[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.
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[1:07] and all things Exeter.
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[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.