City Council

Minutes were approved by the Public Works Committee on August 14, 2025. CITY OF LACONIA - CITY COUNCIL SUBCOMMITTEE MEETING Public Works Committee 5:00 P.M. City Hall - Armand A. Bolduc Council Chamber 12/18/2024 - Minutes 1. CALL TO ORDER Chairman Haynes called the meeting to order at 5:00 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 and Councilor Haynes. Absent: Councilor Soucy Chairman Haynes confirmed that two committee members were in attendance and a quorum was established. Councilor Soucy arrived at 5:12 PM 5. STAFF IN ATTENDANCE Wes Anderson, Public Works Director 6. ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES FROM PREVIOUS MEETINGS 6.A. Public Works Subcommittee minutes of October 10, 2024 Councilor Soucy made a motion to accept the public works subcommittee minutes of October 10, 2024, the motion was seconded by Councilor Haynes. Discussion: None. The minutes were approved 2-1, Councilor Hoffman Abstained. 7. PUBLIC WORKS (Haynes, Soucy and Hoffman) 7.A. Request to make Howard Street one way and no parking on one side of the street The City Council held a public hearing on November 12th on Councilor Soucy’s request to make Howard Street one way for its entire length and to make one side of the road no parking. Based on resident comments the City Council voted to send the request back to the Public Works Subcommittee for further review.  7.A. Request to make Howard Street one way and no parking on one side of the street The City Council held a public hearing on November 12th on Councilor Soucy’s request to make Howard Street one way for its entire length and to make one side of the road no parking. Based on resident comments the City Council voted to send the request back to the Public Works Subcommittee for further review. Howard Street is 19 feet wide, and parking is allowed on both sides of the road. Howard Street is partially one way. It is one way from Riverside Court to the entrance to Victoria Woods (see attached map). There are two pickup trucks that have habitually parked at the corner between 11 & 15 Howard Street. When the trucks are parked there it is difficult for a car to get by, never mind a fire truck or ambulance. Howard Street should be one-way from Riverside Court to Church Street and one side, the odd numbered side, of the street should be no parking. Riverside Court is a private street and is one of the streets eligible to participate in the accept as-is program. Most of the properties on Howard Street are multifamily and some of the properties have limited parking. The owner of the Brick Front Restaurant on October 25, 2024, notified the City that he does not support making Howard Street one way for its entire length due to the difficulty of servicing their dumpsters and making deliveries. Howard Street is one way from the driveway into Victoria Woods towards Riverside Court. Large trucks serving the Brick Front’s dumpsters or making deliveries on Howard Street would have to back into Church Street, turn around in Victoria Woods’ private parking lot, violate the one-way section of the street or access Howard Street from Riverside Court. Backing into Church Street is unsafe, especially with the parking spaces on Church Street. Traveling the wrong way on a one-way street is unsafe and can cause other problems. After reviewing the Brick Front owner’s concerns, Public Works recommends that Howard Street be changed to a one-way street to aid in emergency vehicle response. Fiscal Impact: The estimated cost to install the necessary signs to implement these changes is $800. The cost of the signs will come from Public Works’ regulatory sign budget. Staff Recommendation: Staff recommends the City Council approves making Howard Street a one- way street and making the odd numbered side of the street a no parking area. There was a discussion about the width of the road and that the original complaint came into Councilor Soucy as a parking dispute between neighbors. When the dispute was discussed, the conversation turned to how tight it is to get emergency vehicles through there. The committee does not want to get involved with a civil dispute between neighbors. After reviewing the aerial map, the area that is the tightest is at the corner of the road on the Brick Front/ Victoria Woods end with people parking on both sides of the street. The committee does not feel that acting on both the no parking and making the road one way all at the same time would be good, they would like to focus on no parking in one area of the street first and see how that works out. Councilor Soucy made a motion to make the first section of Howard Street no parking on both sides of the street, and on the no parking street signs on the side of the Brickfront building there will be a loading zone area added to the sign so the delivery trucks shouldn’t have a problem. The motion was seconded by Councilor Hoffman. Discussion: None. The motion passed with all in favor. 3-0 8. Any other business that may come before the Committee 9. ADJOURNMENT Chairman Haynes adjourned the meeting at 5:29 PM. Respectfully Submitted, 9. ADJOURNMENT Chairman Haynes adjourned the meeting at 5:29 PM. Respectfully Submitted, Katie Gargano, City Clerk