Sewer extension across the Merrimack River to west-side businesses
Hooksett
Summary
The TIF district has about $3.2 million available ($2.4 million in TIF funds plus $800,000 left from the 2019 bond). The committee wants to spend roughly $1 million to drill a double-barrel sewer line under the Merrimack, saving the $2.5 million pump station for a later phase. Businesses on the west side — Bass Pro, Walmart, and others — are facing failing septic systems and expensive temporary fixes.
At a glance
- Total mentions
- 6
- Last 30 days
- 2
Rising — discussed at 3 meetings since Sep 22, 2026, up from 2 in the two months before.
Impact analysis
About $1 million of the roughly $3.2 million in available TIF money for the river crossing, with the full project previously pegged at $12.5 million.
West-side businesses like Bass Pro, Walmart, Kohl's, and Target get access to sewer, and the town keeps and grows its commercial tax base.
Council members wary of growth and traffic could push back, and if the March bond fails again taxpayers bear the delay risk — though TIF funding itself comes from district businesses, not general taxes.
Mentions & discussions (6)
Budget Committee - Oct 15, 2026
The town is spending $1 million in TIF funds to run sewer lines from the Martins Ferry Pump Station under the river toward Exit 10, laying groundwork for future development and the Kimball Drive Pump Station. Supporters say it keeps businesses with failing septic systems in town; critics worry about traffic and getting nothing in writing from those businesses.
TIF Advisory Committee - Oct 7, 2026
Getting sewer to Bass Pro, Walmart, Market Basket, and other west-side properties is the committee's top priority — businesses there are on septic and wells. The $1 million pipe from Martins Ferry is the catalyst piece, with a full build-out to Bass Pro costing roughly $6.5 million including the river crossing and pump station.
TIF Advisory Committee - Sep 22, 2026
Bass Pro's septic system is failing, and Bass Pro, Walmart, and Market Basket all want to connect to town sewer. The committee is shrinking the bond ask from the twice-failed $9.5 million to roughly $2.5-3.5 million to build the river crossing and pump station, with the big businesses paying to pipe to their doors. The bond is repaid from TIF revenue paid by commercial businesses, not residents' taxes.
TIF Advisory Committee - Aug 25, 2026
The TIF district has about $3.2 million available ($2.4 million in TIF funds plus $800,000 left from the 2019 bond). The committee wants to spend roughly $1 million to drill a double-barrel sewer line under the Merrimack, saving the $2.5 million pump station for a later phase. Businesses on the west side — Bass Pro, Walmart, and others — are facing failing septic systems and expensive temporary fixes.
Economic Development Advisory Committee - Aug 19, 2026
The town wants to bring sewer to the west side of the river, but the $12.5 million bond failed in March. With ~$2.4 million in the TIF fund, a ~$1 million river crossing could start this winter and cut the future bond ask to $8–10 million. Bass Pro's failing septic system makes the timeline urgent.
TIF Advisory Committee - May 26, 2026
The force main project is nearly done — drilling finishes in July and service starts in August — and there's $2.4 million in the TIF fund to possibly extend sewer under the Merrimack to the Target/Kohl's/Bass Pro side. That could unlock private investment and finally connect the big-box businesses pumping septic two to three times a week.
We'll email you when it's on an upcoming agenda and when it's voted on, at most once a day.
The weekly brief for Hooksett
What the council decided, in plain English — one email a week.
Free. Unsubscribe with one click any time. We never sell your email.