On Tuesday, November 20, 2006, the Campus Community Council met at the Plymouth Senior Center to discuss a variety of issues facing the Plymouth Area Community.
First on the agenda was the announcement of the ski package for Plymouth State University students by Student Body President Peter Laufenberg, which allows students to receive reduced prices to Cannon and Ragged Mountains
Laufenberg also announced the creation of a Student Senate task force to look at the possibility of a four-credit course system at PSU, alongside a task force designed to look at Greek Life on campus.
Town and University Police next announced that, while vandalism numbers are down in both the town and campus, most of the vandalism has been concentrated within 1,000 yards of Anderson Bakery downtown. The damage has been limited primarily to windows, flowerpots, and other such minor damage, though numerous parking meters have been smashed.
One point of contention was the supposition by a town official that Campus Police might have been quietly condoning the violence. Chief John Clark quickly squashed this rumor, stating that there was no truth in the comment. Student representative Dan Fornash backed up this statement, explaining how campus police had taken extra steps in recent weeks to combat the vandalism.
The Fire and Ambulance Services representative had a short report; however, he did state that the department had finished its state-required, on-campus training for its All-Hazards Plan for the campus and town.
Skateboarding policy took one of the largest parts of the meeting; many people voiced a wide variety of concerns. Acting Town Police Chief, Captain Steve Temperin, said that consistency has been and will be an issue with regard to the ordinances dictating laws on town and campus skateboarding. PSU Campus Safety Coordinator Tammy Hill expressed similar concerns.
Townsperson and co-chair of CCC, Paul SanSoucie, mentioned that there is not enough manpower to properly enforce any ordinances. Student Affairs Vice President Richard Hage responded with an analysis of how punishing only a few will influence a larger number of potential violators. Town Manager Barry Walker offered the opinion that there should just be one standard all over the area, much as there is for motorcycles, cars and bikes.
One solution offered by Chief Clark was to contact Tenney Mountain about possibly using their resources to open a skateboarding area. He also brought up the main uses of skateboards, which include transportation and recreation.
The chief also brought up one other idea to help mend the bridge between skateboarders and policy makers; to have a forum in which both sides could have their opinions heard and understood.
The parking meter issue took up much of the rest of the meeting, with the big news being that the select board has decided to lower the rates on Merrill, Langdon, and High streets to the previous cost of 25 cents per hour. The current price is four times that, at a dollar per 60 minutes.
Town officials wanted it to be known that vandalism against the meters was not a factor in the decision; instead, it was based upon an analysis of the other University System of New Hampshire school town prices for their meters.
Temperin made it clear that while he plans to have the meters recalibrated as soon as it can happen, “ideally before the snow falls,” he stated, explaining that the other necessary factors to fell into place. These included better reinstallation of the meters and reprogramming and repair work to the damaged meters.
One concern, brought forth by Doug McLane, was that by lowering prices the town would encourage visitors to the University to stay in one spot for an extended period of time, thereby not encouraging a high turnover of visitors to each parking location. This was countered by Fornash’s clarifying that most visitors to the University come on the weekends, and that there would be relatively few daily visits off-campus, thereby allaying Mr. McLane’s concerns.
The final issue discussed was a rental ordinance, with a meeting set within every selectmen meeting on Mondays at 5:30 p.m.
The next meeting will be on December 19, at the Plymouth Senior Center.