My name is Joel Desilets and I am writing to ask for your vote as I seek a seat on the Windham Board of Selectmen. Please allow me to tell you who I am and explain the principles my candidacy is grounded in.
I’ve lived in New Hampshire my whole life and my wife grew up in Windham. Most all of our family lives here so we are excited to raise our family in this vibrant growing community. I am a passionate, taxpaying voter who wishes to serve this community that I am very proud to call home as a truly dedicated representative of all Windham residents.
This is an incredibly important and exciting time in our town’s history. Decisions made right now will shape where our children grow up and the experiences we all share. I support enhancing the vitality of the local economy and envision a beautiful, walkable downtown cultural center with successful restaurants, shops, open spaces and activities. Decisions made right now will have a lasting impact on the enjoyability and available services to our community for years to come.
With the 93 and 111 construction completing, the right kind of businesses need to be actively encouraged to move to or expand in Windham to have the greatest impact on dispersing the tax burden off of families, while having minimal impact on traffic. This incredible opportunity is a result of all our years of careful planning.
During 2014 and 2015 Windham’s Master Plan will be revisited for the period of 2015 to 2025, outlining goals for significant challenges facing our community including land use, water quality, traffic and economic development. How this transpires will have a significant impact on everyone’s taxes, property values, and quality of life.
Impact fee collection and management is an important issue discovered recently which must be addressed with transparency. How these fees are calculated is the other half of this equation and I will strive to be part of the solution. The current fees do not include future cost considerations fully such as the capital improvement issues with which we are now faced. Addressing this immediately is the right thing to do. I have also signed Jerome Rekart’s petition to restore Adequacy funding and would welcome working with our State representatives for resolution.
I advocate land conservation for many reasons, one of which is keeping residential land density low. Residential growth is driving our budgetary needs across the board. For this reason I am voting in support of the Campbell Farm purchase which might otherwise be developed for housing. I do want to highlight what was discussed at the deliberative session; this being a citizen’s petition, 60% approval vote on March 11th is needed.
I have fiscally conservative personal convictions that I will not betray. As such I will work diligently with my fellow Board members to reduce spending, control costs and keep our tax rate as low as possible without stifling strategic aspects of smart development. One example is supporting the Water Study which will give residents the accurate information they need to make prudent future decisions. I share the concern with residents bearing the cost, but the study will happen one way or the other. If this article is approved; We choose the scope, We choose the firm, and We as a Town can be best assured of its impartiality.  I will also seek out and respect the collective wishes of the people of this town. Myself a taxpaying voter of modest means, I share everyone’s frustrations with ever increasing budgets.
I welcome the opportunity to discuss our community and meet you at upcoming events including the Windham Women’s Club candidate’s night on February 18th.
My experience entails Auditing, Quality, Process and Product engineering with an emphasis on directing cost reduction projects, and currently Engineering Management. I would bring my analytical expertise and my commitment to thorough objective research to the board to address the needs of all residents while ensuring bottom line results.
It would be my privilege to serve this community, Thank you for your support and I ask for your vote at the upcoming election.
Warm regards,
Joel Desilets
This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.
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