Aldermen, Board of

A regular meeting of the Board of Aldermen was held Tuesday, May 10, 2016, at 7:30 p.m. in the Aldermanic Chamber. President Brian S. McCarthy presided; City Clerk Patricia D. Piecuch recorded. Prayer was offered by City Clerk Patricia D. Piecuch; Alderman Clemons led in the Pledge to the Flag. The roll call was taken with 15 members of the Board of Aldermen present. Mayor James W. Donchess and Corporation Counsel Steven A. Bolton were also present. REMARKS BY THE MAYOR Mayor Donchess The first item I’d like to address is the budget which is on your desks tonight. I would like to thank everyone who helped in the preparation of the budget, including all of the division directors and department heads who submitted their budgets but also in particular, John Griffin, our CFO, David Fredette, the Treasurer, Kim Kleiner from my office and Rose Evans. In an overview, the budget is for the general fund budget and it is $247,900,000 which is up $3.1 million from last year. The spending cap is 1.3% as a result of the gross domestic product implicit price deflator for state and local governments. This budget is $100,000 below the spending cap. I think the priorities that are inherent in the budget, the priorities that I adopted were first education, and the school budget is up 2.25% which enables us to maintain at least a current level of service. This is the superintendent’s budget that was proposed by Mark Conrad to the School Board. It is a reduction from the budget that the School Board passed in the amount of a little over $400,000 but again, it does maintain the current level of service in another tight budget year. Secondly, the police department, the proposal is to provide a 2.5% increase; this again maintains a current level of service in the face of many law enforcement issues related to the opioid and heroin epidemic. In prior years we have seen reductions in police services as a result of various budget pressures. This year I am proposing that we maintain the current level of service. I think there is also a focus on capital projects, particularly in the area of parks. I think that we have a fantastic park system and it’s a strength upon which we can build. To mention a few of those projects, there is money for an irrigation system which will enable the Parks Department to remotely irrigate all of the city’s rectangular fields. This will result in better irrigation and less money being spent for water and it will result in more time available for employees. The city is limited in its ability to offer fields, there are only 11 rectangular fields in the city and we need more than that so the fields can be given the proper rest and can be in the condition that they should be for all of our soccer, lacrosse and cricket leagues. In the budget is money for the establishment of at least one new field off of Groton Road in an area that the city owns and at one time had been planned for a large park. There is also money for the Rail Trail lighting; the remainder of that money for the carousel at Labine Park and two parks employees are added; these are the only employees added in the budget to be hired at ½ year. The Park’s Department is struggling with a growing workload with a shrinking workforce so this would increase the number of employees that they have from 21 to 23. There are some areas where we were able to save money. David Fredette in his efforts was able to reduce the bonded debt budget from $18 million to $17.3 million. We are also saving money as a result of the proposed LED project which will save $200,000. Revenues in general are strong. We expect vehicle registration to be good again next year but as the custom has been for a long, long time I’ve conservatively estimated those revenues. There is a revenues loss in that the school adequacy grant is being reduced by $477,000 and this is unfortunate and it is part of a plan to continue to reduce the adequacy grant, particularly which is tied to free and reduced lunch for economically disadvantaged children; something that is just a raise in property taxes by the state legislature. Again, a high point was that the city has been able to very capably manage the health benefits as a result of the number of the changes that have been made. My goal here is to make sure that the tax rate, if this budget is adopted, does not go up any more than 2.5%. Again, it is a budget that is under the spending cap of 1.3%. In terms of the future, the State Retirement Board today reduced the expected rate of return so that means that we will probably get hit with another pension increase next year. I think the pension cost transfer legislation is still a good idea; one believe that I think is tax neutral and has been referred back to the committee for further consideration. In closing, I think in a tight budget year, which is typical these days, Board of Aldermen Page 2 May 10, 2016 the budget maintains a current rate of services, particularly with schools and police and focusses on trying to enhance our parks system and yet still remains under the spending cap. I wanted mention the appointments that we have tonight. We have a lot of good people appointed for many different Boards and Commissions, the Art’s Commission, the Conservation Commission, the Cultural Connections Committee, the Personal Advisory Board and the Zoning Board of Adjustment. I and everyone on the Board of Aldermen appreciates of the efforts which all of the members of the volunteer Boards put in and we really appreciate your commitment to the city and without you city government could not operate. I wanted to specifically mention two of those people, first Tim Cummings for Economic Development Director; this is a very important position in city government. Mr. Cummings has appeared before the Personnel & Administrative Affairs Committee and I think he answered their questions and discussed the issues very capably. He is currently the Economic Development Director in Marlborough, MA where he has had a highly successful record in attracting jobs and employers and filling empty warehouse and office space and I think he will do a very good job for the city. He was unanimously recommended by the committee. He has already spoken with a number of the Aldermen. I also wanted to mention the appointment of Bill Parker for the Conservation Commission. At the hearing before the Personnel & Administrative Affairs Committee he was recommended but he was asked whether he attended a meeting of the Conservation Commission up to that time and his answer was no. That is not his fault, he’s someone with landscape expertise and I was so enthusiastic about getting someone with that expertise on that Commission that I didn’t ask him to go through a lot before I appointed him. Mr. Parker would like to attend a meeting and meet with Roger Houston and possibly talk with Mike Gallagher who is the chair of the commission before he is voted on. In his case, I would ask that the next meeting of the Conservation Commission is June 7th and I would ask that the Board table that appointment until your first meeting in June and take up the appointment of Mr. Parker then. RESPONSE TO REMARKS OF THE MAYOR Alderman Lopez I’d like to thank the Mayor for making Heritage Trail a priority. I had expressed concerns about it during his last comments and he answered those concerns and I think he is doing the best he can to get it resolved as quickly as possible. I also appreciate the approach to Mr. Parker’s nomination. I voted in favor of it because I don’t want to discourage anybody who is interested in serving the city but I think a very valid point was raised that if you are going to serve the city you should know what you are getting into first. RECOGNITION PERIOD R-16-032 Endorsers: Mayor Jim Donchess Board of Aldermen RECOGNIZING AND CONGRATULATING ROB HOLLAND Given its first reading; MOTION BY ALDERMAN SCHONEMAN THAT THE RULES BE SO FAR SUSPENDED AS TO ALLOW FOR THE SECOND READING OF R-16-032 MOTION CARRIED Resolution R-16-032 given its second reading; MOTION BY ALDERMAN SCHONEMAN FOR FINAL PASSAGE OF R-16-032 MOTION CARRIED Resolution R-16-032 declared duly adopted. Board of Aldermen Page 3 May 10, 2016 READING MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING AND PUBLIC HEARING MOTION BY ALDERMAN WILSHIRE THAT THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN MEETING OF APRIL 26, 2016, AND THE PUBLIC HEARING CONDUCTED BY THE BUDGET REVIEW COMMITTEE ON APRIL 25, 2016 BE ACCEPTED, PLACED ON FILE, AND THE READINGS SUSPENDED MOTION CARRIED COMMUNICATIONS MOTION BY ALDERWOMAN MELIZZI-GOLJA THAT THE RULES BE SO FAR SUSPENDED AS TO ALLOW FOR THE ACCEPTANCE OF A COMMUNICATION PLACED ON OUR DESKS THIS EVENING MOTION CARRIED From: Homeowners of Sagamore Road and MacDonald Drive Re: 396 Main Dunstable Road MOTION BY ALDERWOMAN MELIZZI-GOLJA TO ACCEPT AND PLACE ON FILE MOTION CARRIED PERIOD FOR PUBLIC COMMENT RELATIVE TO ITEMS EXPECTED TO BE ACTED UPON THIS EVENING Mr. Paul Garant, 163 Harris Street I appreciate the opportunity to speak tonight. I think we need to go back to an understanding of how this CBA compares to one that you recently voted on for the police officers of this city. In fiscal ’16, ’17 and ’18 police officers will receive 2.5% every year. The contract before you tonight, over the next four years members of the fire department will received 2.0% in fiscal ’16, 0% in ’17 and 2.5% in each ’18 and ’19. I know this doesn’t compare equally to the police since they don’t have a figure for ’19 but I can assure you that it will be back probably looking for 2.5%. I urge you to consider that in the concept of fairness to our firefighters. I was listening to the news Friday morning when the labor statistics were published and I heard that the average increase of salaries in the private sector in the past 12 months is 2.6%. So for anyone that says this is out-of- bounds, the firefighters will receive an average of 1.7% over the next four fiscal years while in the private sector salaries are going up higher than that. I ask you to please pass this item before you tonight. Ms. Mary Gorman, 44 ½ Amherst Street I represent Ward 4 in the New Hampshire House and I am a member of the Education Committee. The issue of school funding has arisen in the debate of proposed ordinance O-16-011. Proponents claim that public schools receive about $13,000 per pupil and that charter schools receive $6,500 per pupil. This comparison is misleading and erroneous. The amount quoted as being received by public schools is the average cost per public school pupil. The amount quoted as being received by charter schools is what is called the adequacy payment. This represents the states obligation to provide an adequate education to all pupils, whether public or charter. Public schools also receive adequacy payment; currently it is $2,000 less per pupil than the amount received by the charter schools. Beginning in July it will be $3,000 less per pupil. To compare the average cost for public school pupil with the states’ adequacy funding is false. It is a comparison with two unrelated quantities. No superintendent is receiving $13,000 per pupil from the state and to imply otherwise is just wrong. Chief Steve Galipeau, Chief, Nashua Fire Rescue I urge the Board to support 16-026, the CBA for the firefighters because that document represents 170 of the most dedicated men and women that I have ever worked with in my life. They are out there on the front lines day in and day out. They have negotiated fairly with the city; we negotiated for many months and we ended up Board of Aldermen Page 4 May 10, 2016 in mediation and we came up with the final deal. As Commissioner Garant stated, in an attempt the city with their financial needs they took a 0% in one of the years. We are always talking about the heroin issue in the city; these guys are out there doing their best to help people stay alive. Over the last two years this group of individuals has supplied over 500 winter coats to children in need within the city. They were distributed through the elementary schools, the Children’s Home and the Boys and Girls Club. Over the last 25 years this same group of people, out of their own pocket have supplied an average of 60 meals per year at Christmastime for families in need. This past winter on one of our coldest weekends we had an elderly resident of the city that had an issue with the furnace in her house. The oil company would not come out. This group, out-of-pocket, came up with the cash to secure funding for the oil company to come out and help this woman. They are vested within the community on duty and off duty and I truly urge you to support their labor agreement. Mr. Michael Gallagher, 9 Old Coach Road I am the chairman of the Conservation Commission and I was asked to be here this evening knowing that Mr. Parker’s nomination was on your agenda. I did not know that Mayor Donchess was going to ask for it to be tabled. I would like to point out that we have had three members in the past few years who have attended meetings, agreed to serve the Commission and have since left prior to their term being over. Attending a meeting doesn’t necessarily mean they are honor their full term. Every Board, including this one is a Board of volunteers. I completely understand wanting people to understand what they are signing up for and I agree that there are efforts that the Mayor’s office can do but I think if somebody is here willing to do then it’s our job as a Conservation Commission; we are simply a land/use Advisory Board to teach the folks that come onto our Commission what is expected of them and what to do. I am encouraged that Mr. Parker will be at our next meeting and we will do our best to make sure that he understands fully what our requirements are. I hope he is willing to join. I will also say that I hope there is some discussion of the Southwest Trails Dedication that is happening this weekend at the end of the meeting. PETITIONS – None NOMINATIONS, APPOINTMENTS AND ELECTIONS Appointment by the Mayor The following Appointment by the Mayor was read into the record: Cultural Connections Committee Jessica Ayala (New Appointment) For a Term to Expire: January 5, 2020 31 Kinsley Street Nashua, NH 03060 MOTION BY ALDERMAN CLEMONS TO ACCEPT THE APPOINTMENT BY THE MAYOR AS READ AND REFER IT TO THE PERSONNEL/ADMINISTRATIVE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE MOTION CARRIED REPORTS OF COMMITTEE Budget Review Committee .................................................................. 04/25/16 There being no objection, President McCarthy declared the report of the April 25, 2016 Budget Review Committee accepted and placed on file. Board of Aldermen Page 5 May 10, 2016 Finance Committee.............................................................................. 04/20/16 There being no objection, President McCarthy declared the report of the April 20, 2016 Finance Committee accepted and placed on file. Finance Committee.............................................................................. 05/03/16 There being no objection, President McCarthy declared the report of the May 3, 2016 Finance Committee accepted and placed on file. Committee on Infrastructure ................................................................ 04/27/16 There being no objection, President McCarthy declared the report of the April 27, 2016 Committee on Infrastructure accepted and placed on file. Personnel/Administrative Affairs Committee ....................................... 05/02/16 There being no objection, President McCarthy declared the report of the May 2, 2016 Personnel/Administrative Affairs Committee accepted and placed on file. WRITTEN REPORTS FROM LIAISONS Cultural Connections Committee Liaison Report ................................. 04/30/16 Resettlement Presentation & Ascentria Resettlement Presentation for Gate City There being no objection, President McCarthy declared the April 30, 2016, Cultural Connections Committee liaison report accepted and placed on file. CONFIRMATION OF MAYOR'S APPOINTMENTS Arts Commission MOTION BY ALDERMAN SIEGEL TO CONFIRM BY VOICE VOTE THE FOLLOWING INDIVIDUALS TO THE NASHUA ARTS COMMISSION: LINDSAY RINALDI, 705 BELMONT STREET, BELMONT, MASSACHUSETTS, FOR A TERM TO EXPIRE APRIL 1, 2018; MITZI BARRETT, 52 WOOD STREET, NASHUA, FOR A TERM TO EXPIRE MAY 1, 2019; AND, BONNIE GUERICO, 66 MEADOW DRIVE, HOLLIS, NEW HAMPSHIRE, FOR A TERM TO EXPIRE: APRIL 1, 2019 MOTION CARRIED President McCarthy declared Lindsay Rinaldi, Mitzi Barrett and Bonnie Guerico duly appointed to the Nashua Arts Commission for the aforementioned terms. Oath of Office administered by Corporation Counsel. Conservation Commission MOTION BY ALDERMAN CLEMONS TO TABLE THE APPOINTMENT FOR WILLIAM S. PARKER TO THE CONSERVATION COMMISSION MOTION CARRIED Board of Aldermen Page 6 May 10, 2016 Cultural Connections Committee MOTION BY ALDERMAN LOPEZ TO CONFIRM BY VOICE VOTE THE APPOINTMENT OF BERNADETTE MELTON-PLANTE, 41 PARRISH HILL DRIVE, NASHUA, TO THE CULTURAL CONNECTIONS COMMITTEE FOR A TERM TO EXPIRE APRIL 30, 2019 MOTION CARRIED President McCarthy declared Bernadette Melton-Plante duly appointed to the Cultural Connections Committee for a term to expire April 30, 2019. Oath of Office administered by Corporation Counsel. Economic Development Director MOTION BY ALDERMAN WILSHIRE TO CONFIRM BY VOICE VOTE THE APPOINTMENT OF TIMOTHY CUMMINGS, 92 RUSSETT ROAD, WEST ROXBURY, MASSACHUSETTS, TO THE OFFICE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR FOR AN INDEFINITE TERM AT THE PLEASURE OF THE MAYOR MOTION CARRIED President McCarthy declared Timothy Cummings duly appointed to the Office of Economic Development Director for an indefinite term at the pleasure of the Mayor. Oath of Office administered by Corporation Counsel. Personnel Advisory Board MOTION BY ALDERMAN CLEMONS TO CONFIRM BY VOICE VOTE THE FOLLOWING INDIVIDUALS TO THE PERSONNEL ADVISORY BOARD: MICHELLE O’MALLEY, 13 GETTYSBURG DRIVE, NASHUA, FOR A TERM TO EXPIRE MAY 1, 2017; SHEILA J. KABAT, 5 OLDHAM LANE, NASHUA, FOR A TERM TO EXPIRE MAY 1, 2018; AND CAROL BALDWIN, 42 DIAMONDBACK AVENUE, NASHUA, FOR A TERM TO EXPIRE MAY 1, 2019 MOTION CARRIED President McCarthy declared Michelle O’Malley, Sheila J. Kabat and Carol Baldwin appointed to the Personnel Advisory Board for the aforementioned terms. Oath of Office administered by Corporation Counsel. Zoning Board of Adjustment MOTION BY ALDERMAN CARON TO CONFIRM BY VOICE VOTE THE APPOINTMENT OF MARIELLEN MACKAY, 9 WEBSTER STREET, NASHUA, TO THE ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT FOR A TERM TO EXPIRE SEPTEMBER 11, 2018 MOTION CARRIED President McCarthy declared Mariellen MacKay duly appointed to the Zoning Board of Adjustment for a term to expire September 11, 2018. Oath of Office administered by Corporation Counsel. UNFINISHED BUSINESS - RESOLUTIONS MOTION BY ALDERWOMAN MELIZZI-GOLJA TO TAKE FROM THE TABLE R-16-026 MOTION CARRIED Board of Aldermen Page 7 May 10, 2016 R-16-026 Endorsers: Alderwoman Mary Ann Melizzi-Golja Alderman-at-Large Lori Wilshire Alderman Benjamin M. Clemons Alderman Richard A. Dowd Alderman-at-Large Daniel T. Moriarty APPROVING THE COST ITEMS OF A COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE MAYOR AND THE BOARD OF FIRE COMMISSIONERS AND LOCAL #789, INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FIRE FIGHTERS FROM JULY 1, 2015, THROUGH JUNE 30, 2019, AND RELATED TRANSFERS FROM CONTINGENCY Given its third reading; MOTION BY ALDERWOMAN MELIZZI-GOLJA FOR FINAL PASSAGE OF R-16-026 ON THE QUESTION Alderman Wilshire I think that this is a fair contract and that over the four years at 1.7%, I think that’s fair. I’m going to support it. Alderman O’Brien I will declare a conflict and I will not be voting on this. Alderman Siegel I appreciate the efforts of the Commission and the fire department and I actually don’t believe that this is a bad contract. I voted against it in committee because we do have a spending cap and while this is a great contract we are in this impossible position. I feel like I am voting against it because I am trying to be consistent in pushing for the pension legislation that I have. It would be inconsistent for me on the one hand to push for something like that which is specifically targeted and yet approve a contract which is higher than that number, despite my personal feelings about whether or not a good faith effort was done in negotiating it and certainly not a reflection about what was done by the department. I would point out that it’s not fair to compare this to the supervisor’s contract that we voted on because we really didn’t have a choice in rejecting that. We were sort of forced into that because there’s a “me too” clause. We don’t have that here otherwise I would be voting exactly the same way as I did with the police supervisor’s contract given that we wouldn’t have a choice. I apologize for the need to be consistent. Alderman Clemons I think this is a fair contract. I think that the bargaining unit did a lot of compromising, especially taking a 0% in one year, recognizing the fact that the city is going through a really tough time with the spending cap and I appreciate that and I am proud to endorse this legislation and proud to give my support of it. Alderwoman Melizzi-Golja I understand Alderman Siegel’s concerns and for me it’s not about fairness, I think that we just have to look at what our responsibility is here and often those of us sitting around this horseshoe have competing responsibilities and it’s to maintain a livable tax rate for the residents of this city. At the same time we have a responsibility to make sure that we are providing them and their property, be it homeowner’s or business owners with the protection they need. I think the fire department is experiencing retirements which mean there will be new members that we are going to be competing for and we need to provide the department with the tools they need to be competitive in getting the best firefighters we can get for the City of Nashua. Firefighting is this city is not a one formula thing; we’ve got many companies that use materials like chemicals and gases Board of Aldermen Page 8 May 10, 2016 and our firemen need to be trained to put out those fires as well as to do with house fires with a variety of building issues. I think we need to think about the quality of firefighting we need in this city to provide the safety that our residents deserve. Alderman Dowd In past sometimes when contracts came up the question was asked to the Commission and the chief, is this the way you want to spend your money. Well, the money for the FY ’16 portion of this is already in the budget, the money to cover this in the FY ’17 budget are in the firemen’s budget which is in the budget that we received tonight and it’s under the spending cap. I think that with an overall percentage of 1.7% that’s really good. I can only remember one other time that a bargaining unit took a 0% in a year. They are doing this because they understand FY ’17 is a challenge for us. I am going to be supporting this. Alderman Schoneman FY ’17 is certainly a difficult year; FY ’18 and FY ’19 are likely to be too. I didn’t support this in the Budget Review Committee and I don’t feel I can here either. I am fearful that if we continue to expand salaries…I think to make this increase with the knowledge that future years will be perhaps even more difficult than this one; I cannot do it at this time. Alderman Lopez I just wanted to say that I am keenly aware of how important the fire department is; particularly in my work. We have had a lot of fires and emergency response situations and I think generalizing and saying that we need to be consistent across all facets of our city is a mistake because this is the fire department. It’s the same argument that I felt strongly about with the police department. This is the time to start cutting costs in the leadership and the training of an important and essential service. We do have the heroin and opioid crisis but we also have a lot of aging buildings, especially in my Ward. I know that everyone who voted for me and is a constituent in Ward 4 appreciates that the fire department shows up prepared with the equipment they need. I am in support of this because I want to make sure we have a necessary and important service in our city and I don’t want to reduce that in any way. Alderman Dowd I have been involved with budgets in the city for over 33 years and I haven’t seen one year where someone came in and said this is a great year, we can spend what we want. Every year has been a challenge. A Viva Voce Roll Call was taken, which resulted as follows: Yea: Alderman Wilshire, Alderman Clemons, Alderman Dowd, 8 Alderman Caron, Alderwoman Melizzi-Golja, Alderman Moriarty Alderman Lopez, Alderman McCarthy Nay: Alderman Deane, Alderman Cookson, Alderman Siegel, 6 Alderman Schoneman, Alderman McGuinness, Alderman LeBrun, Recusal: Alderman O’Brien 1 MOTION CARRIED Resolution R-16-026 declared duly adopted. Board of Aldermen Page 9 May 10, 2016 UNFINISHED BUSINESS – ORDINANCES O-16-007 Endorsers: Alderman David Schoneman Alderman Tom Lopez PROHIBITING CERTAIN TRUCKS ON CHANDLER STREET Given its second reading; MOTION BY ALDERMAN SCHONEMAN FOR FINAL PASSAGE OF O-16-007 MOTION CARRIED Ordinance O-16-007 declared duly adopted. O-16-008 Endorser: Alderman David Schoneman ALLOWING RESIDENTS OF SALEM STREET TO PURCHASE OVERNIGHT ON-STREET PARKING PERMITS Given its second reading; MOTION BY ALDERMAN SCHONEMAN FOR FINAL PASSAGE OF O-16-008 MOTION CARRIED Ordinance O-16-008 declared duly adopted. O-16-009 Endorsers: Mayor Jim Donchess Alderman Tom Lopez Alderwoman Mary Ann Melizzi-Golja Alderman-at-Large Brian S. McCarthy PROHIBITING PARKING IN PART OF LE PARC DE NOTRE RENAISSANCE FRANCAISE PARKING LOT DURING SUNDAY FARMERS’ MARKETS Given its second reading; MOTION BY ALDERMAN LOPEZ TO AMEND O-16-009 IN ITS ENTIRETY BY REPLACING IT WITH THE GOLDEN ROD COPY PROVIDED WITH THE AGENDA President McCarthy What are the changes on the golden rod copy? Alderman Lopez They basically just cut the space off halfway and allowed traffic to go to and from on the road that enters the Parc. MOTION CARRIED MOTION BY ALDERMAN LOPEZ FOR FINAL PASSAGE OF O-16-009 AS AMENDED MOTION CARRIED Ordinance O-16-009 declared duly adopted as amended. Board of Aldermen Page 10 May 10, 2016 O-16-011 Endorsers: Alderman Don LeBrun Alderman Ken Siegel Alderman David Schoneman Alderman Tom Lopez ADOPTING PROVISIONS FOR REDUCED TAXATION FOR CERTAIN CHARTERED PUBLIC SCHOOL FACILITIES Given its second reading; MOTION BY ALDERMAN LEBRUN FOR FINAL PASSAGE OF O-16-011 ON THE QUESTION Alderman Schoneman I supported this before and I will support it here too. I think that even though, there was a point made during public comment about where the money comes from, I think that it’s clear that the charter schools operate at about half of the income per pupil than the public schools do no matter what the source is. I think that they provide a service to those students and the taxpayers. I also think that as a publicly funded educational institution, they should have the same kind of treatment that others are and that is not paying property taxes. Our public schools do not pay property tax. Charter schools do pay property tax and I think that giving them the benefit of a discount under property tax would go directly towards the benefit of education for those students and for the taxpayers. Alderman Lopez It sounds like there are not equivalent funding sources so I am not entirely convinced that it is exactly halfway split, although personally I am in favor of the way we have school choice in Nashua because we don’t have a lot of charter schools. We focus on our public schools and make sure that quality education is accessible to everyone but I am concerned at how the revenue…Alderman McCarthy brought up that the revenue couldn’t necessarily be guaranteed to go to the schools; the landlord could potentially make a different deal. Alderman Siegel pointed out that most of the charter schools do have a separate arrangement in their lease so that they pay their taxes for the landlords. If that’s the case then the revenue saved by this for the schools would go straight to the schools. I am concerned that it’s not so easy for a charter school to negotiate after they have invested physically properties in the school and making sure that it’s renovated to meet specifications of the education department. My concern is basically that we could be removing tax revenue from the City of Nashua and we know the next few years are going to be challenging fiscally. I think if we remove revenue then we are just putting ourselves into another series of difficult decisions moving forward. Alderwoman Melizzi-Golja I am all for parents given a choice and when my child was in school we exercised our opportunity to have choice and go beyond the public schools but there are two things; Representative Gorman talked about how the amount of money that is coming back to the Nashua City schools is less than what those to charter schools and when we heard from the Mayor this evening about the Department of Education’s budget, it’s $400,000 less than what they requested and it’s also funded at a level to just allow them to provide their current level of service. That current level of service includes, at that time it was over $80,000 of transportation costs for Nashua students to attend charter schools located in the city. The other service that is included in the school district’s budget that is provided to students who reside in the city but are enrolled in charter schools is special education services. That service is different than the way we do the rest of the special education services in the city. If you are a charter school student and your parent chooses to place you in a charter school in Concord, the Nashua City School District is responsible for arranging for you to have your services. Our special education budget is also providing services to students enrolled in charter schools and my understanding is that the number of students who are being provided services has increased to a level that the Board of Aldermen Page 11 May 10, 2016 budget coming forward from the Department of Education is actually looking at possibly adding another position to service those students because of the amount of travel that is required. My other concern and this is to Alderman Lopez’s point, is that my understanding is that the state statute provides no more than 10% of the market value to be taxed. That means we are losing 90% of the market value on these business properties. We have had conversations about it being important to increase the business property tax revenue to provide some relief to the citizens of this city. For those reasons I am not going to support this. Alderman Siegel Representative Gorman was discussing the amount of state aid which has nothing to do with how much money we spend on our schools because most of the school money comes from local property taxes, in fact, it’s over half of our budget. With regard to facilities and whether or not we will be losing a tremendous amount of tax dollars, there are very few charter schools and the value of the property that they are sitting on even reduced by 90% is not a significant amount of tax loss compared to the value of the choice and the lessening of the strain on our existing school system. I’d also like to point out that one of the things that we don’t do for charter schools is take tremendous amounts of bonding debt. How many bonds do we have outstanding which are school bonds, a tremendous amount. We have to maintain our schools and that’s one of the things that we do. We don’t have to do it with this. This is really about widening the amount of choices that people have for their students to have an education. It’s very clear that the charter schools in and around the city do an excellent job because of where they are ranked. We also give people an opportunity to have concentrations who have excellence in certain areas. I certainly wish there was a charter school for the arts when my oldest daughter was in school because she is graphic artist right now. She never had that opportunity; she was just thrown in with the general population. I don’t see that this is a gigantic cost to the city at all and I see it’s a huge incentive. Now with regard to whether or not the savings flows through to the landlord, every one of the charter schools has a lease that is set up such that they pay the taxes separate from the landlord so this does go directly to them and any on-going new charter schools that may or may not locate here would have this provision in place and certainly one would guess that they would smart enough to negotiate in their lease that they would pay the taxes. The sacrifice in actual revenue I don’t see as a big problem, the issue of whether or not the money will be directed property I don’t see as an issue either. The upside of having these charter schools is tremendous; it gives people choices and good ones. Alderman Dowd I don’t necessarily have a conflict with charter schools but a couple of things that I haven’t heard; I keep hearing vague numbers about taxes, does anybody know approximately what tax revenue we lose? Another point is as being the liaison to the Board of Education, as a courtesy, can we ask the Board of Education to weigh in on this particular bill since they are struggling with their budget and may have a better feel for whether we should adopt this? The other thing is that we are sort of making the assumption that if we pass then the tuition per student for the charter school is going to go down. I haven’t heard anything that relates that that is necessarily going to happen. The only thing that could happen is whoever owns the building is going to be paying less taxes to the city. I might feel better about this if I knew that the actual school itself was paying the taxes and we were taking the burden of the taxes away from the school and not the owner the building. I think there are still some questions and I’m not quite resolved to support this yet. Alderman Siegel I don’t know if Alderman Dowd heard what I said but none of the leases have the landlord responsible for the taxes, that’s what we found out so all of the charter schools would benefit directly from this tax relief and that tax relief is not a question of lessening tuition as much as it is providing for a better educational environment I suppose. I think those questions have been addressed. As far as whether or not the Board of Education could weigh in, I think the Board of Education has plenty to do with just managing our existing school system and it would be hard for me to imagine the Board of Education saying sure, that’s great we definitely support you helping charter schools. It would be unusual to expect that they would do that. Board of Aldermen Page 12 May 10, 2016 Alderman Clemons In committee I was on the fence about this legislation. I ended up voting for it; to recommend final passage but I have real reservations about charter schools in general. I think that they syphon money off of the district for the benefit of the few and then the rest of the population that is left behind has fewer resources to invest in the school. One of the things that I have been thinking about this is if we do create this tax incentive, does that mean that Nashua then becomes a place where people want to set up future charter schools because they have the tax advantage. To me, I don’t want to see us become a magnet for charter schools which I think are a drain to public education. For those reasons, I am not going to support this legislation. Alderman Wilshire I’ve been supportive of charter schools, however, I feel if the parents want to make that choice and put their kids in charter school then there should be a cost to them for that. The person that owns the building pays the taxes but that doesn’t mean that they don’t pass that cost along in another way. I think taking anything away from our public schools is just not right. At this time I can’t support this legislation. Alderman Lopez I think Alderman Siegel said a couple of times that the landlords wouldn’t take the tax revenue and that it would go to the schools, that doesn’t clarify whether or not it would lower tuition; it sounded more like it might go towards administrative or facility improvements which again, that kind of does go back to the landlord depending. I think Alderman Clemons made a good point about the possibility of us opening an all you can eat buffet for charter schools and while I like the balance that Nashua has right now I wouldn’t want to see us become a market place for education in that particular way. Alderwoman Melizzi-Golja made a good point about our school district paying for the special needs of our Nashua residents that are attending charter schools in other cities. Do we actually know if all of our three charter schools are exclusively for Nashua and if not, is that something that we could attach to this? Like if you want to qualify for this program then you need to serve 80% of your students from Nashua. Alderman LeBrun I do not know the percentage. I do know that the percentage is greater than 50%. Alderman Lopez Attorney Bolton, can we actually make that amendment? Attorney Bolton My opinion is that this is a take it or leave it proposition. The enabling legislation from the state says you can do it or you don’t have to do it but imposing conditions upon it is not an option granted to the city. Alderman O’Brien I know that we as a city have compassion. We have reduced taxation in the example of elderly exemptions. However, when we have that exemption we have a whole host of rules that seems to go hand and hand. I don’t see any rules here, I see an idea but it’s open ended. I also don’t see a sunset clause so this will be a drain on the tax dollars in perpetual. We just received the budget and I see looking over the shoulder of the Board of Education and I see the custodians possibly losing their livelihood and I hear the Mayor tonight saying that there are questions about feeding children with the lunch program. With these things dangling out there and this is one of the worst budgets that I have seen; to make an exemption in taxes, that’s almost as grieves as going over the spending cap. I don’t think this is the time in this economic climate to reduce any taxation for anybody. Board of Aldermen Page 13 May 10, 2016 Alderman LeBrun I would like to point out to Alderman Clemons that people who send their children to charter schools also pay taxes to the traditional public schools. Alderman Schoneman I would also add that there is no tuition. These are kids that are going to these schools who perhaps cannot afford a private school but need something a little bit different. As far as what the city contributes, we are looking at an education budget for the city that is over $100 million. I can tell you that the Academy for Science & Design pays $80,000 in property taxes in FY ’16. Alderman Siegel I would also like to point out that a very popular metric is classroom size in the public schools. To the extent that we provide alternatives we end up reducing that size. These schools are not set up for some elite class. I would encourage more charter schools. It’s more school capacity that we are getting at a low cost and providing an incentive to do so which is a very low cost of entry with a high return on investment. Alderman Dowd I was just shown an estimate of the tax burden to the city if we pass this and it was approximately $145,000. Right now we have the Mayor’s budget that’s $100,000 under the spending cap, to me that doesn’t add up. We are going to start in the hole. Alderman Siegel Very quickly, that number that you gave is 1/10th of 1% of the school budget approximately. Look at the value add, it looks like a good investment. Alderman Dowd I think you are mixing apples and oranges. You are talking about 13,000 students in 18+ school buildings and millions of dollars in infrastructure in the public school system against these charter schools. I don’t see that $145,000 If we lose that tax revenue coming off of the school budget. I can’t support this with the discrepancy right now, maybe later if next year is a better tax year but not this year. Alderman Clemons The basic thing for me is that we have public schools and the charter schools that we have. My question is do they do a great job at the detriment to everyone else? If 200 kids apply and only 100 get in, where the other 100 goes, it’s an unfair system. I don’t want to create a market place that favors charter schools. Alderman Schoneman The charter schools do an excellent and there are waiting lists to get in these schools. I would point out that the waiting list is for kids who want options that they can’t find in the public schools. If we had more charter schools the size of the waiting list would probably diminish. The Academy for Science & Design is limited to 500 students. The state limits that. Alderman LeBrun To Alderman Clemons, if you really want more bang for your buck you would support charter schools. Board of Aldermen Page 14 May 10, 2016 A Viva Voce Roll Call was taken, which resulted as follows: Yea: Alderman Deane, Alderman Cookson, Alderman Siegel, 7 Alderman Schoneman, Alderman McGuinness, Alderman LeBrun, Alderman Moriarty Nay: Alderman Wilshire, Alderman Clemons, Alderman Dowd, 8 Alderman Caron, Alderwoman Melizzi-Golja, Alderman O’Brien, Alderman Lopez, Alderman McCarthy MOTION FAILS MOTION BY ALDERMAN CLEMONS TO INDEFINITELY POSTPONE O-16-011 ON THE QUESTION Alderman Lopez I just want to point out that I’m not opposed to the idea, I would just personally prefer a direct link between how it would benefit our schools. Something along the lines of a percentage of…at least knowing how much the charter schools currently serve Nashua would help me make the decision. I’m not really in favor of indefinitely postponing it. MOTION BY ALDERMAN DEANE TO TABLE MOTION CARRIED NEW BUSINESS – RESOLUTIONS R-16-033 Endorser: Mayor Jim Donchess AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR AND CITY TREASURER TO ISSUE BONDS NOT TO EXCEED THE AMOUNT OF TWO MILLION TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS ($2,200,000) FOR THE PURCHASE AND INSTALLATION OF A CITYWIDE TELECOM SYSTEM Given its first reading; MOTION BY ALDERMAN DOWD TO ACCEPT THE FIRST READING OF R-16-033 BY ROLL CALL, ASSIGN IT TO THE BUDGET REVIEW COMMITTEE AND THAT A PUBLIC HEARING BE SCHEDULED FOR MONDAY, MAY 23, 2016, AT 7:00 PM IN THE ALDERMANIC CHAMBER A Viva Voce Roll Call was taken, which resulted as follows: Yea: Alderman Wilshire, Alderman Clemons, Alderman Deane, 15 Alderman Cookson, Alderman Dowd, Alderman Caron, Alderman Siegel, Alderman Schoneman, Alderwoman Melizzi-Golja, Alderman McGuinness, Alderman LeBrun, Alderman Moriarty, Alderman O’Brien, Alderman Lopez, Alderman McCarthy Nay: 0 MOTION CARRIED Board of Aldermen Page 15 May 10, 2016 R-16-034 Endorser: Mayor Jim Donchess RELATIVE TO THE ADOPTION OF THE FISCAL YEAR 2017 PROPOSED BUDGET FOR THE CITY OF NASHUA GENERAL, ENTERPRISE, AND SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS Given its first reading; MOTION BY ALDERMAN DOWD TO ACCEPT THE FIRST READING OF R-16-034 BY ROLL CALL, ASSIGN IT TO THE BUDGET REVIEW COMMITTEE AND THAT A PUBLIC HEARING BE SCHEDULED FOR THURSDAY, JUNE 9, 2016, AT 7:00 PM AT THE NASHUA HIGH SCHOOL NORTH AUDITORIUM A Viva Voce Roll Call was taken, which resulted as follows: Yea: Alderman Wilshire, Alderman Clemons, Alderman Deane, 15 Alderman Cookson, Alderman Dowd, Alderman Caron, Alderman Siegel, Alderman Schoneman, Alderwoman Melizzi-Golja, Alderman McGuinness, Alderman LeBrun, Alderman Moriarty, Alderman O’Brien, Alderman Lopez, Alderman McCarthy Nay: 0 MOTION CARRIED NEW BUSINESS – ORDINANCES O-16-012 Endorser: Mayor Jim Donchess MOVING PARKING OVERSIGHT AND MANAGEMENT FROM THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT IN THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIVISION TO THE OFFICE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN THE MAYOR’S OFFICE Given its first reading; assigned to the PERSONNEL/ADMINISTRATIVE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE by President McCarthy PERIOD FOR GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT Ms. Teresa Barr, 26 Sagamore Road Some of you may recognize me as one of the commissioners on the Review & Comment Commission. Recently you received a letter from the streets of Sagamore and MacDonald addressing concerns over the property of Main Dunstable Road. I am here tonight to publicly go on record and address some of the concerns to you, the aldermen, about the property at 396 Main Dunstable which abuts my backyard. This property is being listed and, I quote “attention builders, 2.61 acres, Nashua, available for small subdivision.” The listing goes on to say a total of six houses. When we bought our house 11 years ago, my husband and I were told by two realtors, the homeowner and two neighbors that 396 could never be built on because the city had denied the request. Knowing that they couldn’t build was the factor in buying our home. The trees behind our house provide us with privacy and is a natural sound barrier for a very busy area. My neighbors and I have many concerns about the property being marketed as a subdivision. My house sits below the hill and among concerns is the drainage issue that our neighborhood has on account of the hill. To pull the water away from my house we had to redirect the natural flow, put in a dry well, put stone around the house and redo the retaining wall where we found out there was ledge. Because of the ledge we were unable to follow through on the original design of the retaining wall because they couldn’t break through the ledge without blasting. Blasting is a major concern. Who will pay for the damage to the properties caused by blasting? Does the burden of proof fall on the homeowners and what about the noise of construction? I’m home during the day. On Sagamore and MacDonald there are people who work from home and work the midnight shift. Also, the suggested road would abut my backyard. This leads to another concern. Six homes with the potential of two or Board of Aldermen Page 16 May 10, 2016 three cars per home, 12 to 18 cars which would ultimately cut through Sagamore Road to Conant Road. Finally, if this property is subdivided it would put an undue financial burden on my husband and me. The property value would be lowered even more. We would have a harder time selling the house. For privacy we would need to get a variance to put up a higher fence. Also, any drainage issues would need to be addressed. As we get closer to retirement, we should not have to take on such burdens. These are just a few of the many concerns my husband and I have, and we ask for your support on this issue. Thank you for your time. Ms. Marta Langlais, 30 Sagamore Road We have a water problem and it is due to the runoff of a spring that runs from the property at 396 Main Dunstable Road. This floods our basement. The flooding in our basement is due from the flooding over there. If the 396 Main Dunstable Road property is excavated there will be more flooding. If you refer to the minutes of April of 1987, the previous owners of our home also had flooding at that time and had many water problems. Our home is at the corner of the lot next to 396 Main Dunstable Road. If a road is built behind our house, ¾ of our property will be surrounded by pavement creating an island affect and depreciating the value of our home. The noise of any construction or excavation due to the ledge in the area would startle my son who has cerebral palsy. He startles very easily. This would also disrupt the children and the families in our area, distract anyone from working from their home. I know I don’t have time to go over the multiple issues, but thank you for your time. Ms. Donna Schleiper, 20 Sagamore Road My boyfriend and I recently purchased our home in August of 2015. This may be a shock to you but obviously the sale of 396 was a shock to us. When we were recently notified of the sale of this property, we were obviously very disappointed. One of the selling points of our house when we purchased it was the private lot. A lot of the other homes in our price point offered a lot of the features that we were looking for but not a private lot. Clearly when we heard about the sale, we were very disappointed. We were also very concerned when we heard about the sale that our home, being the last property of the houses that would be affected, would be the closest to a home that would be built on this abutting property. If you were to put a home that close to our house, our foundation would be in severe affect. We’re very concerned about the blasting that would be taking place like Teresa previously mentioned. We’re very concerned about the overall property damage that would affect our foundation as well as our property structure. As well, we’re not from this area. We’re originally from Maine. If we were to sell our home, we are very concerned about the overall reduction of property value that would result in a house being built so close to our property line. It would be about 150 – 200 feet away from our property line. Pretty close. We are also very concerned about the runoff that would as the result of a home being built that close to us. We also have some issues in and around our property that we are concerned about as well from the natural spring that comes from 396. Thank you for your consideration. Thank you very much. Ms. Kristi Durette, 27 MacDonald Drive My husband and I, David, have been proud residents of Nashua for 19 years now. We’re really proud of the fact that all of the neighbors that abut the property that’s in question, 396, are unanimously working together because we take great pride in the neighborhood that we’ve been a part of. Most of our neighbors on MacDonald Drive that abut the property have lived in their homes and been owners for probably 10 all the way to the original owners of the development. Many of the issues that have been raised by folks who are at the bottom of the hill, we sit at the very top of the hill, and can already see a lot of the effects of the runoff through the winter and into the spring. We’re really particularly concerned that we had the same thing when we moved in in 1997. Really had us understanding of a lack of landlocked situation. As I listen to you talk about revenue and property values, at least ten properties bordering that particular piece of land and really changing the whole feel and quality of life that happens in that little Main Dunstable community in Ward 5. We know that you’re not ultimately the decision makers. We are really trying to make sure we understand how the zoning board works and looking at what conservation possibilities are and looking at how we’ve seen that habitat evolve over the years. Looking at zoning. We just really wanted to be put on the record to have you know that Board of Aldermen Page 17 May 10, 2016 we are a very invested group of neighbors and citizens are really concerned about quality of life, quality of our properties and how we move forward based on a history. Linda Panny in the planning office was very helpful in pulling minutes from a Board meeting back in 1987 that stated the property owners abutting the property at that time had risen as well. Thank you for your time. President McCarthy I would just like to make sure that all of you understand that subdivisions are actually the purview of the planning board and not this board. I did have an opportunity to go out and take a look at that property. I would encourage you to carefully think about what you are going to say at the planning board, bring up the things that were brought up the last time that apparently a subdivision was proposed there. REMARKS BY THE MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN Alderman Dowd Last night I attended the Board of Education meeting. Just a couple of points. They did pass capital reserve requests which will be coming to this board for approval. That’s to address some of the issues they have with some of the schools and most critically the Mount Pleasant Street School with the excessive heat you’ve heard mentioned a number of times. I think it was on the front page of the Telegraph today. That bill will be coming to us shortly. There is no action whatsoever on the part of the Board of Education to close any school. They have four open classrooms in the entire district. Those four are being used for other services. Closing a school is not even an option. Also they had some funds to redo the planetarium and update the software, put in seats. I believe the rededication is the 25 of May. I’m not sure of the time. I will try to find the exact information and get it out to the Board. Alderman Siegel I’d like to thank the members of the Senior Center and their Board for putting the Fire & Fusion dinner together. It was very successful and an enjoyable fundraiser. I think a whole bunch of us were there. Thanks to Alderman Caron, who did a lot of work on that? The other thing is I was asked by a letter carrier to remind everybody that this Saturday, the second Saturday in May, as in every May, you can put out a box of nonperishable foods or a can of nonperishable food by your mailbox prior to when your mail is picked up and it will be distributed to a food bank in the area. So help them out this Saturday. Alderman Schoneman Mr. Gallagher from the Conservation Commission was in and spoke earlier tonight. He reminded me, and all of us, I guess, of the trails opening event which is May 14 at 10:00 a.m. down at the Southwest Trails Park. Alderwoman Melizzi-Golja I would just like to remind everyone that this Thursday evening from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. at Nimco will be the kickoff for the Sculptures Symposium. This year the sculptures are from India, Greece and Lithuania. Alderman LeBrun Alderman Dowd, I believe you scheduled a meeting for May 23. That is also the evening of the County Delegation which myself and Alderman O’Brien would be mandatory that we attend that. Could that possibly be changed? Board of Aldermen Page 18 May 10, 2016 Alderman Dowd I’m not sure it can because we have limited days to do the budget hearings and we have some other business including a public hearing that we just scheduled for that date. It would be very difficult to reschedule that. President McCarthy We’ll have our assistant look at that. Alderman O’Brien I, too, would like to thank Alderman Caron and the great work she has done. I had a lot of fun at the Fire & Fusion. It was very good. The throwing in with the cooking with the hot sauce made it very interesting. I would also like to say that I have that for 2:30 p.m. for the planetarium rededication at Nashua High School South. I’m looking forward to it. Alderman Lopez I would like to apologize to Alderman Caron for not attending Fire & Fusion, but I did attend the baked potatoes festival. I appreciate the neighbors who came in to talk about the impact of something in their community. I think that kind of unity and investment speaks very highly of their community. I also wanted to thank Dr. Cynthia Whittaker and Alex Hamel for speaking at our Human Affairs Committee yesterday. I think they offered valuable insight and experience. Both women are very, very, very experienced in treating and working with substance abuse, opioid addiction. As my brother said, facts tell but stories sell. Both of these presenters were a wealth of personal experience. They really focused on the known experiences, approaches, strategies and resources available in the recovery community. I also wanted to remind the Board of Aldermen that this Sunday is the Gate City Marathon. It’s just like a parade, but way longer. Alderman Caron I do want to thank everyone who showed up because it was a great success. This is their fourth year. I think they hit goal of what they were looking to make. They are looking for bigger and better next year. Unfortunately the Alpine Grove is the only venue in the area that can accommodate 300 people plus 8 chefs and cooking. Alderman O’Brien, I will have your membership forms next meeting. President McCarthy The planetarium rededication is in fact at 2:30 p.m. on the 25th. It’s actually really interesting. We’re not actually paying to upgrade the planetarium. The upgrades are being done as part of a partnership with a company down on Lake Street called Sky Scan which, if you never knew it was there, is a company that makes planetarium equipment for places all over the world. They have a 27-foot dome in that little building behind the mill on Lake Street. We had gone and looked at it when we outfitted the original planetarium. They had a really neat system that uses coordinated video projectors to project on the dome. At the time that system was way too expensive for us to afford. Technology being what it is, that’s come down in price and they’re actually giving us that in return for us helping them out with curriculum development which will also result in us getting the materials to use in the planetarium, not just for space science education but they are doing a lot of materials on other education. Biology and chemistry, for example, that they can use the space on the ceiling to show things that are difficult to project in the flat. I think it’s a really interesting opportunity for us. It helps us with our goals towards science education. I also wanted to thank all of the members of the board and of the delegation that showed up last week for the meeting with the state delegation. I thought that was very productive. I thank Alderman LeBrun and Alderman O’Brien twice because they sat on both sides of the table. It started out a little slow but got off to a fairly good momentum in the middle. I think we’ll probably try to do that again when we see what the agenda looks like for next year. Board of Aldermen Page 19 May 10, 2016 Committee announcements: Alderman Dowd I hope everyone received a copy of the budget review schedule. It starts the 16th and goes several days that week. The departments that are covered are in here. We’ve had to shift them around for various reasons but the 23rd is penciled in there and we will see what we can do about that meeting. Alderwoman Melizzi-Golja PEDC is May 17 in the Chamber. At the last PEDC meeting, I misspoke regarding the date of the next time we would be discussing the Performing Arts Center. That is June 7. ADJOURNMENT MOTION BY ALDERMAN WILSHIRE THAT THE MAY 10, 2016, MEETING OF THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN BE ADJOURNED MOTION CARRIED The meeting was declared adjourned at 9:14 p.m. Attest: Patricia D. Piecuch, City Clerk May 5, 2016 To: The Board of Aldermen In regards to the property of 396 Main Dunstable Rd; this property abuts the homes on Sagamore Rd and MacDonald Dr. It is currently being marketed as land for a subdivision, for a total of 6 houses per the real estate listing. The homeowners of Sagamore Rd and MacDonald Dr have multiple concerns. Some being how the conversion of the current property would affect the homes and families in this area. 1 - Drainage: This area has existing drainage issues, which has been brought up in previous years due to the natural spring which flows through the 396 Main Dunstable Rd property. As a result many of the homeowners have water issues in their basements and erosion in their backyards. 2 - Ledge: Ledge is a big concern because they would have to blast; our homes would be at risk for foundation damage. In the minutes per April 1987, homeowners on Sagamore noted that large scale excavation was done to our land because of the extensive ledge. Also, there needs to be consideration of the impact that blasting would have on the area residents. There are several men and women who work from their homes. Another factor is the children and disabled people who would be home during the day and startle very easily. 3 - Hillside: The hillside of 396 Main Dunstable Rd supports some of the homes on MacDonald Drive as per minutes of April 1987. 4 - Property Damage: Possible damage from tree removal as the homeowner's trees have already fallen onto other homeowners properties and have damage fences and created clean up for multiple yards. 5 - Property Values: Another concern is property values. As written in the real estate listing there would be a road next to our backyards. The corner house at 30 Sagamore would be surrounded by 3 paved roads. This would increase traffic on Sagamore as Sagamore is a cut through to Conant Rd. In conclusion, we understand that the homeowner in the past has tried to request a variance for a subdivision in April of 1987 at the property of 396 Main Dunstable Rd, which was denied. As homeowners we want to be reassured that the property will not be used in this manner and that the security of our properties is kept safe. We request that any decision be "grandfathered" in so this issue doesn't occur in the future. Thank you for considering our issues at hand, Homeowners of Sagamore Rd and MacDonald Dr