[0:01] - For this week's report, river

[0:06] Run, river stabilization project underway

[0:11] Selectboard here is paid parking proposal.

[0:16] Exeter TV receives CPR training

[0:21] updates from SAU 16 on school

[0:23] renovations and Exeter Mark.

[0:27] 10 years without the great

[0:28] Dam Forter tv.

[0:33] I am Gabriel Perez. I am lost in the woods.

[0:36] And this is the Exeter biweekly report. Let us get started.

[0:59] Good afternoon Exeter.

[1:00] Thanks for tuning into the show today.

[1:02] If you haven't done so already, hit the subscribe button

[1:05] and like this video to help spread the word about the show

[1:07] and all things Exeter.

[1:09] You can also head over to the town website to subscribe

[1:11] to the town's email newsletter.

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[1:14] send straight into your inbox.

[1:17] For our first segment, we were invited

[1:19] to the River Run community to learn more about the efforts

[1:21] to stabilize 550 feet

[1:23] of severely eroding shoreline along the Exeter River in the

[1:27] river run community off of Linden Street.

[1:29] There is an impending unfortunate circumstance.

[1:31] In 2009, the New Hampshire Department

[1:34] of Environmental Services

[1:35] or DES, conducted a geomorphic assessment

[1:38] of the Exeter River that runs through the borders

[1:41] of the community regarding severe storm issues.

[1:44] They found several areas were documented

[1:46] for stormwater runoff and bank erosion concerns.

[1:49] This erosion becomes a long-term issue when the dirt

[1:52] beneath the soil isn't strong enough

[1:53] to resist high flooding areas as they weaken over time.

[1:57] With trees rooted on the inside, they run the risk

[1:59] of being pulled down by gravity, collapsing everything

[2:02] above it in order to prevent another collapse.

[2:05] N-H-D-E-S gave an emergency operation permit

[2:08] to create a temporary rip wrap stones along the shoreline.

[2:12] This was a short-term solution as DES instructed them

[2:16] that they must create something long-term

[2:18] to prevent further erosion.

[2:20] Said plan must include a living shoreline.

[2:22] Since then, the Rockingham County Conservation District has

[2:25] worked diligently alongside cobblestone properties

[2:29] to put a plan into place that prevents the erosion,

[2:31] creating a living wall of flood resilient plants

[2:34] and saving people's homes.

[2:35] That plan starts right here.

[2:55] Tracy Deon, the senior project manager

[2:58] for the Rockingham County Conservation

[3:00] District, explains more

[3:01] - When you get a lot of rain.

[3:03] It saturates roots

[3:05] and the river had already eroded some of the bank.

[3:08] So you put the combination of that

[3:10] and perhaps a little wind together

[3:12] and a high, you know, water flow.

[3:14] And you will see things like an eroding bank happen

[3:17] and you will see trees pull down pieces of that bank.

[3:21] And this particular site is very sensitive

[3:24] because the homes are located in very close

[3:28] proximity to that bank.

[3:29] And so it was a very much of a concern for everyone.

[3:33] On a normal river bank, you should have native plants,

[3:36] native river plants, and if you look across the river,

[3:38] that's the floodplain

[3:40] and that's kind of the plants that should be growing air.

[3:42] So notice how much higher we are in elevation from the fill.

[3:45] So we're gonna try and include native plants that are able

[3:50] to deal with water flows as they rise and fall, right?

[3:53] So they have to have the ability to adapt to those kinds

[3:57] of conditions below

[3:58] - The line where the plants will be placed

[3:59] as a giant metal wall, creating a barrier

[4:01] between the soil and the river.

[4:03] - Those are called pilings.

[4:05] So those were needed because the slope was so steep there

[4:10] and there's no ability to angle that slope inland

[4:13] because the housing structures are located right there.

[4:16] So in a, in a normal stabilization,

[4:18] you might not need those pilings,

[4:20] but we needed something

[4:21] to stabilize the banks without cutting in anymore.

[4:24] 'cause there's nowhere to go. Those are there in

[4:26] place that's gonna hold it.

[4:27] But the bank that's gonna be developed

[4:30] with a geotechnical fabric called Somax

[4:34] and Pax, those are gonna be planted with native plants

[4:37] and hydro seeded so that the plants are actually helping

[4:40] to hold the bank as well.

[4:41] And you really want those plants to stay there

[4:43] to hold that bank in place.

[4:45] And you don't want mowing, you don't want grass.

[4:49] So that's, that's the intent of it.

[4:50] And I think the hope is, you know,

[4:53] 50, 75 years we're looking at,

[4:55] but we're also talking climate changes, so it's really hard

[4:58] to tell, but I think those pilings are pretty

[5:00] secure for a long time.

[5:02] - If you'd like to keep up with the River Run Restoration

[5:04] Project and what steps are next,

[5:06] you can visit the Rockingham County Conservation District's

[5:09] website@rockinghamccd.org slash Exeter River run.

[5:17] The select board heard important updates on the status

[5:19] of the closed Park Street Bridge, a paid parking proposal,

[5:22] and more at their latest meeting.

[5:24] Will Tapley breaks it down in our meeting minute series.

[5:32] - This is your meeting minute

[5:34] for the September 14th, 2026 select board meeting.

[5:38] Near the beginning of the meeting,

[5:39] public Works director Steven Cronin,

[5:41] gave an update on the completion

[5:42] of the roundabout at the intersection

[5:44] of Front Linden and Pine Street.

[5:46] - All in all, I think the project went pretty well.

[5:50] I think the detour was a a, a big factor in helping us to,

[5:54] to get that project completed in a timely manner.

[5:59] You know, we weren't able to get it open

[6:00] before the start of school unfortunately,

[6:02] but we were able to do so before the election

[6:05] and I, you know, I think it certainly helped

[6:07] that intersection a great deal.

[6:10] Who was the contractor on this project? Michelle Blazer on.

[6:15] They were so good at interacting with our public.

[6:17] Yeah, yeah, they just did a fantastic job.

[6:21] Thank you so much for bringing them on board to do that

[6:24] and I'm so pleased with the result.

[6:28] - The next item on the agenda was an update on Park Street

[6:30] Bridge, which has been closed since February of last year.

[6:34] DPW Director Stephen Cronin

[6:36] provided a proposal from the engineering consulting group,

[6:38] Wright Pierce, that looks to prepare conceptual alternatives

[6:42] and opinions of costs for a future project to remove,

[6:45] rehabilitate, or replace the Park Street Bridge.

[6:48] - This is really a desktop level exercise where they sort

[6:51] of look at bridge, you know, rehabilitation

[6:55] of the existing bridge removal replacement

[6:58] and what the property impacts would be from, from any

[7:00] of those types of projects.

[7:01] - And I, I would recommend that we proceed with the $10,000.

[7:05] We will find the funding in the budget

[7:07] and for the end of the fiscal year.

[7:09] And the good news is, is this work can be completed within

[7:12] four weeks of authorization to proceed.

[7:15] So again, we should have, you know, answers by Columbus Day,

[7:18] - The motion awarding the proposal

[7:20] to Wright Pierce was passed unanimously.

[7:22] Next town planner Dave Sharples presented a proposal

[7:25] for a paid parking pilot program in downtown Exeter.

[7:28] In 2024, a consultant group named Stantec was hired

[7:32] by the town to conduct a study concerning downtown traffic,

[7:36] parking and pedestrian flow analysis.

[7:39] They provided a range of options to the board,

[7:41] including an option for paid parking.

[7:44] Recently, an internal group of qualified town employees was

[7:47] created to evaluate the option

[7:49] of paid parking in downtown Exeter.

[7:51] The group ultimately decided to move forward

[7:53] with the recommendation of paid parking to the select board.

[7:55] - We collectively agreed with the recommendation by Stantec

[8:00] to implement paid parking

[8:04] because the main goal, the purpose was,

[8:07] and the study identified that there was

[8:11] a parking issue along Water Street in the municipal lot

[8:15] here, 85% utilization rate plus to a hundred percent.

[8:20] So how do we manage ti, you know,

[8:21] manage the time parking out there or enforce it

[8:24] and encourage turnover for the businesses and reduce traffic

[8:27] because people were circling

[8:28] around looking for a parking spot.

[8:30] Well, paid parking is the solution that we recommended,

[8:33] and the goal is not to generate additional revenue,

[8:36] it's just to generate revenue to offset the cost

[8:40] of the enforcement and the program.

[8:42] To me, this is so important for the health of our downtown.

[8:47] You'll see in there if you read the report,

[8:50] you'll see in their analysis that so many spots

[8:54] along Water Street are taken up

[8:58] by a single individual for the entire workday.

[9:02] And there are no places for people that want to just visit

[9:06] for an hour or two or 15 minutes to park.

[9:09] - The board decided they would move forward withholding

[9:12] three public hearings on the paid parking pilot program

[9:15] before making a formal decision on whether

[9:17] or not to implement the pilot program.

[9:19] After that town manager Paul Cohen, presented a request

[9:22] to amend the town's winter parking ban.

[9:25] The parking ban originally states

[9:26] that all street parking is banned from December 1st

[9:29] to March 15th with an Exeter,

[9:31] the amendment will change this permanent ban

[9:34] to a temporary on-call ban.

[9:36] When there is incoming inclement weather,

[9:38] the public will be notified

[9:40] through the Town Emergency Alert system

[9:41] and other modes of communication.

[9:43] - And I think the simple rule is

[9:45] that even without the absence of notification,

[9:48] if it's snowing significantly, catch a car off the road.

[9:51] But the problem is over that 150, you know, five day period,

[9:55] there's probably, you know, you could probably count

[9:57] with two hands how many days you really

[9:59] need to be off the road.

[10:00] - The board unanimously passed the motion

[10:02] to hold three public hearings about this amendment

[10:04] to the winter parking ban.

[10:06] The next select board meeting will be on September 28th.

[10:09] See you there.

[10:11] - The Exeter Fire Department works

[10:13] to provide community-based CPR

[10:14] and a ED programs

[10:16] to give local citizens the lifesaving skills they may need

[10:19] in a medical emergency.

[10:20] To learn more about this effort,

[10:22] exert v staff signed themselves up for the training

[10:24] and brought along our cameras.

[10:27] Did you know Exeter has a program that could save lives?

[10:30] It's all right if you didn't because neither did we.

[10:33] The Exeter Fire Department presents monthly CPR

[10:36] and a ED training classes in the chance you might be present

[10:39] during a catastrophic event such as a heart attack

[10:42] or cardiac arrest.

[10:44] Since we didn't know about it, we decided

[10:46] to send the Exeter TV team to take a class

[10:48] with Deputy Chief Jason Fritz in order to learn safe

[10:51] and effective methods of CPR

[10:53] that could help save lives in the future.

[10:55] - We entered the fire department, they brought us

[10:58] to the training room

[11:00] and there were a couple people there

[11:02] to train us from the fire department. We

[11:03] - Watched a couple videos, you went over basic

[11:08] CPR stuff and like how to approach the situation,

[11:13] read the room, what equipment you might need. Well,

[11:16] - A good trick is to pump to the tune

[11:18] of staying alive by the bees. Do you

[11:20] - Know that song?

[11:21] Yes. Yes I do. I love that song.

[11:23] First I was afraid I was Petrified

[11:30] - Data Live.

[11:31] - The three hour class covered all the standard techniques

[11:34] needed for an emergency level situation

[11:36] where CPR is important to apply.

[11:39] The reason the town of Exeter is able

[11:40] to give these lessons out so frequently is due

[11:43] to the town's heart safe community status.

[11:46] Unsure of what being heart safe means.

[11:48] Fire Chief Pison as you covered,

[11:50] - It just means that we have met certain benchmarks

[11:53] and requirements that are recognized through the state

[11:55] of New Hampshire to be a community

[11:59] that can provide classes.

[12:02] AEDs, if you were to call 9 1 1 right now, they would know

[12:06] where our public use AEDs are.

[12:08] We're outside of 20 Court Street.

[12:09] They said, I have a cardiac arrest taking place.

[12:12] They would instruct you the closest public use.

[12:15] A ED is in the lobby of the public safety complex.

[12:18] Come in, you grab the a ED early intervention,

[12:22] that community involvement with your local fire departments,

[12:25] it could be either Red Cross,

[12:26] the American Heart Association,

[12:28] that in community involvement

[12:29] and dedication to a program really does

[12:31] pay off and it saves lives.

[12:34] - Videos can only get you so far.

[12:36] The real task is to try it in person.

[12:38] - When you first start out, it's a little awkward

[12:41] because it's okay.

[12:42] Someone's gonna be like the main person

[12:43] who actually does the CPY, the most important part.

[12:46] And you're like, am I good enough to do sleep yard?

[12:49] Like, yeah, I watched these videos

[12:51] and I practiced a little bit,

[12:53] but am I actually good enough to like lead,

[12:55] like take these people, ask them to like help me

[12:58] and do it correctly?

[13:01] And you kind of just, if if you're in this situation,

[13:02] you have to say yes because I have to,

[13:04] I should have to do it.

[13:06] - Oh my gosh, Annie just collapsed. Please don. Okay.

[13:10] It looks pretty safe. Okay. She's a quadruple PT though.

[13:14] Are you doing okay? Are you all right?

[13:18] Are you gonna, okay.

[13:21] All right, I'm gonna, you call 9 1 1

[13:24] and you get the a ED me?

[13:26] Yes, please. Okay. It's right here.

[13:28] - It, it really helped to have the instructor

[13:31] and then an actual, like paramedic there telling us,

[13:35] you know, how it is in reality

[13:37] when you're actually on a scene.

[13:39] So we get a really, it's a, a very interesting perspective

[13:43] and a very helpful perspective to have someone who does this

[13:47] for their day job to teach you how

[13:49] to do it in an emergency situation. It's,

[13:52] - It's a very contained environment

[13:54] where you can't really like critically fail.

[13:55] Like even like working through the communication,

[13:58] the process itself, all of that.

[13:59] You just have to like practice and do it

[14:02] and you'll make a little mistakes,

[14:03] but it's like there's nothing end

[14:04] of the world and, and you're fine.

[14:06] - I have been certified twice before, but it's been a while.

[14:11] And personally I forgot how you were supposed

[14:14] to do the CPR for an infant.

[14:17] I thought so with, with choking, you're supposed

[14:20] to put them on your arm and, and, and do the back blows.

[14:24] I thought that's how you're supposed to do CPR as well,

[14:28] but you're supposed to put 'em on a flat surface

[14:30] so you can really get a good compression.

[14:32] I completely forgot about that.

[14:33] And if I was in a situation where I needed to do CPR

[14:36] and infant, I probably would've done it wrong.

[14:38] So it's pretty invaluable that I got that today.

[14:41] - For some, a good reaction time is the difference

[14:44] between life and death.

[14:45] - I was eating breakfast with my grandma.

[14:48] I must have been an early teenager.

[14:52] We're laughing and then I was like, oh, like,

[14:56] you know when you're choking right away

[14:58] because you're choking.

[15:00] I didn't know what to do and I was like going

[15:03] around like side to side and my grandma, she is not panicked

[15:06] or freaking out at all.

[15:08] It's like, come over here and sit still.

[15:10] And I was like, huh. And she gets behind me

[15:12] and she's like, stop, stop.

[15:13] And I was like freaking out.

[15:15] And she's like, he does the thing.

[15:16] And then the bacon, that process ended

[15:21] and I took the pancakes to go.

[15:24] I am thankful every day for

[15:29] what my grandma does and what she did for me that day.

[15:32] She's a, she's always been a nurse

[15:35] and a, a person who just generally helps people

[15:38] and her being able to know the Hyle maneuver,

[15:41] no CBR just on hand, it saved my life

[15:44] and I know I'm thankful for that.

[15:46] I took a class in 2017 be because of what happened then.

[15:50] And we were just trying to like, you know,

[15:53] like you really feel the, the weight

[15:55] of it when you're there, especially if you're the person

[15:58] and like you just feel so grateful

[16:00] that somebody else was there

[16:02] to be able to help you, you person.

[16:03] And you want to be able to help people

[16:06] and you wanna learn a new thing and you're out

[16:09] and about every day and you want to be prepared

[16:12] and feel like you know what you're doing

[16:14] and you want to be a benefit to society even just generally,

[16:17] then it's good to, to learn this stuff

[16:19] and pick up on it so that you might be able

[16:21] to help somebody else someday.

[16:23] Like my grandma helped me.

[16:25] - This course comes once a month

[16:26] through the Exeter Fire Department.

[16:28] If you're interested in checking it out

[16:30] and learning CPR r you can visit the town

[16:33] website@exeternh.gov slash fire

[16:37] School is back in session

[16:39] and that means that Blue Hawk Media 1616 series is back

[16:42] as well in the latest edition.

[16:44] Superintendent Chris Andris gives updates on

[16:47] recent school renovations.

[16:48] - Good morning. SAU 16.

[16:50] This is superintendent of schools, Chris Andris

[16:52] and here I am for the first installment of 60

[16:55] and 16 in 2026

[16:57] and we're back at Strata Memorial School

[16:59] where we started last year

[17:01] to talk about the renovation projects.

[17:03] And I'm here with Principal Lucas

[17:04] and two amazing fifth grade students

[17:05] that are gonna talk about all the amazing changes

[17:07] that have happened over the last 18 months.

[17:09] Ms. Lucas,

[17:11] - Welcome back.

[17:12] SAU 16 community. We are so glad you're here.

[17:14] I have Caroline Christopher right here, one

[17:16] of our amazing fifth graders,

[17:18] and I have Winn Gregor, also an amazing fifth grader

[17:20] that are gonna take you on a tour of the Reno renovations.

[17:23] And we are so excited you're back. We

[17:24] - Wanted the entrance of the school

[17:25] to be inviting and welcoming.

[17:27] We also wanted it to match the

[17:29] aesthetic of the rest of the school.

[17:30] - One of the very important features

[17:32] of the renovation project was a more

[17:33] secure and safe entrance.

[17:34] So you'll see behind me, we now have an extended vestibule

[17:38] with two checkpoints

[17:39] before any of our visitors enter the building,

[17:41] but we've also updated the full main office

[17:43] to include an area for our visitors to sit and hang out

[17:46] and spend time with us until they're actually accompanied

[17:49] or escorted to where they need to be.

[17:51] And further behind me are all the new office space

[17:54] and conference space that we desperately needed.

[17:57] - This is the new nurse's office.

[17:59] It has many new features, like there's two new bathrooms

[18:03] and there's more space for two new beds.

[18:05] There's also room for showers.

[18:08] - We are super excited to share the new

[18:10] special ed suites with everyone.

[18:12] Prior to this year, our admin assistant was in the main

[18:15] office and she had a very small office that she shared.

[18:18] And then Mrs. Thompson, who is our director

[18:20] of special education, had an office

[18:22] that didn't even fit a conference table.

[18:23] And so now we have this beautiful new space that allows all

[18:27] of our families to have some privacy

[18:29] and to have really good critical conversations

[18:31] and for teams to meet both in the conference room

[18:33] but also out here in the office area.

[18:35] - These are the new classrooms.

[18:36] There was four and all two our first students

[18:40] and the other is for the health office.

[18:43] Upstairs we have AC

[18:45] and we have sprinklers outlets

[18:48] and new dimple motion sensor lights.

[18:50] This is the new cap, it's a third bigger

[18:53] and now PE can be in here without having

[18:56] to worry about space and can play whatever games they want.

[18:59] In here in the boiler room,

[19:00] we have three high efficiency boilers

[19:02] that look like cyber truck made a boiler rather than the

[19:06] 38-year-old boilers we had before.

[19:08] And along with that, we've also upgraded

[19:10] the entire HVAC system.

[19:13] - Thanks so much win.

[19:14] Before we close out and give the mic back to Dr.

[19:16] Anderski, I did wanna say thank you so much

[19:18] to Cino Construction

[19:19] and Mark Job, our project manager

[19:20] for their outstanding partnership and work

[19:22] and the timeline that they did this in.

[19:24] Thank you again so much. Thank you. SAU 16.

[19:26] - As you can see, there's been a lot

[19:28] of work done over the summer

[19:29] to get Strata Memorial School where it's at today.

[19:32] Thank you again to everyone that that's been involved

[19:34] and SAU 16.

[19:35] We'll see you in a couple weeks.

[19:37] - For our last segment, Bob Acki speaks

[19:39] to several people involved

[19:41] with the Great Dam removal project in 2016.

[19:43] As the town marked 10 years without the historic

[19:46] structure in our downtown

[19:49] - 10 years ago, the Exeter River looked very different.

[19:53] For centuries, a dam had stood in the heart of downtown,

[19:58] a source for power, part of the town's history,

[20:01] and eventually the center of a debate over what the future

[20:04] of the river would look like.

[20:07] - The dam had always been there,

[20:08] so it was kind of a fixture.

[20:11] - The dam had been issued a letter

[20:12] of deficiency from New Hampshire's Dam Bureau

[20:15] and the town needed

[20:16] to decide whether they would make significant modifications

[20:20] to the dam or if it could be removed.

[20:23] There was much to be evaluated

[20:25] as town engineer Paul Velo explains,

[20:28] - And with dam removal there, there's many different reasons

[20:33] that people are for against dams.

[20:37] Financial, long-term maintenance, historical

[20:43] what, what's happening with flooding, water quality,

[20:46] water supply, water withdrawals,

[20:49] and also what happens to the impoundment plus

[20:52] recreational activities.

[20:55] - The town went through a long process of studies, meetings,

[20:58] reports and questions.

[21:01] Eventually a citizen's petition put forward the question

[21:04] to remove the dam.

[21:06] And in 2014, residents voted at town meeting

[21:09] to move forward with dam removal.

[21:12] In July of 2016, water was drained and diverted

[21:17] and the dam was slowly taken apart piece by piece.

[21:41] 10 years later, it's as if the falls

[21:43] below Great Bridge have always been there.

[21:48] - I think of this particular project as being

[21:51] a tremendous success to be honest with you.

[21:55] The the changes that we predicted ha have happened,

[22:00] all of the positive changes we've witnessed

[22:03] and we have data that bears out all the,

[22:06] all the benefits of the project.

[22:09] Some of the concerns that we were,

[22:11] we were worried about some specific locations upstream at,

[22:14] at places in the river we refer to as Meander Bend

[22:17] that we thought, well maybe if the river's gonna respond

[22:20] and react and erode this, these are the areas

[22:24] that would be most likely to exhibit that type

[22:26] of adverse impact.

[22:28] And we have, we never saw any really any of that.

[22:32] - We've got all new growth over where the land areas are

[22:36] and yes, it, it has been stable.

[22:41] There has been no scour.

[22:44] One of our main concerns was if

[22:48] river flows eventually moved the bottom of the river,

[22:52] it would also lower the elevation that up in the impoundment

[22:56] there was considerable effort to do a riffle press, which is

[23:01] huge boulders that are like six foot deep

[23:04] underneath the river in an arch shape so that

[23:08] if there was any scour happening, that it would not go

[23:11] below those levels and we can maintain the top impounded.

[23:17] - The dam was really part of extra's history.

[23:20] There's no question about that.

[23:22] It was one of the reasons why the settlement worked

[23:25] so well here because we had that kind of, you know,

[23:28] water power that was needed back in the 16, 17 hundreds.

[23:32] Things move on

[23:33] and I think all told the fact

[23:37] that we have a much cleaner, much freer flowing river.

[23:42] The return of the river herring has been astounding.

[23:48] - In the early two thousands,

[23:49] fish counts regularly showed under a hundred herring making

[23:53] it up over the Great Dam.

[23:55] While the first few years post dam removal showed very few

[23:58] fish numbers are returning.

[24:00] Herring searched up to over 167,000 in 2021.

[24:06] Estimates for 2026 show approximately 330,000 fish.

[24:12] - Since we've removed this dam,

[24:13] that fish run has rebounded into the tens

[24:16] and hundreds of thousands of fish.

[24:18] So that's, you know, very important not just

[24:22] for this Exeter River,

[24:23] but remember this Exeter Squams Skit River is a major

[24:26] tributary to the Great Bay, major tributary

[24:29] to the Gulf of Maine.

[24:31] And those awis are really important, not just

[24:33] to the ecosystem of this river, but to to the entire system.

[24:37] Our, our whole coastal area of New Hampshire

[24:45] - Exeter's experience

[24:46] with the great dam removal process is proving useful not

[24:49] only with projects in town

[24:51] but in other communities as well

[24:53] as they evaluate the future of their rivers.

[24:57] - It demonstrated a project where

[25:01] a high visibility project in a community that had a lot

[25:05] of questions and doubts

[25:07] and the fact that it's turned out better.

[25:10] I think all of the feedback we've had is that people,

[25:13] even folks who were questioning the decision to remove it,

[25:15] have been pleased with the results.

[25:18] So other communities have looked to exit

[25:22] or to learn from that experience.

[25:25] - Do a little bit of shout out to Mimi Becker

[25:29] and also de Lizelle from New Hampshire DES

[25:33] that had many public meetings asking the citizens

[25:37] what should we look at?

[25:39] And going through the feasibility study, we've heard from

[25:44] our, our, our NOA folks that

[25:48] Exeter's feasibility study for the Great Dam has been

[25:52] used throughout the country as a model.

[25:56] The town of dorm was also looking at our feasibility study

[25:59] and, and and trying to figure out what they needed to do

[26:03] for, to come up with answers.

[26:05] - Residents in Durham recently voted in 2022 to move forward

[26:09] with the removal of the Mill Pond dam.

[26:11] Continuing a trend

[26:13] of dam removals across communities in the Seacoast

[26:17] back in Exeter, the town is applying these lessons on

[26:20] yet another dam removal just a few miles up river.

[26:23] The Pickpocket Dam was also issued a letter of deficiency

[26:27] and the town has decided to move forward with removal

[26:30] as opposed to modifications.

[26:32] In August of this year,

[26:33] the town reached the 60% design stage

[26:36] and will soon enter the final design stage

[26:38] and permitting process in 2027.

[26:42] This will allow for the eventual removal

[26:44] and restoration work to be completed in the summer

[26:47] and fall of 2028.

[26:49] The town is also moving forward with studies related

[26:51] to the dam at the Exeter Reservoir off of Portsmouth Avenue.

[26:56] Residents in Exeter and surrounding areas are once again

[26:58] faced with the same questions and unknowns as before.

[27:02] - What we're hearing on the pickpocket,

[27:05] those concerns are very similar.

[27:07] They're very similar to some of the concerns

[27:08] that were expressed here, similar

[27:11] to concerns we've heard in in Durham and Dover

[27:14] and we've worked all over the place.

[27:16] And so the concerns are very similar

[27:18] and oftentimes people have the perception

[27:22] that the dam is good for the river

[27:24] and that removing it is going to harm the river.

[27:27] And what we've learned over decades is

[27:31] that is not, that's not the case.

[27:33] That returning the river to a free flowing state

[27:37] is a really powerful way of restoring, you know,

[27:41] restoring the environment

[27:43] - Well The Great Dam was a perfect example

[27:46] of those same type of fears and now they can go

[27:51] and see for themselves, take a look at

[27:53] what happened at the Exeter Great Dam Project

[27:57] and know that initially it's going to look a little funky

[28:01] and when within a couple of months

[28:04] it'll have a whole new feel to it.

[28:07] - With memories of the dam fading

[28:09] and new generations growing up without the dam those

[28:12] involved in the process now reflect back at the legacy this

[28:16] project leaves behind.

[28:17] - And it's hard to imagine it's been 10 years.

[28:20] Time flies by, especially when you're getting a little on

[28:23] the elderly side.

[28:24] I think people will probably not remember the dam as much

[28:28] as they will see what the river looks like.

[28:30] Now the important thing is we wanna,

[28:34] we wanna ensure that our waterways, our rivers,

[28:38] our streams are, are, you know,

[28:41] of good quality and not polluted.

[28:43] I think as a nation we've come a long way in 50 years.

[28:48] I, I think there's a better understanding

[28:51] as a whole from everyone about how important

[28:57] natural re our natural resources are.

[29:00] - I'm proud to be part of both of those.

[29:04] My approach through both of the dam projects

[29:09] was to find facts, find options,

[29:14] find a way to solve the deficiencies that was noted

[29:18] by the dam bureau and keep searching for the facts

[29:22] or the information that you can best explain

[29:26] what is going on and then present that

[29:31] and watch where it goes from there.

[29:34] I, I don't have all the answers. Never did.

[29:37] But you, I, you give people the information

[29:40] and you see what the consensus wants to do.

[29:44] - You know, we now had a free flowing river

[29:46] and went a different sight and sound than it was.

[29:51] And I know I've talked to a lot of people

[29:53] who were on the fence way back when,

[29:55] 10 years ago who've really come around

[29:58] and felt that, you know, you know, I was kind

[30:00] of mixed feeling about removing the dam,

[30:03] but now I think it was the right decision.

[30:14] - That does it for this week's report.

[30:16] Be sure to like, share and subscribe

[30:18] to help us spread the word and head over to the town website

[30:21] and subscribe to the town's email newsletter.

[30:23] To get this show and other local news sent straight

[30:25] to your inbox, be sure to tune in on the October 9th report

[30:29] for the next edition of the show

[30:30] where we'll have information on the window dressers program,

[30:33] coverage on local meetings, and more For extra tv

[30:37] I'm Gabe Perez and this has been the Exeter Biweekly report.

[30:41] Have a great weekend, Exeter.

Remembering the Great Dam Removal || The Exeter Biweekly Report - 09/25/26

Transcript