A more honest explanation might be that Derry is wealthier (per capita) than the other towns with a much lower poverty rate, higher property values, less blight and more Republicans.
Moreover, these other communities have a more persistent legislative delegation working to make sure their towns get every last dollar of funding available.
The members of the Derry Town Council are understandably angry. They have said they will "write letters" to express their feelings. This won't get the job done. What has to happen is that council members, the Derry legislative delegation, town department heads, along with a handful of senior citizens at risk of losing their homes and residents who have already lost their homes need to descend on Concord, knocking on doors and confronting state officials face-to-face. It will be good practice for the impending school funding crisis.
Derry, once again, got the short end of the stick from the state. And Derry's leadership let it happen.
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