City Council

Minutes were approved on January 30, 2025, by the Government Operations & Ordinances Subcommittee. CITY OF LACONIA - CITY COUNCIL SUBCOMMITTEE MEETING GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS & ORDINANCES COMMITTEE City Hall - Armand A. Bolduc City Council Chamber 2:00 P.M. 7/25/2024 - Minutes 1. CALL TO ORDER Chairman Haynes called the meeting to order at 2:00 PM 2. SALUTE TO THE FLAG Councilor Cheney led the salute to the flag. 3. RECORDING SECRETARY Hilary Young, Administrative Assistant to the City Clerk 4. ROLL CALL Administrative Assistant Young called the roll of the following committee members Councilor Cheney, Councilor Haynes and Councilor Felch. Chairman Haynes noted that all 3 committee members were in attendance and a quorum was established. 5. STAFF IN ATTENDANCE Kirk Beattie, City Manager, Police Chief Matt Canfield, Public Works Director Wes Anderson, Planning Director Rob Mora 6. ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES FROM PREVIOUS MEETINGS Minutes for the May 22, 2024 meeting were approved at the July 10, 2024 meeting. 7. GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS & ORDINANCES (Haynes, Felch, Cheney) 7.A. Discussion of parking for downtown residents and business owners/employees City Manager Beattie briefed the committee on recent complaints about the parking issues in the downtown area. Councilor Felch would like to see parking meters placed in the downtown area where there are current time limits. He stated that we offer free parking behind the church. Councilor Cheney does not think it will address the issue. Councilor Bogart stated that the 2-hour limit during the daytime for tenants might be hard if they work night shift and will have issues on their days off. He would like to know how many apartments are in the downtown area that would need parking passes. Director Mora stated that the planning department requires 1.5 spots per unit, but the downtown area is not required to have parking spots.  Councilor Bogart stated that the 2-hour limit during the daytime for tenants might be hard if they work night shift and will have issues on their days off. He would like to know how many apartments are in the downtown area that would need parking passes. Director Mora stated that the planning department requires 1.5 spots per unit, but the downtown area is not required to have parking spots. Cheney would like to offer one permit per unit for nighttime. City Manager Beattie stated that the city currently offers parking passes to tenants for overnight parking. Director Anderson stated that he issues the parking permits to the landlords, and they are the ones who give them to their tenants. Councilor Felch has issues taking away parking for the businesses throughout the day. Councilor Cheney stated that he was here when the city took the meters out of downtown, it was because businesses didn’t like the meters. Councilor Cheney asked Chief Canfield if his department can enforce 2-hour parking and overnight parking. Patrol officers currently enforce overnight parking and the seasonal parking enforcement positions end at the end of August, after that it is in the hands of the patrol officers. There was a brief discussion of new parking software and a full-time position for parking enforcement. Councilor Cheney requested that Chief Canfield provide an estimate of cost for the new parking software and the position. Chairman Haynes does not want to have parking meters and would like to see about the new parking software and parking enforcement. The committee agreed to continue providing the overnight parking passes to the landlords for the tenant’s use. 7.B. Discussion of the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling with regard to homeless encampments Officer Eric Adams briefed the committee regarding the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling and what the City of Manchester has implemented. He stated we have great systems and resources in place to help with the homeless. They have a street outreach program which is made up of members from Lakes Region Mental Health, CAP, and Navigating Recovery. Officer Adams believes we need to do more enforcement but also air on the side of caution. Chairman Haynes believes that people do not understand what is going on behind the scenes. Officer Adams stated that the street outreach program urges neighbors of encampments to contact them with concerns or complaints and they can assist them. Councilor Felch questioned how we get that information out there regarding the Street Outreach Program. Officer Adams stated that we could put it on the city website, or they can directly contact him, and he will get them in touch with the appropriate team. Officer Adams briefed the committee on the mayor’s housing task force. Cheney asked what kind of enforcement rules the council should add to the city ordinance to help the Police Department. 7.C. Discussion of the City Council's guidance on the plan to resolve the issue with the City maintaining private roads  Cheney asked what kind of enforcement rules the council should add to the city ordinance to help the Police Department. 7.C. Discussion of the City Council's guidance on the plan to resolve the issue with the City maintaining private roads City Manager Beattie stated that there have been a lot of questions regarding the guidelines requiring 100% owner permission to make a private road public and questioning whether we are doing this correctly. Chairman Haynes believed the council is doing what they should be doing. Councilor Felch is concerned that they can get all but one or two to get an easement on Hillcrest. He is wondering if that could be overridden. Naomi Butterfield from the Mitchell Municipal Group briefed the committee that the City Council decided on the rule of 100%. The Council can change the rules within the city ordinance. Councilor Cheney would like her to give recommendations to the committee on changes to the ordinance. She stated that they can work on a proposed amendment to the city ordinance. 7.D. Update from Public Works Director Wes Anderson on EPA permit and private sewer systems Public Works Director Anderson stated that they get a new permit every 5 years. The current permit began on July 1, 2024. The permit has changed, there is no reporting requirement for private sewer systems, for example sanitary sewer overflow. No responsibly on the city if there are overflows on private sewer systems. Councilor Cheney encourages the private systems to inspect them regularly. He asked if the city could offer to inspect them at a rate, to make sure they are inspecting them. Director Anderson stated that he will have to do some research before they offer this type of service. 8. CITIZENS REQUESTS TO COMMENT ON CURRENT AGENDA ITEMS 9. Any other business that may come before the Council 10. ADJOURNMENT Chairman Haynes adjourned the meeting at 3:11 PM. Respectfully Submitted, Hilary Young, Administrative Assistant to the City Clerk