Brent Todd, Ward 1 Concord City Council Candidate

CONCORD, NH — Brent Todd

Position Sought

Ward 1 City Councilor

Family

My wife Althea and I have two children.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No

Education and-or work experience

BA college degree, risk analyst for GE Aerospace.

Previous or current elected or appointed positions

Ward 1 City Councilor since 2014.

Campaign website

Brent Todd Concord

The single most important pressing issue facing the community is _______ and this is what I intend to do about it

Housing, economic development, and quality-of-life issues all go hand-in-hand, but I want to continue focus on tax base expansion because ultimately everything hinges on it. Without it, we will not be able to have enough revenue to keep pace. New businesses at Whitney Road, Thirty Pines, and downtown Penacook increase our tax base, helping to keep tax increases lower. Additional dollars from tax base expansion can be put toward support for essential services and to develop ways to augment our Police and Fire Departments, which is vital to maintaining safety and quality of life.

List three other things you would like to work on if elected or re-elected

Master Plan, housing, homelessness. See the last question below.

Name a couple of accomplishments in the past that show you can handle this position

By partnering with my fellow Councilors, City Staff, the community, property owners and others we've been able to achieve the following in the last two years:

• Additional stores have opened at Merchants Way on Whitney Road, and planning for additional development there continues, while new business tenants have moved into our downtown and 30 Pines commercial areas.
• Beyond the added jobs, the phases of the Whitney Road development have contributed by further expanding our tax base and providing needed services.
• I’m very glad to have supported our new affordable and market rate housing options in Penacook. Penacook Landing phase 2 has opened, providing vital housing for local residents, and also expanding our tax base.
• Our new park on Canal Street has officially opened, and this summer we were able to enjoy outdoor concerts. The new Penacook Community Center/Penacook Branch Library and Activity Center has opened, providing much-needed community services and multi-generational quality of life benefits for residents.

Since I’ve been serving as Ward 1 Councilor, the city has invested $30,000,000 toward municipal and special projects in Penacook, including the reworking of over two dozen of our local streets.

Share any other thoughts or ideas you would like voters to know about yourself

I want to continue fiscal responsibility and keep working on the accomplishments noted above. These are long-term investments, which are a crucial part of keeping tax rates low and quality of life high.

I want to continue to make sure Penacook folks are heard as we move forward with important future planning. I look forward to working on the ongoing projects and challenges we face, such as:

• Working on a new City Master Plan. Community discussions during this process will help identify how we envision our community’s future; we can also identify items to no longer support, leading to potential cost savings for taxpayers.
• Continuing focus on public safety: increasing the number of Concord Police and Fire officers, and planning for needs for new Police and Fire Department headquarters.
• Continuing efforts to study how best to create housing and services for people who are experiencing homelessness.
• Amending our zoning regulations, which can generate positive change to our housing crisis.
• Creating a comprehensive plan related to trash disposal to educate on ways to reduce, reuse and recycle as we face increased fixed costs in coming years, and planning for rollout of automated trash pickup.
• Promoting and improving initiatives for multiple choices of safe transportation modes (walking, bicycling, public transportation), and our trails initiatives (Merrimack River Greenway Trail, Concord-Lake Sunapee Rail Trail).
• Supporting continuing efforts of the strategic plan for achieving 100% renewable energy goals.
• Bringing members of our community together to continue to discuss how we can make Concord even more welcoming to all.

I look forward as always to hearing from the community about your priorities and concerns.