Aldermen, Board of

A regular meeting of the Board of Aldermen was held Tuesday, January 13, 2015, at 7:30 p.m. in the Aldermanic Chamber. President David W. Deane presided; City Clerk Paul R. Bergeron recorded. Prayer was offered by City Clerk Paul R. Bergeron; Alderman Dowd led in the Pledge to the Flag. The roll call was taken with 15 members of the Board of Aldermen present. Mayor Donnalee Lozeau and Corporation Counsel Stephen M. Bennett were also in attendance. REMARKS BY THE MAYOR Mayor Lozeau Thank you, Mr. President. With this being the first Board meeting for 2015 I just wanted to extend my best wishes to all of you and your families and our citizens of Nashua. I look forward to the New Year ahead and to complete projects and make things happen that are in the best interest of our citizens. I think it’s kind of funny that some projects that are underway were conceived before some of us in this room were born but some things are worth waiting for and as the good book says, “for every time there is a season, there is a reason for things.” When I first ran for Mayor 2007 I really believed that I was the right person at the right time for that job. Serving as Mayor in Nashua, my lifelong home, has been an honor that I am sure will never be matched in my lifetime. Just as 2007 was the right time for me to run and be elected Mayor, 2016 for me is the right time to look forward to other opportunities and to search new ventures. Without taking up a lot of your time tonight, I thought you should be the first group to know that I have decided not to seek re-election for a third term. As I am sure you can appreciate and imagine, this is not a decision that I take lightly, I have given it a lot thought and after 7 years of being in this position and the thing that we have accomplished together; I think there is more that can be done and I want to make sure that I put the city in the best possible situation that I can when the new administration takes over on January 3, 2016. It’s probably good news for some and not for others. I am going to spend this last year still being the Mayor and doing my job. Just so we are clear I am going to be paying attention to it and I am going to put all of my energy and attention onto it the way I always have and I look forward to working with you and finishing projects that were slated to be finished this year and starting ones that can be completed this year. In the very end, I will make sure that I leave this city in the best position that I can. I wanted to give you the courtesy of letting you know as soon as I could and this being the first meeting of the year I thought this would be a good time to do it. Thank you for your kind attention, as always, this evening. RESPONSE TO REMARKS OF THE MAYOR Alderwoman Brown I am disappointed to hear that Mayor, but thank you for letting us know with certainly enough time. I appreciate your honesty. Alderwoman Melizzi-Golja I would also like to thank the Mayor for telling us in person rather than in an e-mail. Thank you for taking this opportunity to let us know. Alderman Siegel I would like to thank the Mayor for her hard work. I know that sometimes we are on opposite sides of the issue but nobody can deny how hard the Mayor works and how committed you are. Even though sometimes we are on opposite ends of the spectrum on things and sometimes it’s actually funny or not…I really do appreciate the fact that you do care. Thank you very much for your service and I know that you have a very difficult job and I am sure it was a difficult decision. Board of Aldermen - 1/13/15 Page 2 Alderman Moriarty I want to thank you for respecting us and telling us in person. Alderman Donchess I would like to thank Mayor Lozeau for her service to the city. I first met her when she was in the legislature and she fought very hard for Nashua for I believe 16 years in the legislature. Although sometimes we are on opposite sides, if you look in the voting record, we are usually on the same side. I would like to thank her for her at least 24 years of service in the public sector to the City of Nashua. Alderman Soucy This was a blind side and I can assure you that I won’t be running for your job either. I do want to thank you for your many years of service and at no time have I ever questioned your integrity and that you have had the best interest for the City of Nashua. I hope wherever you decide to move on to that you are comfortable there and I am sure you will do a great job. Alderman Sheehan I will echo my colleague’s thanks for your service but I will add thank you for smashing the glass ceiling. You are the first woman Mayor and I think that hopefully there will be more. I am not announcing anything as I have no interest in it either but I think that it’s important for young women and young leaders to feel like anything is possible and you made that very obvious to people. I thank you for being courageous enough to run for something that nobody else had ever gotten with your qualifications. Alderman McGuinness You have always had my very best regards and I wish the best for you a year from now. I hope you are heading somewhere that you are going to love and enjoy. It was a pleasure serving you for this short year that I have been in office. Alderman Caron I too would like to thank you for making that announcement to us as a group. I think that was very courageous of you because you could have held off a little longer and kept everybody in suspense. I have been here for three years and I know that you and I butt heads because working for the city and knowing some of things that I know; we were able to overcome some of those things and work hand in hand and I appreciate some of the things that you were able to do for me personally and for some of the people in my ward. I respect you and I think that wherever you go you do a fine job. Alderman Chasse Did you win the lottery? Mayor Lozeau No. Alderman Chasse It was enjoyable working with you all these years. I know that sometimes we are on different sides of the fence but when we leave this horseshoe you will still be my friend. Board of Aldermen - 1/13/15 Page 3 Alderman Schoneman Mayor, thank you very much for the service that you have provided here. I have had a chance to work with people over the years that have provided service to the country and to cities and municipalities and I have thoroughly enjoyed working with you. I have learned a lot too, this has been an interesting year as my first year in public service. Your job is very difficult, this job is very difficult and it’s difficult in ways that I didn’t really appreciate before I got here. Observing your conduct and the way that you handle situations and people; it’s been an inspiration. I am grateful for your service and I will miss seeing you in that chair. Alderman Dowd I thank you for your service but I look forward to supporting you for the next 12 months. You are not going anywhere right now. There are still many things to do and accomplish. Alderman McCarthy I think in the time I have been on this Board, I have worked with four Mayors and have known a total of eight, nine if you include the reincarnation of Josephus Baldwin that appeared around the time of the sesquicentennial but I don’t count that for real. I don’t think there is any question that no Mayor has ever worked harder for the City of Nashua or had more commitment to its furthering on. I look forward to working with you for the remainder of the year. President Deane Thank you, Mayor. I appreciate working with you. I first met the Mayor over at the Senior Activity Center at Davidson Landing when she was working with Southern New Hampshire Services and we championed that effort that’s on Temple Street now. It’s been a success for our seniors. I look forward to spending the next 12 months with you. We still have things to do. Thank you for announcing it before the Board, I appreciate it. Mayor Lozeau I appreciate everyone’s kind words. I know you are surprised to have heard it tonight and I did not mean to blind side you, I just wanted take the opportunity to tell you. RECOGNITION PERIOD - None READING MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING MOTION BY ALDERMAN McCARTHY THAT THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN MEETING OF DECEMBER 23, 2014, BE ACCEPTED, PLACED ON FILE AND THE READING SUSPENDED MOTION CARRIED COMMUNICATIONS MOTION BY ALDERMAN MORIARTY THAT ALL COMMUNICATIONS BE READ BY TITLE ONLY MOTION CARRIED From: Mayor Donnalee Lozeau Re: Operating Agreement with Essex Power Services, Inc. MOTION BY ALDERMAN MORIARTY TO ACCEPT, PLACE ON FILE AND AUTHORIZE THE CITY TO ENTER INTO THE OPERATING AGREEMENT WITH ESSEX POWER SERVICES, INC. MOTION CARRIED Board of Aldermen - 1/13/15 Page 4 MOTION BY ALDERMAN CHASSE THAT THE RULES BE SO FAR SUSPENDED AS TO ALLOW FOR THE INTRODUCTION OF TWO COMMUNICATIONS RECEIVED AFTER THE AGENDA WAS PREPARED MOTION CARRIED From: Mayor Donnalee Lozeau Re: Additional Appointment MOTION BY ALDERMAN CHASSE TO ACCEPT AND PLACE ON FILE MOTION CARRIED President Deane The second communication is from James B. and Mary Cutter. MOTION BY ALDERMAN CHASSE TO ACCEPT AND PLACE ON FILE MOTION CARRIED PERIOD FOR PUBLIC COMMENT RELATIVE TO ITEMS EXPECTED TO BE ACTED UPON THIS EVENING Mr. Sam Tamposi, Jr. – 39 Indian Rock Road Our family owns the property located at 242 Main Street which is the site of the C.V.S. store and I am here tonight asking for your support of the R-14-092 as amended. First of all I would like to thank many of the Aldermen who I have had a chance to talk to about this over the last 30 days. There are several of you that I haven’t had a chance to talk to but thank you very much for your time. I also want to thank the Finance Committee members last week for allowing myself and Rich Lannan to engage in a dialogue with the committee last Wednesday. As most of my comments are already part of that public record, there’s no need for me to spend time on that. The crux of the matter is that C.V.S. needs 37 parking spots for a 25 year period in order to make the project financially feasible for the redevelopment of the site which involves our property, the Labine Family property; better known as where Giant of Siam used to be and Paul Charron’s property where the Charron Medical Equipment Supply is located. The project has evolved as a joint effort among the city, C.V.S., the hospital, and the three property owners. Tonight I just respectfully request your endorsement of the proposed resolution as amended. Mr. Rich Lannan, 70 Taggart Drive No matter how much discussion there is about C.V.S. tonight I get a feeling that with the announcement earlier that the front page will more about the Mayor deciding this tonight and C.V.S. will be hidden down on page 23. I do want to thank the Finance Committee members for having an open discussion with us at their meeting. I think it helped everybody and it was a good opportunity. I think it’s a very good and vital project for the downtown. The economic benefit could be terrific and the risk reward of this project is that parking lot will probably be continued being leased to Southern New Hampshire Medical Center for 25 years. The reward is that nice new C.V.S. on the corner, potentially a garage office building, jobs, a parking garage and I think the risk reward for this project is very clear and I would love your support as well. Mr. Michael Broderick, 8 Boxwood Court Mayor, thank you for your service and I’ll bring you some tomatoes this summer. Mayor Lozeau Not so many that I have to claim them. Board of Aldermen - 1/13/15 Page 5 Mr. Broderick I’d like to speak on R-15-103. Have we had an appraisal on this property at Mulberry Street? Also, is there toxic waste, lead, or asbestos in that building? I think that’s important. What is the cost to tear it down, what is the cost to build a new one? Would it be more advantageous to look at a new location and outfit that? I would suggest that you go to a subcommittee to look at that before you vote to actually do this project. There are a lot of things coming up in 2016; it’s going to be a very tough year with the Broad Street Parkway bond coming up and you just did a radio communications bond looking at new telephone systems. How is this going to affect the taxpayers in the city? I urge the Board to really look at that and not just automatically approve something, especially in that it’s a very old building and you never know what you are going to find so there are probably a lot of hidden costs in this project. President Deane If it gives you any reassurance that piece of legislation is set to be sent to the Infrastructure Committee for review. I don’t believe final action will be taken tonight. PETITIONS – None NOMINATIONS, APPOINTMENTS, AND ELECTIONS Appointments by the Mayor The following Appointments by the Mayor were read into the record: Cultural Connections Commission Fouad Mahfuz (New Appointment) Term to Expire: January 31, 2018 265 Dutton Street #2 Lowell, MA 01852 Historic District Commission Christopher Barrett Term to Expire: January 31, 2018 (Moving from Alternate to Full Member) 65B Manchester Street Nashua, NH 03064 Hunt Memorial Building Board of Trustees Brenda Baron (New Appointment) Term to Expire: December 31, 2019 5 Ashland Street Nashua, NH 03064 MOTION BY ALDERMAN CHASSE TO ACCEPT THE APPOINTMENTS BY THE MAYOR AS READ AND REFER THEM TO THE PERSONNEL/ADMINISTRATIVE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE MOTION CARRIED MOTION BY ALDERMAN CHASSE THAT THE RULES BE SO FAR SUSPENDED AS TO ALLOW FOR AN APPOINTMENT BY THE MAYOR RECEIVED AFTER THE AGENDA WAS PREPARED MOTION CARRIED Board of Aldermen - 1/13/15 Page 6 Historic District Commission Edward Weber (New Appointment) Term to Expire: March 31, 2015 4 Cabernet Court Nashua, NH 03062 MOTION BY ALDERMAN CHASSE TO ACCEPT THE APPOINTMENT BY THE MAYOR AS READ AND REFER IT TO THE PERSONNEL/ADMINISTRATIVE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE MOTION CARRIED Appointment by President of the Board of Aldermen Auditorium Commission John J. McAllister (Reappointment) Term to Expire: December 31, 2017 257 Wheeler Road Hollis, NH 03049 MOTION BY ALDERMAN CHASSE TO ACCEPT THE APPOINTMENT BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN AS READ AND REFER IT TO THE PERSONNEL/ADMINISTRATIVE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE MOTION CARRIED Appointment of Timothy Lavoie to the Capital Equipment Reserve Fund  Tabled 8/12/14 REPORTS OF COMMITTEE Finance Committee ............................................................................ 01/07/15 There being no objection, President Deane declared the report of the January 7, 2015 Finance Committee accepted and placed on file. Personnel/Administrative Affairs Committee ....................................... 12/22/14 There being no objection, President Deane declared the report of the December 22, 2014 Personnel/Administrative Affairs Committee accepted and placed on file. Planning & Economic Development Committee ................................. 12/16/14 There being no objection, President Deane declared the report of the December 16, 2014 Planning & Economic Development Committee accepted and placed on file. Planning & Economic Development Committee ................................. 01/06/15 There being no objection, President Deane declared the report of the January 6, 2015 Planning & Economic Development Committee accepted and placed on file. WRITTEN REPORTS FROM LIAISONS – None CONFIRMATION OF MAYOR'S APPOINTMENTS - None Board of Aldermen - 1/13/15 Page 7 UNFINISHED BUSINESS – RESOLUTIONS R-14-092, Amended Endorsers: Mayor Donnalee Lozeau Alderman-at-Large Lori Wilshire Alderwoman Pamela T. Brown AUTHORIZING THE CITY OF NASHUA TO ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH CVS MANCHESTER NH, LLC FOR FUTURE PARKING RIGHTS AT THE CITY OWNED PARKING LOT LOCATED BEHIND CVS PHARMACY Given its third reading; MOTION BY ALDERMAN WILSHIRE FOR FINAL PASSAGE OF R-14-092 AS AMENDED ON THE QUESTION Alderman Donchess This received the endorsement of the Finance Committee on a divided vote but I wanted to explain my thinking on this as to why I don’t think this project on the whole is the best and we should not, in my opinion, proceed with it. We have a C.V.S. that’s been at the corner for about 40 years and we have three structures on this whole block that is encompassed by West Hollis/East Hollis Streets/Main Street/Medical Drive. The C.V.S., the Charron Medical Building, and the former Towers Motor Parts that was the Giant of Siam. What’s going to happen is the C.V.S. wishes to expand in order to establish a drive-thru and it needs city property in order to do that and wants to secure control of the city lot or most of it for 25 years. As part of this project, two of the buildings are going to be torn down; Charron Medical and the Giant of Siam. The principle reason that I have reservations about this is the city’s Master Plan. It says the following “Hollis and Main Street Intersection, the regions 100% corner. There is no more important intersection to redevelop in Nashua than the intersection of Hollis and Main Streets. The intersection is the regions 100% corner as it creates gateways to Main Street from the east and west and south. All four corners of this intersection are currently underutilized and underperforming. In a city with limited available land and relatively low scale buildings, three of the four corners present opportunities to add significant square footage to the downtown inventory of office, retail, institutional, and cultural space. Downtown’s largest new buildings should be sited at this intersection. A series of distinct 4-6 story mixed use office buildings would create a center to the downtown. The buildings would anchor both ends of Main Street by creating a strong center and transform an anonymous intersection into the regions symbolic heart. Specifically to southeast corner, to truly create a 100% corner at Hollis and Main, the southeast corner of the intersection should also be a redevelopment opportunity. At present this site houses a service station (which now has been torn down), a drugstore (C.V.S.), a few miscellaneous businesses and restaurants (which will be torn down), and surface parking for the medical center. The proposed building configurations (proposed by the Master Plan) will not only define the corner the Hollis and Main Streets as a gateway but with ground floor retail uses they will encourage pedestrian orientated street life. The proposed buildings (as proposed by the Master Plan) would have retail businesses at street level with offices above. The offices could be used by the hospital or physicians’ offices or other businesses seeking space in the heart of downtown.” People have made the bird in the hand is better than two in the bush argument and I get the point of that argument but to me, I believe that we need to be more optimistic about what can be accomplished in Nashua and the downtown. I think we as the city should work together with Mr. Tamposi who is an experienced and accomplished businessman and developer, with the hospital, and C.V.S. to realize what is set forth in the Master Plan. Have C.V.S. on the ground floor and work to develop these 4-6 story office buildings at the center of our downtown as the Master Plan says. If we move forward with this project then we will be tearing down more structures than we will be adding and we will be putting a one floor pharmacy with a drive-thru at that essential corner instead of what is outlined in the Master Plan. If C.V.S. was using its own land or the land that it is leasing to do its project then that would be fine but it needs city land to do this expansion and drive-thru and that’s why we are involved. Finally, Mr. President, on the issue of what we could accomplish, if you look for example north to the City of Concord, the Pleasant Street intersection with Main Street is similar to the West Hollis Street intersection. It’s sort of the southern boundary of the central city Board of Aldermen - 1/13/15 Page 8 and in the last 5 – 10 years Concord has had built directly on its Main Street two major office buildings, one including a movie theatre and a restaurant and then more recently, further south another major office building. That is what I think we should be looking for on Main Street. Why can Concord to this and not Nashua? Why should we sell ourselves short and agree to allow for a period of at least 25 years city land to be used to establish a drive-thru pharmacy on this central corner of Main Street? I think if we hold out for the better plan in the long-run, even if it takes a few years, the city will be much better off. Alderman McCarthy I think quite the opposite. I think this agreement facilitates what the Master Plan anticipates. We had a number of discussions with the hospital which is the reason why there is a three-party agreement in place that allows the hospital to put a multi-story office building and parking garage on that corner and that is the most likely office use. If we are looking at straight office space, I think Mr. Tamposi will tell you, as he has told me; there is no demand whatsoever for upper floor office space in the downtown at the moment and probably won’t be for many years to come because we have a sufficient inventory. I think things are simply different than they were when the Master Plan was written. The Master Plan doesn’t anticipate the success that the hospital has had and its expansion of downtown medical facilities. They are the most likely user of upper floor office and that is exactly what the agreement anticipates. I don’t think we are going to see the kind of development in our lifetimes that they Master Plan originally anticipated because things are different than they were 20 years ago when that Master Plan was written. I think the agreement that we’ve got is a good one, I think it facilitates the orderly development of downtown, and helps us with that corner; it allows for what we should have there and frankly I intend to support it. Alderman Soucy Alderman Donchess, on this Master Plan, I know it’s been around for a while, are you aware of what the timeline is on when they are to be supposed to be making this the corner with the large buildings? Are we looking at another 20 years down the road? Alderman Donchess There is no timeline but this is the plan that the city developed and it’s still in force. It doesn’t really say by any particular deadline. I think that if we were to work together with other parties this is the least potential for that corner and we are giving up such a huge opportunity at that corner. I just don’t think that a drive-thru pharmacy comes close enough to what is envisioned in the Master Plan to warrant giving C.V.S. 25 years control over the city parcel. Alderman Dowd When I was Chairman of the Nashua Airport Authority we did a 20 year plan which we completed in 5 years. That had changes to it so a plan that’s 20 years old is just that, it’s a 20 year old plan. The C.V.S. as we have heard numbers of time is one of the busiest intersections in the State of New Hampshire and one of the busiest in New England. It’s a convenience for the people of Nashua who use it day in and day. I bet I have been in that C.V.S. about 20 times in a year. I don’t like the way that corner looks right now and I haven’t for a long time. I think the plan they have in place is certainly going to improve the looks of that corner and the downtown in general. There are not 10 people standing in line waiting to put money into a multi-story building. Look how long the Trafalgar Square building was around with a foundation waiting to be built with upper floor office space. Finally it was given up to another hotel. There is no demand right now for that kind of office space and I don’t envision it for quite some time. I think this is a way that we can improve the looks of the downtown, we can add to the functionality of people that want to be able to go there conveniently, particularly people that are walking in the downtown area to get their prescriptions and I think it will be a vast improvement in the look of this corner going forward. Downstream if there is that kind of demand for a building, I would like to see the one across the street taken down and a new building built. Board of Aldermen - 1/13/15 Page 9 Alderman Schoneman I have been giving this careful thought and while the Master Plan may be old we still have a vision for downtown and the vision that we have discussed for downtown is that is a pedestrian downtown. We have an automobile focused downtown. We have talked about Main Street being a thoroughfare, just people passing from south to north and north to south. My main concern about the C.V.S. is the drive-thru aspect. An anchor store like C.V.S. on the first floor of a multi-store building could be great like Davis Square in Somerville but that’s very much a walking city. I think that if we have a vision for this being a walking city then if we put in infrastructure that caters to automobiles then we are going to have a potential difficulty. At some point we are going to say well if we have this drive-thru here its encouraging traffic and not encouraging the walking that we’d like to see. As much as I support the development of business, I don’t like the drive-thru aspect of this. Alderman Sheehan I am going to agree with all of my colleagues for the most part but I think what we need to do is look at what is in common with what we are all saying. I don’t think that having a drive-thru makes it so you can’t walk. A lot of people use the drive-thru because that’s what you need to do. I use Rite-Aid, which is also on Main Street when I need to use a drive thru, I use C.V.S. because it’s about half the price for some of the prescriptions I pay for out of pocket but if I have a sick kid then I am going through the drive-thru. I think that’s something that’s important for some people who are not feeling well. I think what we need to look at in this is this is an interim solution. We have somebody who wants to put in second and third floor offices but they are going to be medical. It would be nice to have ones like Concord but we don’t have a lot of lobbyists in Nashua that have office space that needs to be near Main Street, it’s a different sort of animal. This is a medical area and that’s who wants to build here and this is what has come in. If we are looking at the fear of what’s going to happen at the end of the first lease and then there’s another 10 year hang, what would most likely happen in business is that it would get bought out. If there is a big opportunity somebody is not going to let a lease of 10 years with 37 spots. They are going to need the rest of the land in that instance and they are going to buy it out. Chances are hopefully that we are going to see a parking garage and offices long before any of this happens. These other properties are privately held and we can’t tell them what they have to do. We probably need to revisit the Master Plan because it is outdated and it is supposed to be updated periodically. I think it’s obvious that at some point it is going to be medical. I also think that this would get us over the hump and clean up a decrepit looking building and a terrible and dangerous setup for parking. It’s market driven. When the market is ready for an office we have an agreement in place which is our third party agreement. If something else radically changes and someone wants to come in and build a big, beautiful building, they are going to buy out leases; that’s just the way things work. There are multiple owners and I think we are standing in the way of a good interim solution and I am going to be supporting this. Alderman McCarthy With regard to pedestrian downtown, once again this plan facilitates a better plan than the one we have got. The building that is there is a suburban building design that’s the back of a parking lot that fronts 100% on the corner. It provides no edge that looks like a pedestrian space. The new building is built on the corner up against the sidewalk. The vehicle entrances are in the back so it’s actually more enticing for someone that’s a pedestrian because they don’t have to dodge that parking lot which has two exits that both are so terrible that we have to put no left hand turn instructions that we don’t enforce. This plan straightens that out so that it’s safer to walk to that site. Alderman Siegel As many of you know, I was against the initial deal but that deal is done. What I had problems was encompassed in that deal. I think if you are doing your job properly you have to look at the world as it is and make decisions based on current events. I voted in favor of this at Finance and I’ll agree with Mr. Lannan and Mr. Tamposi; it was a very useful conversation to have. I’ll go through what led me to change my mind from my initial decision. Within the 15 year window we have a very real risk and it’s not a real risk, it’s going to Board of Aldermen - 1/13/15 Page 10 happen; there’s no guarantee that this site will not be developed by C.V.S. I know this as a franchisee of a company. If we put a bullet in this deal required to have 20 year or more leases and they will walk if they can’t get their sufficient parking spaces or drive-thru’s. We are focusing on the drive-thru as though C.V.S. is driving because it is necessary for business. It doesn’t work that way, there’s a good chance there are people in their corporate office that look at this and have a model for how the new developments are to be and they all have to have a drive-thru and it became a requirement. Here we have the very real possibility inside of this 15 year window where Mr. Cote from the hospital has told me that within the next couple of years it’s not likely that we are going to see a development but it is likely that we will see that parking garage and office buildings and of course, medical buildings are the most likely use and in fact, if you put the parking structure/medical buildings there and the newly created C.V.S. façade you get fairly close to what’s achievable with the Master Plan. It’s probably achievable as possible given that I agree with my colleague, Alderman Sheehan, that this is a medical facility user and that’s it. Given that that has a high probability of happening in that 15 year time window, if we say no to this we are going to kill a development for no particularly good reason and I think that’s a problem because it’s not like everybody is racing to lease that space. They won’t lease it without that guarantee so what happens if we put a bullet in this deal, someone else comes and they need to do a development and they are going to need the parking because that’s required and now we are at the point where we are resetting the clock and doing the same deal just with a different player and we’ve hurt a local businessman that really doesn’t deserve that. That’s the 15 year window, its gets more complicated between 15 and 25 years. There’s an existing agreement with the hospital and C.V.S. that guarantees them the spaces if the hospital takes over takes over the property and the amendments to what we have seen, the original legislation, provide for the ability for the hospital to acquire that property after that 15 years and C.V.S. has to honor the hospital’s acquisition of that so that their sublease becomes effective even if they didn’t control the property the way we would like and I think that’s important. In this case we are betting that the donut that is carved by those 37 spaces, which devalues that property, is going to create a situation where a viable tenant paying a significant amount of tax revenue is going to build there in that window vs. the offset which is 100% true which is that those spaces are going to be between 75% - 100% lease generating guaranteed income from the existing hospital. That is a very tiny economic discrepancy over 10 years, I believe, and in fact, it’s so small and it’s not even weighted against the probability of that happening so for that small thin read of probability we are going to try to put a bullet in a deal that will get us a better development right now from a local businessman that really doesn’t deserve to get run over by city government. I just think that’s something that could send the wrong message. That’s why looking at something that I hated originally and I would have completely restructured that deal to what we have now which is something we should do and that’s why I voted for this and that was the decision process that I went through at the Finance Committee. Alderwoman Brown I have to admit that a lot of my comments have already been spoken for and I wish not to be redundant but I was also in favor of this at the Finance Committee and I believe it’s a win/win for the city, for the hospital, and C.V.S. There are three major pharmacies downtown, C.V.S., Rite-Aid, and Walgreens and C.V.S. is the only one without a drive-thru. It has to be competitive and improving that corner will be a blessing I think to all of us. We have a retailer that wants to expand and thrive and I believe it would be in the best interest of all of us. I personally believe it will attract more people to the downtown area and I am definitely voting in favor of this. Alderman Chasse I am going to request a roll call. Secondly, I made a comment at that Finance Committee meeting which was for something so important, where were the rest of the Aldermen? Everybody has got their mind made up already; I say take a vote, Mr. President. Alderman Moriarty Why should you vote for this? It’s because the seniors use this parking lot and they will always use it. It’s a short walk to the hospital. The parking lot in between C.V.S. and the hospital works nicely and the way C.V.S. will be re-routed it will actually facilitate that and at some time in the future we are likely going to get the high Board of Aldermen - 1/13/15 Page 11 rise parking lot. Another reason is because currently it is set back and you see the parking lot in front of the building and it will be the building up front and the parking lot in the back. If we were to right form-based codes which is something we talked about in PEDC recently, you would describe a building the way you would want it to look downtown and the way we want buildings to look downtown are the way most of Main Street where you have a very prominent sidewalk with a building that is very close to that sidewalk that has a certain image to it. At that intersection, that building will come right up to the corner and g all the way around as opposed to everybody driving through the intersection seeing a parking lot. If we were to draw a picture in our head as to what we would like a building to look like on that corner, we would see what the drawings are for this building. Finally, economically we are coming out of the worst recession we have had in a long time and we would like to have a lot of development on Main Street and there are a few opportunities in the future to develop on Main Street. We have a deal with two major entities in the city that are going to move forward and we could get the ball rolling. It may not be perfect but at least we can get the ball rolling. A viva voce roll call vote was taken which resulted as follows: Yea: Alderman McCarthy; Alderman Dowd; Alderman Schoneman; 13 Alderman Caron; Alderman McGuinness; Alderman Sheehan; Alderman Soucy; Alderman Moriarty; Alderman Siegel; Alderwoman Melizzi-Golja; Alderwoman Brown; Alderman Wilshire; Alderman Deane Nay: Alderman Chasse; Alderman Donchess; 2 MOTION CARRIED Resolution R-14-092 declared duly adopted as amended. UNFINISHED BUSINESS – ORDINANCES - None NEW BUSINESS – RESOLUTIONS R-15-102 Endorser: Alderman Richard A. Dowd Alderman-at-Large Lori Wilshire Alderwoman Pamela T. Brown Alderwoman Mary Ann Melizzi-Golja Alderman-at-Large Diane Sheehan Alderman June M. Caron Alderman-at-Large Brian S. McCarthy AUTHORIZING THE TRANSFER OF UP TO $650,000 FROM THE SCHOOL CAPITAL RESERVE FUND INTO CAPITAL PROJECT ACTIVITY “SCHOOL IMPROVEMENTS” FOR REPLACEMENT OF THE HIGH SCHOOLS’ RUBBERIZED GYM FLOORS Given its first reading; assigned to the BUDGET REVIEW COMMITTEE by President Deane R-15-103 Endorsers: Mayor Donnalee Lozeau Alderman-at-Large Lori Wilshire Alderwoman Pamela T. Brown Alderwoman Mary Ann Melizzi-Golja Alderman Richard A. Dowd AUTHORIZATION TO OFFER TO PURCHASE LAND AND BUILDINGS AT 11-13 MULBERRY STREET (MAP 82, LOT 26) FOR RELOCATION OF THE DIVISION OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND COMMUNITY SERVICES Board of Aldermen - 1/13/15 Page 12 Given its first reading; assigned to the COMMITTEE ON INFRASTRUCTURE and the NASHUA CITY PLANNING BOARD by President Deane R-15-104 Endorser: Mayor Donnalee Lozeau ESTABLISHING AN EXPENDABLE TRUST FUND FOR APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE PURPOSE OF OPERATING THE JACKSON MILLS DAM AND APPROPRIATING $240,000 FROM UNDESIGNATED FUND BALANCE INTO THE EXPENDABLE TRUST FUND Given its first reading; assigned to the BUDGET REVIEW COMMITTEE by President Deane NEW BUSINESS – ORDINANCES O-15-038 Endorsers: Mayor Donnalee Lozeau Alderman-at-Large Daniel T. Moriarty Alderwoman Pamela T. Brown AMENDING THE COMPOSITION OF THE CABLE TELEVISION ADVISORY BOARD Given its first reading; assigned to the PERSONNEL/ADMINISTRATIVE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE by President Deane PERIOD FOR GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT Mr. James Cutter, 86 Palm Street Dear President Deane, Last year after I complained about a no parking sign had not been replaced after the sidewalk and street work was finished, Lisa Fauteux, Director of Public Works and Steve Dookran, City Engineer did a study and agreed the sign should be replaced. On September 4th a new sign was installed only to have Mayor Lozeau order it removed 5 days later. Shortly after that I was surprised to learn our ordinance O-0-24 had been erroneously revoked. Then I looked for the Aldermanic meeting dates when the readings and approval were done for O- 12-25 and found out that I was absent on October 9th and November 13th unable to correct anything. If present I would have said our ordinances are permanent. The sign had been in place for about 12 years. It cannot be revoked since sidewalk repair is the only reason the sign was out of the ground. Now we would like someone to sponsor legislation to reinstate our ordinance O-0-24 and section 320-69 of O-0-25 to read as it was before. Sincerely, Jim. Mr. Robert Sullivan, 12 Stoney Brook Road First off Mayor Lozeau, I wish you the best of luck. No one can deny that you are a hard worker and I wish you and your husband all the best in the future. The purpose of my speaking this evening is to follow up to a meeting I had some time ago regarding the Business & Industrial Development Association (BIDA). I think it’s very important that the Board of Alderman reinsert itself into this BIDA equation. I think the Board of Aldermen and I’m not insulting anyone, have abdicated their responsibilities and the oversight regarding this Renaissance Project, especially the approval of selling land for $1.00 that’s appraised at $1.77 million. Here are some of my concerns. About 12 weeks ago I called several Aldermen and communicated by e-mail and no one knew what was going on with this project back at that period of time. In fact, I sent minutes and also other issues that I was concerned with. I also talked at the last meeting about delays in getting minutes posted and virtually no communications between the Board of Aldermen and BIDA and I really believe that’s a liaison responsibility. I mentioned that I had sent some questions a while back and I know that Alderman Deane requested that I send them back to him about a week ago and I’m sure he is going to work on those. We Board of Aldermen - 1/13/15 Page 13 had some discussions at the end of the meeting between myself with Alderman Sheehan and Alderman McCarthy. Alderman Sheehan, you mentioned that I should attend the BIDA meetings and ask questions but if you read the questions that I sent to the Board of Aldermen, to the Infrastructure Committee because I thought that’s where they went but Alderman Donchess straightened me out on that one. These questions that I sent are all policy questions that the Board of Aldermen have to address; they are not suitable to be sent to the BIDA group. I’ll read a couple of questions. Is it appropriate for BIDA members to participate in decision making efforts and then work for those entities that benefit from these decisions? I don’t think the BIDA group members would answer that question and I thought my other six questions were similar. I appreciate your input, Alderman Sheehan. Another major concern that I had was the conflicts of interests. There were two of them that I am aware of and Alderman McCarthy spoke up and he wasn’t aware of the conflicts of interest to the degree that I stated in my questions. As denoted in the July 18th minutes, a BIDA member resigned due to a conflict of interest. What is the conflict? Is the nature of this conflict of interest similar to a former BIDA member who resigned from BIDA in another conflict of interest to represent the Renaissance Group? If you look in the minutes of the meetings, you’ll find that back on October 27, 2008, and individual resigned because Renaissance asked this particular BIDA member to represent them on the Bridge Street Project. Another question that I had was should not legislation be passed by the Board of Aldermen to prohibit BIDA members from working for entities that benefit from the BIDA decisions for a one to two year period from the point of time that decisions are made. I think that’s a legitimate question. Not only that but in the July 18th BIDA minutes there was another person who resigned due to a perceived conflict of interest and this person was reinstated at the full Board meeting just recently without a full vetting by the Personnel Committee. I don’t think that’s appropriate. Alderman Sheehan, you also pointed out that the situation I was speaking about for the land was just pertaining to land that one building was going to be put on but the rest of the property which is subject to two different appraisals, I didn’t know that so that will be interesting to watch in the future. How is that going to be appraised, are we going to give that land away too? Lot 40-34 and lot 40-48, it was agreed to sell that for $1.00 and that land was appraised at $1.77 million. Pertaining to BIDA minutes not being posted on time, why don’t we record those meetings and then just post an audio or make a commitment to get the minutes posted within a two week timeframe. It was virtually months before some of these minutes were posted and there were some very important decisions made and no one knew about them. Suggestion #2 is that the Board of Aldermen need to insert themselves back into the BIDA development equation. If communications are not improved then maybe, and this is not personal Alderman McCarthy, but a new liaison be assigned to ensure proper information flow between BIDA and the Board of Aldermen because currently, this is not happening. As recommended last November, schedule a public overview of this development project at a full Board meeting. Topics to be discussed could be what has occurred thus far, what are the next steps and strategies? There have been several concepts over the last several years with this Renaissance Project and it would be nice to understand what the next one is going to be. Justify whatever effort is currently being considered. Provide clear and understandable justification to whatever is being contemplated so that the public can understand it and ask questions. Once the public overview meeting has been held, have quarterly informational meetings at the full Board meeting. After the presentations, allow for question and answer sessions which also include citizen questions. Regarding the David W. Dean Skateboard Park, leave it where it is. Let this gem be part of the overall development of this area. The youth of the city are just as important as any development project. Let the youth keep the place where they have and let the developers and the city develop around that. Alderman Deane did a lot of work on that skateboard park, that’s why your name is on it. I know that you have done a lot of work trying to look for an alternative space so I think this suggestion would relieve a lot of pressure and stress that I think you felt over this even though it wasn’t your issue to bear. I thank you for that. If the park has to be moved and a suitable site found, then let the developers pay for the cost of relocation. This park was put in place and paid for and there was an announcement that the developers would pay for it in the past and now they are not. If putting up apartment buildings is that justifiable then certainly the developers can pay for the relocation and the resurrection of the David W. Deane Skateboard Park if necessary. Let’s see what else can be done in that area within reason? Regarding the Planning and Economic Development Committee, a lot of people have noticed that there has been a real good proactive effort in highlighting potential economic development issues within the city and I’d like to thank Alderman Moriarty and his crew for doing that. I think within the last year there has been more meetings and more good information than the previous several years of that committee. Thank you for the opportunity to speak. Board of Aldermen - 1/13/15 Page 14 REMARKS BY THE MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN Alderman Donchess I wanted to take a moment to mention the passing of Adam Guereckis who served as a Ward 7 Alderman for 12 years from about 1984 through about 1996. I served with him for 7 years. He passed away just before the year was out in 2014. He served with distinction here in the Aldermanic Chamber. He was a good, compassionate man who was very service orientated being on the Harbor Homes Board of Directors for decades. I think many people will miss him. Alderwoman Melizzi-Golja The last major event of the last calendar year was the swearing in of our new police chief and I want to welcome him and wish him well in his new positon; Chief Lavoie. Alderman Wilshire Since I was the first to speak I didn’t by any means not to thank the Mayor or be premature about her leaving because we still have a whole year to work with you. Also, my condolences to the Guereckis family. Adam was a terrific guy and a great Alderman and a good service orientated citizen here in Nashua. Mayor Lozeau I appreciate the opportunity to speak about Mr. Guereckis. I didn’t say anything in my opening remarks because I concentrated on something else and I didn’t want to mix the two. The Guereckis family, as many of you know, followed many of them in their father’s footsteps about being dedicated to the community. I actually served with Mr. Guereckis as a State Representative, that’s how I first met him. He was ending his term up there as I was beginning and like many of you in this room had great respect for him and what he did for the community. I had the opportunity to go to the wake and speak to his children. We did recognition for him and he was unable to come and receive that recognition so I went to his home and presented it to him and he was so excited about it. He was of the generation who really understood about the value of giving back and so I appreciate his service to the community and we were lucky to have him. Alderman McCarthy I would like to extend my condolences to the Guereckis family and while my term didn’t overlap with Adam’s, I knew him reasonably well from having run into him a lot when I was first on the Board; less so in recent years as he became less able to get out a lot. When I was first on the Board I would speak to him a lot about things that were going on and always valued his opinion. He will be sorely missed. President Deane I used to get an opinion from Mr. Guereckis every time it snowed. He would come out and say “David, don’t leave any snow in front of my garage.” He was a great guy. He and his wife were very nice people. Alderwoman Brown I don’t have the information for the D.O.T. at the airport for this Thursday. Do either Alderman McCarthy or Alderman Schoneman have it? Alderman Schoneman I know its Thursday and I think it’s at 5:30pm at the Daniel Webster College. Board of Aldermen - 1/13/15 Page 15 Committee announcements: Alderman Wilshire Thursday, January 15th is the Human Affairs Committee at 7:00pm. Alderman Moriarty One week from today is the PEDC and then a week from tomorrow we have Finance. Alderman Donchess We have an Infrastructure Committee meeting at 7:00pm. President Deane I wanted to let the Board know that there is a Budget Review Committee meeting on February 9 th and I’ve reached out to Representative Harvey and we have a tentative date of the 5th of February to meet with the delegation. I’ve also reached out to both the police and fire departments to have them come in and have some discussions about their operations and how things are trending in both of those departments prior to our Budget session starting. We are going to meet with the police department on the 2 nd of March at 7:00 p.m. I did speak with Chief Morrissey and he is speaking with the commissioner’s and will get back to me and we will schedule that meeting as well. ADJOURNMENT MOTION BY ALDERMAN CHASSE THAT THE JANUARY 13, 2015, MEETING OF THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN BE ADJOURNED MOTION CARRIED The meeting was declared adjourned at 8:46 p.m. Attest: Paul R. Bergeron, City Clerk