KEENE, NH – The first of two public informational meetings on the Downtown Infrastructure Improvement and Reconstruction Project is happening tonight.

The meeting begins this evening at Heberton Hall at the Keene Public Library with an open house from 5-6 pm where the public can view project materials and speak with City staff and the City’s consultants one-on-one.

At 6 pm, there will be a brief presentation on the projects scope. Immediately following the presentation there will be smaller group discussions on four individual topics, where members of the public who want to learn more can stay and interact with City staff and consultant teams.

Those four topics include infrastructure, Main Street, Central Square, and Gilbo Avenue/Railroad Street project areas. After 30 minutes, participants will be asked to move on to the next topic area, allowing a total of two hours for discussion.

The project has dominated headlines and public discussion for several weeks now. Keene Public Works Director Kort Blomquist, City Engineer Don Lussier, and Ed Roberge of Stantec, the consultant on the project, recently joined WKBK’s Open Mic program to discuss the project. That full discussion is available here. More information on the project as a whole from the city is available on the project’s website, including an informational video the City released a couple of weeks ago.

A second, more traditional public informational meeting will be held on February 21st in the Keene High School Auditorium. That meeting begins at 6 pm and will conclude by 9 pm. City staff and the City’s consultant will provide a presentation on the project and the public will then have an opportunity to comment.