City Council

Minutes of this meeting were approved by City Council on February 28, 2022. CITY OF LACONIA - CITY COUNCIL MEETING February 14, 2022 7:00 P.M. 2/14/2022 - Minutes 1. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Hosmer called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM Mayor Hosmer let the public know that since Councilor Lipman is joining the meeting via Zoom, all votes will be done by roll call votes. 2. SALUTE TO THE FLAG Councilor Soucy led the Salute to the Flag. 3. RECORDING SECRETARY Acting City Clerk Stacy Anders 4. ROLL CALL Acting City Clerk Stacy Anders took a roll call with the following Councilors in attendance: Bruce Cheney, Mark Haynes, Bob Hamel, Tony Felch and Robert Soucy Present via Zoom: Henry Lipman Mayor Hosmer noted all six Councilors were in attendance and a quorum was established 5. STAFF IN ATTENDANCE City Manager Scott Myers, Finance Director Glenn Smith 6. COUNCIL PROCLAMATION 7. ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES FROM PREVIOUS MEETINGS 7.A. Regular meeting minutes of January 24, 2022 Minutes of the meeting were distributed to the City Council on January 28, 2022. With no corrections or changes submitted to the City Clerk, Mayor Hosmer declared the minutes accepted as distributed. 8. CONSENT & ACTION ITEMS 9. CITIZEN COMMENTS FOR MATTERS NOT ON THE AGENDA 10. INTERVIEWS 11. NOMINATIONS, APPOINTMENTS & ELECTIONS 12. COMMUNICATIONS 10. INTERVIEWS 11. NOMINATIONS, APPOINTMENTS & ELECTIONS 12. COMMUNICATIONS 13. PUBLIC HEARINGS 14. PRESENTATIONS 15. MAYOR'S REPORT 16. COUNCIL COMMENTS 17. COMMITTEE REPORTS 17.A. FINANCE (Lipman (Chair), Hamel, Cheney) 17.A.i. WOW Trail Funding 17.A.ii. Downtown TIF Financing 17.B. PUBLIC SAFETY (Cheney (Chair), Soucy, Lipman) 17.C. GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS & ORDINANCES (Soucy (Chair), Felch, Cheney) 17.C.i. Review of Chapter 167, Noise and Chapter 161 Licensing as it pertains to outdoor sound equipment and loudspeakers 17.C.ii. Ordinance Amending Chapter 221, Vehicles and Traffic/Parking on Sublawns 17.C.iii. Procedural review of grant applications 17.C.iv. Regulation of Short Term Residential Rental Businesses 17.C.v. Proposed Historic Overlay District 17.C.vi. Scenic Road Motorcycle Noise Petition 17.C.vii. Use of public property by for-profit entities 17.C.viii. Short Term Rentals 17.C.ix. Naming privilege's to public areas 17.D. LAND & BUILDINGS (Hamel (Chair), Haynes, Felch) 17.D.i. Downtown parking garage 17.D.ii. Repair & maintenance of City buildings 17.D.iii. Plan for the DPW Compound 17.E. PUBLIC WORKS (Haynes (Chair), Felch, Soucy) 17.E.i. Retaining Wall Policy 17.E.ii. Discussion for converting from a manual to an automated solid waste curbside collection service  17.E. PUBLIC WORKS (Haynes (Chair), Felch, Soucy) 17.E.i. Retaining Wall Policy 17.E.ii. Discussion for converting from a manual to an automated solid waste curbside collection service 18. LIAISON REPORTS 19. CITIZENS REQUESTS TO COMMENT ON CURRENT AGENDA ITEMS Charlie St. Clair commented on the trash proposal. He read in the paper that residents will have to bring trash to the curb. He is not thrilled to have to move snow to make room for curbside pickup. He asked if residents will be financially responsible for stolen containers. He doesn't think Casella has the City’s best interest in mind and suggested having the City take on the trash removal instead of an outside company. Sheri Minor agreed with C. St. Clair's comments. She owns many multi-family units in Laconia. She has a trash problem currently and has concerns about stolen containers. Calvin Dunn of Ward 4 agrees with the last comments as well. He read the article in the paper and thought the City would be proposing the changes to come. Mayor Hosmer noted nothing will be voted on tonight, but a proposal will be discussed later on the agenda. C. Dunn doesn't see where the change will benefit the City. Steve Loughlin, 49 Audrey Lane, addressed the Council. He complimented the DPW director and employees and feels they have been doing great work this winter. He agrees with the snow issues for the automated pick up. He asked the Council to consider other companies for the contract and he would rather see an outside source handling trash pickup instead of the City. Harry Bean agreed with the prior comments. He owns multi-family units in Laconia and feels the proposal will create untold problems. He asked where the containers will be stored. Snowbanks are an issue. He feels the proposal should be presented before the public is allowed to comment. He feels the amount of containers will not be enough. He also feels that there are many complications with the automated process. 20. CITY MANAGER'S REPORT 20.A. Financial and Operational Trends Report City Manager Myers reviewed the Financial and Operational Trends report. 21. NEW BUSINESS 21.A. Authorize acceptance of a State of New Hampshire, Department of Safety, 2021 Homeland Security Competitive Grant in the amount of $98,251.81 to fund the purchase of an Emergency Response Trailer along with Emergency Response Supplies Councilor Cheney moved to authorize acceptance of a State of New Hampshire, Department of Safety, 2021 Homeland Security Competitive Grant in the amount of $98,251.81 to fund the purchase of an Emergency Response Trailer along with Emergency Response supplies; and further moved to authorize the City Manager to enter into contracts or agreements on behalf of the City of Laconia with the NH Department of Justice, and to execute any necessary documents with regard to the grant, seconded by Councilor Haynes; the motion passed by roll call vote with all in favor. 21.B. Request to approve revised Boardwalk Policy Councilor Cheney moved to approve the revised Boardwalk Policy as presented reflecting an increase in the vendor space fee for Boardwalk vendor spaces for Laconia Motorcycle Week to $1,750 each, seconded by Councilor Soucy; the motion passed by roll call vote with all in favor. 21.C. Request to create an Appointments Committee of the City Council  Councilor Cheney moved to approve the revised Boardwalk Policy as presented reflecting an increase in the vendor space fee for Boardwalk vendor spaces for Laconia Motorcycle Week to $1,750 each, seconded by Councilor Soucy; the motion passed by roll call vote with all in favor. 21.C. Request to create an Appointments Committee of the City Council Motion made by Councilor Soucy approve the creation of an Appointments Committee of the City Council as presented, seconded by Councilor Haynes. Councilor Haynes spoke on behalf of the Heritage Commission. The Commission has been short members and is in need of the pending appointments to be reviewed. He is looking for the appointments to be made as quickly as possible so the Commission can have a quorum and meet. The motion passed by roll call vote with all in favor. The Appointments Committee will consist of Councilor Haynes, Councilor Soucy and Councilor Cheney. The entire Council was in consensus with these three Councilors being named to the Appointments Committee. 21.D. Request to appoint Joanne Gurgigno as Ward 1 Moderator for a term expiring at the end of December 2023 Motion made by Councilor Cheney to appoint Joanne Gurgigno as Ward 1 Moderator for a term expiring at the end of December, 2023, seconded by Councilor Soucy; the motion passed by roll call vote with all in favor. 21.E. Request to appoint Martha Clement as Ward 1 Clerk for a term expiring at the end of December, 2023 Motion made by Councilor Cheney to appoint Martha Clement as Ward 1 Clerk for a term expiring at the end of December, 2023, seconded by Councilor Hamel; the motion passed by roll call vote with all in favor. 21.F. Amend City Code Chapter 161, Licensing, to update Sections 161-11.A. and 161-19 Motion made by Councilor Cheney to waive reading of Ordinance 2022-161-11,19 in its entirety and to read by title only, seconded by Councilor Haynes; the motion passed by roll call vote with all in favor. Motion made by Councilor Soucy for a first reading of Ordinance 2022-161-11,19 amending Chapter 161, Licensing, to update Sections 161-11.A. and 161-19, seconded by Councilor Cheney; the motion passed by roll call vote with all in favor. Motion made by Councilor Haynes to schedule a public hearing on February 28, 2022 during the regular City Council meeting to gather public input prior to any action being taken, seconded by Councilor Hamel; the motion passed by roll call vote with all in favor.. 21.G. Discussion of RFQ for Urban Planning Services for downtown Laconia parking study Mayor Hosmer thinks this is a very good first draft and recommended some edits. He suggested looking at the whole downtown area, not just parking. Councilor Soucy agreed. Councilor Cheney stated he is antsy about having a study for everything and would like to see the parking issue fixed first. Councilor Lipman wants to make sure the decisions made will help in the long run. Councilor Felch seconded Councilor Cheney’s comments that parking and the parking garage are the number one issues. City Manager Myers noted that there are a few different dynamics with multiple components to be looked at for the big picture. Motion made by Councilor Cheney to table the Discussion of RFQ for Urban Planning Services for downtown Laconia parking study, seconded by Councilor Soucy; the motion passed by roll call vote with all in favor.  Felch seconded Councilor Cheney’s comments that parking and the parking garage are the number one issues. City Manager Myers noted that there are a few different dynamics with multiple components to be looked at for the big picture. Motion made by Councilor Cheney to table the Discussion of RFQ for Urban Planning Services for downtown Laconia parking study, seconded by Councilor Soucy; the motion passed by roll call vote with all in favor. 22. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 22.A. Converting to an automated solid waste curbside collection system upon completion of the current manual collection contract City Manager Myers gave a brief summary of the proposal and background of the bids. In either case of a manual or automated process there will be an increase in the current price. Public Works Director Wes Anderson gave the presentation. There will be a $320,000 increase in the City’s solid waste disposal cost for FY 2023 compared to the budget for FY 2022. The decisions that will need to be made are: whether or not to convert to automated pickup; what changes the City wants; and what solid waste fee increase will be made. The current collection contract expires October 1, 2022. The Incinerator contract expires December 31, 2022 and the Transfer Station contract expires May 20, 2027. Director Anderson went over the PowerPoint presentation. A survey was done about a year ago to see how many residents still had the original toters and those that responded still had them. City Manager Myers noted there will be an educational component of a transition to automated pickup. Nothing is being reduced in terms of what is currently being allowed. A decision will need to be made on the conversion and the container sizes by Council. Councilor Lipman brought up the public concerns from the beginning of the meeting and that those concerns should be looked at. Mayor Hosmer read the email form the Casella Market Manager on the increase of cost and that manual services will not be part of their future plans. The education component will be important to the success of the change. Mayor Hosmer asked Councilor Haynes to take over the meeting as he had a personal matter to attend to. Mayor Hosmer left the meeting. Councilor Felch mentioned that manual trash removal is the 5th most dangerous job and he would rather the City not take it over. Councilor Cheney is sympathetic to concerns regarding the multi- family container amounts and suggested the numbers get looked at again. Councilor Soucy agrees with Councilor Cheney about the multi-family amounts. Mayor Pro Tem Haynes mentioned that the proposal was studied by the Public Works Committee before coming to the Council. The City has exhausted any company that could have been interested in bidding. Motion made by Councilor Soucy to table converting to an automated solid waste curbside collection system upon completion of the current manual collection contract, seconded by Councilor Cheney; the motion passed by a roll call vote with all in favor. 23. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS 23.A. Master Plan 23.B. Milfoil Treatment funding requests 23.C. Sewer & Water Master Plan 23.D. Single Stream Recycling/Concord Co-op/Solid Waste disposal cost reductions 23.E. Strategic Planning/Goal Setting 23.F. WOW Trail 23.G. Weirs Beach Restoration Project  23.E. Strategic Planning/Goal Setting 23.F. WOW Trail 23.G. Weirs Beach Restoration Project 23.H. Fair St/Court St traffic problems and accidents 24. Any other business that may come before the Council 25. NON-PUBLIC SESSION (According to RSA 91-A:3, II) 26. ADJOURNMENT With no further business to come before the Council and hearing no objection, Mayor Pro Tem Haynes adjourned the meeting at 8:37 pm. Respectfully, Acting City Clerk Stacy Anders