Tom Willis
For Ward 4, Seat A: Thomas H. (Tom) Willis Jr.
Occupation: Civil Engineer
Prior public service: First attempt at elective office; volunteered on Rochester Planning Board (1995-2000 and 2014-present), utility advisory board (2014-present), Strafford Regional Planning Commission (2000-2008), Transportation Master Plan Revision Committee, chairman (2000-2001)
If elected, what would be your top priority for the city?
Careful, responsible spending, particularly as it relates to infrastructure operations and maintenance and capital improvements (highways, water, sewer, drainage projects).
What can be done to promote more economic development in Rochester?
Promote our emergence as a regional retail center for Strafford County with the retail development that has occurred around exits 13 and 14 of the Spaulding Turnpike during the past 10 years and that is now occurring on Route 11 between Spaulding Turnpike exit 15 and the city line with Farmington.
Has the tax cap been beneficial to Rochester, or has it inhibited the city’s ability to get things done?
It has been a “mixed blessing.” The tax cap has all but guaranteed that taxes will rise, albeit modestly, every year, because it takes flexibility to spend when necessary away from the council when needed. There are times when the council may not have to budget as much as it does every year, because a priority that was deferred from a previous year has to be included in a succeeding budget year(s) because of the limitations provided by the tax cap.
Do you think the city should set aside a capital reserve fund to repair/expand its school buildings?
Capital reserve funds are appropriate for a few essential expenditures that the community knows it will need to spend money on in the foreseeable future. School buildings may be one of them. Other essential large expenditures are also appropriate. For example, I would not be opposed to setting up a capital reserve fund to fund a new public works building, which the city desperately needs. A capital reserve fund is analogous to a savings account earmarked for something rather than the alternative, which is going into debt through bonding. There shouldn’t be capital reserve funds set up for every little thing, however, as it diverts funds from current priorities.
What can be done to revitalize the downtown and promote a more vibrant arts scene?
It is unfortunate that the city lost Artstream a few years ago. Their location on North Main Street and the art displays (like the Shoes of Rochester) that they sponsored were unique and brought attention and folks to downtown. There should be a collaborative effort between the Rochester Main Street and the downtown merchants to identify and embrace the creative persons among us. It may also be time to “dust off” some old traffic studies and take a look at downtown traffic patterns and consider reestablishing two-way traffic in the downtown area to see if it makes sense in the current climate.
What is the most important issue facing Rochester that city officials are not yet talking about?
1) Traffic. With the added retail areas coming to the Route 11 corridor, traffic and congestion will increase. Can Route 11 handle it as designed? The city must work with NHDOT to ensure that the developers pay for the increased capacity to Route 11 that will be needed to accommodate the increased traffic counts that the retail development will bring. 2) The impact that probable wastewater discharge limitations issued by EPA will have on Rochester sewer rate payers. 3) Traffic planning associated with the coming reconstruction of Strafford Square.