Public Hearing on Exit 12 Toll Booth Today

1. Toll bill hearing. Senate Bill 3, the toll booth bill sponsored by Senate President Peter Bragdon to remove the toll booths at Exit 12, will be heard during a public hearing in the House Public Works & Highways Committee in Concord today. The bill, which originated as a plan to remove all three tolls in Merrimack, was amended by the Senate Ways and Means Committee to just remove Exit 12 booths and approved by a Senate vote, allowing it to move to the House. Today's public hearing will be held for testimony to the Ways and Means Committee regarding the proposal before the committee takes it up for discussion and recommendation. The public hearing is in Room 201 at the Legislative Office Building in Concord at 1:30 p.m. Read more about the proposal here.

2. Lions Club carnival. The Lions Club will hold its annual carnival in the parking lot at the Commons, 515 Daniel Webster Highway, this weekend from May 9-12. The carnival features rides, games and food. Proceeds go to the Lions Club's many ongoing fundraisers which include, but are not limited to: providing eye glasses and screenings for the elderly, eye screenings for seventh-graders each year, hearing screenings for different grade levels each year, supporting food pantries in town, providing heating assistance money for residents through the town's welfare office and more.

3. Planning board. The Merrimack Planning Board will meet tonight at 7:30 in the Matthew Thornton Room for a regularly-scheduled meeting. The agenda is available on the town website.

4. Construction on Wire Road. We're continuing to receive inquiries regarding the JW Parking sign at the old Zyla's as well as the construction project on Wire Road at the old farm. The construction project is the prep work for the Kingdom Hall that is going to be built on Wire Road next month and JW Parking is where volunteers working at the site are being shuttled from to keep traffic on Wire Road and on the site at a minimum. Read more about the project here.

5. Weather watch. Today is expected to be downright summer-like with patchy fog before 7 a.m. then brightening up with sunny skies and a high near 80. Tonight will be mostly clear, with a low around 50.