Personnel/Administrative Affairs Committee

PERSONNEL/ADMINISTRATIVE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE APRIL 8, 2010 A special meeting of the Personnel/Administrative Affairs Committee was held on Thursday, April 8, 2010, at 7:00 p.m. in the Aldermanic Chamber. Chairman Ben Clemons presided. Members of the Committee present: Alderman Kathy Vitale, Vice Chair, Arrived After Roll Call Alderman Arthur T. Craffey, Jr. Alderman Paul M. Chasse, Jr. Alderman Richard P. Flynn Also in Attendance: Mayor Donnalee Lozeau INTERVIEWS Hunt Building Board of Trustees Claire McGrath (New Appointment) Term to Expire: December 31, 2014 Mayor Lozeau As always, I am so pleased to bring before you a volunteer from our community that is interested in serving. As many of you know, the Hunt Building is going to have a lot of changes over the next couple of years. We have bonded dollars to be able to get in there, get some work done. I’ve met with the trustees and told them that my goal in investing in them is to get them a building that they can then take responsibility for and care for, and have it generate enough revenue for them to maintain the building at the level that we’re going to complete it. That means they are going to have to put capital dollars aside and things like that. They are making progress, and they are excited about what’s coming forward. I’ve met with them about their current Board of Trustees and what kind of skills they are interested in in having join the Board. When we talked about that one of the skills that came up was somebody that is very organized, that understands marketing, that understands how city government works with the Board of Trustees and how to kind of get your arms around a big project like this. Each of the trustees, I think, bring very different things to the table. It occurred to me that the lady before you tonight, Claire McGrath, had a real wealth of experience in the city. As some of you know, she served here on this Board for some time. She served on the Planning Board. She also is involved in marketing. She knows the community, inside and out. I can attest that she is amazingly organized, and I think she would be a wonderful, wonderful asset to this Board. When I called her and asked her if she was interested, she was so thrilled to be asked, which I will let her speak for herself on that, of course, but I sent her all of the information about what was pending for the Hunt Building. I have to tell you I interviewed three other individuals that began with some interest, and by the time they saw what was coming up, they declined the invitation to serve. So, I was thrilled that she sounded more excited after she read all the information than when we first spoke. So I am very pleased to introduce Claire McGrath this evening. Chair Clemons I note for the record that Alderman Vitale has arrived. Claire McGrath I live at 121 Cherrywood Drive in Nashua. I am a Nashua native. I’ve lived here most of my life. Although I am not that old to remember the Hunt Building as a library, I do remember it when it was a school administration building. I think it’s wonderful that the city takes it stewardship of the building so Special Personnel – 4/8/10 Page 2 seriously. I think it is wonderful to preserve our history. I think we owe it to our children. Quite honestly, I was honored to be on the Board of Trustees for it. Alderman Flynn I do remember it when it was a library. When it was a library, that was a library you had to be very quiet in. I can remember when you came in and turned to the right there was this dark room where people would do all their reading and research. You could hear people breath. It was like you were expected to breath softly in that room. Actually, I like going to the library. I had some good experiences there. I like reading. I don’t know what’s ahead for the Hunt Library. I’m a little surprised tonight. It seems to me that I probably have lost track somewhere what’s going on. I know we put an awful lot of money into the Hunt Building over the last 8 or 9 years trying to take care of some of the environmental problems that they have there. Did we not take some Community Development money last year as well to try to help them with some water issues or roof issues? Mayor Lozeau There was money spent on re-pointing some years ago. And then the water problem that’s been discovered in the basement, where there’s mold and mildew and other things going on, it has been identified that water is coming down Library Hill into the foundation. There was like a protective wall that has outlived its ability. We have put aside about $95,000 for fixing that retaining wall – I’ll just use that term for the sake of explanation. One of our city engineers, Amy Gill, has been right in the forefront of designing the plan on how to put that in and to stave off the water. That’s the first thing that has to be done before any of the other work goes into the building. There’s a roof leak that they are having a really difficult time identifying. But the overall plan, Alderman Flynn, I’ll refresh your memory is it was part of the bond for the city buildings. They have an architectural plan with all the work that needs to be done there for about $1.1 million. We think we’ve gotten it closer to the million dollar range. That will do virtually everything that they need to have done for the building, top to bottom. Once that’s complete, the message that I’m trying to make sure they understand is, this is not something the city can do continually. When I come to you when we finish city hall and the parking garages, I’m going to be presenting as part of my budget a capital reserve fund that is going to be talking about our buildings and our equipment and other things so we consistently put away those funds so we don’t wait 20 or 30 years and say we need a million dollars again to start over. The Hunt Building should be done and get its work started sometime this spring. We hope that over the next year or 18 months, it will be able to be used the manner which will be in the revenue to keep it beautiful. Alderman Flynn I think you have a tough endeavor, myself. I think I’ve supported almost all the initiatives to do things with the Hunt Building. I’ve been on the finance committee. I’ve seen a lot of those things come forward. I was on CDBG last two years, so I’m aware of a lot of the problems. I think you’ve got pretty much of an uphill road here to try to make that a revenue generator for the city. But they work on a very small budget. They do surprisingly quite well with $30,000 - $40,000. I know there’s not an awful lot of money spent on the Hunt Building. It’s basically just a person and a little bit of electricity and heating. We don’t give them any money to work with and they don’t bring in much revenue. Is this where Mr. Matthews is? Is he the chairman of this? Mayor Lozeau Yes, he’s the chairman. I just want to make sure that I am very clear. I don’t necessarily think that the Hunt Building will ever be a revenue generator in the way that the city could look to it and say: “oh, look. They’ve contributed this much to the city year.” What I’m hoping is they generate the revenue to Special Personnel – 4/8/10 Page 3 maintain self sufficiency and maintain their building. That would make me perfectly happy. I don’t think they need to bring in more than they need than to keep that building the way it is and be good caretakers. Alderman Flynn I think that’s going to be a tough endeavor. Mayor Lozeau It may not be easy, but it certainly is an important goal. I think they should be trying to achieve that. I know this year, they are assuming they are going to bring in somewhere between $4,000 - $6,000. That’s certainly a long way from the goal. Alderman Vitale I agree if we could be self-sufficient budget-wise that would be really great. I think it’s a good thing for the city for us to maintain some of our historical significance. Moving forward with the city, I think it adds a lot to our character and everything else. When I moved to Nashua, the first time I was in the Hunt Building, one of the things I was surprised about is the tiles that are around the fireplace in the main room happen to be made in MoravianTileworks in Doylestown , Pennsylvania, and I moved there from there. Those tiles, today, are made exactly the same way as they were when they were made for the library. They haven’t changed their procedure at all. They are all handmade and everything else. You can go through their factory in Doylestown and see them made and still buy those same tiles. They haven’t changed the patterns. Sometimes they come out with new patterns, but you can buy those tiles and hang them on your walls at home if you want to. They are made the same way, but they are dated so you know what year they are made and everything like that. That’s one thing about the Hunt Building that I know. Chair Clemons I would just like to say thank you for coming forward and volunteering your time. I think the Hunt Building is one of the best things that we have going downtown. What I would like to see if it used for more events and things of that nature that can bring people downtown. Currently, it can hold about 50 people, I think. There’s some production companies that do plays and things like that there. But I think there’s an opportunity there for that space that we can bring people downtown and not only will they patronize the Hunt Building but go elsewhere as well while they are down there. I think that would be a good goal. From what the mayor has said and I know your past history. You were an alderman here, and you certainly are someone who I can at least attest to when you say you’re going to do something, you do it. And that comes from things that you’ve helped my parents out with when you were on the board. I think that that is a real testament that you are going to take this appointment seriously and you are going to do a very good job. So, I thank you for that. COMMUNICATIONS – None PERIOD FOR PUBLIC COMMENT APPLICATION TO LICENSE HAWKER'S, PEDDLER'S, ITINERANT VENDOR'S LICENSE - None APPOINTMENTS BY THE MAYOR Hunt Building Board of Trustees Special Personnel – 4/8/10 Page 4 Claire McGrath (New Appointment) Term to Expire: December 31, 2014 MOTION BY ALDERMAN CHASSE TO RECOMMEND THE CONFIRMATION OF THE APPOINTMENT OF CLAIRE MCGRATH TO THE HUNT BUILDING BOARD OF TRUSTEES MOTION CARRIED UNFINISHED BUSINESS - None NEW BUSINESS – None DISCUSSION POSSIBLE NON-PUBLIC SESSION ADJOURNMENT MOTION BY ALDERMAN CHASSE TO ADJOURN MOTION CARRIED The meeting was declared closed at 7:15 p.m. Alderman Arthur T. Craffey, Jr., Committee Clerk