City Council

Minutes were approved on 3/24/2026 by the Public Safety Subcommittee. CITY OF LACONIA - CITY COUNCIL SUBCOMMITTEE MEETING PUBLIC SAFETY City Hall - Armand A. Bolduc Council Chamber 3:00 P.M. 2/10/2026 - Minutes 1. CALL TO ORDER Chairman Soucy called the meeting to order at 3:00 PM 2. SALUTE TO THE FLAG Councilor Conant 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 Conant, Councilor Soucy and Councilor Haynes. Chairman Soucy noted that all committee members were present and a quorum was established. 5. STAFF IN ATTENDANCE Kirk Beattie, City Manager; Director Mora, Planning Director 6. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Minutes of the July 8, 2024 meeting. Minutes of the July 8, 2024 meeting were already approved on January 24, 2025. Minutes of January 24, 2025 will need to be placed for approval at the next Public Safety committee meeting. 7. PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE (Councilor Soucy, Councilor Haynes, Councilor Conant) 7.A. Discussion regarding creation of a social district in downtown Laconia At the January 26, 2026 City Council meeting, the matter of creating an area for a social district in downtown Laconia was discussed. The Council referred further review and discussion to the Public Safety Committee. Attached to the agenda is a copy of NH House Bill 467 and a map showing the proposed area for the downtown social district. Manager Beattie began explaining the map lines that are proposed laying out the area. Manager Beattie said we should stick to the parameters listed in the RSA, but he thinks the Council can control the hours and days it can be in operation.  Attached to the agenda is a copy of NH House Bill 467 and a map showing the proposed area for the downtown social district. Manager Beattie began explaining the map lines that are proposed laying out the area. Manager Beattie said we should stick to the parameters listed in the RSA, but he thinks the Council can control the hours and days it can be in operation. They will be sticking to just this area as a trial. Other events throughout the city can still occur outside the district with the same approval they get now through the Special Events Committee. Chairman Soucy stated he’d like to have the area expanded to Rotary Park for the concerts in the park and Pumpkin Festival. The committee discussed the days the Social District would be “open” they discussed a Thursday, Friday, Saturday option or Friday, Saturday, Sunday option. 8. Any other business that may come before the Council Jim Daubenspeck, business owner on Canal Street, has talked to a lot of people downtown and he hasn’t heard anyone opposed to it. He is in favor of it. He has been to Savannah, Georgia and it works very well down there. He stated there are already several licensed restaurants downtown that can serve alcohol. The flipside, defiant, the candy bar, taco bay, wayfarer. Manager Beattie will take the notes from today and will come back to the committee with some ideas on how to move forward. 9. ADJOURNMENT Chairman Soucy adjourned the meeting at 3:40 PM. Respectfully Submitted, Katie Gargano, City Clerk