How should Portsmouth use Community Campus? Survey of city residents proposed

Jeff McMenemy, Portsmouth Herald
·3 min read

PORTSMOUTH — City Councilor John Tabor wants to hear from residents about how they think the Community Campus property should be used.

He is also seeking community input on Recreation Department priorities and how American Rescue Plan Act funds should be spent.

Tabor has proposed a motion to “authorize the city manager to implement a citywide survey process to determine residents’ values and priorities for use of ARPA funds, updated city recreation initiatives, and future use of the Community Campus and adjoining property.”

The City Council is expected to discuss Tabor’s motion at its Monday meeting, which is slated to begin at 7 p.m. and will be held in City Council chambers. Tabor could not be immediately reached Friday for additional comment.

The Portsmouth Community Campus was purchased by the city for $10 million.
The Portsmouth Community Campus was purchased by the city for $10 million.

Mayor Deaglan McEachern said he hopes Tabor’s idea for a citywide survey will create “a broader conversation around how do we get more people to engage in city government.”

“I think it’s our job if we want to lead this city to where it actually wants to go is to get as much information from people as possible,” McEachern said Friday. “How do we get more information from people that might not be used to engaging with the government? I hope that is the idea behind this."

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The city and the school district have already discussed moving the Robert Lister Academy alternative high school program to the existing Community Campus building.

Community Campus property has more than 30 acres

Portsmouth's $10 million purchase price for Community Campus includes 34 acres of land surrounding the building, and McEachern acknowledged the need to hear more from residents about how they want to use it.

“If you ask people what goes there, maybe the answer is nothing right now,” McEachern said.

In addition to Tabor’s citywide survey idea, McEachern expects the council will schedule a forum on the Community Campus issue.

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In addition, the city still has about $5.4 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds left to spend.

But city leaders have already received about $17.4 million in requests for projects seeking to use the remaining federal dollars, according to City Manager Karen Conard.

Tabor has suggested using the citywide survey to hear from residents about their ideas.

The city has also been reaching out to the community about what recreation initiatives they’d like to see developed.

Mayor hopes to expand communication options for public

The mayor said it's “awesome” when people come to City Hall to share their feelings during public comment sessions at each council meeting.

But he’d also like to make it easier for other residents to share their input with city leaders in less traditional ways.

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“I want to hear from maybe the mother of a kid entering kindergarten who doesn’t have time to come to City Hall,” he said. “I think there’s ways we can expand the input we get by using new technology.”

“I’d love to see technology meet the needs of our residents to make sure we’re actually engaging with them,” McEachern said.

He also pointed to the importance of “maintaining the integrity of the survey.”

“We want to make sure we know that the people responding to the survey are our residents,” McEachern said. “I think people expect their government to improve."

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Portsmouth City Councilor proposes resident survey of Community Campus