City Council

LACONIA CITY COUNCIL MEETING DECEMBER 14, 2015 CITY HALL – CONFERENCE ROOM 200A 7:00 P.M. CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Edward Engler called the meeting to order at the above date and time. SALUTE TO THE FLAG: Councilor Armand Bolduc led the Salute to the Flag. RECORDING SECRETARY: Deputy City Clerk Anders ROLL CALL: Deputy City Clerk Anders called the roll with the following Councilors in attendance: Councilor Ava Doyle, Councilor David Bownes, Councilor Brenda Baer, Councilor Robert Hamel and Councilor Armand Bolduc. Councilor Henry Lipman, came in at 7:05 pm. Mayor Engler noted that all six (6) councilors are in attendance and a quorum is established. STAFF IN ATTENDANCE: City Manager Scott Myers and Finance Director Donna Woodaman AWARDS & PROCLAMATIONS: Presentation of the Debra Bienarz Award. Mayor Engler presented the award to Dianne Ouellette for her work with the community youth. He read the proclamation. Mayor Engler stated that House Representative Frank Guinta recognized the 40th anniversary of the Laconia Christmas Village in Congressional record and in a resolution dated December 1, 2015. Mayor Engler read the resolution and congratulated Councilor Bolduc, Ernie Bolduc and Councilor Hamel for volunteering with the Christmas Village. ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETINGS: 1. Regular meeting minutes of November 23, 2015 Minutes were distributed to the Council on November 25. With no corrections being made, the minutes were accepted as distributed. CONSENT AND ACTION CALENDAR: 1  1. Request to authorize boat dealers to act as agents of the City Councilor Bolduc moved to approve the request to authorize boat dealers to act as agents of the City. Seconded by Councilor Doyle. Vote was 6-0 and the motion passed. CITIZEN COMMENTS FOR MATTERS NOT ON THE AGENDA: NONE INTERVIEWS: NONE COMMUNICATIONS: NONE PUBLIC HEARING: NONE MAYOR’S REPORT: Mayor Engler mentioned Christmas village and thanked the volunteers again. He also thanked and congratulated all the dozens of volunteers for the Children’s Auction. $470,000.00 was raised. He had a special shout to Allan Beetle and the volunteers for the work with Pub Mania which totaled $244,000.00. Lastly, there have been several visits, as a Council to the Weirs zoning issue. The Council will discuss the issue at the first four meetings of the year for any interested party to speak. Council would specifically look for input on the zoning and thoughts on the Rte 3 and Rte 11B corridor, form the Meredith town line south, to the Surfcoaster property. Letters are being mailed to significant property owners along this stretch advising to the issue asking them to give their opinions at one of the four meetings. CITIZEN REQUESTS TO COMMENT ON CURRENT AGENDA ITEMS: Mayor Engler noted that during the discussion of the parking garage there will be time set aside for public discussion. There were no comments. COMMITTEE REPORTS: 1. FINANCE: (Lipman, Hamel, Baer) a) WOW Trail Fund b) Downtown TIF Financing No report on any item in committee 2. PUBLIC SAFETY: (Baer, Doyle, Bownes) a) Fair St./Court St. traffic problems and accidents No report on any item in committee 3. GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS & ORDINANCES: (Doyle, Bolduc, Bownes) 2  a) Ordinance Amending Chapter 221, Vehicles and Traffic/Parking on Sublawns b) Review of Chapter 167, Noise and Chapter 161, Licensing as it pertains to outdoor sound equipment and loudspeakers c) Procedural review for grant applications No report on any item in committee 4. PUBLIC WORKS: (Bolduc, Baer, Bownes) a) Review of a request for a 3-way stop for Summit Ave, Wentworth Cove and Governor’s Island No report on any item in committee 5. LAND & BUILDINGS: (Hamel, Lipman ,Bolduc) a) Repair & maintenance of City Buildings No report on any item in committee LIAISON REPORTS: Councilor Hamel stated the construction for fire station is coming along well. Looking at completion for the end of the month. City Manager Myers stated there will be an open house and ribbon cutting scheduled. MANAGER’S REPORT: City Manager Myers reviewed the Monthly Economic Development Report and the Financial and Operational Trends. NEW BUSINESS: 1. Request to hold public hearings regarding Community Development Block Grants a. To present the findings of the CDBG funded Level 2 ASHRAE energy audit at the Scott & Williams Building, 22 Stafford Street in Laconia. The building houses four non-profit sponsored condominium units providing affordable workforce housing, community health care, wellness center, and child care services b. A proposed application to the Community Development Finance Authority for up to $500,000 in Community Development Block Grant funds for energy improvements to Scott & Williams Building, 22 Stafford Street in Laconia. The building houses four non-profit sponsored condominium units providing affordable workforce housing, community health care, wellness center, and child care services c. The Residential Antidisplacement and Relocation Assistance Plan. Councilor Baer moved to schedule a public hearing during the regular council meeting on December 28, 2015 regarding the Community Development Finance Authority for up to $500,000 in Community Development Block Grant funds for energy improvements to Scott & 3 Williams Building, 22 Stafford Street in Laconia. Seconded by Councilor Hamel. Vote was 6-0 and the motion passed. Councilor Hamel moved to schedule a public hearing during the regular council meeting of December 28 regarding Residential Antidisplacement and Relocation Assistance Plan for 22 Strafford Street. Seconded by Councilor Baer. Vote was 6-0 and the motion passed. 2. First reading of a resolution relative to acceptance of donated property by the Lionel R Labonte Revocable Trust of 2011 for use with Phase II of the WOW Trail and to schedule a public hearing for December 28, 2015 during the regular Council Meeting Gretchen Gandini of the WOW trail explained the reason for the donation. Councilor Lipman moved to waive the reading of this resolution in its entirety and to read by title only. Seconded by Councilor Hamel. Vote was 6-0 and the motion passed. Councilor Hamel moved a first reading of a resolution relative to the acceptance of donated property by the Lionel R Labonte Revocable Trust of 2011 for use with Phase II of the WOW Trail. Seconded by Councilor Lipman. Vote was 6-0 and the motion passed. Councilor Bownes moved to schedule a public hearing on December 28, 2015 regarding the acceptance of donated property by the Lionel R Labonte Revocable Trust of 2011 for use with Phase II of the WOW Trail. Seconded by Councilor Doyle. Vote was 6-0 and the motion passed. 3. Request to refer rezoning of parcels White Oaks Road LLC I and II to the Planning Board Councilor Lipman moved to refer the rezoning of parcels White Oaks Road LLC I and II to the Planning Board for review. Seconded by Councilor Doyle. Mayor Engler added that future changes to the CR zone would affect the property. Vote was 6-0 and the motion passed. 4. Parking Garage Condition Assessment Report City Manager Myers mentioned during an assessment on the parking garage, emergency repairs were needed last September. The ownership is unique where the land is owned privately and the commercial office space is privately owned. The City owns 75-80% of the parking decks of the garage. The City is fully responsible for maintenance of the ramps. In the winter months the garage is used by residents as no on-street parking is allowed overnight. If the garage was to be fixed, the decks would last another 30 - 40 years and the ramps another 20 -30 years. City Manager Myers would rather be more conservative with the numbers in case of findings, so we should be speaking of $1.5 million instead of $1.2 million dollars. New parking facilities average $25-30,000 a space. Maggie Pritchard, Executive Director of Genesis Behavioral Health, spoke. She stated they have been looking to relocate for a while. They have a purchase and sale agreement that ends 4 at the end of the year. If all goes through with the sale, they would put the other two parcels they currently own on the market and consolidate to be more efficient. If the City doesn’t move forward on improvements, they will not move forward either. Councilor Baer stated that a decision would need to take time and it might take longer than the beginning of the year. Councilor Lipman noted that Council will not let the building collapse but a decision will take time. Councilor Hamel feels the $1.5 million for repairs seems low and fears it will turn into a money pit. M. Pritchard said their bond approvals will expire in May 2016. Councilor Bownes would like to see businesses come to downtown and would like the opportunity to make that happen. He asked if there were plans to reconstruct the interior and was told yes. Mayor Engler noted that the Belknap County Economic Development Council is interested in this as well. Mayor Engler feels that not doing anything is not an option, he is just unsure what that “something” is. In order for the downtown to reach the full potential, residential and commercial properties will need to be looked at. That would require partnership and the garage is part of a bigger picture for downtown. Robert Sawyer would like this project to move forward in a considerable fashion, similar to how it is currently being used. He suggested an exterior glass stairwell to make the garage friendlier. He feels that the City has an obligation to maintain the garage and agrees that something should be done. Pat Wood was an occupant of the building for 8 years and recently moved to a different location. The garage is and important opportunity for the downtown area. Currently there are two empty spaces in the building. Renovations could bring in people. The church brought people in on the weekends only, and Genesis will bring in people all week long. Warren Clement echoed Pat Wood’s comments. He stated that real money needs to be brought in to the downtown. Craig Butler, the new Pastor for Grace Capital spoke. The church uses the garage and brings in lots of people. If the garage is renovated, it may bring in more people. Daniel Disangro, the property owner spoke. There have been a lot of issues with the building and he and others have put lots of work into the area so far. He feels something should be done fairly quickly. He feels it would be in everyone’s interest to get this solved. Mike Soucy owner of Soda Shop spoke. He thinks the best option is to continue rejuvenating the gateway into the city. The downtown is up and coming and more people will be in downtown. Saint of St Clair Construction spoke. He has looked at the garage in the past and noted that 40 years of NH weather is not an excuse for the deterioration. If it was kept up with, there wouldn't be such an issue. Asphalting the deck has a lot to do with the deterioration as well. The asphalt holds in the moisture. The snow used to be pushed off the building and now it is plowed and left in piles. The maintenance needs to be thought about. 5 Councilor Lipman would like to see the improvements made and would like to get a better sense of what the issue is. Each of the parties to the purchase and sale were asked if they were willing to collaborate with the City in finding a solution to parking garage issue and each responded in the affirmative. Councilor Lipman moved to refer the parking garage discussion to the Land and Buildings Committee to expedite the matter. Seconded by Councilor Bownes. Vote was 6-0 and the motion passed. Mayor Engler stated it could take 90 to 120 days for a decision. UNFINISHED BUSINESS: 1. Ordinance amendment relative to Chapter 167, Noise and Chapter 161, Licensing as it pertains to outdoor sound equipment and loudspeakers (tabled at the meeting of 9/28/15) 2. Second reading of a resolution relative to the adoption of RSA 31:95-b, Appropriation of funds made available during the year (tabled at the meeting of 11/23/15 pending the outcome of legal matters) 3. Milfoil Treatment Funding Request 4. WOW Trail 5. Master Plan 6. EPA Update 7. Sewer & Water Master Plan 8. Single Stream Recycling/Concord Co-Op/Solid Waste Disposal Cost Reduction 9. Strategic Planning/Goal Setting NOMINATIONS, APPOINTMENTS & ELECTIONS: 1. Reappointment of Kevin Dunleavy to WOW Trail Maintenance Advisory Committee Councilor Bolduc moved to reappoint Kevin Dunleavy to the WOW Trail Maintenance Advisory Committee. Seconded by Councilor Baer. Vote was 6-0 and the motion passed. COUNCIL COMMENTS: Councilor Bownes mentioned the climate change controversy and thinks the Council should consider adopting a climate change policy. Discussion ensued. Councilor Bolduc thanked everyone involved with Christmas village. NON - PUBLIC SESSION: Councilor Baer moved to enter into non-public session according to RSA 91-A:3, II: (a) The dismissal, promotion or compensation of any public employee, or the investigation of any charges against him, unless the employee affected (1) has a right to a meeting and (2) requests that the meeting be open, in which case the request shall be granted. Seconded by Councilor 6 Bolduc. With a roll call vote of 6-0 the Council entered into non-public session at 9:09 p.m. Councilor Bones moved to come out of nonpublic session at 9:58 p.m. Seconded by Councilor Bolduc. Vote was 6-0 and the motion passed. Councilor Hamel moved to seal the nonpublic minutes for eight (8) months. Seconded by Councilor Bolduc. Vote was 6-0 and the motion passed. ADJOURNMENT: Councilor Bolduc moved to adjourn the meeting. Seconded by Councilor Baer. Vote was 6-0 and the motion passed unanimously and the meeting was adjourned at 10:00 pm. Respectfully Submitted Stacy Anders Deputy City Clerk 7