Thank you John and the Board for putting this event together, along with Carol with the broadcast side of things for allowing the Town to watch live tonight.
Good evening to my fellow candidates gathered here, socially distanced of course, and to the town of Merrimac viewing live or recorded at a later date on Merrimac TV. Thank you everyone for taking the time to be here tonight in one capacity or another.
My name is Ben Beaulieu, and I am proud to have my name on the ballot to become the next selectman for the town of Merrimac.
It’s been a great journey so far. I’m thankful to have a great team of family, friends, and other members of our community who put countless hours into our campaign. All of this effort and support will directly correlate to a hopeful win on November 3rd.
Our world, and our Merrimac for that matter, is in an unusual and difficult place right now. Crises like the COVID-19 pandemic have left those in our community in a time of hardship, often without answers for the long-term. And of course it could not have come at a worse time where our town is in need of upgrades, repairs, and additions.
One of these being the new Pentucket seven through twelve school building, which by the way, they are making considerable progress on. This building will improve the learning of our children in Merrimac, and I am so happy to have been a part in making it happen. As the two-plus year student representative on our district’s School committee, and as a member of the We are Pentucket municipal ballot question committee, I had the privilege of producing a number of promotional and informational videos, sitting on multiple question and answer panels, and canvassing the community to help voters make an educated choice at the polls. I’m proud of the work that we did on both the School committee and the ballot question committee.
Another upgrade in our town that was in desperate need of repair was our police facility. For years, it was crying for help with immense, structurally unsafe cracks in the ground, a foundation that was sinking, and the lack of storage and space for our incredible police department to perform their duties to the best of their abilities. It was unfair to the department, and it was unfair to our town. Thankfully, the citizens of Merrimac generously supported a new facility on the west side of town. I have had many opportunities to see the building during construction, and now that it is complete and operational, it is nothing short of amazing. I can assure you that there isn’t anything in the building that is not a necessity to our town’s police department, and the resources within it promote safe and appropriate twenty-first century policing, equipped with resources to continue serving the town of Merrimac effectively and efficiently. I am proud to live in a town that promotes safety and the proper training for our police officers.
There are many other necessities in our town that are in desperate need of updating. An example of this is our water and sewer departments. The current system we have can not continue to maintain an adequate service to the growing population we have in Merrimac… it just can’t do it. It’s inevitable. We need to do something. We need to be proactive and tackle this so we are not in a dire situation when it is too late.
Not to mention that our roads are in touch shape. We just received some chapter 90 funds to help us, but many of the town’s streets haven’t been repaired in years.
Therefore, when I am elected, I will work closely with department heads to come up with a realistic plan for all citizens, whether it be a one year plan, a three year plan, a five year plan to move our town forward, and makes sense for our community. Selectman is obviously a town position, but I will work closely with not only our town’s departments, but with state representation including my friend Lenny Mirra, and network with members from other towns that have tackled the problems that we are facing today.
Another thing that keeps me up at night as a citizen is our police department’s staffing. There are many times where there is only one officer on duty. This is not safe and it is unacceptable. There could be a burglary in progress on Emery Street, while at the same time, somebody could be unfortunately overdosing due to the heartbreaking opioid epidemic on Church Street. Police officer or not, one person can’t be in two places at once. Mutual aid is often put in place when another town is called in to assist our department, but it is unrealistic and unfair to put the burden on another town’s resources to cover our own inadequate staffing. I do not believe the proper way to adequately staff our public safety is through overrides. Therefore, I, as a selectman, will ask my department heads to be creative when it comes to staffing, whether that be grant writing or another alternative.
Yes, that all sounds good and all, but the big question is, how are we going to pay for it? or even who is going to pay for it? I can tell you right now that I do not want to raise your taxes as a selectman. It is not feasible right now during the hardships we are facing, whether that be COVID, or anything else you are going through. But like I said, there are many things in town that need updates or additions.
We need to find alternatives to tax increases to offset the cost of the necessities in our town, and I believe the way to do this is commercial expansion. I understand that there are two sides to this issue and I respect that, as my ideology has been with both of these. Which is why I want to move forward with common sense as the biggest priority. I am not going to put a Walmart in our town square. Not that there is any room for it, but our town’s center historically depicts where we came from and who we are as a town and a community.
I don’t want to knock down trees to clear space either. The environment is a big thing for me. I grew up outside and spent most of my childhood days fishing in our water systems and hiking in our town forest. I have had the wonderful opportunity to meet with the Lake Attitash Association, which does amazing work to protect the lake’s watershed. They educated me on generous grants they received to keep the lake in the best shape it can be. I also will work closely with the Open Space committee to learn about their mission and initiatives, and align them with my own as a selectman.
That being said, there are many other locations in Merrimac that can be properly zoned and built up to be commercialized, and to bring in revenue to our town to fund the things our community absolutely needs.
For example, the beautifully sized and perfectly located white building behind Cozy Cleaners. How awesome would that be for our community to offer a restaurant, or a brewery. With a location like that and the available parking, there are numerous opportunities; not to mention the jobs that it would create.
How about the second and third floors of the North Shore Bank building? Imagine studio apartments in that building. The location is optimal; the bus rides right past the building into Haverhill, and residents could commute via train into Boston. I can not even begin to imagine the revenue it would bring in, without even mentioning the tax relief for our town.
I want business like that in our town. Businesses with class and values that share the same ones as our community, and our Merrimac. Without this, taxes will keep going up to fund the necessities in town. Good people and life long residents will be forced to leave because they can not afford it. Nobody wants that. Common sense expansion will work, and will help us.
As I sit up here tonight, I don’t just view myself as a candidate for selectman. I view myself as the voice of Merrimac and all of its people. From our senior citizens who have spent their entire lives here, to our new residents looking to raise a family here, just like my parents did almost twenty years ago. I will represent all of Merrimac, because it is my home, and it has done so much for me. And it is time for me to repay it.
To those watching, I ask one thing of you. No matter who you support, it is imperative that you come out and vote, whether through early voting, a mail in ballot, or at the polls, do your civic duty and support our democracy. It could be any of us here at the table for the selectman position, Lenny Mirra or Christina Eckert for state rep, Markey or O’Connor for senator, Moran or Moulton for U.S. representative, or Trump or Biden for President. Every vote counts, and I believe it is our responsibility as Americans to engage in this revolutionary process.
As I wrap up my remarks tonight, I invite you to visit my website at BeaulieuForMerrimac dot com. You will find a list of my initiatives, extensive experience being involved in this town, and a transcript of my statements here tonight.
My name is Ben Beaulieu, and I can’t wait to get back out there to earn your vote on November 3.