City Council

Minutes approved on 6/3/24 by the Public Works Subcommittee. CITY OF LACONIA - CITY COUNCIL SUBCOMMITTEE MEETING Public Works Committee City Hall- Armand A. Bolduc Council Chamber 2:30 P.M. 5/24/2024 - Minutes 1. CALL TO ORDER Chairman Haynes called the meeting to order at 2:33 PM. 2. SALUTE TO THE FLAG Chairman Haynes led the salute to the flag. 3. RECORDING SECRETARY Katie Gargano, City Clerk 4. ROLL CALL Clerk Gargano called the roll of the following committee members: Councilor Hoffman, Councilor Haynes. Councilor Soucy- Absent Chairman Haynes confirmed 2 committee members were present and a quorum was established. 5. STAFF IN ATTENDANCE Kirk Beattie, City Manager; Wes Anderson, Director of Public Works 6. ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES FROM PREVIOUS MEETINGS 6.A. Public Works Subcommittee meeting minutes - May 8, 2024 The minutes of the May 8, 2024 meeting was distributed to the members of the committee. No changes or corrections were sent to the clerk. Councilor Hoffman made a motion to accept the minutes as presented seconded by Councilor Haynes, Approved. 7. PUBLIC WORKS (Haynes, Soucy and Hoffman) 7.A. Fair and Court Street intersection Concerns have been raised about traffic safety at the Fair Street and Court Street intersection. At their May 13, 2024 meeting, the City Council referred this matter to the Public Works Subcommittee. Director Anderson passed out 2 maps to the committee members, one map shows the intersection design, the other is from our mapping software.  their May 13, 2024 meeting, the City Council referred this matter to the Public Works Subcommittee. Director Anderson passed out 2 maps to the committee members, one map shows the intersection design, the other is from our mapping software. Manager Beattie got a report from the police department and over the last 11 years there have been 33 accidents, he didn’t break them down completely but most of them involved turning. The most was in 2015 when there were 6 accidents, all the others are under 5. All are minor accidents with limited to no injuries reported. An average of 3 accidents per year. Councilor Haynes doesn’t think this enough traffic accidents to warrant putting in a light or limiting the left-hand turn. Councilor Hoffman agreed. Director Anderson said the cost of a light could cost $250- $500K and that the city may have to purchase some of the land from the property owners because the boundary lines are very tight in that area. The committee is not in favor of a traffic light. Director Anderson said there isn’t anything they really can do with this intersection, there are issues with visibility due to the hedging on a property and a stone wall that was deemed as historical by the state historical society. There was a discussion about ways they could change the road, removing the ability to make a left-hand turn out of Fair Street onto Court Street, making the road one way from Court Street down to the intersection of Winnisquam Ave, installing a traffic light at Court Street. Potential changes like this would compound the traffic on neighboring streets. Councilor Haynes fears a larger problem will be created in this case. The committee agreed that this information would be taken under advisement, no action would be taken on the intersection at this time. 8. Any other business that may come before the Committee Director Anderson has the price from Casella, but they were Salem’s prices, so he asked for a price closer to our area. He also spoke about an update coming out for this weekend about a travel interruption on North Main Street between the Laconia Clinic and the Oak Street intersection. The manholes are sinking and are being run over by too many heavy trucks. The plan is to close the road allow the company to repair the manholes, pull them up level and fix the mortar, allow it to set over night and then they will pave it the next day. The road will be reopened after the paving is complete. 9. ADJOURNMENT Chairman Haynes adjourned the meeting at 2:56 PM Respectfully Submitted, Katie Gargano