City Council

Minutes were approved by the city council on 3/25/2024. CITY OF LACONIA - CITY COUNCIL MEETING 7:00 P.M. 3/11/2024 - Minutes 1. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Hosmer called the meeting to order at 7:04 PM 2. SALUTE TO THE FLAG City Manager Beattie led the salute to the flag. After the Pledge, Manager Beattie recognized Mark Miller who was a Laconia Fire Fighter and passed away while conducting a dive training exercise while on the job 20 years ago. He was an experienced diver and a great asset to the Laconia Fire Department who will never be forgotten. A moment of silence was held in Council Chambers in Mark’s Honor. 3. RECORDING SECRETARY Katie Gargano, City Clerk 4. ROLL CALL Clerk Gargano called the roll of the following councilors: Councilor Cheney, Councilor Soucy, Councilor Hoffman, Councilor Haynes, Councilor Bogert, and Councilor Felch. Mayor Hosmer confirmed that all the councilors were in attendance and a quorum was established. 5. STAFF IN ATTENDANCE Kirk Beattie, City Manager; Glenn Smith, Finance Director 6. COUNCIL PROCLAMATION 7. ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES FROM PREVIOUS MEETINGS 7.A. Regular City Council meeting minutes of February 26, 2024 Minutes of the Laconia City Council meeting of February 26, 2024, were distributed to members of the City Council on March 7, 2024. With no corrections or changes submitted to the Clerk, the minutes were accepted as distributed. 8. CONSENT & ACTION ITEMS 9. CITIZEN COMMENTS FOR MATTERS NOT ON THE AGENDA No one from the public wished to speak. 10. INTERVIEWS 9. CITIZEN COMMENTS FOR MATTERS NOT ON THE AGENDA No one from the public wished to speak. 10. INTERVIEWS 11. NOMINATIONS, APPOINTMENTS & ELECTIONS 12. COMMUNICATIONS 13. PUBLIC HEARINGS 14. PRESENTATIONS 15. MAYOR'S REPORT None. 16. COUNCIL COMMENTS Councilor Felch talked about the Robbie Mills Memorial tournament that was held this past weekend. Robbie would have been 40 years old this year. They were able to raise over $10,000.00 this year. This money goes to the Lakes Region Children’s Auction and the Lakes Region Boys & Girls Club, who Robbie was apart of. Over the last 16 years they have raised over S100,000.00. Mayor Hosmer commended Councilor Felch for his dedication to the tournament. Councilor Haynes talked about the recent article about the Shoemakers and South End Family. He wasn’t sure if everyone knew, but they have always made sure that our DPW workers are fed during snow storms, they are terrific members of our community. 17. COMMITTEE REPORTS 17.A. FINANCE (Soucy, Cheney and Hoffman) 17.A.i. WOW Trail Funding 17.A.ii. Downtown TIF Financing 17.B. PUBLIC SAFETY (Cheney (Chair), Soucy) 17.C. GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS & ORDINANCES (Haynes, Felch, Cheney) Chairman Haynes discussed at their most recent meeting- the historical district is back in session, he is asking the Planning Director to look at phase 2 and to reply to what buildings should be considered as historic. They also discussed the timeline given for demolition permits, they want to make sure the building permit process mimics the demolition process and the Planning Director is going to get back to them, they also reviewed the future items they would like to address and they would like to add Performance zoning, code enforcement on property maintenance, the fireworks ordinance, historic district overlay to the Council Agenda, they also have some items to be removed, Manager Beattie confirmed they would do a staff report for the next meeting. 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.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 (Bogert, 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), Hoffman, 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.F. APPOINTMENTS (Councilors Soucy (Chair), Cheney and Haynes) Chairman Soucy said the Appointments Committee will be meeting on March 20, 2024. 18. LIAISON REPORTS Councilor Cheney who is the Council liaison for the Police Department met with the Police Chief last week, the police department went to a job fair in Massachusetts and only 1 person stopped by their booth. There are currently 8 vacancies, they have 1 pregnant officer who will be put on light duty and 2 male officers who are allowed Paternity leave for up to 12 weeks, the police department is in dire need of help. He wanted to make the council aware of it. 19. CITIZENS REQUESTS TO COMMENT ON CURRENT AGENDA ITEMS No one from the public wished to speak. 20. CITY MANAGER'S REPORT 20.A. Financial and Operational Trends Report Manager Beattie presented the Financial and Operational Trends report to the City Council. There were no questions from the Council to the City Manager. Mayor Hosmer noted to Manager Beattie and Director Smith that he would like to see a trend analysis report to see the numbers since they have started tracking it for EMS Billing. He said there should be a number of years behind us to get some good feedback on where we stand. He’d like to look for ways to close the gap if there is a large disparity in collections. He’d like to have this report sent to the Council by the first week in April to review prior to the first meeting in April.  Mayor Hosmer noted to Manager Beattie and Director Smith that he would like to see a trend analysis report to see the numbers since they have started tracking it for EMS Billing. He said there should be a number of years behind us to get some good feedback on where we stand. He’d like to look for ways to close the gap if there is a large disparity in collections. He’d like to have this report sent to the Council by the first week in April to review prior to the first meeting in April. 21. NEW BUSINESS 21.A. Sale of Lot #18 in Lakes Business Park The Lakes Business Park Commission unanimously approved the sale of Lot #18 in Lakes Business Park at its meeting on February 27, 2024 conditioned upon approval of the Laconia City Council and the Gilford Board of Selectmen. The offer for Lot #18 was received in the amount of $150,000. Current plans for the lot are to construct contractor’s bays with office space for rentals in one or two buildings, and a temporary plan to allow the use of the site as a staging area in exchange for future site work. Discussion: Mayor Hosmer asked if this sale price is consistent with the other lots that have sold. Manager Beattie confirmed most have been in this same ballpark amount, some lots that required a significant amount of site work compared to other lots were sold at a slightly lower price. Mayor Hosmer asked who will receive the property taxes for these lots. Manager Beattie confirmed that the town of Gilford will be receiving the property taxes billed on these lots. The City of Laconia does get a portion of the sale price. Councilor Soucy made a motion to approve the vote of the Lakes Business Park Commission for the sale of Lot #18 in the Lakes Business Park in the amount of $150,000 and to authorize the City Manager to sign the required documents in connection with the sale. Seconded by Councilor Felch Discussion: None. The motion passed with all in favor. 6-0 21.B. Resolution 2024-07, Acceptance of funds from a charitable trust (Brunghardt Grantor Charitable Lead) in the amount of $15,000 to fund the development of a firearms range for the Laconia Police Department By acceptance of these funds, the Laconia Police Department will be able start the planning process to develop a Firearms Range for the Laconia Police Department. The Police Department currently uses the Town of Gilford Police Department Range for qualifications. While the use of the Town of Gilford’s range is free to the Laconia Police Department, the use of the range has to be scheduled. By developing a Firearms Range for the Laconia Police Department, there would be much more flexibility for Laconia Police Officers to train at the range. Discussion: Mayor Hosmer asked if this money will be going to the General Fund or a Trust Fund. Manager Beattie confirmed they would be working with the Police Department to get the funds put into a trust fund. Councilor Cheney made a motion to waive a reading of Resolution 2024-07 in its entirety and to read by title only. Seconded by Councilor Soucy Discussion: None. The motion passed with all in favor. 6-0 Councilor Soucy made a motion to move a first reading of Resolution 2024-07 relative to acceptance of funds from a Charitable Trust (Brungardt Grantor Charitable Lead) in the amount of $15,000 to fund the development of a firearms range for the Laconia Police Department. Seconded by Councilor Cheney Discussion: None. The motion passed with all in favor. 6-0 Councilor Soucy made a motion to schedule a Public Hearing on March 25, 2024 during the regular City Council meeting to gather public input prior to any action being taken. Seconded by Councilor Haynes Discussion: None.  The motion passed with all in favor. 6-0 Councilor Soucy made a motion to schedule a Public Hearing on March 25, 2024 during the regular City Council meeting to gather public input prior to any action being taken. Seconded by Councilor Haynes Discussion: None. The motion passed with all in favor. 6-0 21.C. Request to establish a Transfer Station fee for commercial "bulk" recycling On February 28, 2024, the Public Works Committee reviewed a request from Public Works to establish a fee for commercial customers who are bringing large quantities of recycling to the Transfer Station. The following facts were considered by the City. · Prior to the conversion to automated collection, commercial properties were allowed to bring an unlimited number of recycling containers out to the curb for collection. After the conversion, commercial properties were limited to four 95- gallon recycling containers. If the property owner had a trash dumpster on the lot, the property was not authorized to have any recycling containers. · Residents can bring recycling to the Transfer Station for free. The agreement with Waste Management does not address “bulk” recycling brought in by businesses. The amount of recycling brought to the Transfer Station has significantly increased since the conversion and Waste Management has asked the City to pay them a higher fee for commercial (bulk recycling) or stop accepting commercial recycling per the terms of the agreement. · The draft agreement with Waste Management defines commercial recycling as any recycling that is brought in that is equal to or exceeds the capacity of a fivefoot bed of a pickup truck. · Waste Management’s fee to the City for hauling and processing recycling brought to the Transfer Station is $77.15/ton. Waste Management did not ask to change this fee before the conversion to automated collection as it was typically very low volume. · Waste Management has proposed a model like Casella’s for establishing the fee they would charge the City for bulk commercial recycling. This fee would be adjusted every 6 months instead of every month under the Casella contract. The fee for the next six months would be based on the value of the commodities for the previous six months. Based on the commodity value between June 2023 and November 2023, Waste Management’s fee for single stream recycling would be $157.48 and for only corrugated cardboard it would be $75.97. · The cost of recycling varies based on the value of the commodities associated with the material returned to the market by recycling. Casella’s fee for the month of Jan 2024 for hauling and processing curbside recycling was $121.65/ton after the value of the recycling product was deducted. The Public Works Committee’s recommendation was not unanimous. Two Councilors supported a fee but at a rate lower than the cost of bringing household type trash to the Transfer Station. The other Councilor supported a fee that will cover the fee the City will be paying Waste Management for processing the recycling brought by commercial customers. · Waste Management as of Jan 1st charges $106.76/ton for hauling and disposing of the household waste brought to the Transfer Station. Public Works recommends that the City accepts commercial bulk recycling. That the fee for commercial bulk recycling from Laconia sources be 10% lower than the cost of disposing of household waste rounded up to the nearest dollar and that the fee adjusts automatically based on Waste Management’s model (attached). That the fee for commercial bulk recycling from sources outside the City of Laconia sources would be Waste Management ‘s fee plus $5 more (rounded up to the nearest dollar) for administrative costs. This fee through June of 2024 would be: · Commercial recycling from sources in Laconia $97/ton · Commercial recycling from outside the City $163/ton  Waste Management’s model (attached). That the fee for commercial bulk recycling from sources outside the City of Laconia sources would be Waste Management ‘s fee plus $5 more (rounded up to the nearest dollar) for administrative costs. This fee through June of 2024 would be: · Commercial recycling from sources in Laconia $97/ton · Commercial recycling from outside the City $163/ton Public Works recommends that the City Council approve a concept for the fee so that Public Works can develop changes to the solid waste ordinances for consideration by the City Council at its March 25th meeting. Discussion: Chairman Haynes discussed the subject and said he was the councilor who was not in favor of this item at the public works subcommittee. Councilor Hoffman said he did not like that the fee was proposed by Waste Management was at a higher amount than the trash rate. Currently it is costing the City more money to pay for recycling versus disposing it as trash. Manager Beattie explained this was brought forth because Waste Management came forward looking to establish a fee because of the amount of recycling that is being brought to the transfer station is too much. They cut the proposed amount by 10% which is the figure being presented tonight. Mayor Hosmer thinks this is not ready to be voted on. He’d like to see full report on what it costs to run the transfer station. Councilor Soucy made a motion to Table, seconded by Councilor Bogert. The motion is non- debatable. The item was Tabled. 21.D. Request from the New Hampshire Boat Museum to lease dock space at the City owned Weirs docks The NH Boat Museum, who operates as a 501c3 non-profit organization giving boating tours of Lake Winnipesaukee, has presented the City Council with a proposal to lease 30 feet of dock space to operate their tours from. The request would also include use of a section of dock to run their ticket kiosk from. For the 2023 summer season, Weirs Beach Paddle Boats operated from the Weirs docks. However, due to multiple factors, they will not be returning. The official proposal is attached to the agenda. Councilor Bogert made a motion to schedule a Public Hearing during the regular City Council meeting on March 25, 2024 to gather public input prior to any action being taken regarding the request from the New Hampshire Boat Museum to lease dock space at the City owned Weirs docks. Seconded by Councilor Felch Discussion: Councilor Bogert asked if there was a difference between a boat doing a tour versus a person who parks in the public dock areas. Manager Beattie confirmed they would be in the area of where the paddle boats were. Mayor Hosmer asked the representatives of the boat museum to coordinate a time to go down to the docks with Councilor Cheney & Councilor Felch to show them exactly where they will be docking prior to the next meeting when the public hearing will be held. The representatives said they would be glad to. The motion passed with all in favor. 6-0 21.E. Request to use Non-Capital Reserve funds for mold remediation and repair at the Laconia Central Fire Station A widespread mold issue has been found throughout the Laconia Central Fire Station. The cause has been determined to be condensation from the HVAC system. The requested funds will cover mold remediation, as well as taking preventative measures to ensure the problem does not come back. The Fire Department is requesting up to $25,000 from the Non-Capital Reserve for mold remediation  A widespread mold issue has been found throughout the Laconia Central Fire Station. The cause has been determined to be condensation from the HVAC system. The requested funds will cover mold remediation, as well as taking preventative measures to ensure the problem does not come back. The Fire Department is requesting up to $25,000 from the Non-Capital Reserve for mold remediation and repair. Manager Beattie noted there was a change to the staff report after speaking to Director Smith. The money will be coming from the City Manager’s Contingency line. Not from the Non-Capital Reserve. Councilor Cheney made a motion to approve the use of up to $25,000 from the City Manager’s Contingency account to pay for mold remediation and repair at the Laconia Central Fire Station. Seconded by Councilor Felch Discussion: Councilor Felch wants to make sure the installer is being held responsible if possible. Manager Beattie confirmed they are working with the City Attorney and making sure they are checking all the boxes to verify liability. The motion passed with all in favor. 6-0 22. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 22.A. Update on the Accept As-Is program and the plan to resolve the issue with the City maintaining private roads On January 31st and February 28, 2024, the Public Works Committee reviewed the status of the accept as-is program. The Committee reviewed the Council’s guidance when the program was adopted in 2019. The guidance follows: · Those private roads where the City knows who owns the road are not eligible to participate. · 100% of the owners must agree to give the City an easement. · Roads will not be brought up to City standards. · Dirt roads stay dirt. · Abutters of roads that can participate in the accept as-is program can petition for a betterment process to bring the roads up to City standards if 100% of abutters agree. · Those roads where the owner(s) are known can use the betterment process to have the roads accepted by the City if 100% agree to participate and pay for the improvements. The Committee also reviewed the applicable laws, and the 2011 NH Supreme Court decision on accepting a road through prescription. The Supreme Court’s decision on a case dealing with prescription follows: · A governing body has no authority to make a judicially-binding decision about whether a road has become a public highway; only a court has the jurisdiction to make that determination. The Committee at their January 31st meeting asked Public Works to present at a future Committee meeting a partial list categorized by the Council’s guidance. The Committee at the February 28, 2024 meeting reviewed a partial list of the streets. (The lists are at attachment 1 on the agenda). The Committee delayed any recommendation on Prescott and Paugus Avenues until they could review in further detail (page 1.3). Public Works has stopped providing services to the three streets (Haven Ave, Park Street and Hadley Road) at page 1. Public Works will be stopping services to Plantation and Colonial on June 1, 2024 (page 1.2). The City Council designated these streets as emergency lanes for three years to provide the property  Paugus Avenues until they could review in further detail (page 1.3). Public Works has stopped providing services to the three streets (Haven Ave, Park Street and Hadley Road) at page 1. Public Works will be stopping services to Plantation and Colonial on June 1, 2024 (page 1.2). The City Council designated these streets as emergency lanes for three years to provide the property owners time to organize to either become a road association or petition the City to be accepted through the betterment process. Public Works recommends public services (plowing and solid waste) to the four streets at page 1.4 at attachment 1 be discontinued as of October 1, 2024. The City will be responsible for maintaining the private roads accepted as part of this program. This will increase the annual road maintenance cost in the Public Works annual budget. It will also increase the backlog of roads waiting for improvements as part of the City’s capital road improvement program. Public Works recommends that public services (plowing and solid waste) for the four streets at page 1.4 of attachment 1 be discontinued as of October 1, 2024 as they do not meet the criteria for the accept as-is program. Discussion: Councilor Haynes talked about Prescott Ave and Paugus Ave with our City Attorney, based off testimony dating back to 1920’s from. Mayor Hosmer asked Councilor Felch if he has had any conversations with anyone from Colonial or Plantation. He confirmed that he has not heard from anyone recently. The deadline is quickly approaching. Councilor Cheney asked about the betterment process and if the City can allow for residents to apply for hardships or if the City will contribute an amount of money towards the project to make the betterment amount not as expensive. Manager Beattie is going to look into what is allowed in the betterment process. Councilor Soucy made a motion that the City Council stop public services (plowing and solid waste) for the four streets listed on page 1.4 of attachment 1. The 4 streets are Effar St, Hayes RD, Lane Court and Wallace Court of October 1, 2024, as they do not meet the criteria for the accept as is program. Seconded by Councilor Haynes. Discussion: None. The motion passed with all in favor. 6-0 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.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 24. Any other business that may come before the Council 25. NON-PUBLIC SESSION (According to RSA 91-A:3, II) 26. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Hosmer adjourned the meeting at 7:55 PM Respectfully submitted, Katie Gargano, City Clerk