February 28, 2017

Dear Allenstown Resident,

I am writing to inform you of a potential property sale of town owned property being considered by the Board of Selectmen. They are considering selling four (4) parcels of property to the existing mobile home community, Holiday Acres, with the understanding that Holiday Acres will develop the property by placing 210 mobile homes intended for the 55+ population to reside in.

I do not believe this is good for Allenstown for many reasons.

• Allenstown’s taxable property currently consists of approximately 30% mobile homes. These mobile homes pay an estimated 13% of the total taxes assessed for the Town of Allenstown. If 210 more mobile homes are added, our town will be almost 40% mobile homes.
• The traditional home owners in Allenstown pay approximately 71% of the property taxes currently collected by Allenstown.
• Despite the assurances of the developers, the assessed value of the new mobile homes will decrease over time potentially resulting in a higher use of tax funded services while providing decreasing tax revenue to Allenstown. The traditional homeowners and existing mobile home owners will bear the burden of the extra taxes needed to sustain Allenstown. Mortgages with escrows and mobile home park rents will increase.
• 210 more mobile homes will result in additional students. Our schools are currently struggling to financially meet the needs of the existing student population. They are not prepared to accommodate a large influx of additional students. School taxes will increase as a result.
• Approximately 50% of Allenstown is owned by the State of NH as Bear Brook State Park. We cannot develop or receive revenue from that property. The property available to Allenstown to develop and create tax revenue is very limited as a result. Our limited property suitable for development should NOT be filled with more low-revenue producing mobile homes.

Please research this prospective property sale online at allenstownnh.gov. Do your own research as well. Contact the schools, the Tax Collector, local assessing officials, Plan NH, and the Central NH Planning Commission. See why so many other communities are not allowing this type of development in their back yards.

Please contact your local elected Selectmen at the email addresses listed below to tell them how you feel about the possible mobile home park expansion in Allenstown. Check the town website for the date and time of the next Selectman meeting so that you can attend and voice your opinion and concerns in person. Unless they hear from us, this deal is going to happen. Make your voice heard. Save Allenstown. The existing mobile home owners, as well as the traditional home owners, need your voice!

Sincerely,

Kathleen Pelissier

Selectmen's E-mails: