City Council

Minutes were approved by the Laconia City Council on June 2, 2025. CITY OF LACONIA - CITY COUNCIL MEETING City Hall - Armand A. Bolduc City Council Chamber 6:00 P.M. 5/27/2025 - Minutes 1. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Hosmer called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM 2. SALUTE TO THE FLAG Councilor Hoffman led the salute to the flag. 3. RECORDING SECRETARY Katie Gargano, City Clerk 4. ROLL CALL Clerk Gargano called the role of the following councilors: Councilor Cheney, Councilor Soucy, Councilor Hoffman, Councilor Haynes, Councilor Bogert and Councilor Felch. Mayor Hosmer confirmed that all 6 Councilors were in attendance and a quorum was established. 5. STAFF IN ATTENDANCE Kirk Beattie, City Manager; Glenn Smith, Finance Director 6. PRESENTATIONS 6.A. Department Budget Presentation - Fire Department Chief Joubert went over the following items with the council: Laconia Fire Department Organizational Chart Their philosophy: Do your best, Do what’s right, Treat people the way you want to be treated, always ask yourself- what is in the best interest of the people we serve. New Vehicles on order: 2 Ambulances with an estimated 3/2026 delivery, a new engine with an estimated 10/2025 delivery and a new ladder truck with an estimated 11/2025 delivery. The pilot community paramedicine program- the partnership for public health worked with the Laconia Fire Department and received a three-year health resources and services administration grant. This grant funds the mobile integrated health “Community Paramedic Program”, grant total $450,000.00. this program just started this month and they have already had 43 patient contacts. Councilor Soucy asked about the Paramedic contract is up to 48 today, he’d like to see a breakdown on the type of calls they are. How many of those calls resulted in a transport and how many did not. The Fire Prevention Division is responsible for: Fire Inspections, Fire Investigations, Fire Prevention Education, Fireground Accountability and Plans Review. There were 1,330 Inspections and Plan  Councilor Soucy asked about the Paramedic contract is up to 48 today, he’d like to see a breakdown on the type of calls they are. How many of those calls resulted in a transport and how many did not. The Fire Prevention Division is responsible for: Fire Inspections, Fire Investigations, Fire Prevention Education, Fireground Accountability and Plans Review. There were 1,330 Inspections and Plan Reviews conducted from 5/1/24-5/1/25. The department has 18 paramedics (5 RSA Certified), 2 currently testing for their paramedic licenses and 24 Advanced EMTs. Over the past year they had 6 Rapid Sequence Intubations (RSI), 6 Cardiac Arrest saves, 32 Direct transports to Concord Hospital for Heart Attack, Trauma and Pregnancy. And they had 1 river rescue. The department responded to 4,604 calls last year. Training and staffing coverage continues to be a priority for the Laconia Fire Department to provide proper service to residents and visitors. The extra Duty Coverage line has been increased to allow for the continued training and appropriate staffing coverage for the department. The health and wellbeing of every person who works for the Laconia Fire Department is critical. There is an increase in the Physical Exams budget line that will allow for a more comprehensive exam, including cancer screenings and an increased rate that physicals are conducted. There is an increase to the Lakes Region Mutual Fire, this increase is due to a new funding formula and an increase in the Lakes Region Mutual Fire Aid 2025 operating budget. The Lakes Region Mutual Fire Aid is 35 Communities working together, offers dedicated fire and EMS dispatching, system wide training programs and Bulk purchasing options. Chief Joubert expressed future concerns for training, they have 23 members at the fire department with 4 or less years of experience. They need to develop a training ground where on-duty crews can effectively train and still be available to respond to emergencies. Chief Joubert said we need to take a more pro-active approach in dealing with mental health in the workplace. Early recognition is critical. 20% of all fire personnel meet the criteria for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder during their career. The council had a discussion with the chief about the Chaplin who holds office hours at the fire department, how busy his office is and how in the future we may want to turn it into a paid position to guarantee the support for the employees. Mayor Hosmer thanked Chief Joubert for all the hard work he and his whole department does for the city, it is greatly appreciated. 6.B. Department Budget Presentation - Parks and Recreation Amy Lovisek, Director; introduced Matt Mansur Assistant Director and Foreman Dane Anderson, the key topics being discussed tonight are points of pride, challenges, budget numbers and CIP Requests. Points of pride: Leavitt Park updates at the playground and inside the clubhouse, Replacement of the Bond Beach Bath House, installation of the Robbie Mills Scoreboard. Special events held by parks and rec include Christmas caroling, easter egg hunt, Ukrainian egg decorating; pumpkin carving, cardboard sled race and the annual sledding party and bonfire. Ongoing programming: pickleball, adult pickup basketball, Laconia adult basketball league, tiny tykes for kids 5 and under for open gym, school open gyms, and Opechee day camp. Future programs: hiking/ birding club, cornhole tournaments, beginner pickleball lessons, yoga/wellness program. Consistent larger events held are: 4 th of July celebration, Weirs Beach Facilitation, Community support through park and field maintenance. Weirs Beach Facilitation: they are continuing to receive strong feedback about cleanliness and courteous hospitality, they had less than 3 phone calls to the Laconia Police Department all season last year. Laconia Police Department cameras left up after bike week were a huge deterrent to trouble at the beach. And another year with a large number of patrons. According to a study done from 2023-2024 there were 118,600 visits to weirs beach, 89,500 unique visitors. Many days with  maintenance. Weirs Beach Facilitation: they are continuing to receive strong feedback about cleanliness and courteous hospitality, they had less than 3 phone calls to the Laconia Police Department all season last year. Laconia Police Department cameras left up after bike week were a huge deterrent to trouble at the beach. And another year with a large number of patrons. According to a study done from 2023-2024 there were 118,600 visits to weirs beach, 89,500 unique visitors. Many days with over 2-3,000 visitors on a given summer day at the Weirs. Parks & Recreation Challenges: the conditions of our parks (at times), recruiting recreation program instructors and a new but good challenge will be taking on the Laconia Pumpkin Festival this year. The Parks and Recreation budget is located on pages 68-69 in the proposed budget book. CIP Requests: there were 10 requests brought forth with 2 being funded this year. The 2 approved were commercial turf care equipment and the weirs fire station/community center roof replacement. Councilor Soucy asked if they were going to be offering swim lessons this year? Director Lovisek stated that they are trying to find someone to come in and run a program, there was also a discussion about lifeguards. Director Lovisek stated that Assistant Director Mansur is a certified instructor and will teach and certify all lifeguards, which will save them approximately $450. Even with this offer they still have a very difficult time with staffing. They think this year they won’t even be able to staff bond beach. They used to have 3 lifeguards at Bond beach and they would rotate duties throughout the day. Director Lovisek stated that they felt they were pretty competitive for wages, but it is difficult. Councilor Haynes questioned the playground equipment line, it is typically $25k funded each year and this year it is cut in half. Director Lovisek explained the amount this year is not ideal, but that is where it was cut. She would like to create a playground equipment revolving fund so that she can save the money from year to year to save up for the more expensive pieces of equipment. Councilor Bogert asked about the lighting expense at the field. Director Lovisek explained they get that charge from Eversource as an increase in demand fee. She understands it is very expensive, but she cannot control the cost. It has nothing to do with the age of the system. There was also a discussion about the current conditions and space of the community center. The building is 98 years old, they have a gym and a conference room but there is no space to hold classes and run programs. She did have a request to work on a design for a new community center, it is $75k for the design and that has been stricken from this budget as well. The Mayor thanked them for their presentation this evening and the great job they do keeping up with all their duties for the city. 7. Any other business that may come before the Council 8. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Hosmer adjourned the meeting at 6:58 PM. Respectfully submitted, Katie Gargano, City Clerk