Incumbent battles 4 for board seats

By ASHLEY SMITH, Telegraph Staff

Published: Sunday, Mar. 11, 2007

HUDSON – Five people are competing for two spots on the Hudson Board of Selectmen this year. ncumbent Rick Maddox is seeking re-election; board member Kathleen MacLean is not.

Issues include:

• A proposal to build a mixed-use development called Riverplace with more than 2 million square feet of retail space at Green Meadow Golf Club. Plans include an open-air shopping, dining and entertainment plaza; a hotel and conference center; an office park; 600 apartments or condos; an outdoor amphitheater; a riverwalk; and big-box retailers such as Barnes and Noble.

• The general pace of development in Hudson. Smaller projects are believed to be “piggybacking” off Riverplace, including a 20-store strip under construction on Lowell Road and a slightly larger strip mall in the works for the site across the street from Green Meadow. n A petitioned warrant article to hire two new police officers. Supporters say the town doesn’t have enough police coverage at night and crime has skyrocketed since 2001 – the last time a police officer was added to the force. Opponents agree with the selectmen’s decision not to support the proposal this year in favor of priorities such as hiring a new police dispatcher and two new firefighters.

• A $4 million bond to build a new library in the north end of town, on Derry Road, that would be about three times the size of the existing Hills Memorial Library.

Here are the comments from the candidates on these issues:

1. Why are you running?

TED LUSZEY: I believe that the next few years are really going to be a turning point for the town of Hudson. So for me, it’s Riverplace, the development of the southern section . . . the economic development of Hudson. We’ve lost tons and tons of what I consider good paying jobs . . . manufacturing and high-tech types of jobs.

RAY ROWELL: To give the people a chance to voice their opinion on different items in town – basically, an open dialogue between the selectmen and the citizens.

DOUG ROBINSON: It’s very important that we have a government that is made up of individual thinkers who have the ability to create vision for the town of Hudson. . . . I believe I can bring a respectful and supportive way of managing the town without micromanaging the department heads.

RICK MADDOX: Public service. I know it sounds kind of old fashioned, but I’ve lived here for 19 years. I feel I should be able to give some of that back. I believe I have the talent and the skills to assist my community.

NORMAND MARTIN: I would like to see long-range plans put in place so that the town doesn’t have to keep incurring burdens to the taxpayers, as far as raising the tax rate.

2. Green Meadow is on everyone’s minds. What are your thoughts on this potential development and the impacts it will have on Hudson?
LUSZEY: We know that there will be some kind of impact with fire and police coverage. . . . If this one doesn’t go through, I would not like to see a pure residential type of development going there. . . . It would have a tremendous drain on the fiscal resources of the town.

ROWELL: Is it a good thing for Hudson? In my opinion, no. It’s going to be a real huge traffic impact for the town of Hudson. I think it’s going to be a big impact on the fire department. It’s going to be an impact on our police. It’s going to be like a mini Nashua. We’re going to see 12 traffic lights going down Lowell Road, and it’s just going to be a real congestion.

ROBINSON: The biggest impact with Riverplace in my opinion will be the traffic, and we as a town must do everything we can to plan the traffic flow and mitigate the consequences . . . such as pollution, congestion and the aggravation of sitting in traffic all day.

MADDOX: It is my intention to do what we’ve done for the last nine years on the planning board . . . respect the landowner’s rights, address the concerns of the abutters and look at the project for its pros and cons for the town as a whole.

MARTIN: I cannot be for or against this because of my role on the ZBA. . . . It will put a lot of impacts in town, but I feel that we have adequate people on the planning board and the zoning board and the conservation commission that will address these issues with the developer.

3. Do you think the general pace of development and growth in Hudson is manageable at this point?
LUSZEY: If you take Green Meadow out of it, absolutely. . . . I would say that we do need to do a better job in terms of looking out into the future. . . . We cannot be reactive. . . . The thing that needs to be addressed is the traffic.

ROWELL: To be honest with you, it’s out of control. . . . I think we’ve got to think about . . . putting a moratorium on development, especially retail.

ROBINSON: The selectmen have the power to elect people to boards who think like they do. So if you have folks on the board of selectmen right now who are pro-growth, pro-development, then they’re going to elect people to the boards in town that are pro-growth, pro-development. . . . You need a homogenous set of values.

MADDOX: Having spent the last nine years on the planning board, I don’t think this year – other than Green Meadow – is any different than most years. . . . Development is happening in Hudson because Hudson is a great place to live and have a business.

MARTIN: There’s more development in the residential end that I can see versus the business end. Although there’s a small strip mall popping up here, there’s a little cafe down the street by my house that just popped up. So, if we had a little bit more on the industry side, light industry, restaurants, stuff like that, that help offset the tax base . . . it’s manageable.

4. Do you support the petitioned warrant article to hire two new police officers?
LUSZEY: No. . . . From a budget person’s perspective . . . we’re talking about the means of single taxpayer having to support both the town and the school . . . and it’s a pretty big chunk of money . . . so, when you get down and talk about everyone’s priorities, you really do have to figure out what are the key needs. . . . We can talk about more police and more fire next year and the year after.

ROWELL: I would support two police officers, but if it’s not a recommendation at this time with our current police chief . . . we do need extra personnel, but if the chief said we need extra dispatchers . . . I don’t think we need to reinvent the wheel.

ROBINSON: Absolutely. Heck, yes. One hundred percent yes. I salute those who petitioned the warrant article.

MADDOX: No. And the reason being is the selectmen looked at all the departments and tried to put forward on the ballot what we thought was obtainable from the citizens, keeping in mind the tax rate. So, absolutely, the petition warrant article is on there, and if people feel that they need or want to add additional police officers, it is there.

MARTIN: I support that warrant article for several reasons. We have a town of 24,000 people, approximately. . . . There’s no safety for the police department on the overnight shift and sometimes even during the second shift. . . . It’s not about spending. It’s about public safety.

5. Do you support plans to build a new library on Derry Road?
LUSZEY: Yes. . . . I did vote for this particular library . . . but . . . we’re building a traditional library. Kids today are much more comfortable with listening to the MP3 players with e-book-type stuff on them, they’re very adept at using the Internet to find information, they much prefer to be IM-ing and using the cell phones. And I’m not sure if that’s somewhere where we didn’t take a real hard look.

ROWELL: This year, I did support the library bond. The simple reason is that we do need a library. . . . The current library is not large enough.

ROBINSON: Absolutely. Yes I do. . . . The present library does not have the ability to host learning activities for young children, as well as host meetings and seminars for adults. The new library will offer that.

MADDOX: The board of selectmen voted to support the library.

MARTIN: The town does need a library. . . . Is it the right amount of money o spend? Well, you have to spend a little money to get what you need. And I think that a new library will be adequate for this town for the next 50 years.