The Walpolean

Walpole Planning Board Minutes

Tuesday, February 10, 2026

Town Hall

7 pm

These minutes are unapproved and will be reviewed for corrections at the March 2026 meeting.

Role Call: Chair Jeff Miller, Vice-Chair Dennis Marcom, Clerk Jason Perron, Joanna Andros, Trevor MacLachlan, Select Board Representative Steve Dalessio. Absent: Board member Jeff Harrington and alternate Travis Adams.

Call to Order: Mr. Miller called the meeting to order at 7 pm. There was a quorum present.

Review of minutes of January 2026 meeting: Mr. Perron made a motion to approve the January 2026 minutes as presented. Mr. Marcom seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously.

New Business:

Site Plan: Lawrence & Lober – Preliminary meeting.

Rick Hamm, president of Lawrence & Lober Electric and Adam Steele, vice-president, were at the meeting to discuss preliminary plans for a potential building. Mr. Hamm said they were considering buying the former Abingdon Spares property on South Street for the business, which is now located in Bellows Falls, Vt. He is looking at building a 6,000-to-8,000-square foot building for his warehouse and office. He said he had about 25 employees, but most of those employees take the company trucks home at the end of the day. There already is plenty of space for parking in back of the building for employees, he said,  as well as more on the property. After a question from Board member Andros Mr. Hamm said the building would face toward Route 12.

Chair Miller said that the property has been designated at Residential B, so the buyer would need a Special Exception from the Zoning Board of Adjustment as well as a site plan application form the Planning Board. The Zoning Board meets the following week on a Wednesday and the person to contact would be Chair Tom Murray. Mr. Miller suggested that Mr. Hamm look at some of the buildings at the former Pinnacleview Equipment because all their buildings have a colonial architectural style and since this building would be the entrance to the town of Walpole it would be in keeping with the town’s architecture. Mr. Miller also suggested he consider the landscaping. Mr. Hamm and Mr. Steele left the meeting and will let the Board know if they would be back for a more formal meeting.

Old Business:

Public Hearing: 

Subdivision, Sabin Rock Farm LLC, 79 Reservoir Road,  owner Margie Palmer, Tax Map 10, Lot 26. One lot into three lots: Lot 1 9.58 acres, 559.67 feet road frontage, Lot 2 6.42 acres, 200.92 feet road frontage, Lot 3 17.99 acres, 771.21 feet, rural/ag zoning district. 

Mr. DiBernardo presented the project saying it changed from an original two-lot subdivision to a three-lot subdivision because there were already two residences on the property and that is not allowed according to Walpole’s Zoning Ordinances. Mr. DiBernardo pointed out the lot sizes and frontage, which all conformed to Walpole’s zoning ordinances now. Mr. Miller closed the hearing at 7:12 pm.

Mr. Perron made a motion to approve the project as presented. It was seconded by Mr. Marcom and it carried unanimously.

New Business:

Subdivision: Elisse McGuirk 2000 Living Trust, Tax Map 13, Lot 15, Valley Road and Tax Map 12, Lot 76, Valley Road in the Rural/Agricultural Zoning District. Surveyor Jon C. Buschbaum of Envirospect Land Services, LLC explained the project via speaker phone. 

There are two parcels of land across the street from one another on Valley Road. The notes on the plat says “the purpose of this plan is to subdivide Map 13, Lot 15 and Map 12, Lot 76 into 2 residential lots.” He said the plan for Tax Map 13, Lot 15, which is 38.7 acres, would be to  separate off the current residence on the property. That property is 1.94 acres.  Regarding the lot across the street, which is 13.4 acres, it would be divided into two lots one of 5.87 acres and one of 7.53 acres. Mr. Buschbaum requested a public hearing for the next month, March. Mr.  Buschbaum did not submit an application with the plat but said he would drop off the application and fees to the town by February 25th.

Mr. Perron made a motion to hold a public hearing at the March meeting for the subdivision of the McGuirk properties. Mr. Marcom seconded the motion and the motion carried.

Subdivision William Allen, 142 Prospect Hill Road, Walpole, NH 03608, Tax Map 8, Lot 68, Residential A Zoning District. One lot into two lots. Lot 1 would be 1.48 acres with 254.21 feet of road frontage and Lot 2 would be 3.16 acres with 200. 63 feet of road frontage.

Surveyor Joe DiBernardo presented this project for Mr. Allen and asked for a public hearing on the matter in March. Mr. Marcom made a motion to hold a public hearing in March for the William Allen subdivision. Mr. Perron seconded the motion and the motion carried.

Adjournment

Mr. Perron made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Mr. Marcom seconded the motion. The time was 7:31 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Marilou Blaine

Recording Secretary

Walpole Planning Board Minutes

January 13, 2026

Town Hall

7 pm

These minutes are unapproved and will be reviewed for corrections at the February 10, 2026 meeting. 

Roll Call: Board Present: Chair Jeff Miller, Clerk Jason Perron, Jeff Harrington, Joanna Andros, Select Board Representative Steve Dalessio. Alternate: Travis Adams. 

Absent: Vice-Chair Dennis Marcom, Trevor MacLachlan. 

Call to Order: Mr Miller called the meeting to order at 7 pm. He asked Alternate Travis Adams to sit in for Mr. Marcom. Mr. Adams agreed. 

Review minutes of December 2025: Mr. Perron made a motion to approve the December 2025 minutes as written. Mr. Harrington seconded the motion and the motion carried. 

Public Hearing No. 1: 

Ideal Location LLC, owned by Greg Gay, 1134 Main St., North Walpole proposes a building of 2,100 square feet at Town Tax Map 27, Lot Sub 1, for office space and parts inventory. Industrial Zone. 

Mr. Gay presented a new plat, this one showing the new 2,100 square-foot building in relationship to the primary building at the back of the property. He said the new building will be 70 feet long by 28 feet wide. It is for offices and parts inventory space to support the main building, he said. It is in the Industrial Zoning District of North Walpole. The building has been approved by the North Walpole Commissioners and the North Walpole Zoning Board of Adjustment. Mr. Gay present this plat in 2016 and he said the North Walpole Fire Department approved it then. 

Mr. Dalessio asked if there is here was an exterior lighting plan. Mr. Gay said no. Mr. Dalessio then pointed out that the plans were 10 years old and that building codes have changed. He suggested Mr. Gay take these points into consideration. 

Mr. Don Lennon, one of two principal owners of Len-Tex, a business that abuts the property, asked if the building was going to be sprinkled. Mr. Gay said no but there is a fire hydrant nearby and there would be no flammable materials, such as gasoline, in the building. Mr. Lennon said he had to think of his employees and wanted it noted that he was insisting there be sprinkler system added. “It’s in the Industrial Zone,” Mr. Lennon said. 

Board members approved Mr. Gay’s proposal with two conditions: that Mr. Gay get in touch with the Walpole Sewer Department to connect to the sewer that runs in front of the property (there is a manhole noted on the plat) and that he get a new letter from the North Walpole Fire Department approving the project. He closed the Public hearing at 7:10 pm. 

Public Hearing 2: 

Community Facilities and Services is the final section of the updated Master Plan that needs Planning Board approval. 

This section of the Master Plan includes information on the buildings in the town that provide services to the community. Those facilities are Walpole Police and Walpole and North Walpole Fire Departments, Walpole and North Walpole libraries, Walpole Historical Society, Highway Department, Water and Sewer Departments and Recycling Center. This document needs to be approved to complete the total update of the 2020 Master Plan that was originally delayed because of COVID. 

Mr. Perron made a motion to add the Facilities and Services section to the Master Plan. Mr. Harrington seconded the motion and the motion carried. 

Walpole Fire Department letter 

Fire Chief Mark Houghton was at the meeting because he needed a letter from the town saying it would exempt the Walpole Fire Department from a small problem about distance to the center of the road. Mr. Houghton explained he had received a letter that day from the federal government saying before actually receiving the grant money for the firehouse addition, he had to have a letter from the town exempting the fire department from the required distance from the center of the road. The small problem is that the required 65 feet from the center of the road (Main Street) to the building was a foot or two short. After a short discussion with the Board, Chair Jeff Miller agreed to write a letter exempting the fire department from that requirement.

Previously, the town voted to approve the addition to the fire department. Mr. Houghton said that they already had scheduled to begin renovating the fire department in mid-March. 

Subdivision: One lot into two or three lots: Sabin Rock LLC, 79 Reservoir Road, Tax Map 10, Lot 26, rural/ag district, owned by Margie Palmer.

There is a problem of two residences on this lot, which is not permitted in the Walpole ordinances. So the owner has to change her decision on how she wants to divide the property into two or possibly three lots. There is a total of about 35 acres with more than 1500 feet of frontage so three lots is doable. The land in current use can still remain in current use. The Public Hearing will still take place in February and abutters will be notified of Ms. Palmer’s decision within the allotted time.

Mr. Harrington made a motion to hold a public hearing in February for a subdivision of this property. Mr. Perron seconded the motion and the motion carried. 

Adjournment 

Mr. Perron made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 7:50 pm. Mr. Harrington seconded the motion and the motion carried. 

Respectfully submitted, 

Marilou Blaine, WPB Secretary