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Ski NY

deadheadskier

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Yeah, that makes sense. Newmarket is a great town on the rebound so its probably for the best.

Not doubting the hyperbole, just giving you warning that its easy for the necessary repairs to snowball. Not going to lie, I enjoyed these incredible facilities growing up in Exeter, but I didn't see much benefit from a middle school auditorium that added millions just to show kids giving a rendition of Bye Bye Birdie.

Exeter was so crowded we had one way traffic in the hallways like herding cattle. This was 20 years ago now, but I can't imagine that being allowed today. Is Newmarket that crowded?


Much of the school dates back to 1925. The capacity of the school is 400 students. Currently there about 450 students and that number is projected to rise. Besides the gym locker rooms, there are a total of SIX toilets for girls and SEVEN for boys. Several classrooms do not meet Department of Education minimum square footage requirements. Storage is extremely limited for supplies. It's a mess. Two years ago, the town voted for and spent $1.6M to buy land across the street for a new facility, but now residents don't want to pay for the facility.

I'm willing to pay the extra $4.75 per $1000 of my property value to build a new school. If 60% of the town agreed with me, it would happen. As it stands, only 49.5% of the town does. Honestly, all I think it will take is a 20% financial commitment from the state to get voters to change their tune. For the 50 years prior to 2009, the State of New Hampshire covered 30% of all new school construction costs. So, only 70% of those shiny new facilities you enjoyed in Exeter were paid for by the residents of Exeter, Brentwood, Kensington, East Kingston, Stratham and Newfields. The Governor says she wants to bring school construction aide back, but I don't see that happening in the current election cycle.
 

VTKilarney

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I'm afraid that demographics are not going to be conducive to new school building. As the population gets older, it's going to be harder and harder to get a bond through. There is a town near me that is having a real problem with that issue. The town had two very good employers that are no longer around. But their legacy is a very large population of pensioners (many with very generous pensions) who don't give a rat's ass if the town withers while they collect their pension. They got the benefit of a very nice town but they are happy to see its infrastructure crumble - so long as their taxes don't go up one red cent. And of course they wonder why the burglaries and other problems are on the rise...
 

deadheadskier

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Age isn't the issue in this town. Median age is 33. (State average is 41) 73% of the population in town is younger than 45. Only 8.4% of the residents are seniors over the age of 65. Very young town.
 

xwhaler

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How many folks living in Newmarket are college students or those renting right after college? Even if they are establishing Newmarket as their primary residence I wonder how invested they are in the long term of the town? Do they come out to vote and/or really care about whether a school gets built?

I could be way wrong but my perception of Newmarket is that it is largely the younger crowd you mentioned using it as a base to get to UNH. I also know know some older people who have downsized from other towns/bigger homes and moved into the new mill development downtown.
They have done some very nice things with the downtown in the last 5-10 or so yrs to be sure.
 

4aprice

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I second this, at Gore, Whiteface , Platty Hunter , Windahm , Bell, see I not being picky lol.

You will need to get a handle on who might be interested in this GTG. Nick & co. would be coming from the Boston area and many others from the NYC area. Whiteface would be the most remote, Windham and Hunter probably the closest and easiest. Plattekill the most fun but, also pretty remote for people coming from the eastern reaches of NE. (heck it's pretty remote from NNJ).

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ
 

deadheadskier

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Quite a few. Of the 10K residents in town, roughly 3200 voted on the new school issue. It's still very much a college town, but the demographics seem to be shifting a bit. Lots of young professionals have moved into the mills. If they choose to stay and raise families in single family homes in town, that could swing the pendulum some more on school support.
 

St. Bear

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You will need to get a handle on who might be interested in this GTG. Nick & co. would be coming from the Boston area and many others from the NYC area. Whiteface would be the most remote, Windham and Hunter probably the closest and easiest. Plattekill the most fun but, also pretty remote for people coming from the eastern reaches of NE. (heck it's pretty remote from NNJ).

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ

I would vote for Lake Placid. Yes, it the furthest, but if we're going to go through the effort, we might as well do it right. Kind of like having Sugarloaf for the AZ Summit. It gives people a destination that they might not otherwise get to.
 

Warp Daddy

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Love to have you NE and Middle Atlantic skiers come up here and play in the Daks , Gore and Whiteface are superb and Lake George and Lake Placid are both fun spots for off hill stuff .
 

Savemeasammy

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Both Whiteface and Gore appeal to me, and both are a bit outside of day trip range. A GTG at either for an overnight or 2 might be something I could do.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

4aprice

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You cant plan on going to Whiteface, you have to let Whiteface tell you when to come. Trust me on this.

My experience is, even then you are taking a chance. Never been there with good conditions. Wife will never go back. Impressive mountain though and I'm sure a blast under good conditions.

I could go for a AZ/Harvey Road weekend at Magic then Plattekill with an over night in the Albany Area.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ
 

AdironRider

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As much of a Whiteface homer that I was, and still am to some extent, Benedict is right here.

It can be a bit skied off if they haven't seen anything for a few weeks. One nice thing though is they don't get nearly the freeze thaw cycles that the rest of the NE deals with.
 
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