Memorial Field final design and permitting

At a glance

Based on auto-generated captions; names and numbers may be misheard.

What: resolution appropriating $1.2 million for final design and permitting of the Memorial Field complex, funded by $600,000 of city bonds and notes and a $600,000 donation from the Concord School District.
Where it stands: approved on a roll call vote of 12-3 on October 13, 2026 (opposed: Horne, Schultz, Brown).
Next: design and permitting runs about 12 months, then a construction decision. Several councilors said they will not appropriate more until a written agreement (MOU) with the school district settles cost sharing, control and revenue.

Joint city and Concord School District committee recommended rebuilding the fields in place to fix long-running drainage failures, with new track and field surfaces, lighting and fencing, and about 55 added parking spaces.
Estimated total about $22 million (down from earlier figures of $36-38 million); phase one (fields and track) roughly $13 million plus, with about $5 million for buildings that may never be built.
The $1.2 million is a not-to-exceed amount; David Gill said the goal is to come in under it. Design is needed to compete for Land and Water Conservation (up to $1 million) and Outdoor Legacy (up to a $15 million project) grants, each with a one-to-one match.
Timeline: about 12 months of design, then bidding and a 12-month build; realistically 2028 to 2029.
Alternative money named by the city manager: recreation reserve about $529,600 uncommitted, impact fees about $86,000 uncommitted, and about $140,000 expected left from the bleacher removal appropriation. Bonding is the traditional approach; using reserves reduces flexibility in next year's budget.

Roughly 20 speakers over more than two hours.
For: youth lacrosse and football organizers, coaches, parents, the high school athletic director, a local contractor and students described an unusable track, drainage, injuries, no bleachers, rented lights and games and a senior night held outside Concord.
Concerns: no written agreement yet on who pays what ("cart before the horse"), whether to bond or use surplus, a competitive bid for the design contract, turf versus grass, and whether the city has approved the footprint.
Penacook and Merrimack Valley school district residents, including two school board members speaking as private citizens, asked for a split other than 50/50, pointing to district usage data (for example 88% of varsity football hours), a petition of roughly 600 to 670 signatures asking Concord School District to pay all construction costs, and higher need in Penacook.
The mayor apologized to anyone offended by a remark to an earlier witness.

Supporters said the field is unsafe and past due, the school district's check is a good-faith first step, and the council keeps full control of the decision on later phases: Kurtz, Fennessy, Todd, Foote, Keach, Schlosser, Sekou. Davie and Kalob voted yes reluctantly.
Common conditions: a written MOU before any further appropriation; Davie does not expect to support a 50/50 construction split; Kalob wants grant specifics, a capital campaign and public-private options.
Opposed: Horne (tax burden, debt service, unanswered ownership and control questions, Penacook fairness), Schultz (tax fairness) and Brown (wants the MOU and a competitive bid first; suggested making the golf fund an enterprise fund again).
Procedure: motion to move the question, a disputed voice vote, a successful motion to reconsider, then a roll call. The captions do not show a separate vote on paying from reserves instead of bonding.

Share of construction cost between city and school district, and what control or revenue the district gets.
Turf versus natural grass; usage tracking by group continues through 2026.
Whether the design work is put out for competitive proposals.

About 201 minutes across 1 meeting (from transcript timestamps; approximate).

Meeting	Minutes
2026-10-13 - City Council	201

2026-10-13 - City Council - Public hearing and action. Resolution for $1.2 million design and permitting ($600,000 bonds, $600,000 school district donation) approved on a roll call vote of 12-3 after about 3 hours 20 minutes of hearing and debate.