2026-10-13 - City Council

04:11six meeting of the conquered city

04:13council. Uh would you all please stand

04:15and join me in the pledge of allegiance?

04:20>> I pledge algiance to the flag of the

04:22United States of America and to the

04:25republic for which it stands, one nation

04:28under God. Indivisible with liberty and

04:31justice for all.

04:37>> Madison clerk, would you please call the

04:40role?

04:40>> Yes. Councelor Rum

04:42>> here.

04:42>> Mayor Chimplan,

04:44>> yes.

04:44>> Present.

04:45>> Councelor Davyy

04:46>> here.

04:46>> Councelor Fennessy,

04:47>> present.

04:48>> Councelor Foot,

04:48>> present.

04:49>> Councelor Grady Son,

04:50>> here.

04:51>> Councelor Horn here.

04:52>> Councelor Caleb

04:53>> here. Councelor Ke

04:54>> here.

04:54>> Councelor Kred here.

04:56>> Councelor Kurts

04:57>> present.

04:57>> Councelor Schlasher

04:58>> here. Councelor Schultz

04:59>> here.

05:00>> Councelor Seiku

05:01>> here.

05:01>> And councelor Todd

05:02>> here.

05:04>> Thank you. Uh I'll entertain a motion uh

05:07to approve the minutes of the September

05:0914th uh city council meeting.

05:11>> Moved and seconded.

05:13>> Uh councelor Brown.

05:14>> Yes. I have a correction to the minutes

05:16on page 16 after the first well it's the

05:20incomplete paragraph. I would like to

05:23add the language that says, "Councelor

05:24Brown asked staff to provide funding

05:26options for the 600,000 memorial field

05:29design permitting appropriation,

05:31including consideration of the

05:33recreation reserve, the city manager

05:35interrupted to state that the city would

05:37not be doing that." When councelor Brown

05:40replied that it would be helpful to know

05:41the options, the city manager responded,

05:43"No, thank you."

05:44>> That's a novel. I don't think we'll make

05:46the change, counselor. It it is brief

05:48and I have it written and I am happy to

05:51uh send it over to the city clerk for

05:52inclusion.

05:54>> We won't entertain those changes. Any

05:56other discussion?

05:56>> Excuse me, your honor. I didn't hear

05:58what you said.

05:58>> I said we won't entertain those changes.

06:01>> Would you explain why this corresponds

06:03with RSA 912

06:06which relates to minutes? A brief

06:07description. This is a brief

06:09description.

06:09>> That's not a brief description. The

06:11brief description is what was

06:12transcribed by the city clerk. No, this

06:14I'm sorry, your honor, but that excludes

06:16the city manager's comment, his denial

06:19that we would have funding options,

06:21which I think is very significant.

06:23>> Councelor,

06:25you're making a common mistake with with

06:27folks who aren't familiar with minutes,

06:29which is to think to confuse a minutes

06:32with a transcription. This is not a

06:34transcription. It is a brief summary of

06:36what action was taken by the city

06:38council.

06:39>> Yes. And it is significant that the city

06:41manager refused to provide information

06:43asked by a counselor. It's

06:45>> incorrect.

06:46>> It was three refusals by stating you

06:49would not provide it and then saying no

06:51thank you when I asked.

06:52>> I have a I have a a motion to move the

06:54question. Is there a second?

06:55>> Second.

06:56>> All right. Moved and seconded. All in

06:57favor?

06:58>> I opposed.

06:59>> No.

07:00>> The motion passes by the required

07:02two-thirds majority. All in favor of

07:04approving the minutes, please signify by

07:06saying I.

07:07>> I.

07:07>> Opposed? No.

07:08>> No. Eyes have it. The minutes are

07:10adopted. Thank you. This moves us to the

07:12consent agenda. I believe two items were

07:15pulled. Item seven and item 22.

07:18>> 22. Correct.

07:19>> Thank you.

07:20>> All right. Um I'll entertain a motion to

07:23approve the uh calendar. Second.

07:26>> Moved and seconded. Council Brown.

07:27>> Yes. I'm recusing myself from items 20,

07:3021, 23, and 24.

07:33>> Excellent. Thank you very much.

07:34>> Is there a reason?

07:36What is the reason?

07:38>> Oh, that's right. The reason

07:40>> the reason is um that my husband is

07:43employed by the conquered police

07:45department.

07:46>> Thank you very much.

07:47>> Thank you, councelor. Um all right. All

07:50those in favor of uh the motion as

07:54presented, please sign by saying I.

07:56>> I oppose. No. The eyes have it. Motion

07:59is adopted.

08:02That brings us to the uh public hearing

08:05portion of tonight's agenda. Um just by

08:08a show of hands, how many people are

08:10here uh to testify on item uh excuse me

08:18>> 26

08:19>> 26 I Yeah,

08:23>> 26 I is memorial field.

08:26>> There we go. [laughter]

08:27There we go. All right. All right. with

08:31uh unless uh unless council objects, I'm

08:33going to move that up to the first item

08:35>> on the public hearing agenda.

08:38>> Excellent idea.

08:39>> So, madam city clerk, item 26 I

08:43>> it is a resolution appropriating the sum

08:45of $1.2 $2 million in the memorial field

08:48project for final design and permitting

08:50authorizing the issuance of general

08:52obligation bonds and notes in the sum of

08:54$600,000 and accept accepting the sum of

08:57$600,000 in donations from the conquered

09:01school district for this purpose.

09:02>> Mr. City Manager members of the council,

09:06um Mr. Gill is here. Um we discussed

09:09just doing a very very brief

09:10presentation to get everybody up to

09:12speed

09:13of where we were. All right.

09:20>> Welcome, Mr. Gil.

09:22>> Good evening, Mayor, members of city

09:24council. Hopefully,

09:27this works perfectly.

09:45Good evening, mayor, members of city

09:46council, city manager. Um, just a quick

09:49recap of where where we've been. Uh,

09:51this process started in June of 2023.

09:54Uh, when city council and the school

09:56board um jointly came together to begin

09:59the master planning process for Memorial

10:01Field. Um, kind of an overview of the

10:04meetings. um had several public meetings

10:07in 2003 2004.

10:09Um we met with the students. I think

10:12everybody's familiar with some of the uh

10:15issues with Memorial Field regarding

10:17drainage. Um

10:21field conditions, bleachers, such. Um

10:27fall of two 2024

10:30um the school board and city council

10:32came together and created a joint

10:34committee to kind of look at um how to

10:36best move forward.

10:38Um the joint committee held meetings um

10:42I think 10 in total over the past three

10:44years. Um

10:48back in November and December 2025,

10:51uh we re presented back to school board

10:54and to city council at that time their

10:56recommended plan um and to recommend um

11:01jointly funding the final design and

11:03permitting. Um there was no conversation

11:06about construction. It was just the next

11:07phase. Um

11:11due to increasing costs um um city

11:14council at their December meeting kind

11:15of uh postponed their decision. Uh they

11:18tabled it to get some more information.

11:20We were going into budget season and it

11:22was a big number and a lot to a lot to

11:24figure out. Um the joint city school

11:28committee came back together and then

11:30September um third of this year they

11:33came back with a slightly revised uh

11:36plan. is more of the needs and wants of

11:39the memorial field. Um, and it's also

11:42keeps that $1.2 million equally shared.

11:46Um, I think everybody will recognize

11:48this as basically the layout we have

11:52here. Um,

11:55it basically honors, you know, the the

11:57field locations and the layout that

11:59we've had for the past 55 years has

12:01worked. However, the drainage has not.

12:05Um it does not have a turf field. You

12:07know, fencing needs to be improved,

12:09field lights need to be improved. Um so

12:12this plan basically honors the current

12:15layout, but everything is rebuilt in

12:16place um to solve the drainage issues.

12:20It does add a little bit of parking

12:22improvement. Um you'll see the bus lane

12:26is kind of improved going up the hill a

12:27little bit. Um it does add about 55

12:30parking spaces. Um this does not solve

12:33the memorial field of parking issue. As

12:35we all know when we have multiple events

12:37going on uh South Fruit Street both

12:39sides as well as the state hospital

12:41grounds are are full with parking. Um

12:44but it has worked for the past 50

12:47something years and the thought was how

12:49do we improve it slightly? Um however uh

12:52not to the full extent it should be.

12:57This is the estimated cost. Um this is

12:59what was approved by um the joint city

13:02school committee. $1.2 million is what

13:06we're discussing this evening. Um

13:08estimated phasing um is laid out in

13:11front. Um obviously phasing can be done

13:14multiple ways multiple times. U but $1.2

13:18million is to get us to the point of

13:20final design for construction documents,

13:22get all the state permits and ready to

13:24go.

13:26That's just a rendering of what it could

13:28look like um going forward.

13:33And just for a timeline, I know there's

13:35a lot of conversations regarding, you

13:36know, if if if funding is approved, how

13:39long it will take. Um it is about a 12

13:41month process for final design and

13:44permitting. Um so if things are

13:46approved, um you know, by by May, we're

13:49we're coming back at with the 40% we're

13:52going to re redefine the cost estimates.

13:54uh we do begin to start meeting with the

13:56state staff to give them an idea of the

13:58project coming forward. It also helps

14:01when we get into final design, they're

14:02already involved and and give us some

14:04guidance of things in case we um we over

14:08over miss something. Uh we have to

14:10create a new operations plan um

14:13staffing, maintenance, revenue

14:14projections. Um you know, if we have one

14:17turf field, two turf fields, uh there's

14:20going to be new equipment. um if we're

14:22going to have um the same number of

14:24fields that are lit or we're going to

14:26add more fields are going to be lit. So,

14:28that all has to be looked at because if

14:29there's an operation cost, it won't be

14:32shown in next year's budget, but it is

14:34going to be shown in in a future budget

14:36um once we're in operation. Um end of

14:39October final design process,

14:41construction um documents, um grants and

14:45sponsorships. Um I I kind of atalicized

14:47this. We are very good at getting land

14:49of water conservation grants for our

14:51recreation projects over the past 10

14:53years and we've got about 2.5 million in

14:55grant donations for park project

14:57constructions.

14:59So um land and water conservation

15:01increased their max award to $1 million

15:04this year. So it it does require one

15:07toone match. It does not solve the $14

15:09million construction cost but there are

15:11grant monies out there. Uh the other one

15:14is the outdoor legacy grant program

15:17similar to LWCF.

15:19It does require a onetoone match, but

15:23that can be up to a $15 million project.

15:26So if you had a $30 million project, it

15:28could pay half. If we have a $14 million

15:31project, it could pay 7 million. Um so

15:34they're out there. Um you do need to

15:36have a final design. You do need to be

15:38moving forward to to be competitive in

15:40those grants. The second grant that I

15:42mentioned is competitive nationwide. Um,

15:44but we do have seven non 27 nonprofits

15:47that use Memorial Field. So, in the

15:50event that we're going to put a grant

15:51application together, I think it could

15:53be competitive nationally because we

15:55have so many different groups using it.

15:57Um, obviously the city and the school

16:00district need to create options how to

16:01pay for construction. That's going to

16:03take some time. I respect I understand

16:06that you know by the end of the December

16:0927 all permits in place city council and

16:13the school board hopefully we can agree

16:14on how to move forward with phase one.

16:17And I I this this next piece regarding

16:20if funding is in place we could follow.

16:22I I put this in there for the audience

16:24and also folks at home. Um just because

16:27we have a final design say we take the

16:30next 12 months to do that. you still

16:32need to put it out out for RFP and then

16:34it's a 12-month construction. Um, I do

16:37realize the timeline I created here is

16:40outside the normal city budget. So, if

16:42it's delayed to the spring of 2028, you

16:47just move everything out six months. So,

16:49it's not like we can get anything built

16:52realistically um until 28 at the best.

16:57Um realistically it's going to be 2029

17:00depending on how we proceed.

17:05All the reports, all the information,

17:07all the public hearings are on our

17:08website. Uh the links there. It also

17:11provides links to the U minutes of the

17:14joint city school uh committee and all

17:16their meetings. Okay. So, uh, the mayor

17:21and the two members of the ad hoc

17:24committee have talked to me about, uh,

17:26different ways to finance some of this.

17:28And I'm just going to leave you the I'll

17:30give you the three pieces that you have

17:31out there whether or not you could use

17:33the dollars for, uh, uh, design or for

17:38construction. Um, and um, but keeping in

17:42mind, I I'll put some um, qualifiers on

17:45there. So the first piece is um the

17:49recreation reserve. You have $879,600

17:54in there now. However, so 879600

17:58$350,000 is already committed to other

18:01projects that you approved in 2027. So

18:04you already have the you already have

18:05I'm just going to go over the numbers

18:07for the public because you already have

18:08these numbers um available. So you have

18:11that leaves you 529,600

18:14in the recreation reserve. Understanding

18:17as you as you understand that you

18:18already have looked forward to having

18:20commitments on how to spend those monies

18:22when you've done everything from bond

18:25payments on the community centers to uh

18:28the golf course uh

18:31clubhouse project, but it's 529,600.

18:36You also have impact fees. in the impact

18:38fee account. You'll recall uh this is

18:41considered a this site is considered a

18:44uh citywide uh project. So you can use

18:47any monies from any of the impact fees

18:50uh uh sectors, the four sectors. Right

18:52now you have $96,000 in there and more

18:54will come in as housing. I mean this is

18:56this changes over time. Um of that

19:0086,000 is not committed. So that's

19:0386,000 you have available there. And uh

19:07David just gave me some preliminary

19:09numbers just the other day on you

19:11remember the the dollars you

19:12appropriated $385,000

19:15out of the um uh community improvement

19:18fund. I think it was a uh is it

19:19community improvement get the right name

19:21for exactly uh the capital project fund.

19:24Sorry, capital project fund uh for

19:26taking down the bleachers and cleaning

19:27up that area of that you you should have

19:31about 140,000 left of that. So that'll

19:34be 140,000 underspent good work of

19:37general services and parks and

19:39recreation. Um but we don't have all the

19:41final bills and we haven't closed that

19:43out yet. So that's probably something

19:44you're going to want to wait a little

19:46bit before you tap into any of those

19:48dollars. So I just wanted to make sure

19:49you understood you have those three

19:51sources of dollars out there um of which

19:55you can decide something to do with or

19:56not do with. Either way, you're going to

19:58have a number of expenses associated

20:00with this for the next 20 years. Uh so

20:03how you spend it is really something uh

20:05you might want to consider going

20:06forward.

20:07>> Thank you.

20:08>> Thank you. Uh any questions for Mr. Gil

20:10or Mr. Espel?

20:13[clears throat]

20:13>> Yes. Thank you Mr. Gil. Just for

20:15clarification, thank you for the

20:16presentation. Um for myself and for

20:19everyone at home, the the question

20:22before us tonight that lays out a 5050

20:24split for the 1.2 for final um design

20:28and permitting. That 50/50 split applies

20:32only to this. No agreements have been

20:35set or made about financing arrangements

20:38for any steps beyond

20:41this phase.

20:42>> That is correct. That is correct. Just

20:43for this this for this ask is 50/50

20:45>> and any question about that would come

20:47back to this body to determine.

20:50>> Absolutely.

20:50>> Okay. Thank you very much,

20:52>> Council President.

20:53>> Thank you, your honor. Uh this I I

20:55suppose is for you, Mr. City Manager.

20:57Um, I've been on the joint uh school

21:00board and city board meeting for a

21:02number [clears throat] of years and I

21:03believe that we've been trying to get

21:04this conversation rolling since long

21:06before 2023 and my recolle recollection

21:10it's over 15 years and they have finally

21:12come to the table the school district to

21:14participate with us. Is that about

21:16correct? I

21:16>> I haven't been counting the years but

21:18it's been it's been a while.

21:19>> Thank you.

21:20>> It's been quite quite a few years.

21:21>> Thank you [clears throat] councelor

21:23Brown.

21:23>> Yes. Uh Mr. I think last month you said

21:26that maintenance has been deferred for

21:2850 years. Is that correct on memorial

21:32field?

21:32>> Yeah, I I think uh and that was a

21:34context of missed opportunities in the

21:36past. I think if you go back through the

21:38CIPs um the CIP for Memorial Field was

21:41very well built out for many years and I

21:44think um at at various times you know

21:47the council had to uh rep prioritize and

21:50use funds elsewhere. So there was a lot

21:52of missed opportunities I think in the

21:54past but it is what it is.

21:56>> Follow up your honor.

21:57>> Follow up.

21:57>> Um how long have you been responsible

22:00for Memorial Field?

22:02>> Uh Memorial Field um came over in 2012

22:09when we did the parks and recreation

22:12reorganization. Uh parks the grounds

22:14division and cemetery division came out

22:16of general services and we created the

22:17parks and recreation department.

22:20>> Question. Yes. for uh the city manager.

22:22Uh Mr. City Manager,

22:24uh according to our code of ordinances

22:2730-2-2,

22:29the division of grounds maintenance is

22:32responsible for parks, athletic field,

22:35Beaver Meadow Golf Course, and we're

22:38looking at major projects that have

22:40resulted that have had deferred

22:42maintenance and now are costing um

22:45millions of dollars. Who um who was

22:49responsible for uh Memorial Field before

22:51it went to Mr. Gil in 2012?

22:54>> It's the same group that's responsible

22:56for it all along. It's the city council.

22:58>> I I'm sorry, but the city council

23:00doesn't ride lawnmowers. Who is

23:02responsible for maintaining and bringing

23:04forward

23:04>> maintaining? That's different than

23:05respons.

23:06>> Well, I I'm I'm looking at this or at

23:08the code that says maintain and repair

23:09all municipal parks, playgrounds,

23:11athletic fields, and recreation areas.

23:14So, this is something that if it's been

23:15deferred 50 years, who's responsible for

23:18that?

23:18>> City council.

23:20>> Is that something that we should go out

23:21to the parks and check or is that

23:23something that the city manager should

23:24have brought to us a lot sooner?

23:26>> And that and that's what happens. What

23:27David Mr. Gil was referring to was when

23:30you when you look at the capital

23:31improvement projects, you prioritize

23:33which projects should get done when.

23:34Just like roads,

23:36>> which roads get done when, which parks

23:38get done when, and you decide when to

23:41how much to invest, and and which which

23:44ones have priorities. In the past,

23:47particularly over the last decade or so,

23:50um, Memorial Field has been not as high

23:52a priority as Keech Park, uh, as, uh,

23:56Merrill Merryill Park as a lot of parks

23:58as Terrell Park. that that you've given

24:00those higher priorities, the pools, the

24:03splash pad, things like that.

24:06>> Follow up on that.

24:07>> So, this is coming to us after budget

24:10and we have uh two major projects that

24:13are only partially funded. The police

24:16station and uh the school, the middle

24:19school, those have already been they've

24:22only been bonded this year, and that

24:24that debt hasn't hit the tax bills yet.

24:26Can you tell us what the debt service is

24:28this year? just for um the police

24:31station, the golf course, and we

24:34probably do know what the debt service

24:35is for the middle school.

24:39>> I can tell you it's 6,271,400.

24:45That is the debt service this year for

24:47project

24:48>> for police station, the middle school,

24:51and the golf course.

24:52>> That's incorrect.

24:53>> Uh

24:54>> all right.

24:55>> I would love to see your corrections.

24:56>> Council Caleb, you're interested. Um Mr.

24:59Gil, where does the uh drainage repair

25:02fall under the phasing?

25:03>> Um in every phase.

25:05>> Every phase.

25:05>> Yeah. Basically, um if you look at phase

25:07one, um you know, the every the track,

25:12the natural grass, the baseball field,

25:14all drainage is included in all those

25:17aspect. That's why they're all in phase

25:18one al together.

25:20>> Okay. Thank you. Followup.

25:21>> Thanks for asking that because I noticed

25:23it as well. Yes. Followup.

25:25>> Yeah. Um, so the drainage system, how

25:27long has this been uh out of commission?

25:31>> Uh, I've been here for work with the

25:34city for 28 years and it's always been

25:37uh an issue. It's um nicknamed the swamp

25:40for a reason. Uh the 1972 edition, which

25:43is basically all the lower right hand

25:45side of the field is about a foot and a

25:47half, two foot below the rest of it. Um

25:49I think when it was installed in the

25:5170s, it was probably great. I think

25:53somewhere in the the 90s ear that that

25:58started to fail. It just hold the poor

26:00soils with compaction that's just

26:04>> okay. Thank you.

26:04>> Council second.

26:06>> Thank you honor David. I have uh some

26:08few questions for you and for me it's

26:10really related to the budget and the

26:13money. So listening to you first I want

26:17to say there's no doubt that memorial

26:19field to many people I talked to need

26:22the work. So I'm not questioning if it's

26:25needed. My questions to you is today we

26:29have a 1.2 million budgeted for this uh

26:33design and we said the first phase cost

26:37roughly 13 plus million. Is there a

26:40possibility if there is one

26:43to do the first phase because it seem

26:45like the first phase is 80 five to 90%

26:50of the project. Is that correct? First

26:54>> uh we talking about phase one compared

26:56to phase two and three probably I

26:58haven't looked at percentages but it's

26:59probably about that.

27:00>> So based on my math right now we have 3

27:03million and 5 million which is 8 million

27:06phase one and phase 2. So we will be

27:08left by 13 plus something million and

27:11that's where my question is if there is

27:14a way to design it if there is one

27:19because the overall 1.2 2 million is

27:22based on the 22 million that's why the

27:24design is that high right is that

27:26correct

27:28>> um yes I think if you if you go back to

27:32previous presentations the the final

27:35cost estimates have ranged from 25 all

27:37the way to 32 million

27:39>> um this is by far the the less expensive

27:42of all the options we looked at um

27:45>> I get that but is it the 1.2 2 based on

27:50the 22 million. Is that correct?

27:52>> Yes, that is to design the full master

27:54plan for the complex and then at a later

27:56date, you know, we can look at phasing

28:00as a different option. You can phase us,

28:02you know, multiple ways, but 1.2 gives

28:04us the blueprint that we need to go out

28:06to do an RFP for construction documents

28:09and get all the permits before we even

28:11figure out um can't do anything else

28:15without the final design and permitting.

28:18So there's no other option for us to

28:21qualify for the grant that we are

28:23looking for unless we do the full design

28:25or partial design can make us qualified.

28:28I it's it's it's all up to the grantees.

28:31I think um anytime you have a nearly

28:35complete master plan um you're in the

28:38process of final design towards the end

28:40of it. uh when you apply for a grant um

28:43the likelihood of the grantor giving us

28:45money is greatly enhanced rather than a

28:48concept or um concept that's not

28:52approved or approved. So I think it just

28:55strengthens our hand when we have that

28:57final design. So, if someone's going to

28:59give us a million dollars or someone's

29:01going to give us $7 million, we can say

29:03with a straight face, um, it can be used

29:07as long as the funding the rest of the

29:09funding is in place. If you don't have

29:11that, I don't think we would be

29:12competitive. It's a lot of work to apply

29:14for these [clears throat] federal grants

29:15and we would not be competitive.

29:18>> Thank you. So, my understanding is there

29:20is no alternative for partial design. Is

29:23that correct?

29:24>> Uh, not that I can see.

29:26>> Thank you.

29:30Um I guess a question for uh city

29:32manager. I asked because I've heard a

29:34couple different things. Do you know how

29:36um the school district is paying for

29:38their 600k share of the 1.2 million? Are

29:41they is this something they took a bond

29:43out for or are they they have the cash?

29:45>> We we have a we have a check for

29:47$600,000. [clears throat]

29:49>> I don't know how they how they financed,

29:51>> but we have we have cash.

29:52>> They did. Okay.

29:53>> Okay. Thank you.

29:56Thank you, your honor. Uh, is it is it

29:59true uh, Director Gil, that the 1.2

30:03million for uh, design and permitting is

30:05a not to exceed and we could actually be

30:08less than that.

30:09>> 100 100%. That's our goal is to be less

30:12than that, but that's will not exceed

30:151.2.

30:16>> Thank you.

30:17>> Any other questions before I open public

30:19hearing?

30:22>> Mr. Gil, thank you so much. Appreciate

30:23you. [clears throat]

30:24>> Thank you. Don't go far.

30:26>> I'll leave this up.

30:33>> Who would like to testify?

30:36I see a hand right there.

30:47>> Yes, please.

30:49>> Ask them what they live in.

30:52>> I'm sorry. I apologize. Councelor

30:55Schultz is asking if people are willing

30:57to indicate what ward they're from.

30:59>> Of course.

31:00>> Thank you.

31:00>> I mean, I will. I can't speak for

31:02everybody else.

31:02>> Please.

31:03>> I'm happy to make a decision for

31:04everybody.

31:04>> Thank you. [laughter] There you go.

31:06Isn't power wonderful? Would you uh

31:09would you please also identify yourself

31:10at the city?

31:11>> Of course. Emma, ward six.

31:14>> Um I am a lifelong conquered resident. I

31:18was born here. I was raised here. I went

31:20to conquer public schools. I used

31:22Memorial Field um when I ran track, when

31:25I played lacrosse. Um and I used it

31:28then. I came back after college and law

31:31school. I bought a home on South Fruit

31:33Street, mere steps away from Memorial

31:36Field. It has been my wonderful neighbor

31:40for nearly 20 years. I love hearing the

31:42band walk by at 8 a.m. every other day.

31:45I love hearing the football games on

31:47Friday nights. I love all of the

31:49excitement and joy that Memorial Field

31:52brings to this community. Not just for

31:55schools though, because also in addition

31:57to school use of Memorial Field, you

32:00have general public use. I have used it

32:02my own self to do track workouts. My

32:05three children uh run a lot. um they

32:09currently cannot use the track and

32:11they've been procluded from using it um

32:13as high school track athletes and as

32:15middle school track athletes leaving

32:18them with no home meets last year which

32:20really put a damper on their competition

32:23opportunities. Um and I've also used it

32:26as the president of Conquered Crush

32:28Youth Lacrosse. I have been the

32:30president of this nonprofit since 2020.

32:35Um, and I've been a board member since

32:38before that. And I can tell you that the

32:40administrative hurdles that come with

32:42scheduling and using um, field space for

32:46a program that serves 150 children in

32:50the community every year. Um, we are

32:53lucky in that we have sufficient funding

32:55that allows us to ensure any child who

32:57wants to play for us can play for us.

32:59Um, and so we're not an exclusive

33:01organization in that way. We take any

33:04and all ch any and all children, but we

33:06do have to find places for them to

33:07practice and we have to find places for

33:09them to um compete. Typically, we've

33:12used Memorial Field um whereas Dave Gil,

33:15Dave and his team do a fantastic job

33:18getting those fields ready for us, but

33:20we have a very short season. It is eight

33:22weeks. It starts the first weekend in

33:24April and ends the first weekend in

33:26June. We cannot use Memorial Field until

33:30May. So, my kids are playing all of

33:33their games away for the first month of

33:36the season, which then forces them to

33:40compact the rest of their season. If

33:42we're going to have any home games, we

33:44really have to pack those in over the

33:46course of really four to five weeks,

33:48depending on what that looks like. And

33:50we are using more or less every field

33:53that is available to us to make that

33:55happen. If it rains, we can't use it. If

33:58it snows, we can't use it. Um, if it has

34:02been wet all week but nice on Sunday, we

34:05can't use it because the field and the

34:07drainage are such that it is not safe

34:10for the kids to use. Um, and the parks

34:13and reccks department honestly don't

34:16want anybody on it because the fields

34:18are already in such a state that any

34:20amount of traffic or usage is going to

34:23make them in even worse shape, which is

34:25then going to make it even the rest of

34:28the community unable to use the fields.

34:30And so the the lack of our ability to

34:32use it really does hamper our ability to

34:35give kids a competitive edge on those

34:38fields. And we have found that some of

34:40our kids don't end up playing in high

34:42school. They don't want to continue to

34:43move on because they haven't had that

34:45level of success that having consistent

34:47field space would give them for year

34:49over year, week over week practice. So,

34:53I love Memorial Field. I don't even mind

34:56that people park in front of my house

34:58and sometimes walk through my garden um

35:00and sometimes leave trash on my lawn

35:02because what that actually shows me is

35:04that people are using the field for what

35:07is intended for is a community gathering

35:09space. It is a jewel for our city. It is

35:12large. It is gorgeous. It has so much

35:14space and so much potential that we

35:16should have the opportunity to use it

35:19and to use [snorts] it well. And the

35:21track is in abhorrent shape. Like it

35:25really is terrible. And it's not good

35:27enough to even host a high school meet

35:29at four lanes. And so you really need to

35:31if you're thinking about doing it, it's

35:34not just doing it in situ, which is

35:35certainly the best way to do it. But you

35:38have to think also forward about

35:39expanding that space to allow it to be

35:41used for something beyond just

35:45recreational use. If you're going to put

35:47that level of effort into it, it needs

35:49to be sufficient so it can be used by

35:51the state, you know, by the high school

35:53for a competitive purpose and host meets

35:56which will bring in revenue, which will

35:58bring in opportunity for people to come

36:00to our fair city and see what we can

36:02provide. Um, and I think that it's a

36:04really important opportunity for the

36:06city to move forward and to show that it

36:09invests in its community and its

36:11recreational opportunities because

36:13that's what bring people to our city to

36:15live here, to invest here, and to be

36:18here, and to become lifelong residents

36:20of this city. That's all.

36:22>> Thank you. Any questions? Councelor

36:24Schulz.

36:25>> Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Quick question

36:26because I'm just clueless about how this

36:28works now. So, [clears throat] how does

36:30your nonprofit interact with the what I

36:34assume to be uh the conquered high

36:37school lacrosse team?

36:39>> So, we don't we are a separate nonprofit

36:43um and we do youth lacrosse. So, we um

36:46we run a program for kindergarten

36:49through 8th grade and we work with the

36:53folks at Conquered Parks and Rex usually

36:55starting about like November, December

36:58to start working on what fields we're

36:59going to use for games. Um and then I

37:02have the cell phones for the people who

37:05I need to have cell phones for um to

37:07make sure that our games can get played

37:08on the days that they get played for.

37:11But we're a separate nonprofit. We are

37:12not integrated with conquered high

37:15across.

37:15>> Thank you.

37:16>> We would like to be more integrated, but

37:17that requires that's on the school side.

37:19That has nothing to do with the city

37:21side.

37:21>> That's perfect.

37:22>> Thank you, your honor. Thank you so much

37:23for volunteering in the community. I

37:25think it's really important and it

37:26should be recognized. The time and

37:28effort that you give is a lot and it's

37:31sometimes the most rewarding and

37:32sometimes the most frustrating thing

37:34that you can do. So, first

37:35congratulations on that. Um, I'm not

37:38sure if you recall the conversations

37:40that we've had in the community

37:41regarding Terrell Park. And Terrell

37:43Park, the plans there are for an

37:45astroturf field that is specifically

37:48rectangle for lacrosse and soccer play.

37:51Um, those conversations because of the

37:54cost, the city council has put those off

37:56to the side. But there is a conversation

37:58about astroturf fields in regards to

38:00Memorial Field. Is that something that

38:03you're in favor of so that the play can

38:04be longer and more controlled versus the

38:07grass fields?

38:10>> Yes, it is. We would like to if we had

38:13turf fields, we would probably be able

38:15to use them in April for games and

38:17competitions. Although I will say

38:19depending on the quality and the

38:20improvements made in the drainage, it

38:22could be possible that grass fields

38:24would also meet that need. A lot of it

38:26would come down to maintenance and what

38:27the parks and reccks department

38:29determines as an appropriate use at that

38:31time.

38:31>> Great. Thank you so much,

38:35>> Council Brown.

38:36>> Thank you. Hi. Hi. So, I Your children

38:39are just phenomenal athletes and it's

38:42because their parents are phenomenal

38:43athletes. Um, so you have been there

38:46frequently um for yourself, for your

38:48kids? When did you start when did you

38:51see that Memorial Field needed work? Is

38:55that something that just kind of

38:56happened last year or

39:00>> um

39:01I mean like I said I've lived and

39:03conquered my whole life.

39:05>> So h so when should we have started

39:07this?

39:08>> I think there were discussions and

39:10thoughts about it even when I was in

39:11high school although I wasn't I can't

39:13say I was very cognizant of what those

39:15discussions were. Um but noticing it

39:18even then I can tell you we would play

39:21um on the field and they would be wet.

39:24Um the field that we would play our

39:26varsity lacrosse games on that field's

39:29not fully big enough for a full girls

39:31lacrosse game. Um there's there was

39:34never really access to the football

39:35field. The interior of the track for

39:37anything other than football which is

39:39fine. um you know so really limited in

39:41terms of scope and the track I think was

39:43resurfaced and redone in my memory

39:48although um it's certainly so it was

39:50better for a bit than what it was when I

39:52was using it in high school but it has

39:54been a deteriorating space for some time

39:56>> since okay for like the last 30 years

39:59>> say

39:59>> yes

40:01>> uh do do uh kids in your program come

40:05from all across the city

40:07>> yes okay from every word

40:08>> thank Any

40:11other questions? Thank you so much.

40:13>> Thank you very much. We appreciate it.

40:15>> Is there anyone else who'd like to

40:16testify on this?

40:18>> Mr. Schwit,

40:22[clears throat]

40:22>> you can be next. Be be prepared.

40:24[laughter]

40:27>> Good catch.

40:34>> Good evening.

40:35>> Good evening. Good evening, members of

40:37the city council, mayors, city manager,

40:39city clerk. I'm Roy Schwiker. I'm from

40:42Ward 4, which is zone A for the school

40:45board. And

40:48I have quite a selection of old

40:49newspapers I never had a chance to read.

40:52So, I was reading one was maybe 10 years

40:54old recently, and it had an article

40:56about how Memorial Field was, you know,

40:58in really bad shape, needed to have

41:00something done. So, I can't talk about

41:0230 years, but certainly it's been around

41:05for a while. And my impression is that

41:09uh maybe it should stay, you know, not

41:12such a high priority for the city at

41:14least for a while. We have other things

41:16that we're spending money on like water

41:19and I can't see is how the city is going

41:23to benefit that much from Memorial Field

41:25as compared to some of the other ways we

41:27might spend our money. and

41:31particular most of the things that are

41:32proposed in this master plan seem to be

41:35for the benefit of the school district

41:37and not for the city. And I understand

41:40that many of the people paying for them

41:42are the same. In fact, if the school

41:44district pays for something, it will

41:46cost me more than if the city pays for

41:48it because, you know, the school

41:50district is a smaller entity than the

41:53city. But, you know, still I'm I

41:56actually agree with the people in

41:57Pentacook that it's kind of unfair that,

41:59you know, we're spending so much money,

42:01you know, for the benefit of the school

42:03district. We should let them, you know,

42:05put up a higher share of the money based

42:07on what they want to do. I think we

42:10should uh unfortunately, I like your

42:14idea of let's scale back the project and

42:16then we can scale back this thing. I

42:19hate to call it a master plan. It seems

42:20like they've already got their plan. All

42:22they want to do is have some consultant

42:25pay a million, pay them a million

42:26dollars so they can rubber stamp and say

42:28this is a good plan as compared to we

42:30have a bunch of people in the city that

42:32earn six figure salaries. Aren't they

42:34good enough to say this is a good plan

42:35and you know be done with it? And you

42:38know once again this is follows the

42:40usual process city projects. You get a

42:43bunch of golfers on a committee. They

42:44say we want a fancy club clubhouse. You

42:47get public safety people. We want a uh

42:50police station that uh cost 10 million

42:53more than it should because we want it

42:54so huge we'll never need another one.

42:57And I think we're talking the same thing

42:58of Memorial Field. It's kind of awfully

43:01expensive for what we're going to get

43:03out of it now considering the other

43:04stuff that uh we have to do. And one

43:07thing I'd particularly like to speak of

43:09is I read a book by a woman named Alex

43:11Morgan. She's a soccer player. Some of

43:14you may have heard of her. and she is

43:16very negative on turf fields. She says

43:20the playing quality is much less and the

43:24professional women's soccer players

43:26that's one of their goals is to

43:27eliminate turf fields from all of their

43:30matches. You know, play them only on

43:31grass because the turf is more dangerous

43:33to them. And in particular, she claims

43:36that it causes cancer on young kids. She

43:38shouldn't let the young kids play on the

43:40turf fields. I don't know how much of

43:42this is still true, but uh I think the

43:45idea of turf field costs more, so

43:47therefore it's better. That may not be

43:48true at all. You may want to rethink

43:51whether you really want a turf field in

43:53any case. So anyway, that's that's my

43:56opinion. We need to scale the whole

43:58project back. We need to make the school

44:01district pay a higher percentage of it

44:02even though it cost me more money. We

44:04need to get rid of the turf fields.

44:06Thank you.

44:06>> Thank you, Mr. Shriker. Any questions

44:07for Mr. Striker?

44:09>> Council Su. I just have one. Seem like

44:12you support the project and you agree

44:14that it's not safe the condition of the

44:17field right now.

44:18>> I'm sorry. I'm not an expert on fields.

44:20I don't know whether it's safe or not.

44:22I'm willing to accept that opinion, but

44:24I'm not going to render that opinion if

44:25you understand the difference.

44:28[clears throat]

44:28>> Okay.

44:29>> Any other any other questions? Thank

44:32you.

44:33>> Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Mr.

44:35Shrier.

44:36>> Thank you. Thank you.

44:38>> Yes, ma'am.

44:43Welcome.

44:45>> Hello.

44:47My name is Katrina Malone. I am Ward 10.

44:50While I was not born and raised in

44:52conquered, New Hampshire, I've been a

44:54resident for about 17 years now. I'm on

44:56the board for the booster club for the

44:58football team and the lacrosse team at

45:00the high school. So, while Memorial

45:03definitely has a strong place in my

45:05heart for my kids and also all of the

45:07kids of our communities that play, it's

45:09also goes out to any of the sporting

45:11teams that come to our city. Um, I've

45:14heard comments of how bad the lacrosse

45:16field is, how we can't play on it, you

45:19know, early in the season. Um, we've had

45:21to bust the kids over at the beginning

45:22of this year over to the um National

45:25Guard field so that we could play games

45:27and have practices over there for the

45:28safety of the kids. The fields get

45:31closed often because of rain because of

45:33the drainage. Um I have two boys. One

45:36plays lacrosse. The other plays football

45:38and basketball. So they both take

45:40advantage greatly of the fields down

45:42there. Um my son that plays basketball

45:45is in trainings down there as well. I am

45:47actually on the co-ed softball team here

45:49in conquered for the summer. So while we

45:52are seem to be talking a lot about the

45:54student athletes that are here, it also

45:56is a community

45:58place. It's not just for student

46:00athletes. Um I have people on my team

46:02that come from um Barnstead, the Sea

46:05Coast, NSHA because they love coming

46:08here to play. They love actually the

46:10conquered softball league that we play

46:12in. Um they enjoy it greatly. They think

46:14we have a good camaraderie. They think

46:16that we have a good group going and we

46:18really enjoy our time here. We do have

46:20to play in Penuk sometimes and that's or

46:22not Penuk Penrook sometimes and that's

46:24fine. But we use both fields for

46:26softball at Memorial. And we can't use

46:30we can't go very far out into the

46:32outfield for softball at the main field

46:34because of if it's rained, you're just

46:37soaked. And while we love playing

46:39softball, we all are adults in our 40s

46:42and 30s and 50s, some of us. Um so we

46:45don't we're trying to avoid injury as

46:47well. Um, but as a as a parent, I

46:52I definitely feel slightly embarrassed

46:56when we go to that field. It is um I'm

47:00there on Friday nights for the home game

47:02to work with the booster clubs and sell

47:03merchandise and, you know, I'll be

47:06walking along just the path and tripping

47:08over everything because the asphalt is

47:10raised on the road that you come in on.

47:13Um, so it's kind of a hazard and I've

47:14seen many kids do the same thing as

47:16they're walking in and parents and then

47:17the the people that are elderly trying

47:19to get in and see their grandchildren

47:20play. It really is it it really is kind

47:23of terrible to see that we're the we're

47:26the uh,

47:28you know, we we are such a great city

47:31and we've done so much downtown. Um, I

47:35think it only makes sense for us to

47:36really look at Memorial not just from

47:38the kid aspect, but also from a

47:39community aspect with how much we

47:41actually do there. Um, throughout

47:44spring, summer, and into fall, there's

47:46many events that are held there. So,

47:49that was all.

47:49>> Thank you. Any questions from Miss

47:50Balone? Counselor Brown.

47:52>> Yes. When you've encountered issues at

47:54the field, who do you reach out to? Do

47:57you talk to Steve Larie from the school?

48:00>> Yep.

48:01>> We'll do that. And then also if um I

48:03forget his name who works the grounds

48:05there.

48:06>> Is it wheels?

48:07>> Wheels.

48:07>> Yeah. So I've I've said oh you know hey

48:10and you know stopped him when he's on

48:12his golf cart and things like that. So

48:13I'm always very polite and but honest

48:16too of you know this is it's getting a

48:18little crazy when you're you're trying

48:20to get to a field and it's just swamp in

48:23the lacrosse.

48:23>> So it's it's it's not it's not for lack

48:26of you you communicating to people.

48:28>> Oh no. I'm more than happy to

48:30communicate. Like I said, respectfully,

48:32but yeah,

48:33>> absolutely.

48:34>> Thank you.

48:34>> Any other questions for Miss?

48:38>> Well, thank you so much.

48:38>> Thank you.

48:39>> Thank you very much.

48:40>> Anyone else like to speak? Yes, sir.

48:45[clears throat]

48:48>> Good evening.

48:49>> Good evening.

48:52>> It's 16.5 font, so it should be pretty

48:54quick.

48:56[laughter]

48:57Uh, good evening. My name is Alan

48:59Robbitas and I'm here in front of you

49:01merely to represent my concerns as a W

49:03five resident about the memorial field

49:05project. It also seems appropriate to

49:08identify myself as a resident

49:10represented by conquered school

49:12district, a distinctly separate but

49:14awkwardly supplemental governing body

49:16for the people that reside in my area.

49:18I felt it appropriate this evening to

49:20come to the table not to create division

49:22between the folks who support the

49:23memorial field project moving forward

49:26and those who do not, but perhaps to

49:29provide some context on how awkward the

49:31lack of clarity sounding surrounding

49:33this potential project has become.

49:36Last city council meeting as I sat

49:39listening to the memorial field

49:40discussion, I found it preposterous to

49:43hear that the cost split has yet to be

49:45determined between the city of conquered

49:47and the conquered school district. Nor

49:50has a final budget been nailed down.

49:52Obviously, such a budget would be

49:54difficult to extrapolate without knowing

49:56the financial responsibilities between

49:59the two parties.

50:01Admittedly, I cannot assert that I have

50:02a conser comprehensive knowledge of how

50:05civic business affairs are handled at

50:07your level. I have, however, found

50:10myself on a partnership LLC tax return

50:13year after year for the past 25 years.

50:16And I can honestly say through the lens

50:18of my business experience, you have put

50:20the cart before the horse. In no way,

50:23shape or form should a partnership

50:25initiate business dealings together

50:28before the partnership has ex executed

50:30an operating agreement and have clear

50:33understanding on how the profit and loss

50:35split is to be handled. I don't know all

50:38of you personally, but I can certainly

50:41say I have been watching as many

50:43residents have.

50:47I know there are multiple attorney types

50:49that sit on this council.

50:51I'm not sure what type of lawyering you

50:53practice, but if a couple of people came

50:55into your office and said they were

50:57going to initiate business operations

51:00in a partnership structure without an

51:03operating agreement or a clear

51:05understanding of the split of the

51:07proposed company, would you tell them

51:10that this is prudent to move forward?

51:13Would you honestly tell them these are

51:15the types of things that can be figured

51:16out later and it's not all that

51:19important to understand who is

51:20responsible for what at the outset of

51:23doing business. A question that should

51:25be rhetorical, but I'm not so sure

51:28anymore. I also know there are members

51:30of this council who are very

51:31business-minded, entrepreneurial

51:33individuals who make their living on a

51:36service or product they provide through

51:38their own businesses. Would you jump

51:40into a business venture with someone

51:41that you have yet to determine what

51:43their or your level of interest in said

51:46venture is? Would you initiate business

51:49operations and worry about the minutiae

51:52of the holdings of the company later?

51:54Again, a question that should be

51:56rhetorical, but as I stated before, I'm

51:59not so sure it is anymore. At the start

52:01of new business in the very same council

52:03meeting mentioned earlier, I heard a

52:05lengthy discussion about the impending

52:07vacancy of our city manager and the

52:10process of recruitment. We heard how

52:12important that position was to get

52:13right. That we should take our time and

52:16work through the process diligently,

52:18methodically, even patiently to asssure

52:21we have access to the best candidates

52:23and we make our selection for the next

52:24city manager carefully as it is so

52:27important to conquer's future.

52:32I'll hit that one more time, I'm sure.

52:36Perhaps for the sake of conjecture,

52:38let's talk about how important that is

52:40compared to the memorial field project.

52:43Understanding that the city manager is

52:45paid at the 100th percentile in the

52:46state, a pay rate I would assume most

52:48thriving cities would aspire in order to

52:50attract and retain the best employees.

52:53For the sake of easy math, let's

52:55generalize the city manager position

52:58costs this city $250,000 annually. And

53:01let's also take the liberty of saying

53:03that the memorial field project comes in

53:05slightly under its full projection as we

53:08see here tonight at a sweet deal of just

53:11$22 million.

53:13In extremely simplified terms, the

53:15Memorial Field project without debt

53:18costs associated with the bond payments

53:21could fund the city manager position as

53:23it is for 88 years. It seems like the

53:27city has recognized the need to be

53:28methodical and patient with their

53:30decisions on the operating budget side.

53:33But when it comes to capital improvement

53:34expenditures, the city has put both feet

53:37on the gas pedal. What exactly are the

53:40priorities for Conquer these days? Is it

53:42the goal to gentrify this community one

53:44big ticket item after the other without

53:46even a knowledge of how much this is

53:48going to cost? Or worse, who is

53:51responsible for the cost to start with?

53:54I implore you to take your own advice

53:56and work through decisions regarding

53:58Memorial Field diligently,

53:59comprehensively, carefully, even

54:02patiently. Because in some very

54:04oversimplified terms, Memorial Field

54:06might have a similar impact to conquered

54:08as 88 years of salary for the best paid

54:11city manager in the state. And as such,

54:14we should make sure we got this right.

54:17It appears when looking at large bonded

54:19projects, the decision makers of

54:21conquered have developed a champagne

54:23taste on a beer budget. Perhaps a sign

54:26at the entrance to Memorial Field

54:28stating, "Bring your own lawn chair,"

54:29would be the best answer currently to

54:31allow all the needed time for all of the

54:34variables and competing priorities to be

54:36figured out before we proceed.

54:40>> Thank you for your time.

54:41>> Any questions for Mr. Council?

54:44>> Thank you for your testimony.

54:46>> Sure. So listening to you here and

54:49[snorts]

54:50seeing what David Gell and I think you

54:52watch

54:54>> um the presentation.

54:56>> Yeah.

54:56>> What would you want to see between the

54:58school board and the city council?

55:01Because based on what you just said, we

55:03don't know who's responsible for what,

55:05>> right?

55:06>> I think this stuff has to get nailed

55:07down through [clears throat] a business

55:08lens. I think it's preposterous to just

55:10wing it and hope that the school board

55:12shows up. Truth be told, um, you know,

55:15I've been frustrated like a lot of

55:16citizens with the school board. If you

55:18guys just told the school board that

55:20this was their baby, I think they would

55:22build you a Foxboro stadium on the backs

55:24of the taxpayer at this point. There is

55:26no end in sight for the money they will

55:28spend. And I don't know why we haven't

55:31figured out the split. I mean, is it

55:338020 down the road? Is it 6040? The

55:37answer, I don't know. We'll figure it

55:38out later. Seems to be a bad business

55:40play to me. I think you guys will be

55:43left just holding the bag on this one.

55:47>> Any other questions for Mr. Reidas?

55:50>> Thank you.

55:51>> Thank you folks.

55:52>> Thank you very much.

55:53>> Would anyone else like to testify for

55:54you?

55:55>> Yes, sir. In the back.

56:06>> Welcome.

56:09Just one minute.

56:12>> Please state your name for the city town

56:14city clerk rather.

56:15>> Hello. Um I'm Alec Valeris. I'm a

56:17sophomore at conquered high. I'm a

56:19member of the varsity cross country team

56:21and the conquered high school marching

56:22band. Um so I'm just going to talk a

56:25little bit about the troubles that uh

56:27we've all been facing with Memorial

56:29Field. So um every football game uh the

56:32band as you guys all know puts on our

56:34halftime show. Um down at Memorial

56:36Field. We start at the high school and

56:38we walk down to the uh field and um

56:42walking down to the field. Once we enter

56:44the parking lot, uh the ground starts to

56:46get a bit rough. Um and once we're in

56:49like that area where the gates are to

56:51the field and we're walking down, um

56:53I've noticed several times, and this has

56:55happened to me too, that um you see a

56:57lot of people stumbling and tripping

56:58over the big bulges um that are there.

57:02And um not only is that like unsafe, but

57:05like we can't really do anything about

57:06that because when we're marching, we're

57:08supposed to be like looking forward and

57:09all that nonsense. But um it's just hard

57:13it's hard for us to like focus on both,

57:16you know, playing um and not tripping

57:19and marching and like looking

57:20professional [clears throat] when we're

57:22all worried about, you know, are we

57:23going to fall in front of all these

57:24people who are watching us? And um I

57:27think that's just something that we can

57:28get fixed too. Um, another thing is once

57:31we're done marching down, we'll go into

57:32the um, stands and um, our drum line has

57:36to sit on like some random place on the

57:40side of us because there's no room for

57:41us to sit. Like last year, I know we had

57:43the big stands and there was room, but

57:45now this year we're on like some tractor

57:47trailer stand set up and our uh drum

57:50wines on next to us and um our job is to

57:52like bring energy to the uh field show

57:55and the football game and we can't do

57:57that if like we can't even communicate

57:58with each other and now if the band

58:01falls apart then everybody's like,

58:02"Well, I don't want to be here." And now

58:04you don't have people showing up to the

58:05football game. And um another part of

58:07our job is to work with the student

58:09section because we're supposed to get

58:10the student section all, you know, hyped

58:12and riled up. But we can't do that if

58:14the student section is on the other side

58:16of the field from us because there's

58:18nowhere for them to sit because we don't

58:19have any stands anymore. So that's

58:22another problem we face. Um, also for

58:24the cross country team and track and

58:27field team, we um used to run at the

58:30track, you know, for our track workouts,

58:32but um, ever since it got condemned,

58:33we've been forced to find random places

58:36that just happen to be 800 meters, 400

58:38meters, 200 meters, and we're forced to

58:41run there. Um, we are allowed to run on

58:43the track on our free time. And for, you

58:46know, today I went down there to do my

58:48workout and it was raining and there is

58:52like a bunch of just random puddles in

58:54the middle of the track which is flat.

58:56So it doesn't really make any sense why

58:57there's puddles there. But I was running

59:00and you know my shoes are getting

59:02soaked. Um, you know, I'm tripping all

59:04over the place because there's like

59:06roots popping up from the track and I'm

59:09thinking like, well, how are we going to

59:11like how are we supposed to like get

59:12better and use our utilities that we

59:16have if we can't even like, you know, go

59:17on like a run where we're supposed to be

59:20going on a run for and um, yeah, that's

59:24kind of all I want to say. Thank you.

59:26>> Thank you. Any questions for Mr.

59:28Rabidis? Councelor Schultz.

59:30>> Mr. Councelor, I mean, sorry, Mr.

59:33Valeris, your name is printed right on

59:35your sleeve, so I apologize.

59:37>> Councelor Schultz,

59:38>> if it's any uh consolation, the mayor

59:40messes up my name sometimes, too.

59:43[laughter]

59:44>> As a sophomore coming here speaking the

59:47way you did, I'm sure we can all say we

59:50agree on the fact that you're very well

59:52spoken and you should maybe go into uh

59:56youth and government or apply to Boys

59:59Nation in a year or two. What do you

1:00:01know where in your neighborhood people

1:00:04vote? What ward you are in?

1:00:07>> What neighbor? If you don't mind saying

1:00:08which neighborhood you live in five.

1:00:10>> Oh, you already know. That's great.

1:00:12>> So when you vote, you now know it's W

1:00:15five. Thank you.

1:00:16>> I vote until you're old enough.

1:00:18[laughter]

1:00:20>> Once

1:00:24council president, did you have your

1:00:25hand up?

1:00:26>> Jenny.

1:00:26>> No, sir.

1:00:27>> All right. Council Brown.

1:00:28>> Yes. Thank you for coming. It's so

1:00:31important that you share your

1:00:33experience, what you're doing. And I

1:00:35know the band, you're right, they are so

1:00:37important to the games because kids who

1:00:39like don't really care about football,

1:00:41like even my own kids, will say, "I'm

1:00:43going for the band. That's why we go."

1:00:45So, it's so important. Um, thank you for

1:00:48doing that. And I'm [clears throat] just

1:00:49curious because we just we have a a golf

1:00:52a new golf clubhouse that's almost

1:00:54completely built. Do you Does uh

1:00:56Conquered High go there? Do you guys use

1:00:58the golf course at all or or the fields

1:01:00there at all?

1:01:01>> Maybe our golf team.

1:01:02>> Maybe. Okay.

1:01:04>> All right. Thank you. Thank you very

1:01:06much for coming today.

1:01:08>> Uh I just want to say thank you for

1:01:10being here. Also, you don't seem scared

1:01:12to be up there, which is awesome. You

1:01:14should not be. Um I would like to know

1:01:17what instrument you play.

1:01:18>> Uh I play the alto saxophone.

1:01:20>> Awesome. Awesome. I am a former band kid

1:01:22and I thank you for your service.

1:01:24>> Yeah. And he plays a mean piano. I was

1:01:26gonna say that [laughter] too, but not

1:01:28in the marching band.

1:01:30>> Would you believe that I played alto

1:01:31saxs?

1:01:32>> I It's a great instrument.

1:01:34>> And [laughter]

1:01:35you can be honest as you were earlier.

1:01:37Do you believe?

1:01:39>> Yeah. He didn't make the band though.

1:01:41[laughter]

1:01:44>> That's why I said he can be honest.

1:01:46>> This council ke Rhode Island all state

1:01:48band.

1:01:50>> I stay corrected.

1:01:51>> But and my daughters were in the color

1:01:53guard with the band. So, thank you so

1:01:54much. And I agree with councelor Schultz

1:01:57uh that you should think about uh trying

1:01:59a youth government uh and uh you're very

1:02:02well spoken and we appreciate your

1:02:03testimony.

1:02:04>> Thank you.

1:02:05>> Thank you. Great work.

1:02:08[applause]

1:02:11>> Would anyone else like to testify?

1:02:12>> You did excellent.

1:02:14>> Yes, sir. Mr. Washurn.

1:02:27Welcome.

1:02:29>> Yes, sir. Uh my name is Bob Washurn. I

1:02:31live in W 8.

1:02:34Uh I'm glad Memorial Field finally makes

1:02:38it to the council.

1:02:40Uh in response to a previous uh

1:02:43observation, it's not the council's

1:02:46fault

1:02:47that city property is not properly

1:02:49maintained. the manager proposes and the

1:02:53council disposes. And if the NA manager

1:02:56never proposed maintenance, then how can

1:02:59it be the council's fault?

1:03:02I find the uh I've got mixed emotions

1:03:06about the architect.

1:03:09Namely, the council has never approved

1:03:12the footprint. We are now hiring an

1:03:15architect to design.

1:03:19So, and I'm I'm relieved that the 1.2

1:03:23million goes for the entire phases, the

1:03:26224.

1:03:28>> Yes.

1:03:29>> And not just one phase. So, so, so I'm

1:03:32I'm thinking, okay, but you still

1:03:35haven't approved the footprint.

1:03:38So, how do you hire an architect to

1:03:41design something that you, the council,

1:03:44haven't approved yet?

1:03:47Uh I find the financing of the 600,000

1:03:51questionable

1:03:53to the extent that why would the

1:03:55taxpayers

1:03:57bond over 20 years 600,000

1:04:01when there's ample surplus funds

1:04:03available to fund that 600,000.

1:04:06You got a partial briefing on some of

1:04:08the reserve funds tonight. However, the

1:04:12city closed its books June 30th. You

1:04:15have yet to be told on purpose what that

1:04:19surplus carry forward is.

1:04:24I'm suggesting that maybe surplus funds

1:04:27available

1:04:29that be used more equitably to fund

1:04:32this.

1:04:34I agree with the previous speaker about

1:04:37his partnership

1:04:40experience.

1:04:42I think that point should be well taken.

1:04:46that we are proceeding blindly here not

1:04:48knowing who's paying for what living in

1:04:52war 8 I'm going to hit by both both

1:04:54bills no matter who who who pays what

1:04:58I'm in the conquered school district

1:05:00city of conquered so whoever whatever

1:05:03the total number is I'm paying for it

1:05:06but I think the council should prior to

1:05:09going into any further agreements

1:05:12get it in writing

1:05:14have the school board commit to what

1:05:18it's funding and the SC council agree to

1:05:22what it's funding.

1:05:27The other concern I had was New

1:05:30Hampshire DRRA recommends that you have

1:05:33uh surplus of roughly 17%.

1:05:37Historically, concrete surplus has been

1:05:39in excess of 21%.

1:05:42So even if you didn't have other funds

1:05:46available, there are funds the undesated

1:05:49fund balance that's available for that

1:05:51600,000.

1:05:56And I'm hoping beyond hope

1:05:59that the 1.2 million architectural fee

1:06:04goes out for a publicly advertised

1:06:06competitive bid process.

1:06:09Far too often I've seen these consultant

1:06:12[clears throat and snorts] contracts

1:06:14and architectural contracts not go out

1:06:17for a competitive process and I think

1:06:20the taxpayers are entitled to that

1:06:22process.

1:06:25Uh I'm not sure, you know, I look at the

1:06:28support behind me and I'm with it. It's

1:06:32long overdue we do something about

1:06:35Memorial Field, but I think we ought to

1:06:37do it intelligently.

1:06:40Uh, so I'm not sure how it's going to

1:06:41end tonight. I suspect yes, you will

1:06:45approve the 600,000 hopefully from

1:06:47surplus funds, but you are mindful of

1:06:50the fact that you need additional

1:06:54written agreements with the school board

1:06:56as to who's going to fund what.

1:06:59Now, I'm looking at the list. The total

1:07:01is the 224.

1:07:04Uh,

1:07:05and I see controversial items there. Of

1:07:10course, the the most controversial to me

1:07:13is whether it's going to be a sodfield

1:07:16or turpp field.

1:07:18And I've heard arguments on both sides

1:07:23injury on against the uh uh turf and

1:07:28maintenance cost against the sad.

1:07:33However, a turf field also requires

1:07:37maintenance.

1:07:38And if you don't maintain the Turk

1:07:41field,

1:07:43it shortens its useful life, which I

1:07:45believe is 10 years. Don't quote me that

1:07:48because I'm not an architect, but uh but

1:07:50that's my concerns that I wanted to

1:07:52share with you tonight.

1:07:53>> Thank you, Mr. Washburn. Any questions

1:07:55for Mr. Washurn?

1:07:58>> Council Caleb,

1:07:59>> can I ask a question of the city manager

1:08:01related to testimony? Um are do we know

1:08:05yet what the surplus or deficit is from

1:08:08the prior year? No.

1:08:09>> What you what you end up doing is you

1:08:11usually you get the you get the numbers

1:08:13and then you have them audited. So you

1:08:15actually have the official numbers and

1:08:17remember you used about Audrey correct

1:08:19me if I'm wrong about 1.4 million

1:08:22>> 3.4

1:08:23>> oh 3 I'm sorry 3.4 million uh money. Uh,

1:08:28no, no. The the amount the one point the

1:08:30amount of money that was used for out of

1:08:34um a designated fund balance was it 3.4?

1:08:36>> Yeah, 3.4 for the full fiscal year.

1:08:38>> 3.4. So, you're not going to make all

1:08:41that up. So, you so the surplus is it's

1:08:45pulling numbers out of the air over

1:08:47here. Uh, so um that's not it doesn't

1:08:50work that way.

1:08:51>> Thank you.

1:08:52>> Can I just clarify what what what you're

1:08:54both saying is that we use was it 3.4

1:08:57$3.4 million surplus funds

1:09:00>> to balance this year's budget

1:09:03>> to pay for things in this year's budget.

1:09:04I say that more for the general public

1:09:06than for you council.

1:09:08>> Councor.

1:09:09>> Yes. Thank you for being here. I know

1:09:11you were on the council um for years

1:09:14before and you have a financial

1:09:16background. We're looking at some

1:09:18massive projects and the debt service.

1:09:21We know what they are because the the

1:09:23bonds have been sold. So, we know that,

1:09:26you know, this year we're paying 3.4

1:09:28million just for the middle school bond,

1:09:31and that's only half of what they had

1:09:33approved. And uh

1:09:35>> that's that's incorrect.

1:09:36>> No, that I I I actually have it printed

1:09:38out, and I'm happy to share. This is

1:09:40from the middle school and and you know,

1:09:42they they sold the bond. They use the

1:09:43same Hilltop securities that we do. So,

1:09:46that was March 26. It's I got it off

1:09:48their website. So, do you think it's

1:09:51wise for us to bond more items when we

1:09:55have not seen when these massive

1:09:58projects, that's just one. We also

1:10:00approved the police station and we've

1:10:02only bonded half of that and we have

1:10:05completely bonded the new clubhouse. Um,

1:10:08do you think it's wise for us to go and

1:10:10bond uh something else?

1:10:13>> You're not being asked to bond it right

1:10:15now.

1:10:16>> Okay. You're being asked to approve the

1:10:191.2 million for architectural and permit

1:10:23fees. At that point in time, when that's

1:10:26done, you'll be asked to bond.

1:10:29>> Yes.

1:10:30>> And I I think the advantage of that is

1:10:34you're going to have a a better

1:10:35understanding

1:10:37of what it is you're being asked to buy

1:10:39into.

1:10:40>> Exactly.

1:10:40>> Okay. So yes, I'm painfully aware of the

1:10:45uh bonding cost currently in the tax

1:10:48rate,

1:10:50>> but uh I think proceeding with just this

1:10:541.2 million uh puts you in a in a better

1:10:58position

1:11:00to understand what the full cost of the

1:11:0322.4 is going to be. And in the

1:11:07meantime,

1:11:09what's the split? I think that what's

1:11:11the split is going to be a crucial

1:11:13number.

1:11:14The other issue that I brought up was

1:11:18not what's in the undesated fund

1:11:20balance, but what's in the tentative

1:11:23number

1:11:24>> of the current surplus from last year's

1:11:28budget.

1:11:29>> That number is readily available.

1:11:31Tenative.

1:11:32>> We don't have to wait that be audited.

1:11:35It's available,

1:11:36>> but not to you,

1:11:38>> Counc. Thank you. Uh Mr. Washburn, when

1:11:41you uh served on council for 10 years or

1:11:44so in the 90s, um were you ever um in

1:11:48the position similar to the position

1:11:50that we're in to vote on whether or not

1:11:53to work on the police station or

1:11:55Memorial Field in that era?

1:11:58>> No,

1:11:59>> didn't come up at all in that decade.

1:12:00>> Never came up.

1:12:01>> Interesting. Were there any projects

1:12:02where you had to

1:12:04>> Yes.

1:12:04>> vote to wait

1:12:06>> and defer maintenance? Uh actually the

1:12:08was my classic garage mahal project

1:12:12in which we had the public works garage

1:12:15which uh

1:12:16>> the comp what we call the combined out

1:12:18on North State. Yeah, that was that was

1:12:20a biggie. And I was very [clears throat]

1:12:24reluctant on that. And I I distinctly

1:12:27remember Ronnie Ford was probably one of

1:12:28the best directors of public works that

1:12:31we ever had. And he would sit down with

1:12:33his cup of coffee and you'd nail him

1:12:36with questions left and right and he'd

1:12:38answer them.

1:12:39>> And yeah, that that was the biggie. But

1:12:42we did bond. I forget how many millions

1:12:44it was, but it was a big number.

1:12:46>> But you support it. Did you follow up?

1:12:47>> Follow up. Did you support it in the

1:12:49end?

1:12:50>> I think I did,

1:12:51>> but I I I can't uh

1:12:54>> uh attest.

1:12:55>> That's okay.

1:12:57Was it a lot of money at the time?

1:12:58>> Oh, it was huge.

1:13:00>> And

1:13:02did you feel it was worth it for the

1:13:03city as a whole to spend that money on

1:13:06that project?

1:13:07>> I felt it could have been done a lot

1:13:10more prudently than it was.

1:13:14But you

1:13:14>> there were elements involved in that

1:13:17that uh I [clears throat] seriously

1:13:19question.

1:13:20>> We still have that facility today and we

1:13:23use it all the time as does the school

1:13:25district, right? Hence combined

1:13:26operations maintenance facility.

1:13:28>> It's in excellent condition.

1:13:29>> It's in excellent condition. All right.

1:13:30Thank you, Mr. Washburn, for your

1:13:31service and for answering my question.

1:13:33So I'll wait so other people can

1:13:34testify. All right, I have a question

1:13:36for

1:13:38>> Thank you for testifying and thank you

1:13:40for clarifying that tonight the item in

1:13:42front of us is just for the 1.2 which is

1:13:46600 of it part of the city council. So I

1:13:50appreciate the clarification and thank

1:13:52you for making my life easier because it

1:13:54seemed like you do agree that

1:13:58there is a need but there should be an

1:14:01agreement or an MOU between the two

1:14:05bodies.

1:14:06>> Oh absolutely. Uh I think the need is

1:14:11compelling.

1:14:12>> Thank you.

1:14:14>> Okay, councelor Brown.

1:14:15>> Yes. Um we had somebody had mentioned

1:14:18the the DRRA at 17%. Isn't it actually

1:14:21is it by state law that we would have uh

1:14:24municipalities have between five and

1:14:2717%.

1:14:28>> I believe the the bottom line is five,

1:14:30right?

1:14:31>> And I believe the top line is 17

1:14:33>> is 17 and we are actually currently

1:14:35>> that's her recommendation,

1:14:36>> right?

1:14:37>> I'm not sure if this a statutory

1:14:40requirement.

1:14:41>> It is a recommendation.

1:14:42>> Okay. Thank you very much.

1:14:44>> Thank you. Any other questions? Thank

1:14:46you, Mr. Wash. Appreciate it. Would

1:14:48anyone else like to testify?

1:14:50>> Yes.

1:14:50>> Uh, red shirt.

1:14:53[clears throat]

1:14:58>> Welcome.

1:15:00>> Wherever you wish, as long as you're in

1:15:01front of a microphone.

1:15:02>> Hello.

1:15:03>> Hello.

1:15:03>> Hi. Um, I'm Courtney Lec. I am in Ward

1:15:064. Um, I come to testify in several

1:15:10different roles. Um, I am a PTA member

1:15:13on two of the elementary school boards

1:15:15and I'm also the vice president of the

1:15:17Conquered Capitals football and cheer

1:15:19program. I am also a proud um spouse of

1:15:22a conquered high football coach who has

1:15:24been there for over 11 years who

1:15:26previously coached at Conquered Capitals

1:15:28for approximately seven or eight years.

1:15:30Um,

1:15:32I don't know where to start. Um, so I am

1:15:35not born and raised in conquered. Um but

1:15:38since being here for the last 15 years

1:15:41um I have noticed that there's a steady

1:15:44decline in the ability to have fields

1:15:48available for the conquered youth. Um

1:15:51our program for the Capitals just for

1:15:53football alone has approximately 65

1:15:55athletes from across the city. Um and

1:15:58also outside of surrounding areas that

1:16:00don't have local programs. Um I work

1:16:04very well. Well, I hope um the feeling

1:16:06is mutual with the city parks and recck

1:16:09department. Um David Gil and their

1:16:12recreation director um has worked really

1:16:14well with us. We have had a lot of

1:16:16hiccups around field availability. Um

1:16:20we've had to shift certain um athletic

1:16:24events like games. We've had to call out

1:16:27other school districts who have middle

1:16:28school teams um to rearrange their

1:16:32schedule in transportation because of

1:16:34lack of field availability, whether it's

1:16:36the weather or the lack of fully

1:16:39functioning lights um at the football

1:16:41field. Um we're currently working really

1:16:43closely with the athletic program at the

1:16:46high school to help supply and help us

1:16:49with um supporting our program with the

1:16:52temporary lights that are in place. Um,

1:16:54so they've been kind enough to move them

1:16:56to and from practice fields at Martin

1:16:58Field for both soccer and our youth

1:17:00program. Um, so it's really it's really

1:17:04really tough to be able to sustain a

1:17:07consistent schedule and a a routine for

1:17:11those kids um, and for the program when

1:17:14there's a lack of field availability

1:17:16because of weather or sufficient

1:17:18resources such as lighting and other

1:17:20things. Um, and really we We don't

1:17:24[clears throat] turn anybody away when

1:17:25it comes to our football and cheer

1:17:27programs. So, if you know financials is

1:17:29an issue to be able to support, we offer

1:17:32scholarships and we allow for um anybody

1:17:35who's willing and interested to

1:17:36participate to be able to do that. So,

1:17:39to add those additional barriers kind of

1:17:42spans more resources being taken because

1:17:45some individuals don't have

1:17:46transportation outside of those set

1:17:48times that we're now moving around. So,

1:17:51I really I really truly believe that

1:17:53supporting the redevelopment of this

1:17:55this football field and the overall

1:17:58field program um is very important not

1:18:00only for football but for the other

1:18:02sports fields as well.

1:18:04>> Thank you. Thank you. Any questions for

1:18:06Miss Le Schultz?

1:18:08>> Thank you, Mr. Mayor. You're doing so.

1:18:10Um [laughter]

1:18:12that's an inside joke. I shouldn't have

1:18:14done that. Um so when you say because I

1:18:17totally am just ignorant of this. When

1:18:19you say the Capitals, is is that

1:18:22referring to I don't an external team

1:18:26from the high school and middle school

1:18:29or

1:18:30>> Yes.

1:18:30>> because I'm just clueless.

1:18:33>> Yeah. So, um the conquered Capitals is a

1:18:35youth football program. Um so we see it

1:18:38really as a a feeder program into the

1:18:40high school. Um we work really closely

1:18:42especially our seventh and eighth grade

1:18:44team um to help coordinate getting them

1:18:47familiar with the staff for the um

1:18:49conquered high football team, the other

1:18:51older athletes. We have um some

1:18:54conquered high athletes here that played

1:18:57for the Capitals. Um so we start tackle

1:18:59football at third grade and it goes to

1:19:01eighth grade and then our hope is that

1:19:03they love the game and they've learned a

1:19:04lot of skills and they continue on into

1:19:06the high school. So, it's a separate

1:19:08nonprofit um much like how um a prior

1:19:11speaker talked about conquered crush for

1:19:13lacrosse.

1:19:14>> Thank you.

1:19:14>> Of course,

1:19:18>> Brown.

1:19:18>> Yes. Do you have um Penokeook athletes?

1:19:22Do you see a lot of Penokeook athletes

1:19:23at Memorial Field or is it predominantly

1:19:26conquered high

1:19:27>> specific to Conquered Capitals or

1:19:29>> uh or just you know in with the

1:19:31different groups that you work with when

1:19:32you're at the field? Do you see Marramac

1:19:34Valley there? Um, I can't speak to if

1:19:36I've seen them there. I know for their

1:19:38youth program, they have a separate um,

1:19:40entity who does their youth football

1:19:42program. Um, and I've also been told

1:19:45that Marramax Valley's field is much

1:19:46much nicer than conquers. I haven't gone

1:19:48there myself. Um, but being the capital

1:19:51city, I would think that we would strive

1:19:53to have a very good, you know, field and

1:19:56opportunity for students to have their

1:19:58athletics there.

1:19:59>> Yeah. Thank you.

1:20:01>> Any other questions? Thank you so much

1:20:03for your time. Thank you.

1:20:08>> Yes.

1:20:13>> Hello, city council.

1:20:14>> Welcome.

1:20:15>> Uh, my name is Jennifer Chase. I'm a W 2

1:20:18resident and I am going to share a

1:20:20little bit of my personal history

1:20:21because I find it's relevant in this

1:20:22situation. So, uh, my father was Navy

1:20:25and they were my both my parents were

1:20:27originally from conquered. So when he

1:20:28retired, we moved back here, found a

1:20:30home in Lowden, and I actually graduated

1:20:32out of Marramac Valley in the 90s. So at

1:20:35the time, we were Scally Valley. I don't

1:20:37know if that's changed, but we didn't

1:20:40have um athletic facilities like there

1:20:43is now. We had Ralph Park and we had the

1:20:44track and that was good enough. I was

1:20:47too poor anyway, so I wasn't going to be

1:20:48able to play sports or music my entire

1:20:51life. And that's just how it is, right?

1:20:53Your family make choices. We had dinners

1:20:55together. We played games together. We

1:20:56did those things. But I wasn't a sports

1:20:58kid. Um, we were always jealous of the

1:21:01memorial field facilities. We wished we

1:21:04had those. It was such a like a leg up

1:21:06that conquered had over us and it was

1:21:08just part of our identity, you know. Uh,

1:21:10and I moved on and when I moved out of

1:21:12my own house in Lowden because Louden

1:21:14has no, you know, low access, no entry

1:21:17level apartments in Lowden. Uh, so I

1:21:19lived in Penuk. Uh, that was my starter

1:21:21apartment. I had a one landlord that I

1:21:23moved from Penuk into Conquered. And

1:21:25when I was finally ready to buy, I found

1:21:27a house in Panakook. And now I get to

1:21:29listen to the football games that didn't

1:21:31happen before. I got to watch my niece

1:21:33play lacrosse on the field and they have

1:21:35these beautiful bleachers and these

1:21:36wonderful stands and I can hear it from

1:21:38my house. And it's such a nice thing to

1:21:40see that my community put in so much

1:21:42work and made a big plan and saved over

1:21:44time so that they could put in

1:21:46investments into our facilities. Uh, and

1:21:49it's a beautiful thing. So, I think now

1:21:53to a couple of other people's points, I

1:21:55just want to reiterate that

1:21:57Panakook isn't saying that these things

1:21:59shouldn't happen. We're just saying that

1:22:02maybe we shouldn't be paying for them.

1:22:04Uh, you know, they weren't facilities

1:22:06that we could use growing up. So, at the

1:22:08very least, you're asking Pentec

1:22:1610% of the community, but at that same

1:22:19time, we're only 10% of the community,

1:22:21right? So maybe we could be given a

1:22:24little grace in this and pay a lower

1:22:25percentage or at least be told what

1:22:27percentage we're going to be asked to

1:22:28pay for a facility that we just don't

1:22:30have the fair access to, especially in a

1:22:33community that has nearly half of which

1:22:35is on free or reduced lunch. So I mean I

1:22:38hear everybody up here talking about all

1:22:40the sports that they play which is a

1:22:41luxury that a lot of kids couldn't even

1:22:43take advantage of in this community and

1:22:46you're asking us to pay a higher rate.

1:22:49That's all.

1:22:50>> Any questions?

1:22:52El Brown,

1:22:53>> I just want to say, yeah, I grew up the

1:22:55same way. Uh, we couldn't afford

1:22:57extracurriculars. Um, so I recognize

1:23:00that, but I love that you came back and

1:23:02you're contributing to your community.

1:23:04>> Yeah. So, thank you for your testimony.

1:23:06>> Thank you,

1:23:07>> Miss Chase. Do you do you feel that in

1:23:10the in the instance of the uh 12 uh the

1:23:131.2 2 million for the uh uh master plan

1:23:17and permitting. Do you feel that

1:23:20conquered the conquered school district

1:23:22paying for 50% of that mitigates the

1:23:26impact on you and other Marramac Valley

1:23:28people?

1:23:29>> No. As it was mentioned by a couple

1:23:31other folks, it's really putting the

1:23:33cart before the horse. There's no reason

1:23:35that we should be moving this forward at

1:23:36all until figuring out who's paying for

1:23:38what so that they can have an

1:23:39appropriate level of say in those

1:23:41specific decisions. This feels like a

1:23:44way to nickel and dime us into a 50-50

1:23:46split because we've gotten this far

1:23:49already. It's something that I've seen

1:23:50happen over the course of many projects

1:23:52that have been,

1:23:54you know, uh, opposed by the community.

1:23:57>> But, and you do realize, as councelor

1:23:58Curts asked in the response to her

1:24:01questions, that the 50-50 split on this

1:24:04is in no way influences how the any

1:24:07other cost sharing would

1:24:08>> Do we have that in writing?

1:24:11Yes,

1:24:11>> we could write it down.

1:24:12>> I can write it down and hand it to you

1:24:14if you like.

1:24:14>> I mean, it just it it feels like it's a

1:24:17we've been sitting on this for 12 years.

1:24:1912 at least years already. I don't

1:24:21understand why we can't take a couple

1:24:23more. We could do it in a couple of

1:24:25hours and figure out the percentage.

1:24:26We've already got the studies. The fact

1:24:28that those negotiations haven't been

1:24:30done yet, just feels a little bit

1:24:34the fact that it's been asked for so

1:24:35insistently, including a petition with

1:24:37over 600 signatures,

1:24:39and it's still not even addressed. I

1:24:42mean, there's a reason for that, right?

1:24:44Like, why are we at least not

1:24:46acknowledging that that's the concern

1:24:47and addressing why that process is is in

1:24:49that order?

1:24:51>> Thank you.

1:24:52>> Thank you.

1:24:55>> Pass a second.

1:24:55>> Thank you, honor. What is an ideal

1:24:57partnership look like to you?

1:25:00>> I think that depends on the facility,

1:25:01right? Like some fields the high school

1:25:03uses 88 or 89% of the time where others

1:25:07are only used 57% of the time, you know?

1:25:10So, I think that's a starting point of

1:25:12assessing basic projects on a a peace

1:25:15meal as far as who's paying what for

1:25:16each part.

1:25:18>> Hello. I'm just talking about the item

1:25:20that we have in front of us today. How

1:25:23can we even say what will be splitting

1:25:25up if we don't even know who's paying

1:25:27for it?

1:25:28>> Thank you.

1:25:30>> Any other questions?

1:25:32>> All right. Thank you very much.

1:25:33>> Thank you.

1:25:34>> Anyone else like to testify?

1:25:35>> Yes.

1:25:46>> Welcome.

1:25:47>> Thank you, Mr. Mayor and city

1:25:49councilors. First of all, thank you all

1:25:51for your time serving on this council.

1:25:53Um, as a member of the school board, I

1:25:56feel like I need to preface my remarks

1:25:58by saying that I'm here representing

1:25:59only myself as a taxpayer and resident

1:26:02and your constituent.

1:26:04>> I know who you are, but would you

1:26:06identify yourself?

1:26:06>> My name is Maline Mino and I'm a

1:26:08resident of W 4.

1:26:09>> Thank you.

1:26:10Um, I'm really here as the mom of two

1:26:12daughters who are athletes and I'm here

1:26:14to advocate uh for them and I'm here to

1:26:17urge you to move forward with uh urgency

1:26:19on the needed improvements to Memorial

1:26:21Field. I just spent most of my last

1:26:24weekend at Memorial Field actually

1:26:26because one of my daughters had a soccer

1:26:28tournament there and that soccer

1:26:31tournament and all of the uses that I

1:26:33saw there this weekend were community

1:26:35use. I saw lots of community members

1:26:37running on the track. I saw a baseball

1:26:39game. I don't know who they were, but

1:26:41they certainly weren't conquered school

1:26:42district. Um, I saw community members

1:26:45there all day Saturday, all day Sunday,

1:26:48and they were all enjoying our community

1:26:50resource, which is Memorial Field.

1:26:53There's been a lot of discussion about

1:26:55relative usage and cost sharing. And I

1:26:58wanted to bring forward one thing that I

1:27:00don't think has been looked at. And that

1:27:04for this part of the project that we are

1:27:06considering currently, the 50/50 split

1:27:09based [clears throat] on distribution of

1:27:10property values in the entire city, a

1:27:1350/50 split means that conquered school

1:27:15district taxpayers are paying more than

1:27:1895% of the cost. So we can argue about

1:27:22does the school district use the

1:27:24football field 83% of the time or 88% of

1:27:28the time or 90 or 95% of the time. But

1:27:31either way, conquered school district

1:27:33taxpayers for a 50/50 split are paying

1:27:37for more than 95% of the project cost if

1:27:40it is entirely taxpayer funded. So, I

1:27:44did want to bring that up because

1:27:46certainly the school district does not

1:27:48use the field

1:27:51more than 95% or 96% of the time.

1:27:56Middle school athletes only have three

1:27:57years and high school athletes only have

1:27:59four years. We've already lost whole

1:28:02seasons with no home meets, nohere to

1:28:06practice, busing our students to other

1:28:08towns so that they can have somewhere to

1:28:11practice. We, the school district,

1:28:13hosted a senior night somewhere that's

1:28:16not even in conquered this evening.

1:28:19That's not a feeling of community.

1:28:21That's not a feeling of home. So, I'm

1:28:24urging you to please move forward right

1:28:26now on the design and permitting of

1:28:29these memorial field improvements. Thank

1:28:31you.

1:28:31>> Thank you. Any questions for Miss

1:28:34Council Brown?

1:28:35>> Yes. I know you're not here as a school

1:28:37board member, but um

1:28:40you know, the school board and this was

1:28:42before you were on the board. Uh there

1:28:44had been talk about the school only

1:28:46being, you know, 85 million and then

1:28:49we're going to get 70 million in school

1:28:51building aid. None of that panned out

1:28:53and 168 million was approved, 75 million

1:28:58was bonded.

1:29:00You know, I would like you to consider

1:29:03um and advocate with other school board

1:29:06members that perhaps the conquered

1:29:09school board will take some would take

1:29:12the 1.2 2 million out of their funds

1:29:15because they have contingency funds that

1:29:18they have saved up and could outright

1:29:21cover this design right now. Right now

1:29:24and then we can work on

1:29:25>> point of order.

1:29:26>> Yes, counselor.

1:29:27>> Is this a question for a conquered

1:29:29resident in her role as a resident? Uh

1:29:31yes, this is

1:29:32>> I actually heard a question and I heard

1:29:34you begin the statement by saying I know

1:29:35you're you're not here as in your

1:29:37capacity as a school board member but so

1:29:39I would like to hear the question for

1:29:41Miss Mano a resident of Ward 4.

1:29:44>> How about I ask you a question? Um let's

1:29:47see. Brier Hydro Brier Hydro I know

1:29:50that's your that's where you work and

1:29:51your

1:29:52>> or your employer and we have um a pilot

1:29:57>> counselor. Is this relevant to the

1:29:58issue? I'm pointing out that we are

1:30:00asking we are asking taxpayers to to

1:30:04they're we're being asked to approve

1:30:07something that is going to increase

1:30:09taxes on taxpayers and they have no say.

1:30:12>> Councelor, can I remind you that that

1:30:14before we vote on this, you have an

1:30:16opportunity to make public statements

1:30:18and that questions that are public

1:30:20statements or pronunciations are not

1:30:22really questions. So if you have a

1:30:24question for the person testifying that

1:30:27relate to this and [clears throat]

1:30:28relate to their experience with this

1:30:31project, please go ahead. If not, please

1:30:34conclude.

1:30:35>> How do you who do you communicate with

1:30:38when there is an issue at Memorial

1:30:40Field?

1:30:43>> So

1:30:45I don't communicate with anyone. I see

1:30:48the deplorable condition that the field

1:30:50is in and I just wish we had something

1:30:53better. I hear from my daughter's middle

1:30:57school track coach that we can't host

1:31:00meets, that we can't practice on the

1:31:03track, that we don't have decent

1:31:07facilities, and it just makes me sad and

1:31:10it makes me want better for our

1:31:12community.

1:31:14>> Followup.

1:31:15>> Followup. So, who should we when people

1:31:19see these issues? Who is the right body

1:31:22to go to?

1:31:22>> How does she know that?

1:31:23>> I believe it's the park and recck

1:31:25department since they manage the

1:31:26property.

1:31:29>> Your honor,

1:31:30>> I have my hand.

1:31:32>> One second. Do you have a question?

1:31:34>> Councelor.

1:31:35>> All right. I recognize council.

1:31:37>> Thank you. Would you believe I really

1:31:39appreciate your testimony here today and

1:31:41on behalf of the council, we apologize

1:31:42for how rudely you were treated. I

1:31:44appreciate that. Thank you.

1:31:46>> Thank you.

1:31:47>> Any other questions?

1:31:49>> Thank you, Miss Manow. Appreciate it.

1:31:51>> Thank you, Miss Man.

1:31:52>> Would anyone else

1:32:11My partner's coming.

1:32:13I'll start by introducing myself for the

1:32:15record. My name is Jessica Wheeler

1:32:16Russell. I am a resident of Panakook in

1:32:19Ward 2. I also serve on the Remac Valley

1:32:22School Board as does my partner here,

1:32:24Tracy Bricky. [snorts]

1:32:26Um, but I am here in my own capacity as

1:32:29a private citizen and not on behalf of

1:32:31the board. Get your name. My name is

1:32:33Tracy Brickie and I um am a resident of

1:32:37Panakook Ward one and um

1:32:42so um I did send in some prepared

1:32:44remarks but I actually have modified

1:32:46them a little bit. So I'd like to kind

1:32:47of reread to enter them into the record

1:32:50again. So as I said before my name is

1:32:52Jessica Wheeler Russell. I'm a resident

1:32:54of Pentacook where I've been raising my

1:32:55family for the past nine years which is

1:32:57MVSD pride and I've been serving on the

1:33:01Marramac Valley school board for

1:33:04six years now six years. Um I'm speaking

1:33:07tonight again as a private citizen not

1:33:09on behalf of the board but I'm also here

1:33:11representing those of my constituents.

1:33:14I'm speaking with them, not representing

1:33:16them as their elected official, but

1:33:18those people who cannot be here because

1:33:19they cannot afford to be here

1:33:22due to time or just parenting and all

1:33:25that good stuff. Um, so what I am saying

1:33:29tonight is I'm asking you not to move

1:33:30forward with the 5050 split of this cost

1:33:32for the master plan, especially if it's

1:33:34being bonded. The uh 2425 planning costs

1:33:38were split evenly and tonight's 600 m

1:33:41$600,000 [clears throat]

1:33:42match would continue the same pattern.

1:33:44Each match makes the split harder to

1:33:46change. And [clears throat] I understand

1:33:47that you're saying that that doesn't

1:33:49mean it's set in stone, but I don't

1:33:51trust that.

1:33:53And by the time this $22 million

1:33:55construction arrives, we'll be told it

1:33:56is already settled. Master plan may be

1:33:59needed for grants, but it doesn't

1:34:00require um understanding who is paying

1:34:02which portion. Grants do reduce the

1:34:05total cost, but they do not decide who

1:34:06pays the rest. And that decision comes

1:34:08first. A 50-50 split, even on this item,

1:34:11means Penns twice. Our households would

1:34:14pay for Conquered High's athletic

1:34:15complex through city taxes while also

1:34:17paying our own schools at a higher rate.

1:34:20As folks here are, you know, probably

1:34:22know, Penuk, despite being in the same

1:34:25city as Conquered School District, we

1:34:27have a higher tax rate due to state

1:34:29funding issues.

1:34:31Um and I understand that um it might be

1:34:35that conquered pays you know n CST

1:34:39residents would be paying 95% of cost

1:34:41but MV we pay 100% of our own costs for

1:34:43our own upkeep our own responsibilities

1:34:45and obligations.

1:34:48So,

1:34:50um, this again creates inequities

1:34:53between our two districts and I asked

1:34:54the council to keep that in mind as we

1:34:56also pay towards Memorial Fields upkeep

1:34:58every year through our city taxes. While

1:35:00MV spends 182,000

1:35:03a year maintaining our own athletics

1:35:05facilities and this is why there is a

1:35:08six there's about 670 individuals who

1:35:10signed a petition which I did help

1:35:12create asking the city council to treat

1:35:14us fairly. There is also precedent for

1:35:17this. MV pays its own way. As I said

1:35:19before, when we've resurfaced our parks

1:35:22track, MV covered the full cost even

1:35:24though it is split nearly evenly between

1:35:26the city uh city land and school. And

1:35:29even though the and we do allow

1:35:31community to use the track very

1:35:32similarly. Envy is being treated

1:35:35differently and according to the city's

1:35:37own usage data, the conquered school

1:35:38district does account for 88% of the

1:35:40hours on varsity football, 83% of

1:35:42varsity soccer and lacrosse, 61 on

1:35:44softball field B, 57 on the track and

1:35:46tennis courts, and 52% on the baseball

1:35:49field. The field CS uh the field CS uses

1:35:52most or the ones in this plan seem to

1:35:54have a little bit more of the expensive

1:35:55artificial turf in it, which is a

1:35:58discussion I suppose for another time.

1:36:00And I also would like you to please

1:36:02consider who you are asking to pay for

1:36:04it because according to the 2026 New

1:36:07Hampshire New Hampshire Department of

1:36:09Education data, 43% of Pennook students

1:36:12qualify for free and reduced lunch. The

1:36:14state average is 24. Conquer school

1:36:17district is 32%. We have a higher need

1:36:20in our community and it shows through

1:36:22those numbers. That's nearly half of the

1:36:24school, which it's when I found that

1:36:27out, going a little off script, was wild

1:36:30to me to understand that there were kids

1:36:32in my my children's classrooms who were

1:36:35food insecure probably.

1:36:38And so these families would be paying

1:36:40for a facility used mainly by another

1:36:42school district. I also want to be clear

1:36:45about our intent because it's being

1:36:46misrepresentative, misrepresented in

1:36:49certain areas. Those of us in Pentook

1:36:51who are concerned about being taxed

1:36:53twice for school facilities, you know,

1:36:55might not have an objection to the city

1:36:57uh city supporting parks and programs we

1:36:59don't use. I don't use Rollins Park, but

1:37:01I'm glad it's there and there's a pool

1:37:03there for other folks to use. I sat here

1:37:06and advocated for lights at Key Park,

1:37:07but that does not benefit my children,

1:37:09my family, and probably a majority of

1:37:11the people that I serve in my in my uh

1:37:14district.

1:37:16And I also support addressing things

1:37:18like pedestrian safety at the heights.

1:37:21Folks at the table also know that I'm

1:37:23very passionate about pedestrian safety

1:37:25and uh folks on the heights need it just

1:37:27as much as we do. We choose to live in

1:37:30conquered and I support that good work.

1:37:33But this is about something different.

1:37:34It's asking Pennook, a community with

1:37:36less wealth than many of its conquered

1:37:38neighbors, to help pay for an athletic

1:37:40complex used mainly by another school

1:37:42district and sometimes by private

1:37:44schools for their teams. So, when I say

1:37:46this isn't about refusing to fix the

1:37:47field, I do mean that the drainage

1:37:49problems and worn out track are real.

1:37:51They should be fixed, but it's about who

1:37:53carries the burden. And this is another

1:37:55multi-million dollar project on top of a

1:37:57new police station and the Beaver Meadow

1:37:59Golf Course and the other obligations

1:38:02that have been placed upon the tax base.

1:38:04And each one is felt more heavily in

1:38:06Panakook. It's also about some needs

1:38:09versus wants, but that's really part of

1:38:11the plan, so I won't get into the

1:38:12details about that. But I do ask the K

1:38:15city council to hold on this

1:38:17appropriation or make it conditional

1:38:20until the city and the school district

1:38:21agree on the actual split um that is

1:38:24fair to penoke taxpayers, not an

1:38:26automatic 50/50 and until the plan is

1:38:28scaled to fully what the truly needs

1:38:30versus wants. And to kind of speak what

1:38:33I mean about needs versus wants, I

1:38:35understand that um having sat in my

1:38:38position as long as I have to that you

1:38:42want to give the kids the best that you

1:38:45can. And often those of us who sit in

1:38:48that particular position, we're weighing

1:38:51the, you know, what the kids we feel

1:38:53like the kids should have versus what

1:38:55that looks like to our tax base. So,

1:38:58I've had to say no to things before that

1:39:00would have been great for our school,

1:39:02but unfortunately, I understand that we

1:39:06have specific obligations to our

1:39:08taxpayers. And at that, I'll just I'll

1:39:10leave it at that. I don't know if you

1:39:11wanted to say anything. Um, well, I was

1:39:14going to uh say um

1:39:18when when it was brought up that I think

1:39:21you already said this though. When it

1:39:22was brought up that CSD um taxpayers are

1:39:25paying for 95% of the project, well,

1:39:28Marramac Valley School District people

1:39:31pay for 100% of the facilities in

1:39:35Marramac Valley. And we have we have

1:39:38allowed the conquered school district to

1:39:42come up and use our facilities uh free

1:39:44of charge without

1:39:47when they're because the memorial field

1:39:49has been terrible. I do want to say um

1:39:52when councelor Brown asked about how

1:39:55long memorial field has been like this.

1:39:58I hate to say this, but next summer,

1:40:01next summer, I will celebrate my 50th

1:40:04high school reunion from Conquered High

1:40:06School. And I was in the marching band.

1:40:09And if it rained, I marched in water up

1:40:14to my ankles. So, it's been a long time.

1:40:16>> Been a long time. Um, and I have just

1:40:20one more thing I would like to say to

1:40:21you, Mr. Mayor. I believe that you owe

1:40:25somebody an apology.

1:40:27I believe that you totally made light of

1:40:30the of the testimony that was made by

1:40:34Jen earlier and when [clears throat] you

1:40:36said I can write it down for you. That

1:40:39was really

1:40:42a terrible response to her comment and I

1:40:46believe you owe an apology.

1:40:48>> Well, I will apologize if you took

1:40:49offense and if she took offense or

1:40:51anybody in the audience took offense, I

1:40:53do apologize. It was not intended.

1:40:56>> Thank you. That's it.

1:40:58>> Council Kee,

1:41:00>> I just had a question. So, and and

1:41:02please don't take this the wrong way,

1:41:03but do you folks consider yourselves

1:41:06resident of conquered or resident of

1:41:08Pinnacook?

1:41:10>> I think that depends, right? I can't

1:41:12speak for Tracy. I actually moved here.

1:41:14I grew up in the upper valley and then I

1:41:16moved here and I my intention was to

1:41:18move for conquered. But as I've grown

1:41:21over time living here with my children,

1:41:24it's really interesting. The village has

1:41:25its own identity and I love it there. I

1:41:27love the people there. I love our feisty

1:41:30little village. It is so great. But I

1:41:33remember when I first moved here feeling

1:41:36this strange almost vibe from a lot of

1:41:39other residents where they felt ignored

1:41:41by conquered by design. And so often I

1:41:45think you're going to find people we'll

1:41:47say panuk because we love panakook. Of

1:41:50course we do. But maybe some of that

1:41:52we're panic cook not conquered really

1:41:54comes from how they feel about how

1:41:57they've been treated. There are certain

1:41:59things I could point to over the last

1:42:01nine years that even I came to that kind

1:42:03of same feeling but I do you know that's

1:42:04a gut reaction of like oh but that

1:42:06doesn't necessarily mean I fully believe

1:42:08that things like when leaf pickups were

1:42:11in jeopardy we were the first to go

1:42:12[clears throat] stuff like that like

1:42:13little things that build up over time.

1:42:15So to answer your question, I feel like

1:42:17I'm a resident of Paneka Conquer, but

1:42:19that's because it could be that I just

1:42:21didn't, you know, grow up here.

1:42:23>> Just to follow up.

1:42:24>> Thank you. And u for the record, I've

1:42:26lived here my whole life. I've left for

1:42:28school and then came back and my first

1:42:29house was on River Road in Pentacook. So

1:42:31I'm from Penuk originally. But the

1:42:34reason I [clears throat] asked that

1:42:34question is because we have 21 parks, I

1:42:37think, in conquered. And

1:42:41each village, if you will, East

1:42:43Conquered, Penuk, the West End, South

1:42:46End, they all contribute to the Heights,

1:42:49they they all contribute to the 21 parks

1:42:52and probably not equally, but that's the

1:42:54nature of living in a municipality. And

1:42:56I just want to point that out. I think

1:42:58you understand that, but that's the ch

1:43:00other challenge we have or I have on

1:43:01this side of the table.

1:43:03>> Thank you.

1:43:04>> Other questions? Councelor Todd.

1:43:06>> Yes. Thank you. Thank you for your

1:43:07testimony. appreciate it. Um just uh and

1:43:10we and we did receive also uh the

1:43:12petition that was circulated. So that I

1:43:14just wanted to let you know that that we

1:43:16did get that as part of the materials

1:43:18and that's part of the public record.

1:43:19Can you remind folks of what the

1:43:21petition calls for in terms of the

1:43:23division of costs for construction of

1:43:25the project? Um I don't have it in front

1:43:27of me but I will give you my personal

1:43:30view because that's a group project and

1:43:31so therefore we often have to

1:43:35come together with some um ideas and I

1:43:39understand I believe the position costs

1:43:41for 100%. Um I personally

1:43:45um find that if this was negotiated in

1:43:48good faith that 100% might not

1:43:50necessarily be the correct number but it

1:43:53sure shouldn't be 50/50. I don't even

1:43:55think it should be 6040.

1:43:57I think that I am I think what I'm

1:44:00really saying here and I'm going to be a

1:44:02little bit more personal about it is I'm

1:44:04quite exhausted of begging to for folks

1:44:08here to see the humanity for those of

1:44:11our families that are economically

1:44:13disadvantaged.

1:44:14And so,

1:44:17you know, I hope that this council

1:44:20enters a good faith argument or uh

1:44:23discussion about

1:44:25um

1:44:27where the numbers should land, but

1:44:30again, it's not my decision. I can only

1:44:33tell you how we feel about it, what our

1:44:35pain is, and and how I hope that you

1:44:38would move forward with understanding

1:44:40that even if it's just 10%, that that

1:44:4210% matters just as much. as everyone

1:44:45else.

1:44:46>> Follow up.

1:44:46>> Yeah, thank you. Thanks. Appreciate

1:44:48that. Um, yes, because I the petition

1:44:50does [clears throat] call for 100%

1:44:52payment by Conquered School District.

1:44:53So, I appreciate your your own personal

1:44:55views and comments on that. Um, I think

1:44:58that uh um would you would you be uh

1:45:02satisfied with negotiations that went

1:45:04forward at the at the proper point for

1:45:06those negotiations, which will be when

1:45:07we actually have a real price and we

1:45:09know exactly what's going to be in the

1:45:11plan. um to include uh let's say the

1:45:15actual percentages of use on each

1:45:17particular field if that was a way to

1:45:18divide the costs. Would that be

1:45:20something you'd be in favor of?

1:45:21>> You actually I think you may have excuse

1:45:23me I [clears throat] believe you have

1:45:25referenced uh I didn't really quite

1:45:27finish my question but thank you your

1:45:28honor [laughter] uh cover I'm giving you

1:45:31some cover.

1:45:31>> Thank you. Uh so I think I think you

1:45:34referenced like that some of the fields

1:45:35like football fields use 88% of the

1:45:37time. So that would be one example of a

1:45:39division of cost. Would that be

1:45:40something that you'd be supportive of,

1:45:42do you think?

1:45:43>> If I understand your question correctly,

1:45:45it's you're asking, "Well, shouldn't we

1:45:46have a plan first before we decide who

1:45:48split?" Is that what you're asking?

1:45:50>> No, I was actually asking you followup.

1:45:52>> Follow uh if you would be comfortable

1:45:54with a split that would be devised based

1:45:57on those percentages of uses for each

1:45:59particular field. Would that be

1:46:00something because we talked about you'd

1:46:02set the 100% you're not necessarily in

1:46:03favor of that. So, I was trying to get

1:46:05at trying to get at what you would

1:46:07support.

1:46:09>> Um, what I would support personally, um,

1:46:13I think fair usage, but I also know that

1:46:18fair usage. I think the other aspect of

1:46:21this, which isn't really technically on

1:46:23the docket for tonight, and so I don't

1:46:24want to deeply discuss this, is the

1:46:26certain things that are rather expensive

1:46:28in this project

1:46:31are stuff that the school is using the

1:46:32most. And so I'm concerned that a lot of

1:46:35the more expensive items, which means

1:46:36we'd still be paying a bit more, would

1:46:39be uh put on the backs of our taxpayers.

1:46:43So, I guess I guess the answer I'm going

1:46:45to give is I mean I I would find it a

1:46:48little more comfortable. Um if it was 80

1:46:5188% of CSD pays for, you know, the turf

1:46:55that they're asking for for I forget

1:46:56which field it was, but um that would

1:46:59make me I think I I would be more

1:47:01satisfied with that than a 50-50 split

1:47:04or like I said before even a 6040.

1:47:06>> Thank you. Appreciate that. Yeah. Um I

1:47:08just wanted to ask if you're aware of

1:47:10the fact that um and this would be for

1:47:12the public as well that my understanding

1:47:14is that David Gil is continuing to

1:47:16collect data going forward through this

1:47:18year on the on those percentages of

1:47:21uses. So I believe that when we get to

1:47:23the end of this year we'll have a

1:47:25compilation of 2026 percentage of use

1:47:28and we'll have 2025 as well because he

1:47:30had tracked that.

1:47:32>> I oops sorry I do have a question

1:47:34though. If they're not using the field

1:47:35as much because it's in such disrepair,

1:47:37why would it be fair to use those

1:47:39[clears throat] statistics?

1:47:41>> If they're not using it, it's not really

1:47:43gonna be my question.

1:47:44>> Yeah, that was my question.

1:47:45[clears throat]

1:47:46>> Thank [laughter] you. Um, now my

1:47:47understanding is that the the uses that

1:47:49are being tracked are based on on permit

1:47:52permitted requests. So, in other words,

1:47:55the school district may not actually be

1:47:57able to use the field at that time, but

1:47:58they've allotted certain amount of time

1:48:00that they know they need to use it for

1:48:01their uh games and so forth. And so

1:48:03they're putting in those requests for

1:48:05permits. Those I think are what's being

1:48:06tracked. And I believe the in addition

1:48:08to that, what's being tracked now, which

1:48:10wasn't tracked in 2025, was uses for

1:48:13physical education classes and other

1:48:15types of uses that uh weren't on a

1:48:17permit basis, but I believe Mr. Gil is

1:48:20tracking those as well. So I guess my

1:48:22question would be

1:48:24you're aware I'm hoping that that that

1:48:26is continuing to be tracked.

1:48:28>> Is that classes for conquered school

1:48:30district,

1:48:31>> right? the uses of that that conquered

1:48:33school district is is using it

1:48:35specifically so that we'll know what

1:48:36that percentage rate is. Um

1:48:38>> I would have Jess's same concern about

1:48:41>> the

1:48:43Memorial Fields not getting the same

1:48:45usage that it's gotten in years past

1:48:47because it just can't because it's in

1:48:49such total disresp.

1:48:54>> Thank you. I think that there's a

1:48:55difference though between the usage and

1:48:56the permit. you're taking a permit out

1:48:58and then if you get to the field and

1:48:59it's raining that day and you can't use

1:49:01it, but the fact of the matter is that

1:49:02you would have used it were not for the

1:49:03rain. Let's say that's that's another

1:49:05example, right?

1:49:06>> But I Well,

1:49:06>> so so in other words, I think it can

1:49:08still be tracked uh with a fair amount

1:49:10of accuracy. [clears throat]

1:49:12>> Um so

1:49:14>> one more followup if you follow up.

1:49:16>> Thank you. And I appreciate you taking

1:49:18>> Would really like to ask a question.

1:49:19>> Yes, I'm sorry about that.

1:49:21>> I'm fine. Uh, no. I just uh uh so I

1:49:24guess that um would you say that it

1:49:27would be better for us to at least have

1:49:29more data and more percentage of

1:49:31information available before we begin

1:49:32negotiations

1:49:34with the school district about a cost?

1:49:36>> Data is always best.

1:49:37>> Okay. Thank you.

1:49:38>> Data is always best. But again, I still

1:49:40don't exactly because if I know that the

1:49:42field if it's going to rain, it's a

1:49:43rainy season and I was trying to plan a

1:49:45sports event, I sure as heck would not

1:49:47go to the field that I know is already

1:49:48poor

1:49:50>> and like I just even with a permit like

1:49:52I

1:49:52>> already are scheduling

1:49:54>> scheduling events in other places

1:49:59>> without even thinking about going to the

1:50:02field. So

1:50:05>> thank you. I believe last time you

1:50:07ladies were here, we had a conversation

1:50:08just briefly about a very complicated

1:50:10formula that the state requires for the

1:50:13split of funding at Marramac Valley

1:50:15schools and that 38% of the population

1:50:18are our kids from Penuk, but 50% of the

1:50:20budget is from the town. Is that

1:50:23correct?

1:50:25>> I'm sorry. Are you talking about how

1:50:26school funding works?

1:50:28>> I'm talking about what percentage of

1:50:30kids live in Penrook that attend the

1:50:32schools. Okay. Oh,

1:50:34>> and what percentage of the budget is

1:50:37funded by those residents?

1:50:39>> So, that is not a quick question. Um, I

1:50:43I think that

1:50:44>> I think that we can get it for you.

1:50:45>> Yeah, that's definitely like a you need

1:50:46to look at the ADM calculation which is

1:50:48on the New Hampshire state's uh

1:50:50Department of Education website. I can't

1:50:51give that answer because we would be

1:50:53here for another hour talking about it.

1:50:55>> But I can get I can get the BA to uh

1:50:58reach out. But the answer is we do pay

1:51:01the majority because we have the most

1:51:02students and that is just

1:51:04>> schoolboard questions

1:51:05>> flat out. But um I think

1:51:08>> your question

1:51:09>> but like again I

1:51:11>> I mean I do feel like you're asking me

1:51:12in the capacity of a school board member

1:51:14simply because I sit there and I do have

1:51:17that knowledge because I have to do it

1:51:19every year.

1:51:21any like I mean I'm gonna tell you I've

1:51:23been doing this for six years and school

1:51:24funding the calculation is so

1:51:26complicated um that um I bet you anybody

1:51:30else in the audience wouldn't actually

1:51:31be able to answer that question except

1:51:33my other school board members behind me

1:51:34>> and let's move on

1:51:35>> council foot thank you your honor um I

1:51:38think I asked almost the exact same

1:51:40question the last time they were here um

1:51:42and let's just round numbers do you

1:51:44think that Panok and conquered residents

1:51:47make up 50% of their valley school

1:51:49district.

1:51:50>> Conquered and Penuk residents make up

1:51:5250% of May.

1:51:54>> Most people in W 2, correct, that are in

1:51:56conquered.

1:51:58>> We're Penic. I mean, there's a 50-50

1:52:00split in W 2, but I would actually ask

1:52:02the W 2 counselor to give more of a

1:52:03detail on that. I don't think your

1:52:05question quite maths out. Um, we have

1:52:10right we have 38% of the kids and so

1:52:12therefore we just pay majority of the

1:52:13costs. I cannot give the exact number

1:52:15and I'm kind of concerned why we would

1:52:18say conquered is in that because

1:52:20technically they're not.

1:52:22>> Well, conquered is in there because

1:52:24we're all conquered.

1:52:25>> Well, and this is the point we're

1:52:26making. I think

1:52:27>> I think I agree with you. May I follow?

1:52:30So, I think we heard testimony that um

1:52:34let's just say it's 50%. um that there

1:52:37are several other communities that play

1:52:40on Ralph Park and the facilities uh for

1:52:44at Marramck Valley. Correct. This the

1:52:46kids from Webster and Louden, do they

1:52:48all play on?

1:52:49>> We all Well, it depends on the team. Um

1:52:51I would like to remind the folks here

1:52:53that we had a series of very uh

1:52:55financial challenges much like most

1:52:56other school districts have across the

1:52:58state where we had to cut

1:52:59>> Why are we talking about

1:53:00>> Sorry, I'm answering who's going to play

1:53:02where. Um cut we had to cut sports

1:53:05teams. Um that does mean that depending

1:53:07on I would assume and this would

1:53:08actually be more of a question for Kenny

1:53:10Edwards our athletics director our usage

1:53:12of Rolls Park did go down but of course

1:53:14of course the kids who are playing on

1:53:17these fields they're playing at MVY it's

1:53:19going to be a mix of kids but [snorts]

1:53:21we also pay for our own stuff and so I'm

1:53:25not exactly sure about the question here

1:53:28>> follow up.

1:53:29>> Thank you. I guess my question is um

1:53:31does conquer taxpayers contribute to the

1:53:34to Ralph Park like we do every other

1:53:35park?

1:53:36>> Yes.

1:53:37>> I should ask city manager.

1:53:39>> Yeah. I I I may

1:53:41>> Yes, you may

1:53:42>> try to pull this together. Um I think

1:53:44the question is if the train leaves the

1:53:46station going 85 miles an hour going

1:53:48east, right? I mean that's that's what

1:53:49we're talking about here.

1:53:52In reality, if you build a new if a new

1:53:54facility is built, it's going to the use

1:53:57of it is going to increase because you

1:53:59can use it earlier in the day, you can

1:54:01use it later at night. If it has a turf

1:54:02field, you're going to be able to use it

1:54:03when it rains, when it snows. It's going

1:54:05to be used from March to December versus

1:54:08now it's used from May till October. So

1:54:12I think what you're going to be talking

1:54:13what you're going to have to this is

1:54:14going to be a lot more complicated than

1:54:16what the discussion is going on here

1:54:18because the capacity has been going down

1:54:20over the years as the facility has

1:54:22deteriorated. But you can dramatically

1:54:25increase it by having a new facility.

1:54:27When you dramatically increase the

1:54:28facility, you're going to be have to

1:54:30look at all the different type of uses

1:54:31that are going to occur there and then

1:54:33you could partition out who's using what

1:54:35when and what share is what. So I think

1:54:38you're not going to you're not going to

1:54:39solve that tonight. There's a there's a

1:54:41there's a lot and I know you're not

1:54:42trying to

1:54:43>> He's asking about do like Webster kids

1:54:45play on Ralph's Park. Yes. Penn kids

1:54:48play in Webster's fields too. So like we

1:54:50have a very um unique relationship

1:54:52because of our other towns, especially

1:54:54the smaller ones that tend to have joint

1:54:57joint facilities. So yes, Panakook

1:54:59taxpayers are also paying um in some

1:55:02fashion to to the Webster kids as well

1:55:05and use their stuff as well. So it's

1:55:07kind of a joint thing. follow up.

1:55:10>> Just a general comment. I I just I don't

1:55:13like this division that is being created

1:55:15and we need to really focus on the 21

1:55:18parks in the schools as a group and so

1:55:21um I would appreciate

1:55:22>> appropriate for the discussion.

1:55:29>> Thank you. You could have saved that for

1:55:31the discussion but that's okay. Okay.

1:55:34Any other questions for uh Miss Wheeler

1:55:37Russell and Miss Briti?

1:55:39>> I do.

1:55:41>> Council Seco, I saw your hand first.

1:55:43>> No, no, no. I just want to say thank you

1:55:44very much. And you and I just discussed

1:55:46earlier about open enrollment which is a

1:55:49law. So if two student from

1:55:53I don't know may pan decided to come

1:55:58that you represent the school board and

1:56:00they play here still an advantage. I

1:56:02think it's always good to have a field

1:56:06that everybody can use. Penuk can use it

1:56:08if they want. It's not that they cannot

1:56:11use it. Is that my understanding? Right.

1:56:13>> Um I'm sorry. Are you saying that con

1:56:15Panuk students can attend conquered high

1:56:18school as an open enrollment?

1:56:19>> If that's the case, I don't know

1:56:21>> that. No. Uh we don't have an open

1:56:23enrollment agreement. There's there's um

1:56:25other things that are there, things like

1:56:27um the CTE uh which is the technical

1:56:29center, but we have an agreement with

1:56:33other schools to allow

1:56:36>> our students to attend their um those

1:56:40schools for uh a certain percentage of

1:56:42time, but I believe this was a couple

1:56:45years ago. Yes, I know conquered backed

1:56:47out of that.

1:56:48>> Sorry. Yes, I'll take the school board

1:56:50hat off. It's hard

1:56:52>> followup. I'm just asking that question

1:56:54if that case

1:56:56>> in that case something come up that they

1:56:59agree that there is an open enrollment

1:57:01agreement because because it doesn't

1:57:03have it today doesn't mean it's not

1:57:05there next year or 5 years from now

1:57:08>> open enrollment is a state question not

1:57:10a local

1:57:11>> no I didn't ask you I'm just saying kids

1:57:13that play either they move from Pacok to

1:57:16Concord or Concord to Penoke to go to

1:57:19school or to play still an

1:57:21[clears throat] opportunity for all of

1:57:22us as the community, right?

1:57:25>> Yes. But the question comes back to you,

1:57:26Sage, and I'm just not um I'm I'm I'm

1:57:28not going to drag that out again. We've

1:57:30been here forever.

1:57:31>> I know. Councilor Brown.

1:57:32>> Yes. I have a question. Thank you for

1:57:34answering all those schoolboard

1:57:35questions. I have a a question for you

1:57:36as Penokeook residents. Um how do you

1:57:40feel about us using $600,000 from the

1:57:45recreation reserve? I know that the

1:57:47recreation reserve is made up of

1:57:49taxpayer money which is Pinnacook and

1:57:51conquered. How do you feel about that as

1:57:53as Pinnacook residents if we take it

1:57:55from the recreation reserve?

1:57:57>> Well, I I I'm really concerned that

1:58:00you're going to make that decision to do

1:58:01it tonight. I don't think that that's a

1:58:04decision that you should be making

1:58:05tonight whether or not to to and then

1:58:08where to take the money from. And I

1:58:09think that there are so many other

1:58:11things that still need to be worked out

1:58:14that I think it's premature.

1:58:16>> Thank you.

1:58:16>> Ditto.

1:58:18>> Thank you. Thank you both.

1:58:19>> Thank you.

1:58:19>> Thank you. Is there anyone else who

1:58:21would like to testify

1:58:23>> right there?

1:58:38Hi everyone. Good to see you. I haven't

1:58:40been here in a while. My name is

1:58:42Meredith Culie, Ward Five. And I didn't

1:58:47prepare anything. And to all the young

1:58:50people in the audience, I just want to

1:58:53role model that you don't have to

1:58:55prepare something. It doesn't have to be

1:58:57perfect, but it is important to use your

1:58:59voice. And I know the football team's

1:59:02motto is be great today. And I just want

1:59:04to acknowledge that all the young people

1:59:07in this room

1:59:09a have absolutely made that clear. And

1:59:12they have done that. They have um been

1:59:15great today by showing up today. And I

1:59:18really encourage them to come up here

1:59:19and just say one or two things about why

1:59:22they're here because your voice matters.

1:59:26I um wanted to say that I moved to

1:59:29conquered 15 years ago and pushed my

1:59:33stroller endlessly around Memorial Field

1:59:37to get my son to go to sleep for nap

1:59:40time. Um I have

1:59:44taught my kids how to play tennis at the

1:59:46tennis courts. We have run the track. I

1:59:49have run endless amounts of stairs up

1:59:52the bleachers which are no longer there.

1:59:54Um, it is a place where I've met new

1:59:57people and have come to watch the uh

2:00:03fireworks which are great.

2:00:06And it really is like the kitchen of Ark

2:00:10City. It's it's the heart. It's where

2:00:12everybody comes together to bond and and

2:00:15meet people and have conversations. And

2:00:19now that um baby of mine is 15 and is a

2:00:24on the freshman football team

2:00:27and is playing is dressing for the games

2:00:31um under the lights and it's it's

2:00:35extraordinary to go to those games and

2:00:37see people old and young and everything

2:00:41in between coming out. But I remember my

2:00:43grandfather probably lived to 89 because

2:00:47he came out to his the high school games

2:00:49um because it was community and I see my

2:00:53my husband and I doing the exact same

2:00:55thing. We are hooked on um sports in

2:00:59conquered. I started coaching last year

2:01:02and for other things and it's I can't

2:01:06tell you how important it is um as a

2:01:09nurse physically as um a parent to get

2:01:13our kids connected and off screens and

2:01:18engaged and active and um having other

2:01:22adults in their lives like these hero

2:01:24coaches that are in the room today. Um,

2:01:28so I just would really like you to I

2:01:31would really like to see you move

2:01:32forward uh in every way imaginable on

2:01:36this renovation.

2:01:38Um, I don't know if my kids will see the

2:01:42fruits of it, but um, I know they won't

2:01:46see the fruits of the school, but I

2:01:48think it's all a positive thing when

2:01:50we're investing in our future and our

2:01:52children. Um, and I can say that uh

2:01:58several community members came together

2:02:00to create the spark um in collaboration

2:02:04with uh parks and wreck to create the

2:02:05spark program um which is a free program

2:02:09in the winter for kids particularly uh

2:02:12who live uh near the citywide community

2:02:14center to come out and play and have a

2:02:16safe space on the weekends. And I see

2:02:20those kids coming not because they're

2:02:22students of the school district, which

2:02:24they are, but they're not coming in a

2:02:26student capacity. They're coming to

2:02:28connect on Friday night and they're

2:02:30coming to be part of of conquered. And I

2:02:35think that's really powerful. And I

2:02:37think I saw one of them refing. He went

2:02:40from being a participant in this program

2:02:42to now being grown more grown up and

2:02:45refing out there having a job at

2:02:47Memorial Field. So, um I'd really like

2:02:50you to um vote to move forward and I

2:02:55hope some of our young people will come

2:02:57up and say a few words because it

2:03:01matters. Um so, thank you.

2:03:04>> Thank you. Any questions? Cir Schultz.

2:03:08It's cool. So, good to see you. Good to

2:03:11see you. Um, because I know you and

2:03:13trust you and I will self-identify as a

2:03:16complete idiot on this topic. So, I

2:03:18appreciate you're answering the question

2:03:21I'm about to ask. I am completely

2:03:24confused by all the nonprofit sports

2:03:27groups that kids who attend our public

2:03:30schools but participate in travel teams.

2:03:34What should a counselor making these

2:03:36decisions understand about that piece of

2:03:39the pie when

2:03:41um it used to be if you went to public

2:03:44school, you played the school sports.

2:03:48What should I understand about that

2:03:50complex system? as I sit here and try to

2:03:54make a good decision.

2:03:55>> I am probably not the best person to to

2:03:58answer that question, but what I can say

2:04:00is that um school itself is not always a

2:04:05uh channel to success for a lot of kids.

2:04:09Some kids have have talents in in music,

2:04:12some people have talents in robotics,

2:04:15and some people have talents out on the

2:04:18fields. and having they I mean the the

2:04:23it I don't know about the research again

2:04:25I'm not the perfect person to ask but

2:04:27what I have seen is that it takes um

2:04:30more touches on the ball um to get where

2:04:34you want to go and be success to get the

2:04:36um to get where you want to go with

2:04:38sports and so these nonprofits not only

2:04:40that but these nonprofits come in and

2:04:43really help kids who have talent or

2:04:47develop talent

2:04:48>> [snorts]

2:04:49>> kids who have just had never had a shot

2:04:51to progress and progress and so that

2:04:53they can have even more success in the

2:04:55field of athletics. Um, and in terms of

2:04:59your question about how it coincides

2:05:02with the school, um, it's my

2:05:06understanding that it that parks and

2:05:09wreck, city of conquered provides, um,

2:05:13field space and has collaborations with

2:05:17these nonprofits who then, um, push

2:05:21athletes on to to achieve at a higher at

2:05:25a higher potential and give them

2:05:27opportunities, give them more adult role

2:05:29models, and David Gil has done always

2:05:32done a excellent job at sort of

2:05:33providing the arena for things other

2:05:36than schools for children to have

2:05:39opportunities. And I know that a lot of

2:05:40the kids who I know and love from Spark

2:05:44just got on to Conquer Caps, which is

2:05:46the nonprofit football. Um I know that

2:05:50Girls on the Run have given a lot of um

2:05:52scholarships to kids to participate and

2:05:56then they have the um Girls on the Run

2:05:59um 5K out of Memorial Field which is a

2:06:02big event. Um so I think it's I think

2:06:06that they're really it's a really

2:06:08because we have the community resources

2:06:09which of course now the track can't do

2:06:12that. I coach for girls on the run but

2:06:14um that so that's that's an issue. I

2:06:17don't know how we're going to get around

2:06:18that this spring, but

2:06:20>> thank you. That answers it well.

2:06:21>> Uh, Mr. Spell

2:06:23>> Meredith is very astute.

2:06:24>> Yes,

2:06:25>> she gave you good advice.

2:06:27[laughter]

2:06:28>> That's how it works.

2:06:30>> It's not a question, but I just want to

2:06:32say thank you for testifying and thank

2:06:34you for all you do in this community. I

2:06:36don't know if there is any fervent

2:06:38advocates that I know for the kids like

2:06:41yourself. And I remember all those

2:06:43questions and conversation that we had

2:06:45around kids and all kids. So, thank you.

2:06:48>> Thank you, counselor.

2:06:49>> Any other questions?

2:06:51>> Seeing none, thank you. Thank you.

2:06:53Anyone else like to testify?

2:06:54>> Thank you.

2:06:55>> Yes, sir.

2:07:02>> Welcome.

2:07:02>> Hello, everyone.

2:07:04>> Uh my name is Mike Leonard. I am the

2:07:06head football coach at Conquer High. I'm

2:07:08also uh the cooking teacher at the high

2:07:10school.

2:07:11Um,

2:07:14I kind of want to start with the kid who

2:07:17came up here who was in the band, right?

2:07:20Um, you know, one of the things he said

2:07:22stuck with me and everybody laughed in

2:07:23the room. He was like, "Yeah, you know,

2:07:25we we got to march with our heads, you

2:07:27know, facing forward and

2:07:31we got to trip over the cracks, right?"

2:07:34To me, like that's not okay, right? the

2:07:37the band can't march normal because of

2:07:39the conditions of the field. Um,

2:07:43grandparents can't come to our football

2:07:45games and watch their kids play,

2:07:49>> right? Like they can't see, if you come

2:07:51to one of our games this year, you

2:07:52cannot see what's going on on the field

2:07:54because it's ground level. Um,

2:07:58we weren't able to have graduation at

2:08:00our school. I don't know if anyone

2:08:01everyone in the room here knows um where

2:08:04we had graduation, but we had it in a

2:08:06parking lot,

2:08:07>> right? When you think of your high

2:08:08school graduation, do you think of a

2:08:10parking lot, right? Like that kind of

2:08:12sucks in my opinion. Um

2:08:16so like I know that this committee has a

2:08:18lot to decide and I know that number up

2:08:20there um is pretty high, right? But you

2:08:24know, I don't know if you guys follow

2:08:25people in the room follow what's going

2:08:26on in London, right? But they they're

2:08:29getting a new field and they started the

2:08:30Lancer Fund, right? And they just had a

2:08:33big presentation at their last home

2:08:35game. They got a donation of 250,000

2:08:37from St. Mary's Bank, right? Um and they

2:08:40were able to do that because they had

2:08:43the the the final design and the permits

2:08:46and all that stuff put together, right?

2:08:49So yeah, I know that what is it 134

2:08:52million is a lot of money for taxpayers,

2:08:54right? I get it. Gas is 460 a gallon.

2:08:56That sucks, right? So, adding more onto

2:08:59it, that that's not cool either. But we

2:09:01don't know what it's going to be that

2:09:03final cost, right? Because, you know,

2:09:05people are willing to help donate,

2:09:06right? We have tons of businesses here

2:09:08in conquered. We got all this stuff. So,

2:09:10um I know it's a big decision. Um if we

2:09:13don't make it today, right, we're just

2:09:14kicking the can down the road, right?

2:09:16And we got guys in jerseys over here,

2:09:18right, who they don't know where they're

2:09:20playing their games. They don't know

2:09:21where they're graduating, right? And and

2:09:23to me, that that's why I'm here. that's

2:09:25why they're here because that sucks for

2:09:26them, right? And so, yeah, if we pass

2:09:28this today, but we can all work together

2:09:30to to raise money, right, and bring that

2:09:32cost down and the taxpayers and all

2:09:34that. But if we just say, ah, just keep

2:09:36kicking the can down the road, right?

2:09:38Then nothing's going to happen and

2:09:40Memorial Field is going to keep falling

2:09:41apart, right? And then we're not going

2:09:42to have anywhere to play our games or

2:09:43anywhere to have PE class for that

2:09:44matter. Uh, so that's all I want to say.

2:09:47>> Thank you, Mr. Leonard. Any questions

2:09:48for Mr. Leonard? Council.

2:09:50>> Yes. I just want to say thank you very

2:09:52much for coming out for your testimony

2:09:53and I want to thank all the coaches. Uh

2:09:56Meredith, you're coaching girls on the

2:09:58run, um the formal sports coaches. It's

2:10:01it's pretty awesome and you are

2:10:03outstanding role models for coming and

2:10:05advocating for your kids. So, thank you

2:10:07for being here.

2:10:10>> Thank you so much.

2:10:11>> Thank you very much. Thanks for your

2:10:13work with the kids. Anyone else like to

2:10:15testify? Yes.

2:10:23Welcome.

2:10:23>> Thank you. I'm not not as cordial as

2:10:27most people. Uh my name is Mona Lisa

2:10:30Eaton and I am in Ward 9 and I have

2:10:36lived here since 2010.

2:10:40Before that I came from Mormon, New

2:10:41Hampshire. And I used to I used to be

2:10:45there for the I was a soccer coach, a

2:10:48softball coach, a baseball coach all the

2:10:50way around. And

2:10:53what what we have to think as a

2:10:55community is how dangerous is that field

2:11:00for the kids that are playing on it or

2:11:02running around it. How much are they

2:11:03going to have a hospital bill because

2:11:06their kid got hurt with their knee or

2:11:08their shoulder or their head? they get

2:11:10concussion because they're sliding in to

2:11:13do the football or they're sliding in to

2:11:15do the soccer. How much is it going to

2:11:17cost that parent or even the state uh or

2:11:21the city if they decide to sue because

2:11:24the thing was not

2:11:27not acceptable to what they were doing.

2:11:31So, it's more of do we want our children

2:11:35grandchildren great grandchildren. I got

2:11:37grandchildren. My daughter played in and

2:11:39my son played in ring. So, you know, we

2:11:42passed the field that has to be

2:11:46satisfied for all the kids, the young

2:11:49kids, the older kids, the middle kids,

2:11:52even little toddlers used to play soccer

2:11:55on our fields and they were good at it.

2:11:57And the teachers are right. And the and

2:12:00the coaches, they grew up and they

2:12:02became college college players. You

2:12:06know, we never had football, but we had

2:12:09a football league. We just couldn't play

2:12:11in it because I was from a poor family.

2:12:14My kids were poor and I'm still poor.

2:12:16But the thing is is how many kids do you

2:12:20want to get hurt? And how many kids do

2:12:24you think if the field got better would

2:12:27not be hurt as much as they're getting

2:12:30right now? Because the last game I went

2:12:33to

2:12:35um for the C conquered Capitals and this

2:12:40was on a different field. It wasn't even

2:12:41on our field. The last game I had a

2:12:44person on my team have a concussion from

2:12:46the conquered field there. We had two

2:12:50people and their field was worse than

2:12:52ours, but they had two people that had

2:12:55gotten their hip and their knee just

2:12:58completely blown out and they had to go

2:13:00to the hospital. And then you got to

2:13:02realize how are you going to have if if

2:13:05it's not good. So you got to put the

2:13:08fire department and the ambulance there

2:13:09so that if anything does happen, they

2:13:12have to be there, right?

2:13:15So my I don't know how to go about it,

2:13:18but my mind is saying why do we have to

2:13:23take the chance to hurt our children or

2:13:26our grandchildren or great-grandchildren

2:13:28or even great great grandchildren. You

2:13:30know, I'm not going to live that old,

2:13:31thank God. But but the point is is how

2:13:35many people do we have to how many kids

2:13:37have to get hurt for us to really buckle

2:13:42down and fix what we need to fix. I know

2:13:45I mean I'm our renter. I have to pay

2:13:48$2,200 for my rent. That's without

2:13:51lights, without anything else. So that's

2:13:53going towards the the taxes. So I'm kind

2:13:58of a taxpayer, too. And I only get 44

2:14:02>> pay.

2:14:03>> You know what I mean? So, I know that

2:14:06there are taxpayers here and I'm sorry

2:14:08if if I'm making you feel bad because

2:14:11I'm a I'm I'm a renter, but my voice and

2:14:16my grandchildren's voice. My son, my

2:14:18grandson just started playing football.

2:14:20I wouldn't I didn't want him to because

2:14:22I was afraid he was going to get hurt

2:14:24because he already had a mild concussion

2:14:26from soccer because the field was was

2:14:29too slippery. So, I don't want that

2:14:33happen to another child. So, my

2:14:34grandson's playing football, which I

2:14:36love, you know, I can't go there anymore

2:14:38because he told me I'm bad for the team.

2:14:41But that's okay, you know, [laughter]

2:14:43but it's just the point. I I don't want

2:14:46any other kids

2:14:48>> now or in the p or in the future to get

2:14:52hurt that that much whether it's an

2:14:54artificial field or a real field that

2:14:57don't even matter to me about any of

2:14:58that. It just matters that the kids

2:15:01don't get hurt.

2:15:03>> That's what I'm more concerned for

2:15:04because we have an an awesome football

2:15:07team, an awesome soccer team, basketball

2:15:10track. I've seen the track and they're

2:15:13pretty they're really really good, you

2:15:15know, and they can go far. All the

2:15:17students that participate, even the

2:15:19wrestlers, I've seen them go to

2:15:21colleges. And that's what we want our

2:15:24future to be. It's our kids to be safe

2:15:27and know you can be safe and go college

2:15:31and do this and do that.

2:15:33>> And that's, you know, I'm not bright and

2:15:36I don't know how to answer question, but

2:15:38that's what that's how I feel. Are you

2:15:41willing to take any question? I I think

2:15:42you're very bright.

2:15:43>> As long as they're not too hard because

2:15:45I was only, you know,

2:15:46>> I came from Raymond. So,

2:15:48>> all right. I'll monitor the questions.

2:15:49[laughter] Any any questions for

2:15:52>> Councelor Brown?

2:15:53>> Yes, you are very eloquent because you

2:15:56communicated passionately about how

2:15:58important our children are and I

2:15:59absolutely agree. But I just want to

2:16:02point out that as a renter, you do pay

2:16:05taxes. Your voice does matter. And I

2:16:08think like 43%

2:16:10of our residents are renters. So please

2:16:13don't ever feel like your voice doesn't

2:16:15matter as a renter because it does come

2:16:17down and it does um you are paying it

2:16:20and and thank you for being here.

2:16:22>> Thank you.

2:16:23>> Any other questions? Councelor Grady St.

2:16:25>> Thank you, your honor. Um thank you so

2:16:26much for your testimony. Um, I'm going

2:16:28to say would you believe because we're

2:16:29supposed to ask questions during this

2:16:31period, but would you believe that I

2:16:32think you had the most effective uh

2:16:35testimony tonight and I am just really

2:16:37grateful for for everything that you've

2:16:40said and for really centering the safety

2:16:41of children. Thank you.

2:16:43>> Any other questions?

2:16:45>> Caseu,

2:16:46>> it's not a question, but I want to say

2:16:47there's four of us renters here and you

2:16:50should not apologize to the people that

2:16:52own home because you pay taxes. We pay

2:16:55taxes and we are proud servant of this

2:16:57community. So, thank you.

2:17:00>> Would you believe any other questions?

2:17:02Councelor Caleb.

2:17:03>> Yes.

2:17:05>> Yes. Four of us up here are renters. I

2:17:08will echo what everyone else has said.

2:17:09Your voice very much matters and you do

2:17:11pay into taxes. Um,

2:17:15thinking about I guess the issue of

2:17:18equity,

2:17:22there are some families who can afford

2:17:25and do send their kids to play on other

2:17:28wreck teams as as we've learned.

2:17:32I'm not sure this is so much a question

2:17:34or maybe do you agree from your

2:17:35perspective that

2:17:39all children deserve equitable access to

2:17:41recreation? So going to a public high

2:17:45school and having adequate good

2:17:48facilities to play, safe facilities to

2:17:50play. I guess my question is is that

2:17:53important to you?

2:17:54>> Yes, because my my grandson he um like

2:17:58like I said, we're poor. we couldn't

2:18:00afford the money to send him to the

2:18:03football this year and they the Capitals

2:18:06gave him the scholarship and told him

2:18:09don't worry about anything we will let

2:18:11you come in and play. So yes, it is very

2:18:15important to me that the other the other

2:18:18places will let us even being poor let

2:18:22us

2:18:23go in and be part of that. It's just

2:18:25like with soccer. He wanted to do soccer

2:18:28and we didn't have the money for it and

2:18:31so they said, "No, just bring them in.

2:18:33We can we we have funds for it." So,

2:18:36yes, I agree with then that's that's the

2:18:40reason why I don't want them to get hurt

2:18:42is because if we play on other fields,

2:18:44you know, then what is going to happen

2:18:47with those, you know what I mean? We

2:18:49need to have make sure we have a good

2:18:51feel for our kids and I understand.

2:18:55Thank you so much for being here. We

2:18:57appreciate it.

2:18:58>> Would you agree that athletics and

2:19:01sports are a great opportunity for young

2:19:04people of limited means to get out of

2:19:07their uh you know to to advance to

2:19:12create the skills that can help build

2:19:14success future in life?

2:19:16>> Yes.

2:19:17>> Yes. I believe that

2:19:19um if you have more children in the

2:19:25the um athletic field or even the band

2:19:29or you know like like some lady said or

2:19:32a guy I don't remember said about the

2:19:35electronics

2:19:36>> they are not going to be as much crime

2:19:41as a kid as you know as like Manchester

2:19:46Manchester has a lot of crime and a lot

2:19:48of kids that are, you know, bullying and

2:19:51whatever. And this gives the kids the

2:19:54opportunity to get out, you know, to get

2:19:56out and say, "Yes, I'm going to be

2:19:58better than what my mother was or my

2:20:01grandmother or my, you know, so yes, it

2:20:03it gives them a better choice and a

2:20:05better way of communicating than getting

2:20:08aggression out."

2:20:10>> Thank you so much for your testimony. it

2:20:12it you have indeed been eloquent

2:20:14>> in your passion and in the way that

2:20:16you've articulated the issues that are

2:20:17important to you. So, thank you so much.

2:20:19>> Thank you.

2:20:20>> Anyone else like to testify?

2:20:23>> Yes.

2:20:27As much as we would like, please refrain

2:20:30from expressions of pleasure or

2:20:32displeasure. Gentlemen,

2:20:38>> welcome. Please, please introduce

2:20:40yourself for this to the city council.

2:20:42>> Um, I'm Raider Aen. I'm part of the

2:20:44Conquer High School football team. I

2:20:46also coach as well for the Conquer

2:20:47Capitals.

2:20:49>> I'm Mason Roaldi. I um am a sophomore at

2:20:52Conquered High School and I run track

2:20:53and play football for the high school as

2:20:55well.

2:20:56>> I'm Parker Price. I'm a junior on

2:20:58Conquered High School's football team.

2:21:00>> Thank you. Please.

2:21:04[laughter]

2:21:05>> You're the youngest.

2:21:08If [snorts] I'm going to be completely

2:21:09honest, I think that Memorial's track is

2:21:12absolutely disgusting. Um, the cracks,

2:21:15the grass, everything. Like, I run

2:21:18track. We can't even practice on our

2:21:21track. I have to practice in the halls

2:21:22at Conquered High School. We do our

2:21:24block starts in the hallways. We do

2:21:27hills. Like, everything about Memorial's

2:21:29track is just unacceptable with the

2:21:31track program. It's just completely

2:21:34unusable.

2:21:37Um, I've been playing at uh the Memorial

2:21:40Field since sixth grade. I've noticed

2:21:42plenty of injuries from holes. Um, and

2:21:46if you notice with the field, it's a

2:21:47little bit humped in the middle, which

2:21:50causes like which can cause injuries.

2:21:53Yeah.

2:21:55>> Uh, I'm just going to pick back off what

2:21:57he said. leg.

2:21:59I've seen like drills been like moved

2:22:01around during practice because like

2:22:02after like a rainstorm, we'll just like

2:22:05barely plant their feet in the ground

2:22:06and then there'll just be like a big

2:22:07hole there. So,

2:22:10>> so what I'm hearing from you is not good

2:22:13playing services for a variety of

2:22:15sports.

2:22:16>> Not at all.

2:22:18>> Questions. Counselor Schultz,

2:22:21>> can you guess what question I'm going to

2:22:22ask? Do you know what um you probably

2:22:25don't know where your parents or

2:22:26guardians vote, but what neighborhood,

2:22:28if you don't mind sharing, generically,

2:22:32do you guys live in?

2:22:34>> Um I live near Broken Ground. I don't

2:22:36know what district that is.

2:22:38>> 10.

2:22:38>> 10.

2:22:39>> It could be nine.

2:22:40>> Guess we live in district 10 then.

2:22:42>> I live near um Beaver Meadow and like

2:22:44around the Penook area.

2:22:47>> I'm still living.

2:22:48>> Thank you.

2:22:48>> What? Three or two? Okay.

2:22:50>> Three. Three.

2:22:52of fantasy.

2:22:53>> Thank you. Uh, this question is for

2:22:56Mason. It's been a few years since I got

2:22:58to see you. Um, he was on one of my

2:23:02basketball teams many years ago. Uh,

2:23:04question for you. Have you seen an

2:23:05impact on the participation of athletes

2:23:09on the track team because of the

2:23:10condition of the track?

2:23:12>> Absolutely. Um,

2:23:15am I allowed to name name a name or

2:23:18>> you probably shouldn't name a name.

2:23:20>> All right. [laughter]

2:23:21You guys may know um this kid who's

2:23:24really really good at triple jump. He is

2:23:26the best in the nation. He's as a

2:23:28sophomore of last year. He was the best

2:23:31class of 28 in the nation for triple

2:23:32jump. And I feel like Memorial Field

2:23:36could have dictated his decision. And so

2:23:38he he's no longer a student at Conquered

2:23:40High School.

2:23:41>> And I feel like that could have been a

2:23:43reason why. like he's the best of the

2:23:45best and he's

2:23:48doesn't get what he deserves, like what

2:23:49he needs to practice on. So, I feel like

2:23:52our great athletes at Conquer High

2:23:54School are being like

2:23:58they don't they no longer want to go

2:23:59because of how horrible our stuff is. I

2:24:02feel

2:24:05>> other questions. Council councelor Brady

2:24:08Stton.

2:24:08>> I feel like the adults have really let

2:24:10you guys down and I'm sorry about that

2:24:13and I hope that we can move forward more

2:24:15quickly with decision- making in the

2:24:16future.

2:24:17>> Thanks,

2:24:18>> Councelor Brown.

2:24:19>> Yes. I just want to say thank you to you

2:24:21guys. It's so important to hear what you

2:24:25are actually experiencing to imagine

2:24:27doing track drills inside like in the

2:24:30hallways. That just seems crazy and it's

2:24:33devastating to hear about a student who,

2:24:36you know, is potentially nationally

2:24:38ranked in the the triple high jump. I

2:24:40think you said

2:24:41>> triple jump. Yeah.

2:24:42>> Yeah. The triple jump. Like that's crazy

2:24:44because that's somebody that we should

2:24:46be celebrating. We should be celebrating

2:24:48our our young athletes. So, thank you

2:24:50for testifying. Your experience and your

2:24:53voice matters. Uh I'm glad you guys

2:24:55came.

2:24:56>> Any other questions?

2:24:58>> Thank you, gentlemen.

2:24:59>> Thank you so much. [snorts]

2:25:00>> Thank you. Anyone else like to testify

2:25:02in the back?

2:25:08[clears throat]

2:25:11>> You know those kids.

2:25:15>> Hello everybody.

2:25:16>> Greetings.

2:25:17>> My name is Tim Lorra. I believe I'm W

2:25:20seven

2:25:22South [laughter] End.

2:25:24>> Um first of all, thank you guys for all

2:25:26you do. this is a lot that you guys have

2:25:27to uh decide in this city of 45,000

2:25:30people. So, I appreciate your time. Um,

2:25:33I do want to say a big uh thank you. I

2:25:35believe is Miss Miss Eden. That was

2:25:37incredible. Um, safety needs to be the

2:25:40first and foremost um for all the kids.

2:25:42And I'm I'm also the high school

2:25:43basketball coach and we actually lost

2:25:45our our point guard to a knee injury on

2:25:47that football field, stepped in one of

2:25:49the potholes um on that field a couple

2:25:51years ago. um and he's been battling

2:25:53that knee injury even into his college

2:25:55career as a football player. Um I know

2:25:58I've worked in the district, but I also

2:26:00wanted to highlight some of the other uh

2:26:01organizations that use the the facility.

2:26:04Um you know, we have the adult softball

2:26:06league that that was mentioned earlier.

2:26:07Uh there's little league baseball that

2:26:09happens there. There's a conquered crush

2:26:10lacrosse. There's also an organization

2:26:13called Fit for a Cause um through the

2:26:15boot camps on Sunday morning um at

2:26:17Memorial Field and raise money for um

2:26:20people dealing with with cancer. Um the

2:26:22person that runs it is is somebody who's

2:26:24fighting that battle herself. Um so it

2:26:27goes well beyond the school district and

2:26:29um I've lived here for for seven years.

2:26:32My my wife is a longtime resident um you

2:26:35know and back in her day of of training

2:26:38as a field hockey player and just as a a

2:26:40resident at conquered high you would see

2:26:42that that track packed people running up

2:26:44and down the bleachers um doing things

2:26:47to to better themselves. Um I just think

2:26:51as the state capital of New Hampshire to

2:26:54drive into Memorial Field and see that

2:26:56facility the way it is, it's we talk

2:26:59about wants and needs. um we didn't want

2:27:01to keep kicking this ball down the road

2:27:02for the last 50 years. Um it's a need

2:27:05and not just for the students that are

2:27:07at the school. Um you know, like coach

2:27:09Leonard said, I know we're looking at

2:27:10that number. Um we got to find a way,

2:27:13right? And and talk about the coaches

2:27:14here, you know, we we get the players we

2:27:17get and we do the best we can to put

2:27:19them in a position to be successful. We

2:27:21have an opportunity right now as a

2:27:22community to find a way to make this

2:27:25situation positive for the kids and for

2:27:28the people that uh use it here in the

2:27:30community as well. Um I know that's a a

2:27:32tall task

2:27:34um but really appreciate you guys taking

2:27:36the time to look through um all of the

2:27:39positives that um that come along with

2:27:42having that facility look the way it

2:27:43does. Um so thank you for your time. Um

2:27:47and I know it's late so thank you.

2:27:49>> Thank you. Any questions for Mr. Lur?

2:27:52Thank you, sir.

2:27:52>> Thank you.

2:27:53>> Appreciate you guys. Thank you so much.

2:27:54>> Anyone else like to testify? Yes, sir.

2:27:56[clears throat]

2:28:01>> Oops.

2:28:05>> Welcome. Thank you. I I won't do better

2:28:07than the last three, but I mean, they've

2:28:10been outstanding testimonies and I'm not

2:28:11a conquered resident, but I think I

2:28:14could say that I you know, between 170

2:28:16Warren,

2:28:17>> you identify yourself.

2:28:18>> Yeah. Steve Larie, athletic director,

2:28:20Conquered High School.

2:28:20>> And do you love Conquered?

2:28:22>> What's that?

2:28:22>> But you love Conquered.

2:28:23>> I do love it. I do. It's just I would

2:28:25say it's my first home, I think, because

2:28:26I spend more hours here um between 170

2:28:30uh Warren Street and 70 South Fruit. Um

2:28:33so I spent a lot of time in that

2:28:34facility. And I I will say like Memorial

2:28:36Field is something like that I've always

2:28:39uh thought is is is a gem. Some there's

2:28:42something special about it. there's the

2:28:43whole Friday night game feel with the

2:28:45band coming down, the football team

2:28:47marching down and um you know this year

2:28:51has been a situation where I I the word

2:28:54has been pitiable uh because that's sort

2:28:57of the the condition and and sort of the

2:28:59response that we get from the other

2:29:00athletic administrators, the other

2:29:02coaches. is we had a coach from an out

2:29:04of state school that we hosted last week

2:29:06and when they host us to play a freshman

2:29:08game in a big city-owned stadium uh in

2:29:13Haveril, Mass. And then we're having

2:29:15their team change in a shed where we

2:29:18store our grass seed and uh fertilizer

2:29:21and things like that which has been a

2:29:22conquered tradition for a long long

2:29:24time. I was a visiting coach and I used

2:29:26that locker room so I I know the deal.

2:29:29But um when you don't have bleachers uh

2:29:34to be able to accommodate people at a

2:29:36football game, when you don't have a

2:29:37track to be able to host um interstate

2:29:42or even just practice practices for your

2:29:45high school athletes, it it it is a

2:29:48situation where other people look at you

2:29:50with now it's pity. Um and it's it's

2:29:54just gotten to that that state. A and

2:29:57the thing is is I think when once you

2:29:59get to that point, we we've worked

2:30:01together really well. We David and I

2:30:03have worked together I think um more

2:30:06this year than than ever in trying to

2:30:08make this work for our student athletes.

2:30:10Uh we don't have Runlet Middle School

2:30:12right now as an option to host our our

2:30:14teams. So the city has in in good faith

2:30:18worked with us to accommodate middle

2:30:20school soccer um and to hold additional

2:30:23games. So, you would think Memorial

2:30:25Field would be getting less usage

2:30:27because of of of its situation and its

2:30:29state, and it is, but we're having to

2:30:32find more and more creative uses uh for

2:30:35for our teams around the city. And the

2:30:38only reason that's happening is because

2:30:39we're working together. Uh we work

2:30:41together with our community groups,

2:30:43everybody that that testified today,

2:30:45whether it's Conquered Crush and Emma

2:30:46Cisty, uh Meredith Kulie and her the

2:30:49groups that she works with. Um Conquered

2:30:52Capitals, Dave and Courtney Levik, like

2:30:54we, you know, we've been shipping lights

2:30:56back and forth between Martin Park and

2:30:58Memorial Field. Those are lights that we

2:31:00rent because we we can't properly light

2:31:03the field. And we're paying for those.

2:31:04Conquered school district's paying for

2:31:06those. We're also paying the light bill

2:31:08as part of our current use agreement,

2:31:11um, our joint use agreement that has

2:31:13been in effect for for a long, long

2:31:15time. The $600,000 check that you have

2:31:19from the Conquered School District is

2:31:20also part of that current that joint use

2:31:23agreement. I used to when I was a

2:31:25teacher a few years ago, not that long,

2:31:28but I used to start the quote at the

2:31:31beginning of the school year, um, a

2:31:33thousand mile journey starts with one

2:31:35single step. Like this is the one step

2:31:38like this. We're we're going to get to a

2:31:41point where we're going to discuss

2:31:43splitting cost and what Memorial Field

2:31:45is going to look like. We have to take a

2:31:48step though as as a community and it's

2:31:50the city council, it's parks and wreck,

2:31:52it's it's the conquered school district,

2:31:55it's it's everybody jointly together

2:31:57saying what you've everyone has said

2:31:59tonight.

2:32:00The conditions at Memorial Field are

2:32:02deplorable. They need to be improved for

2:32:06our student athletes safety, for their

2:32:08well-being, for their uh you know

2:32:11abilities to to to go on to their future

2:32:14success. Uh, all of that needs

2:32:17[clears throat] to happen, but we have

2:32:19to, yeah, I can't speak for the school

2:32:21board, so I can't say what that

2:32:23agreement is going to look like moving

2:32:24forward, but we have to play by the

2:32:26rules that we have. And that $600,000

2:32:29check is an act of good faith in saying

2:32:32we're willing to take this step with the

2:32:34city council. I just want the city

2:32:37council to know that that's where

2:32:39Conquered School District in in in my

2:32:41estimation sees this situation. Please

2:32:44take that step for our student athletes,

2:32:46for our coaches, um and and for for me

2:32:49and for my family to be able to we we

2:32:52hosted a a senior senior night today at

2:32:54Penrook National Guard Field. My um my

2:32:58car currently looks like I'm a DJ

2:33:00because all of the PA equipment owned by

2:33:02the uh school district is is now the AV

2:33:06stuff is in my car. So, I got to go pick

2:33:09up the rest of the stuff in Penrook.

2:33:10It's going to be a long night. Um, but I

2:33:13just want to let you know that that is

2:33:17currently what we're [clears throat]

2:33:18dealing with.

2:33:20>> Thank you, Mr. Lie. Any questions?

2:33:23>> Thank you very much.

2:33:24>> Thank you, sir. Over there.

2:33:35>> Welcome.

2:33:36>> Hi. Thank you. Uh, Chris Galborth, Ward

2:33:39Five. Um, been here about nine years.

2:33:43I'm also a business owner here in

2:33:45conquered, uh, North Branch

2:33:46Construction. Uh, one of the biggest

2:33:48general contractors in the state. Um, my

2:33:52children, I have three boys here that's

2:33:54played sports. Um, I have a middle

2:33:56schooler, high schooler, and one that

2:33:58just graduated. So, I've been down to

2:34:01those fields quite a bit. And the one

2:34:04thing I haven't heard tonight is it's

2:34:06embarrassing to see what the condition

2:34:09of these places are. Um, somebody asked

2:34:12about travel sports. My kids do travel

2:34:14sports. They also do rec sports. They do

2:34:17it all. Um, so I've been at a lot of

2:34:20fields and being the city, the capital

2:34:23of the city, it's pretty embarrassing on

2:34:26the tax rate that we pay and the

2:34:27condition of the place. [clears throat]

2:34:29Um, you know, we're talking about 1.2 2

2:34:31million.

2:34:33It's small. It's only going to get

2:34:35bigger. I'm in construction. Is the time

2:34:39to build is now. It's never going to get

2:34:41cheaper. It's only going to get more

2:34:42expensive. Um when people talk about

2:34:45safety, my my kids turn to his ACL is

2:34:48meniscus. I know the cost of all that.

2:34:51Um, so it's it's really disheartening to

2:34:55see us not just be able to move that

2:34:58first foot forward to really put us in a

2:35:01place to understand what the real cost

2:35:03will be. Um,

2:35:07I have right now in Friday Night Lights,

2:35:10my mother-in-law, I have to help her up

2:35:13to stand so she can actually see her

2:35:14grandson play. It's that's a little

2:35:17embarrassing, you know. I think there

2:35:19was a thousand paid people. So, probably

2:35:231,500 residents, family members at the

2:35:26game and there's [snorts] seating for

2:35:28200, maybe 300 and you can't see you

2:35:32can't see your kids play, you can't see

2:35:33your grandkids play. Um, so I just come

2:35:36back to embarrassing.

2:35:39Um,

2:35:40that's really it's it's disheartening to

2:35:43see all that. Um, I would love for us to

2:35:46push forward to do the 1.2 2 million.

2:35:49It's a small amount to pay to really see

2:35:51the big picture and until you get that

2:35:53done, you don't know what the real costs

2:35:55are going to be.

2:35:57>> Mr. Goblin, could you for those of us

2:35:59who are not in the construction

2:36:00industry, could you speak to the

2:36:01significance of having the master plan

2:36:03and what it really entails?

2:36:05>> So, for for me, I mean, if you don't

2:36:07have a plan in place and be able to put

2:36:11cost to it, how do you know what it's

2:36:14really going to be? How can you start

2:36:16splitting the cost? How can you do a

2:36:19value engineering? You know, until you

2:36:21actually get the full plan, you can't

2:36:24start working on all those parts and

2:36:25pieces. And at a million dollars,

2:36:28million2, and the school district's

2:36:31paying 600,000 as a community member,

2:36:33I'm saying I'm paying 95, 100%, whatever

2:36:36it is, the split,

2:36:38it it doesn't matter. Just let's get it

2:36:40through. Let's push it through and get

2:36:43it for the kids. get it for the

2:36:44community. And to me, as an employer,

2:36:47too, an uncoachable kid is unemployable

2:36:50an adult. So, getting them out off the

2:36:53streets, there's a there's a lot of

2:36:55great things for an athlete. If they're

2:36:58there doing sports, they're choosing

2:37:00that path, then it's better than the

2:37:03other alternative.

2:37:05So, am I hearing you say that having the

2:37:07master plan is a is a critical step

2:37:10towards dividing up or or you know

2:37:14figuring out who pays for what how the

2:37:16share would go.

2:37:17>> 100%. [clears throat] I I understand

2:37:19that you know it'd be great to have the

2:37:21plan going into it, but you don't do the

2:37:2350/50 split now. Figure out the cost

2:37:27after you have that done.

2:37:28>> Thank you. Uh councelor Schultz,

2:37:32>> I'm kind of repetitive today. Uh, where

2:37:34do you vote? Which ward?

2:37:36>> W five.

2:37:37>> Thank you.

2:37:40>> Any other questions?

2:37:42>> Thank you, Mr. Galvin.

2:37:43>> Thank you.

2:37:44>> Anyone else like to testify?

2:37:47I

2:37:47>> thought so.

2:37:48>> All right. Seeing none, I declare the

2:37:50public hearing on 26 I closed.

2:37:53[clears throat] Adam City Clerk uh 26A.

2:37:59It's an ordinance amending the code of

2:38:01ordinances title 2 traffic code chapter

2:38:0318 parking stopping standing and parking

2:38:06parking time is limited limited excuse

2:38:09me in designated places to modify time

2:38:11limits for parking spaces on the north

2:38:15side of Marram Street and Penoke

2:38:17>> Mr. City Manager.

2:38:18>> The other members of the council, this

2:38:20request is in conjunction with the

2:38:21adaptive reuse of the former Penacook

2:38:24Branch Library at Marramac Street. The

2:38:26city and prospective buyer have the

2:38:28property under agreement to be sold and

2:38:31uh is proposing to convert the building

2:38:34into a duplex residential use with one

2:38:36unit on the first floor and another unit

2:38:38on the second floor. The parking

2:38:40committee discussed this request and

2:38:42following discussion, the committee

2:38:43recommends that the time limit on the

2:38:45north side of of Marramac Street in

2:38:47Penokeook be amended from two hours to

2:38:5010 hours and forced Monday through

2:38:52Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Thank

2:38:55you. Any questions for the city manager?

2:38:59Seeing none, anyone like to testify on

2:39:01item 26A?

2:39:05Seeing none, I will declare the public

2:39:07hearing closed. Uh, madam city clerk,

2:39:09item 26B.

2:39:11>> It's an ordinance amending the code of

2:39:13ordinances, title 4, zoning code,

2:39:14chapter 28, zoning ordinance by amending

2:39:17article 28-7,

2:39:19access, circulation, parking, and

2:39:21loading.

2:39:22>> Thank you, Mr. City Manager.

2:39:24>> Members of the council, like to turn

2:39:25over the next several items to Tim

2:39:27Thompson and to go through all the

2:39:29parking information.

2:39:31>> Thank you, Mr. City Manager, members of

2:39:33the council. Uh the ordinance you have

2:39:35in front of you uh in this public

2:39:37hearing is uh a significant revision to

2:39:40the zoning ordinance to introduce uh

2:39:43flexibility in the administration of our

2:39:45parking requirements for new

2:39:47developments. Uh this would take away uh

2:39:51the need to go to the zoning board of

2:39:52adjustment for variances for basically

2:39:55anything parking related. The number of

2:39:56spaces, the dimensions, the driveway

2:39:59access to properties. Uh it replaces

2:40:01those with a combination of conditional

2:40:03use permits and waiverss from site plan

2:40:06regulations uh that are administered by

2:40:08the planning board which can be done

2:40:09concurrently with a site plan or in the

2:40:12case where parking lots do not require

2:40:14site plan review it would be through a

2:40:15conditional use permit with the planning

2:40:17board. uh this will I think help

2:40:19significantly in the administration both

2:40:22from the city side the staff

2:40:23administration and it will alleviate uh

2:40:26a lot of frustration from the

2:40:27development side of the community uh

2:40:29where parking has been a significant

2:40:32challenge as part of our development

2:40:33review process. Uh this is a result of

2:40:36many [clears throat] iterations by staff

2:40:38within the department. Uh the planning

2:40:39board has adopted concurrent site plan

2:40:42regulations earlier in September uh

2:40:44which will become effective uh assuming

2:40:46the council adopts these agendments here

2:40:48tonight. Happy to answer questions.

2:40:49>> Thank you. Any questions for Mr.

2:40:51Thompson? Council Davey.

2:40:52>> Mr. Thompson, would you say that this

2:40:54would help the city accomplish some of

2:40:56its housing production goals.

2:40:58>> It certainly works well in conjunction

2:41:00with the fact the state law now requires

2:41:03that the we cannot require any more than

2:41:05one parking space per unit uh for

2:41:07residential. So that is really the only

2:41:09significant change we've made to parking

2:41:12requirements as part of this amendment.

2:41:14Uh we've focused exclusively other than

2:41:18that one item on flexibility and the

2:41:20administration of the how parking is

2:41:22handled administratively through the

2:41:24review process again which I think will

2:41:26both streamline and assist with both

2:41:28residential and non-residential

2:41:30building.

2:41:31>> Any other questions? Council.

2:41:33>> Yes. I just have two. Um

2:41:36will this affect um neighbors being

2:41:39notified

2:41:41about parking changes?

2:41:43>> The parking changes that typically would

2:41:46go to the zoning board if they are part

2:41:47unless they are something that does not

2:41:49require u site plan review. Uh there

2:41:52would now be a conditional use permit

2:41:53which has the same public notice

2:41:54requirements that the zoning board hero

2:41:56would have. So it's a different board

2:41:58but the zoning the notice requirements

2:42:00for those would be the same.

2:42:02>> Follow up.

2:42:02>> What is that notice? What does that

2:42:03require?

2:42:04>> Basically, direct to butters are

2:42:06notified directly by uh verified mail

2:42:09under state law.

2:42:10>> Well, is that um when you say direct

2:42:12butters, does that include people across

2:42:14the street or is it just on either side?

2:42:16>> Butters are defined in state law as

2:42:17anything that [clears throat] would

2:42:18touch the property if you take away

2:42:19streets or bodies of water.

2:42:20>> Ah, okay. Very good.

2:42:22>> Council FY,

2:42:23>> thank you. Uh just a process question.

2:42:25Uh before the planning board makes

2:42:28recommendations on these types of

2:42:30amendments, do they take any public

2:42:31testimony?

2:42:32>> They do. Thank you. Okay, councelor

2:42:34Caleb.

2:42:34>> Um, does this Sorry if this is a dumb

2:42:37question. Um, does this in any way

2:42:39affect uh any like rules or regulations

2:42:42around accessible parking?

2:42:44>> It does not. If anything, this actually

2:42:47clarifies the requirements to basically

2:42:50reference the federal requirements

2:42:51without having conflicting requirements

2:42:53locally.

2:42:54>> Okay. Thank you.

2:42:55>> Okay. Any other question? Council Brown.

2:42:58>> Yes. Uh, this was my second question. Is

2:43:01is this going to have any impact on

2:43:03projects that are kind of in the

2:43:05pipeline right now? If we approve this

2:43:07tonight, does that change things that

2:43:09we're

2:43:09>> from the moment this public hearing was

2:43:11posted for public hearing, applicants

2:43:13had the option of following either the

2:43:15posted pending ordinance or the existing

2:43:18ordinance. So in effect in in essence,

2:43:21this has been in effect since last

2:43:22month.

2:43:24>> Follow up.

2:43:25>> Yes. So pro how many projects would this

2:43:28impact this ordinance?

2:43:30>> Anything moving forward and anything

2:43:32that's currently not accepted is

2:43:34complete by the planning board.

2:43:35>> Do you could follow up? I'm just look

2:43:37>> off the top of my head. I know we have

2:43:3915 public hearings next month. This

2:43:41month

2:43:41>> that this would impact

2:43:43>> that just in general in terms of site

2:43:45plans and subdivisions that are in front

2:43:46of the planning board. This month we

2:43:47have 15 agenda items.

2:43:49>> Okay. Thank you.

2:43:49>> Councilor Davey.

2:43:50>> Um would you or Mr. I see Mr. Halls in

2:43:53the back. Um would you say this will

2:43:56reduce staff hours spent on zoning

2:43:58board?

2:43:59>> Zoning board 100%. Uh we fully expect

2:44:02that this could reduce the zoning

2:44:03board's workload by anywhere from 20 to

2:44:0850 cases a year.

2:44:10>> Thank you. Any other questions? All

2:44:14right. Thank you. I'll move aside. Thank

2:44:17you. Is there anyone who would like to

2:44:18testify on this? Mr. Shriker.

2:44:26>> Welcome, Mr. Schwiker.

2:44:30Good evening. I'm still Roy Schwacker

2:44:32and still from Ward 4. And uh

2:44:36I I have a concern that as near as I can

2:44:39tell, the city is trying to only get

2:44:42wealthy people to move in and try and

2:44:46get the older and poorer people to

2:44:48leave. And

2:44:51we have an example of, you know, state

2:44:55regulations that were, may I say, forced

2:44:58on us by small towns and people who are

2:45:01not up on what's really happening. But I

2:45:06mean, as an example, I've tried to count

2:45:08the number of parking spaces used on my

2:45:11street, and it's like two and a half per

2:45:12unit. So this one per unit is, you know,

2:45:15just ridiculous.

2:45:17and we have to abide by the state law,

2:45:20but I'm not quite sure what options we

2:45:23have. Like right now, what you're going

2:45:25to say is you only need one unit

2:45:27regardless of what type of thing you're

2:45:29building. Well, let's say we modified

2:45:32our approval to say if you are building

2:45:35lowincome housing that takes section 8

2:45:38vouchers, it only takes one one unit.

2:45:41But if you want to charge more than

2:45:44that, you have to either provide more

2:45:46parking andor do something else like

2:45:49build sidewalks so the people can go

2:45:52somewhere on a sidewalk or pay a subsidy

2:45:55to the bus route so you have a bus

2:45:56route. You know, you need to find, you

2:45:59know, give money to the city to build a

2:46:01parking garage or a parking lot. And if

2:46:05you're putting in a whole subdivision

2:46:07like this, the subdivision road has got

2:46:10to be wider. So you have parking on both

2:46:12sides because if you can't park on your

2:46:14own property, where are all these rest

2:46:16of the two and a half cars going to

2:46:18park? So I think we are really missing a

2:46:21chance here to

2:46:23get yourself give lower priced housing a

2:46:27chance by making it easier to build that

2:46:30as compared to the more expensive stuff.

2:46:32make the more expensive stuff pay in

2:46:35some manner for only having one parking

2:46:39space because I'm not sure that anything

2:46:41in the state law says that as long as

2:46:43you only require one parking space, you

2:46:45can't require sidewalks or you can't

2:46:48require subsidizing the bus or whatever

2:46:51to provide a place, you know, for these

2:46:53people to get out of there. And the

2:46:55other thing that Mr. Thompson didn't

2:46:57mention that's of similar ilk is it also

2:47:00changes the length of a culde-sac

2:47:02that right now the city has a limit and

2:47:06it's proposed to you know go to the

2:47:07state limit but once again you're

2:47:10missing a chance here. If you've got a

2:47:12culde-sac that's 200 feet long and maybe

2:47:15has [clears throat] four houses and the

2:47:16kids have to walk to the school bus stop

2:47:18at the end of the culde-sac. Well, maybe

2:47:20walking 100 feet in the middle of the

2:47:22road is not a bad idea. But under this,

2:47:26you know, if you have a culde-sac that's

2:47:282,000 feet long and have 40 units on it,

2:47:31you're still letting the kids walk to

2:47:33the

2:47:34school bus in the middle of the road,

2:47:36even if there's 40 houses there. So, I

2:47:38think before you change the limit on the

2:47:40length of the road, you need to say,

2:47:42"Okay, but if that road is longer than

2:47:44X, all of a sudden, you need sidewalks

2:47:47or bike lanes or whatever because we

2:47:49can't have that many people walking in

2:47:51the street."

2:47:53So, I really think that we need to

2:47:56figure let's make it easier to build

2:47:58cheaper housing by giving them an

2:48:01advantage and let's also make it harder

2:48:04to build dangerous housing where you're

2:48:06making kids walk 2,000 ft in the middle

2:48:08of the street because you've suddenly

2:48:11increase the length of a culde-sac.

2:48:13Thank you.

2:48:13>> Thank you. Any questions for Mr. Schwer?

2:48:17>> Okay. Thank you, Mr. Schwer.

2:48:21Is there anyone else who would like to

2:48:22testify on item 26B?

2:48:26Right. Hearing none. Seeing none,

2:48:28declare the public hearing closed. Madam

2:48:30of city clerk, item 26 C. It's an

2:48:33ordinance amending the code of

2:48:35ordinances title 4 zoning code chapter

2:48:3828 zoning ordinance by amending article

2:48:4128-8

2:48:42non-conforming lots uses and structures

2:48:45by amending 288-5

2:48:48non-conforming structures and 2885D

2:48:52removal and replacement of certain

2:48:54non-conforming residential structures.

2:48:57>> Mr. City clerk, Mr. Thompson.

2:49:00>> Thank you. [laughter]

2:49:02>> The hour is late.

2:49:05>> Thank you again, Mr. Mayor, members of

2:49:06the council. Uh the purpose of this

2:49:08amendment is uh twofold. One is to

2:49:11change uh requirements for special

2:49:14exceptions for certain non-conformities

2:49:16to conditional use permits. So, the

2:49:18administration is with the planning

2:49:19board. Uh the second and probably more

2:49:21important uh amendment here would

2:49:24eliminate the need to go to the zoning

2:49:26board of adjustment for variances when a

2:49:28lot is subdivided and an existing older

2:49:30home that is not being changed but the

2:49:33lot is changing would then need to go to

2:49:35the zoning board for a variance because

2:49:36it was non-conforming. Uh this would

2:49:39allow that to happen without the need to

2:49:40go to the zoning board. Again, this is a

2:49:42change that we believe will it it's

2:49:44already uh eliminated at least three

2:49:47variances so far. I expect that this is

2:49:50going to eliminate the number of

2:49:51variances uh in the multiples of tens to

2:49:5420s every year.

2:49:59>> Thank you. Uh would it be fair to say

2:50:01that much of I'll call the downtown area

2:50:06non-conforming lots?

2:50:07>> Yes, a lot of the downtown and smaller

2:50:11lots that were designed in the city

2:50:13predate our zoning ordinance which dates

2:50:15back roughly the 1930s. Uh we obviously

2:50:18have homes that are much older than that

2:50:20within the city that don't meet today's

2:50:22setback or density requirements. Uh this

2:50:25would be again a relief valve that takes

2:50:27out an unnecessary step. I can give an

2:50:29example. We had a subdivision on Shaker

2:50:32Road where had an 1850s era house that

2:50:34was not in any way, shape, or form being

2:50:37impacted by the lot that was being

2:50:39created elsewhere, but because the lot

2:50:41itself was changing, it no longer had

2:50:43that non-conforming protection. This

2:50:46would allow that to go forward without

2:50:47the need to go to the zoning board for

2:50:48relief.

2:50:50>> Council,

2:50:51>> thank you. Um, so conquered is an old

2:50:55community founded in 1853.

2:50:58Uh, do other municipalities that are of

2:51:01a similar age. Have they employed this

2:51:04type of ordinance? I know of multiple

2:51:06communities that have either language in

2:51:08their ordinances or interpretations from

2:51:12their legal counsel that say that these

2:51:13types of things would not necessarily

2:51:15need to go to the zoning board. This

2:51:17again is it's codifying varying legal

2:51:20opinion. I think it would not be

2:51:23incorrect to say that even previous city

2:51:25solicitors have had different

2:51:26interpretations of this requirement in

2:51:29the ordinance.

2:51:30>> Followup.

2:51:32I I just noticed that councelor Davey

2:51:34was nodding vigorously and I know that

2:51:36he's a city planner in Rochester

2:51:39>> which

2:51:40>> and a regional planner

2:51:41>> regional planner. So I'm wondering if if

2:51:43you could share

2:51:45>> probably more so as a former zoning

2:51:46board member.

2:51:48>> Dave do have

2:51:50>> what is the question? Sorry.

2:51:51>> No, I just saw you nodding when I asked

2:51:53the question about older communities.

2:51:55>> Well, I was Can I respond?

2:51:56>> Yes, please. I was getting ready to uh

2:52:01affirm what Mr. Thompson was saying and

2:52:03get ready to ask that if this was common

2:52:05throughout New England because I have

2:52:07found that it is. Um a lot of the

2:52:10>> older zoning ordinances

2:52:12don't always mesh well with the town

2:52:15centers and downtowns that we have. Um,

2:52:18if you ask a lot of developers and

2:52:20planners around this state if they would

2:52:23be able to rebuild

2:52:25a piece of their communities downtown

2:52:27following the current zoning, a lot of

2:52:29them would say no. So, a lot of the

2:52:31zoning we have changes we have before us

2:52:33tonight address exactly this issue.

2:52:35>> Followup.

2:52:36>> Followup.

2:52:37>> Uh, what do you think will happen after

2:52:40like this? We passed this. What what is

2:52:43what what could happen? I

2:52:47would find that this would address a lot

2:52:49of the concern we hear around conquered

2:52:51being easy or not easy to develop in.

2:52:55>> Thanks.

2:52:56>> Just uh to follow up on that question,

2:52:59this is a variance that has been

2:53:01typically granted at a 99.9%

2:53:05success rate because there's really

2:53:07nothing changing for these particular

2:53:09homes that are affected by subdivision.

2:53:12Uh so again, this is in in furtherance

2:53:15of the city council goal of being a more

2:53:18responsive and easier place to do

2:53:20development. This was part of our goal

2:53:21is to make make that possible through a

2:53:24fairly minor regulatory change.

2:53:26>> Thank you.

2:53:27>> Any other questions for Mr. Thompson?

2:53:30All right. Thank you, Mr. Thompson. I'll

2:53:31open this for public hearing. Is there

2:53:33anyone who would like to testify in item

2:53:3526 C?

2:53:38>> Seeing none, I'll close the public

2:53:40hearing. Madam City Clerk, item 26D.

2:53:43>> It's an ordinance amending the code of

2:53:45ordinances, title 4, zoning code,

2:53:47chapter 28, zoning ordinance, by

2:53:49amending article 28-2-3, the zoning map.

2:53:53>> Mr. Thompson.

2:53:54>> Thank you, Mr. Mayor, members of the

2:53:56council. As you may recall, about a year

2:53:58or so ago, the city updated the

2:54:00references to the FEMA flood insurance

2:54:03study uh in order to be compliant with

2:54:05the nation's flood insurance program. Uh

2:54:08guess what? We're back doing that again

2:54:09because the feds have updated further

2:54:12flood insurance map information and

2:54:14flood insurance study. So, this minor

2:54:16textual amendment will bring us into

2:54:18compliance to ensure that our residents

2:54:20that uh have ability to access flood

2:54:23insurance can do so.

2:54:24>> Thank you. Any questions for Mr.

2:54:25Thompson?

2:54:27>> Seeing none, I'll open the public

2:54:29hearing. Is there anyone who'd like to

2:54:30testify in item 26D?

2:54:34Seeing none, we'll declare the public

2:54:36hearing closed.

2:54:38Madam City Clerk, item 26E.

2:54:41>> It's an ordinance amending the code of

2:54:42ordinances, title 4, zoning code,

2:54:44chapter 28, zoning ordinance, by

2:54:47amending appendix B and C.

2:54:50>> Mr. Jackson. [laughter]

2:54:51>> Thank you, Mr. Mayor, members of the

2:54:52council. This is a fairly minor uh

2:54:56update uh housekeeping item to update

2:54:59our glossery. Uh the city of conquered

2:55:01utilizes uh classifications of roadways,

2:55:04arterials and collectors and have

2:55:06different standards and various

2:55:07regulatory requirements based on those.

2:55:10Uh this uh amendment will update the

2:55:12list in our ordinance to ensure that

2:55:15we're properly referencing the changes

2:55:17that have occurred within our city's

2:55:18roadway network [laughter] over the

2:55:20course of the last couple decades.

2:55:22>> Thank you. Any questions for Mr. Council

2:55:25Brown?

2:55:25>> Yes. Um, will this ordinance include

2:55:28language that the lists will be

2:55:31re-evaluated after our master plan?

2:55:35>> In this instance, probably not. It's

2:55:38more of a periodic review based on real

2:55:42growth within the city, which would

2:55:43impact traffic volumes and traffic

2:55:45patterns. That's really what determines

2:55:47the classification of a roadway.

2:55:49>> Followup.

2:55:49>> Followup. Um, so some of these changes

2:55:53are going to I think they're um

2:55:55increasing

2:55:57uh some streets in Ward 5, Pleasant,

2:55:59Hopkinington, Langley, and other

2:56:01formalized collectors that they're like

2:56:04um elevating them.

2:56:06>> It's recognizing what they're actually

2:56:08functioning as.

2:56:10>> Okay. So they're already functioning as

2:56:12that. It's not Okay.

2:56:13>> All right. Thank you.

2:56:15>> Any other questions for Mr. Thompson?

2:56:18Right. Seeing none, I'll open the public

2:56:19hearing. Is there anyone who would like

2:56:20to testify on item 26E?

2:56:23Mr. Schwiker.

2:56:33>> Welcome again.

2:56:35>> Hello. I found this whole thing very

2:56:38confusing and I hope the city manager

2:56:40gets the word out that nothing like this

2:56:42will ever be written like this again. I

2:56:45mean, usually when you have something,

2:56:47you try and make it obvious where the

2:56:49changes are, but in this the stuff is

2:56:52just randomly jumbled together. And for

2:56:55instance, I think in one case you have

2:56:57something that was Sheep Davis Road

2:57:00parenthesis Route 106 and

2:57:02[clears throat] it's been changed to

2:57:03Route 106 parenthesis Sheep Davis Road

2:57:05or vice versa. I mean, why do you bother

2:57:08to, you know, put it in twice and

2:57:11confuse everybody? And there's another

2:57:13one, Route Three, from uh the Pemroke

2:57:16line to the Boswin line or something.

2:57:19And instead, it's the list of streets

2:57:21that make up Route Three. I mean, you're

2:57:23really not changing anything. Why is it

2:57:25you make this so confusing nobody can

2:57:28really figure out what's going on? I

2:57:30think we need to, you know, have the

2:57:32staff try and make things clear and easy

2:57:34to understand instead of trying to

2:57:36confuse the world with things. Thank

2:57:38you.

2:57:38>> Thank you, Mr. Schwer. Any questions for

2:57:39Mr. Schwer? Seeing none. Thank you, sir.

2:57:43Would anyone else like to testify on

2:57:44this item?

2:57:46>> Yes.

2:57:56>> Welcome,

2:57:58>> Nicole Fox. Um, word five. Um, I I guess

2:58:02I'll mention that I'm a member of TAC,

2:58:04but I'm obviously just speaking as

2:58:06myself tonight. Um, I was more curious

2:58:09about

2:58:11um the reasoning for um classifying

2:58:16roads like two-lane roads like Pleasant

2:58:19Street and South Street as major

2:58:21arterials. Those have a lot more land

2:58:24uses and functions and simply to

2:58:26transport traffic from one end of the

2:58:28city to the other, which is primarily

2:58:31the function of an arterial.

2:58:35>> [clears throat]

2:58:36>> I'll be happy to ask that during the

2:58:38discussion phase.

2:58:39>> Great. Thank you.

2:58:42>> Anyone else like to testify?

2:58:47Right. Seeing none, I'll declare the

2:58:50public hearing closed.

2:58:52Madam city clerk, item 26F.

2:58:55>> It's an ordinance amending the code of

2:58:56ordinances, title one, general code,

2:58:59chapter 8, fire.

2:59:02>> Mr.

2:59:04City Manager,

2:59:06>> would you like to Tim? You want to do

2:59:08this with disappeared?

2:59:10>> I looked up and you were gone. Mr. Sir,

2:59:14is that

2:59:26>> John?

2:59:36>> Uh, Mr. Mayor, members of the uh

2:59:38council, um John 40 city solicitor. Um

2:59:42so the next two uh items that you have

2:59:45in front of you are uh tied together um

2:59:48in order they will need to be considered

2:59:50and approved or or denied together. Um

2:59:54so uh 26F is a reclassification of the

2:59:58fire uh code. Um so these uh the state

3:00:03has um adopted a statewide code. Um the

3:00:08the fire code um building and uh and um

3:00:13housing maintenance and occupancy code

3:00:14all used to sit under section.

3:00:16>> Could I could I interrupt you for a

3:00:18second?

3:00:18>> Yes.

3:00:18>> It was not apparent to me when I was

3:00:20going over the calendar the agenda that

3:00:23these were tied together as you've just

3:00:25mentioned.

3:00:27Is that true that these two this and

3:00:29item 26 G?

3:00:31>> Yes, they are. They will have to be

3:00:33approved together because um they are

3:00:36this is really separating what was under

3:00:39one ordinance uh into reorganizing into

3:00:42two different ordinances. One for the

3:00:44fire code, one for building. And

3:00:45>> in that case, I'll ask you to pause. I'm

3:00:47going to ask the city clerk to read item

3:00:4926G

3:00:51[clears throat]

3:00:51>> so that we can just have one hearing for

3:00:53both of them. It's an ordinance amending

3:00:55the code of ordinances, title 3,

3:00:57building and housing codes, chapter 26,

3:01:00building regulations, and chapter 27

3:01:02housing maintenance and occupancy code.

3:01:05>> Thank you, Mr. Conford. Please proceed.

3:01:08>> Thank you, your honor. Um, so as I was

3:01:10stating, if you look at the at the

3:01:12report, um, these uh these three uh uh

3:01:16changes are to the to the uh ordinances

3:01:19are grouped together. Um the fire code,

3:01:22the h building and housing code and the

3:01:24housing and maintenance code used to sit

3:01:26together under one section within the

3:01:28ordinances. What we are doing here is um

3:01:32making minor um housekeeping amendments

3:01:35based on adoption of the state codes for

3:01:37the fire code, building code and housing

3:01:39maintenance code. um we are removing

3:01:42things that are either uh duplicative of

3:01:44the state code or in violation of the

3:01:47state code so that we can simplify this

3:01:49and then placing all of these items

3:01:51where they belong. So taking the fire

3:01:53code and putting it under chapter 8 and

3:01:56under fire and so forth. So um in

3:01:59general I think if there's specific

3:02:00questions with regard to fire code

3:02:02issues uh Chief Chisum is here. If uh

3:02:05there's questions regarding building and

3:02:07uh maintenance code uh Mr. Paul I

3:02:09believe is here as well um to answer any

3:02:12subject matter uh issues but in general

3:02:15as a legal principle this is to adopt

3:02:18our and reorganize our ordinances to

3:02:20come into compliance with the adopted

3:02:22state codes.

3:02:23>> Thank you. Any questions for Mr. Morty

3:02:25or Chief Chisum?

3:02:29>> I see none. Thank you.

3:02:32>> I'll open these two items for public

3:02:35hearing. Uh items 26F and 26G. Is there

3:02:38anyone who'd like to testify?

3:02:41Seeing none, I'll declare the public

3:02:43hearing is closed. Madam City clerk,

3:02:46item 26H. [clears throat]

3:02:47>> It is a resolution appropriating the sum

3:02:49of $23,397

3:02:53for law enforcement related programs and

3:02:56accepting the sum of $23,397

3:02:59in unmatched grant funds from the United

3:03:01States Department of Justice grant

3:03:03program for this purpose.

3:03:04>> Mr. City Manager.

3:03:06>> Members of the council, this grant

3:03:07program uh uses is used to make

3:03:10technological upgrades, purchase new

3:03:12equipment, and provide training for the

3:03:14department personnel. These awards have

3:03:16been shared with the county of Marramac

3:03:18who has uh also made equipment and

3:03:21technological enhancements with these

3:03:22funds. As with prior years, there's no

3:03:25match required for this grant. However,

3:03:27we again again will enter into an

3:03:29memorandum of understanding with county

3:03:31of Marramac on the programming and

3:03:33aotment of funds. Under this agreement,

3:03:36the police department will receive

3:03:37$18,397

3:03:40and the county of Marramac will receive

3:03:42$5,000.

3:03:43>> Thank you very much. Any questions for

3:03:45the city manager? Council,

3:03:49>> do we um have any specifics on what

3:03:51these technological upgrades or training

3:03:54is or are? I my brain's not working

3:03:57right now. You know what I'm trying

3:03:58[laughter]

3:03:59>> We're ready for the

3:04:04[clears throat]

3:04:11>> Mr. Mayor and members of the council. Um

3:04:13can you repeat the question?

3:04:16>> I'm [laughter] so sorry.

3:04:18>> What what what was the technological

3:04:20training?

3:04:21>> Yes. Yes. Just specifics. Yeah,

3:04:22>> sure. So, uh, this grant was applied for

3:04:24deput by deputy chief Steve Smuggle

3:04:26before his retirement. Um, and it is for

3:04:29gray key technology. Uh, so cell phones,

3:04:31uh, it was some of the technology

3:04:32advances that we looked for. And then

3:04:34some of the equipment was, um, breaching

3:04:36equipment, so ballistic shields,

3:04:38breaching tools, things like that for

3:04:39us. And the county was looking to

3:04:41upgrade some of their equipment for

3:04:42their patrol deputies. Um, so that's the

3:04:45what we have.

3:04:46>> Thank you so much for that explanation.

3:04:47Appreciate And you I think you all know

3:04:49PJ or

3:04:50>> PJ Fry acting chief administration.

3:04:54>> It's all right.

3:04:55>> Any other council?

3:04:58>> Thank you. Um your honor

3:05:01under the discussion I see that they

3:05:03said department personnel in specialized

3:05:06area for the training. What that

3:05:08entitled specialized areas?

3:05:11>> So some so this specific time we applied

3:05:13for uh those two pieces. So the cell

3:05:16phone which grey key is technology.

3:05:18Sometimes there's training that's

3:05:19required with that. So we applied for

3:05:20that. If we needed the money we'd be

3:05:22able to send them to that training as

3:05:23well since it's a specialized training

3:05:25field for a computer crimes unit.

3:05:28>> Any other questions?

3:05:29>> I I just have a followup.

3:05:30>> Sure.

3:05:31>> So there is no directive of

3:05:34other than the telephone that you

3:05:36mentioned because specialized here areas

3:05:39area means more than one. any other

3:05:43things that you guys are thinking to use

3:05:44it for?

3:05:45>> Not at this moment. This was applied for

3:05:47specifically for that at the time when

3:05:48we wrote it or when it was written. Um,

3:05:50but as it comes forward, that was very

3:05:53specific to what it was for when we made

3:05:54the application. So, that's what it was

3:05:55written for was for the technology

3:05:57pieces. If it comes to the point where

3:05:59that money is there, then we could

3:06:00request for it to be used for other

3:06:02things. And that's a process that we can

3:06:03do uh if that comes to light.

3:06:05>> Thank you.

3:06:05>> Okay. Any other questions?

3:06:08>> Thank you, Chief.

3:06:09>> Thank you. Appreciate it.

3:06:11Is there anyone who'd like to testify?

3:06:14>> Yes, sir.

3:06:19Welcome.

3:06:21>> Easy. Of course.

3:06:23>> Yeah.

3:06:24[clears throat]

3:06:25>> Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr.

3:06:28Mayor. Uh members of the council. Um so

3:06:31I would just like to say that um I know

3:06:33who

3:06:33>> Oh, I'm sorry. My name is uh Chris Lec

3:06:36and I live in conquered here in W 9. Um,

3:06:38and I'd just like to say that um,

3:06:40instead of conquered police requesting

3:06:43uh, special funding for items like

3:06:45breaching shields, that perhaps that

3:06:47money would be best served for body

3:06:49cameras. Body [clears throat] cameras so

3:06:52that their officers when they make

3:06:54mistakes can be held liable. That's it.

3:06:58Any questions for Mr.

3:07:01Thank you.

3:07:02>> Thank you.

3:07:03>> Anyone else like to testify on this

3:07:04item?

3:07:06>> All right. Seeing none, I'll declare the

3:07:08public hearing closed. It takes us to

3:07:11public hearing action. How's the city

3:07:12council doing?

3:07:13>> Can we take a break?

3:07:15>> Can we start with Memorial Field, sir?

3:07:17>> I just think someone wanted a break.

3:07:19>> Sure. I'm sorry.

3:07:20>> A break.

3:07:21>> Have a request for

3:07:21>> You need a break.

3:07:23>> Oh, give us a uh 5 minute break.

3:07:25>> Yeah, that's 10:15.

3:07:29>> She requested.

3:07:30>> I know.

3:07:36I need a

3:07:41>> Wow.

3:12:29We're now in the uh public hearing

3:12:31action phase of our meeting and I've

3:12:33been asked to move uh item 35 uh up to

3:12:37the top of the action list

3:12:40uh just as we moved it up to the top of

3:12:42the public hearing list. City clerk.

3:12:44Item 35.

3:12:45>> It's a resolution appropriating the sum

3:12:47of1,200,000

3:12:50in the memorial field project for final

3:12:53design and permitting authorizing the

3:12:55issuance of general obligation bonds and

3:12:57notes in the sum of $600,000 and

3:13:00accepting the sum of $600,000 in

3:13:02donations from the conquered school

3:13:03district for this purpose.

3:13:05>> Approval.

3:13:06>> Second.

3:13:06>> Second.

3:13:07>> Moved and seconded. Discussion.

3:13:09>> Councelor Curtis.

3:13:10>> Yes. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I will be

3:13:13supporting this um appropriation

3:13:16tonight, but I want to take a moment to

3:13:21um ask my fellow counselors to join me

3:13:25in directing staff to begin work on anou

3:13:30immediately.

3:13:32We have inherited uh those of us who are

3:13:35new newer to council a long history of

3:13:39uh animosity between school board and

3:13:42council and a legacy of distrust between

3:13:46Pinnacook and conquered. I am not

3:13:48willing to hold this project up because

3:13:50of the demands and needs of our children

3:13:53in this community and the many benefits

3:13:57um both to school children and other

3:14:01members of our community. We have kicked

3:14:03this can down the road long enough and

3:14:04we are sitting at a difficult time as

3:14:06council and that we have inherited many

3:14:09significant projects that are the result

3:14:12of deferred maintenance. I'm not willing

3:14:14to not fund this because of that, but I

3:14:18am committed and I ask that everyone

3:14:20else join me in changing the narrative

3:14:23around the way we work with the school

3:14:24district. We have an opportunity and an

3:14:27obligation to be a functioning city that

3:14:31manages two governing bodies

3:14:33[clears throat] as a team for the

3:14:35benefit of our children. and we have an

3:14:37obligation to make sure that the 10% of

3:14:41our residents who live in Penuk trust

3:14:44that we are representing them. So I

3:14:48agree that we need to be working on

3:14:50thisou right now. I will not appropriate

3:14:54another dollar to Memorial Field beyond

3:14:57this 1.2 unless we have a clear

3:15:00understanding between the school board

3:15:03and this council.

3:15:04>> Thank you. Council,

3:15:10>> I agree in some parts with councelor

3:15:14Carts. There are things at Memorial FE

3:15:16field that need attention immediately.

3:15:18We can address safety issues, drainage

3:15:20problems, and failing infrastructure

3:15:23without committing [clears throat]

3:15:24ourselves to designing a $22 million

3:15:27vision for this property.

3:15:29Once we spend substantial money

3:15:31designing the $22 million project, it

3:15:34becomes much harder to reconsider it.

3:15:36And this seems the standard operating

3:15:38procedure for this city. Spend

3:15:40exorbitant money to design something we

3:15:42can't afford and then rely on the sunk

3:15:45cost fallacy to convince our taxpayers

3:15:47that we're losing money if we don't

3:15:48build immediately. And then we have to

3:15:50spend time and resources downsizing the

3:15:53project. as evidenced for the police

3:15:54station and the golf course clubhouse

3:15:56most recently. We are big on we've

3:16:00already spent this much designing it. We

3:16:02can't stop now.

3:16:04Before we invest heavily in final

3:16:06design, I think we need to resolve some

3:16:08fundamental questions about the

3:16:09relationship between the city and

3:16:11conquered school district. I recently

3:16:13had a conversation with a conquered

3:16:15school district board member that

3:16:16reinforced this concern for me. During

3:16:19the conversation, there was discussion

3:16:20about the school district potentially

3:16:22sharing in revenue generated at Memorial

3:16:24Field. There was also discussion about

3:16:26the district wanting greater input into

3:16:28the operations of the facility.

3:16:31I don't raise that conversation as

3:16:34criticism of the school district. In

3:16:35fact, I think it demonstrates exactly

3:16:37why we need a concrete agreement. Those

3:16:40are legitimate issues to discuss. If CSD

3:16:43is going to make a substantial financial

3:16:45investment in Memorial Field, it is

3:16:47reasonable for the district to ask what

3:16:49role it will have in decisions about

3:16:51scheduling, operations, revenue, etc.

3:16:54But those questions also demonstrate

3:16:56that we have not yet fully defined the

3:16:58partnership. Who ultimately controls the

3:17:01facility? Who decides whether a field is

3:17:03playable? Who has priority when city

3:17:06recreation programs, community

3:17:07organizations, and school athletics want

3:17:10the same space? Who receives rental,

3:17:12tournament, concessions, or other

3:17:14revenue? Who pays for the increased

3:17:16maintenance when usage increases? And if

3:17:19CSD is contributing millions of dollars

3:17:21in construction, what rights or control

3:17:23does that investment give the district

3:17:2520 years from now? These questions

3:17:27should be answered before we design, not

3:17:30after. This current situation with the

3:17:33runlet traffic ringing is the perfect

3:17:35example of why we need to iron this out.

3:17:37Now, the city council is considering

3:17:39enacting an ordinance to circumvent

3:17:42plans the school district has in place.

3:17:44If the district and city had worked

3:17:46together on this project from the start,

3:17:47this issue would not even be before us

3:17:49right now, which I might add is well

3:17:52after engineering construction has begun

3:17:54and will most certainly come at a higher

3:17:56cost to the taxpayer. We need a very

3:17:58clearou for this partnership. Theou

3:18:01needs to establish ownership, financial

3:18:03responsibility, operational control,

3:18:05maintenance obligations, public access,

3:18:08and how disagreements would be resolved.

3:18:10Who is going to be responsible for cost

3:18:12overruns? Who has authority to close

3:18:14fields due to weather, unsafe

3:18:16conditions, or maintenance? How are

3:18:17scheduling conflicts resolved? Is there

3:18:19a minimum level of guaranteed public

3:18:21access?

3:18:24Can either party approve changes that

3:18:26increase the other's financial

3:18:27obligation? What happens [clears throat]

3:18:28if one party withdraws funding?

3:18:32But there's also another question I

3:18:33think is even bigger. How can our

3:18:35taxpayers how much can our taxpayers

3:18:37reasonably shoulder? I have a hundred

3:18:40more questions not answered and we

3:18:41simply cannot enter into this process

3:18:43with all of these unknowns. We cannot

3:18:45look at Memorial Field in isolation. Our

3:18:48residents are already telling us that

3:18:49property taxes are becoming increasingly

3:18:51difficult to afford and we are

3:18:53considering another major capital

3:18:54project at a time when taxpayers have

3:18:56not yet experienced the full cumulative

3:18:58impact of decisions that have already

3:19:00been made. Next year, we were told

3:19:03there's a 27.6% 6% increase in debt

3:19:05service costs when the police

3:19:08department's new building and the Beaver

3:19:10Meadow Clubhouse debt comes to be we

3:19:14have to pay the first year on that. I'm

3:19:16not sure if the middle school bond

3:19:18repayment will also start next year, but

3:19:20I do believe the initial $76 million

3:19:22bond was projected to cost taxpayers

3:19:25$400 to $500 per year on average.

3:19:29Coupling that with the city's projected

3:19:31increase and folks could be seeing

3:19:32hundreds up to thousand dollars in

3:19:34increase next year and the years after.

3:19:37And this does not even touch the fact

3:19:39that hundreds of mobile home owners in

3:19:40my ward will likely be seeing a

3:19:42significant increase after the

3:19:44revaluations come through at the end of

3:19:46the year. And I just wanted to talk

3:19:48about embarrassing because I had an

3:19:50email today from a lady who did not want

3:19:52to give her private financial

3:19:54information to the tax assessor to apply

3:19:57for um elderly

3:20:01tax credits because she finds it

3:20:02embarrassing. I've talked to a gentleman

3:20:05who has to put um diesel fuel in his

3:20:09family's heating oil because he can't

3:20:11afford heating oil right right now and

3:20:13he finds that embarrassing. There are

3:20:15folks that visit the wonderful friends

3:20:18of forgotten children next to me to feed

3:20:20their families and they swallow their

3:20:22pride and they find that embarrassing.

3:20:25We as a city need to start assessing

3:20:27wants versus needs. Do we need a $22

3:20:30million sports complex when we had

3:20:33already eliminated dozens of staff

3:20:35positions in our school system?

3:20:39What we need is 42%

3:20:41[clears throat]

3:20:42of our Penuk children that are

3:20:43economically disadvantaged to be able to

3:20:46eat. We need for the average homeowner

3:20:48to be able to afford fuel to heat their

3:20:49homes. For folks that are born and

3:20:51raised here to even be able to afford to

3:20:53live here anymore. I've had multiple

3:20:56conversations with folks, some in actual

3:20:58tears over the reality of not being able

3:21:00to afford to live here. This is not

3:21:03hyperbole. People are going hungry,

3:21:05forgoing medication, forgoing adequate

3:21:07heat in this economy, and we're asking

3:21:09them to foot the bill for a $22 million

3:21:11park. We are quickly losing services

3:21:14from our library, leaf cleanup, city

3:21:16pools, staffing for Marramac Lodge,

3:21:19reduced hours at the citywide community

3:21:20center. Can we then afford to spend $22

3:21:23million on a park? What services are we

3:21:26then going to need to reduce next year

3:21:27and the years after to help pay for this

3:21:30complex?

3:21:32Before we commit significant additional

3:21:34money designing the larger project, we

3:21:35need to know exactly what we are

3:21:37building, why we are building it, who

3:21:39pays for it, who controls it, and most

3:21:40importantly, whether the people we

3:21:42represent can reasonably afford it. My

3:21:44ask is simple. Let's do this project

3:21:46right. We need anou. Each entity needs

3:21:49to come to the table with what they and

3:21:52their corresponding taxpayers are

3:21:54willing to and can afford to pay. And it

3:21:57needs to be equitable for conquered and

3:21:59penoke folks. For this, we need a

3:22:01projection that should show anticipated

3:22:03construction costs, annual operating

3:22:05costs, maintenance, future capital

3:22:07replacement obligations, and projected

3:22:08revenues and splits. With this, we can

3:22:11create anou that covers all the

3:22:13intricacies of ownership and management

3:22:15that I've already laid out. I would give

3:22:18the council something concrete to

3:22:19evaluate rather than asking us to

3:22:21approve the next phase based primarily

3:22:23on a conceptual master plan. I believe

3:22:25we should address the immediate repairs

3:22:27Memorial Field needs, determine what

3:22:29taxpayers can realistically afford over

3:22:31the next several years, and resolve the

3:22:33relationship between the city and school

3:22:34district regarding ownership, financial

3:22:37responsibility, operations, and revenue.

3:22:39We cannot ignore the almost 500

3:22:41community members who signed a petition

3:22:43asking for a clear resolution. Let's

3:22:46please only pay for the design of a

3:22:47complex that we can afford and have

3:22:49transparency and clarity in the process.

3:22:52>> Thank you, councelor. Councelor

3:22:54Fennessy.

3:22:54>> Thank you.

3:22:56>> So, um, first thing is this is the

3:23:01city's

3:23:02complex right now. Right now,

3:23:04everybody's 100% on the hook for

3:23:06everything else. So, um, if something

3:23:09happens tomorrow, you know, when we took

3:23:11down the bleachers, that's all on us.

3:23:13It's our assets. It's just like any

3:23:14other park or community center

3:23:20right now. I I actually think maybe not

3:23:23in the last couple months, but since

3:23:26that I've joined the city council, we've

3:23:28actually had a really good relationship

3:23:29with the school board and the school

3:23:31district. I think we've probably had

3:23:33more cooperation on things. We've had

3:23:35more meetings. We've had more

3:23:37participation from them with respect to

3:23:38Memorial Field. started with them, you

3:23:41know, contributing some money to do this

3:23:43initial work, which uh Mr. Gil reminded

3:23:46us many times, we've probably uh gotten

3:23:50our money's worth for the uh for the

3:23:52amount of design money we spent on those

3:23:54consultants. So, uh

3:23:57I think, you know, right now we have a

3:23:59check, literally a check for $600,000

3:24:03from the school district and all they're

3:24:04asking for is for us to put in 50%.

3:24:08Right now, it's 100% our obligation.

3:24:11Now, do I expect that they will want

3:24:13some additional uh control for, you

3:24:16know, putting some money towards this?

3:24:18Of course they will. And we're going to

3:24:20have to to negotiate some sort of anou.

3:24:23And we're going to have to make hard

3:24:24choices about how much control we want

3:24:26to give up. Right now, we 100% control

3:24:30Memorial Field.

3:24:32100%.

3:24:34But the minute you take money from

3:24:36another governing body, you're going to

3:24:38seed some of that control. And that's a

3:24:41choice we're going to have to make. I'm

3:24:44not sure tonight is the time to make

3:24:45that decision

3:24:47because right now all we have is a

3:24:50conceptual plan. Okay? And I know people

3:24:54have asked questions about, well, can't

3:24:55we just do the the things we need to do,

3:24:57the minor repairs

3:24:59to really fix it, to to fix the issues

3:25:03that have been there for 50 years,

3:25:05you've got to tear up every single field

3:25:08to fix the drainage. Okay? Every single

3:25:12one. The second you touch all of those

3:25:14fields, we're talking, you know, multi

3:25:17multi-million dollars. Okay? So, as

3:25:20councelor Foot knows, we've had

3:25:23>> at least 10

3:25:24>> at least 10 at least 10 meetings uh to

3:25:27try and work through we looked at

3:25:29[clears throat] a lot of different

3:25:30concepts, a lot of different plans. The

3:25:33original numbers we were looking at

3:25:34conceptually were $38 million, I think

3:25:38$36 million. We've tried to shrink the

3:25:41project. Shrink the project. Shrink the

3:25:42project. And right now, uh, I would say

3:25:45the $22 million number there, if you

3:25:49look at it, five million is for new

3:25:51buildings, which may or may not ever get

3:25:53built.

3:25:55The focus that we've had with respect to

3:25:57looking at phase one is addressing the

3:25:59fields and the track, the spaces that

3:26:03are I think if one thing I heard tonight

3:26:05from everybody, whether they want us to

3:26:07move forward or not, everybody agrees

3:26:08that the condition of Memorial Field is

3:26:11not good.

3:26:12And so we have a choice. We can take

3:26:16that first step as someone so eloquently

3:26:19said uh to start that you know thousandm

3:26:22journey or we can't. You know we have

3:26:26that control tonight. We have $600,000

3:26:30there. The school district has said we

3:26:32want to take that first step with you.

3:26:34And the question we have is do we want

3:26:35to join them or not? I think we should

3:26:38but that's up to everybody sitting

3:26:40around this table.

3:26:43Councelor Schultz.

3:26:45>> Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

3:26:50>> Um, I'm going to stick to written

3:26:52remarks.

3:26:54Um, decades of failed economic policies

3:26:57have reached a true nater in New

3:27:00Hampshire and America and conquered. And

3:27:03that is why we can't have nice things

3:27:06right now. Those among us who are

3:27:09benefiting the most ought to shoulder a

3:27:11fairer burden uh of the cost and

3:27:16therefore should pay a bigger share of

3:27:19the city's expenses.

3:27:22This is because why this isn't happening

3:27:25[clears throat] is because current

3:27:27government conditions at both the state

3:27:29and federal level looking at revenues

3:27:31and expenditures have greatly benefited

3:27:34a minority of wealthy people at the

3:27:37expense of all the rest of us. And I

3:27:41hate that. I'm an FDR Democrat who likes

3:27:45investing in good programs, projects,

3:27:48especially for kids, especially for

3:27:50people in need. And too many of our

3:27:52items are in direct conflict with one

3:27:56another. I hate everything about this.

3:28:00But the way the system is right now is

3:28:04wealthy folks aren't paying a bigger

3:28:06share of the burden. The rest of us are

3:28:08taking a bigger cut of that bill. and

3:28:12that is being passed on to cities as

3:28:15well, including Conquered and both of

3:28:19Conquered's school boards.

3:28:22Anything other than that, uh, continues

3:28:26to place too much of a burden on the

3:28:29backs of middle class, even the upper

3:28:31middle class and workingass and poor

3:28:34Concordians. So, it's with no joy that I

3:28:37take in saying that I'm going to vote

3:28:39no. I hate that.

3:28:42But it is where my [clears throat]

3:28:43conscience is. It is in representing

3:28:47uh W nine. It is also, I will add,

3:28:50ironic that the one W nine uh person who

3:28:54testified here today went out of her way

3:28:56to talk about her own poverty as she

3:28:58supported the supported uh voting for

3:29:02this. So, I found that ironic and a

3:29:05little uh humorous knowing how I tend to

3:29:08speak. Um, I am a more privileged

3:29:12person. I am not in poverty

3:29:15and this isn't easy for me. But I have

3:29:18heard from too many people who are

3:29:20struggling to do anything unfortunately

3:29:23other than not support it at this

3:29:25moment. But we've got to change a lot of

3:29:27things and this doesn't get us there for

3:29:30now. So I'll leave it at that. and to

3:29:34just basically ditto a lot of the things

3:29:35that uh councelor Horn said. Thank you.

3:29:39[clears throat]

3:29:39>> Any other discussion? Councelor Brown.

3:29:42>> Yes. Um thank you councelor Horn for

3:29:46your eloquence and thoroughess. Um thank

3:29:49you councelor Schultz. Um and thank you

3:29:53uh to my other fellow counselors,

3:29:55councelor Fennessesy and councelor

3:29:56Kurts. We heard some really compelling

3:29:59testimony from our all of our

3:30:02constituents and I truly believe that

3:30:05our children they we should invest in

3:30:09our children. This is our collective

3:30:12future that is important. I think

3:30:14tonight is too soon. We heard excellent

3:30:18suggestions, ideas. I think we should

3:30:20digest it. I think we should have a

3:30:23decision. We could have a decision next

3:30:25month. But I think in that time we can

3:30:28have anou. I think what is embarrassing

3:30:31are the priorities that the council has

3:30:34put forward has done. I think we need to

3:30:36really examine why we have a brand new

3:30:39golf clubhouse

3:30:42and and students are doing track

3:30:44practice inside the building. That is

3:30:47outrageous. In 2012, David Gil was

3:30:50building a pond at Beaver Meadow. There

3:30:52have there's been millions of dollars of

3:30:55the landscape of Beaver Meadow. Why has

3:30:58a golf course been a priority over our

3:31:02children? Conquered doesn't conquered

3:31:05golfs at the uh conquered um country

3:31:09club. They don't golf there. So, I think

3:31:12we need to really examine where our

3:31:14priorities are. I think it should be in

3:31:16our children. And I I would support this

3:31:22uh but I I like um Mr. Washburn's

3:31:24suggestion that it goes to an RFP and I

3:31:27want theou. I do not I would not support

3:31:29it this evening until we have thatou.

3:31:32But I also think we need to seriously

3:31:34consider turning the golf fund back into

3:31:38an enterprise fund because that is

3:31:40$831,000

3:31:43that is on conquered taxpayers and can

3:31:45be paid for by golfers.

3:31:48So I will not be supporting the motion

3:31:50this evening, but I want us to to focus

3:31:55on this and our kids um and moving

3:31:58forward next month.

3:32:01Council Fantasy,

3:32:02>> will you take a question?

3:32:04>> Sure.

3:32:05>> So, if we get anou, will you support

3:32:07this project?

3:32:09>> I I would also like the RFP that uh Mr.

3:32:11Washburn had said.

3:32:12>> So, if we do an RFP for construction

3:32:15services and we have anou in place when

3:32:18we come around and we do appropriations

3:32:20for construction, you'll support it?

3:32:22>> Uh, no. I want to see what theou says. I

3:32:24I I'm not going to say right now without

3:32:26anything in front of me that I would I

3:32:28would support that, but I will consider

3:32:30it. [clears throat] Yes. Any other

3:32:31discussion?

3:32:33Councelor Todd.

3:32:34>> Uh thank you, your honor. Um I I agree

3:32:37with Councelor Horn's uh statements as

3:32:40well. Uh but I think that one of the

3:32:42pieces that's missing for me is that uh

3:32:45we don't have enough of the data and

3:32:46information that we would require, I

3:32:49think, in order to move forward with

3:32:51anou. But I I appreciate councelor

3:32:54Curts's sentiment that we should start

3:32:56this as soon as possible, as soon as

3:32:58it's practicable for us to start that

3:33:00process. I think it's never, you know,

3:33:02soon enough to begin discussions. Um,

3:33:04and so I would encourage uh staff to do

3:33:07that. Um, I I think that uh there there

3:33:11will be an opportunity for us to

3:33:13continue to uh promote a fair and

3:33:15equitable division in terms of Pinnacook

3:33:17residents and their cost sharing on this

3:33:20proposal. But I don't think that we can

3:33:22actually do that. Um, and I wouldn't

3:33:24feel comfortable doing that without all

3:33:26the required information. A good point

3:33:29that I heard tonight actually came from

3:33:31city manager spell when he said, "Well,

3:33:33there's going to be a real discussion

3:33:34about whether or not we're going to put

3:33:35in a turf field or [clears throat] a sod

3:33:37field, and that's going to determine how

3:33:39much use you're going to have." Well,

3:33:40how much use you're going to have might

3:33:42mean that the Conquered School District

3:33:43might actually use the field more than

3:33:45they use it now. So, we don't know that

3:33:47though until we've made that

3:33:48determination and that decision. We're

3:33:50not going to be able to do that until we

3:33:51go through the final design process and

3:33:53we get back the recommendations and we

3:33:55can have those discussions. So, um I

3:33:57would not feel comfortable personally uh

3:34:00negotiating a final uh draft of anou uh

3:34:04without having that data present. But I

3:34:06am certainly very comfortable moving

3:34:07forward with the discussions now uh to

3:34:10get that process started. Um, I just

3:34:12also wanted to thank uh the committee

3:34:14who uh worked on this and council fenny

3:34:17and foot and also um uh David Gil uh

3:34:21from parks and wreck and other staff who

3:34:23have worked on this plan. Uh you all

3:34:25certainly have put a lot of time and

3:34:27effort into this. It shows. How do I

3:34:29know? Well, the figure that we're

3:34:30looking at there, the 22 million is

3:34:32already a 27% reduction from the figure

3:34:34that we had before. I anticipate that

3:34:37when we go through the final design and

3:34:38planning that percentage of cost will

3:34:40come down even further and so I'm

3:34:42looking forward to seeing those uh

3:34:44additional figures and numbers once we

3:34:46get the final plans in place. Thank you.

3:34:48>> Thank you councel council foot.

3:34:50>> Thank you your honor. Um I'll be

3:34:52supporting this

3:34:54plan. Um I think um you know we heard so

3:34:58many um so many positive things that

3:35:02come out of playing sports.

3:35:05uh whether it's someone that says uh

3:35:08good uh teammates are good employees or

3:35:11just it just it was overwhelming on the

3:35:13positive attributes

3:35:16sports have and you know this is like

3:35:18someone said this is the capital city

3:35:20and we have to do better um council

3:35:24fences and I spent quite a bit of time

3:35:26going over different items and

3:35:27discussions over 10 or so meetings and

3:35:30we can't just have any we can't continue

3:35:32with temporary fixes because temporary

3:35:34fixes is is where has got us to this

3:35:36point we're in today. Um and I and I I

3:35:40wholeheartedly agree with councelor

3:35:42Kurtz. Um um we do need to have an MOU

3:35:46before we spend another nickel beyond

3:35:48the 1.2. And honestly, it's going to

3:35:50take a while to get there because the

3:35:52data, as councelor Todd mentioned, we

3:35:55need to collect that data so we can make

3:35:56a good decision as a uh as a group, as a

3:36:00community. And I'm just going to finish

3:36:02with uh how strongly I feel about youth

3:36:05sports and the people that they produce

3:36:07is um councelor Keech's father who is

3:36:11teach parks named after famously said

3:36:14it's cheaper to recreate than it is to

3:36:16incarcerate and that's the type of

3:36:17people that we want to build in this

3:36:19community. So um I hope um I hope we get

3:36:22a majority or super majority to pass

3:36:25this and advance this project. It's

3:36:26extremely important for the city of

3:36:28conquered. Thank you. Thank you,

3:36:30council. Council Keech.

3:36:31>> Thank you, your honor. [clears throat] I

3:36:32just want to briefly say I'll be in

3:36:34support of this as well. I mean, and

3:36:36maybe it's obvious, but um whether we

3:36:38reach any type of agreement with the

3:36:40school district or not, that facility

3:36:42needs to be repaired. So, why would we

3:36:45walk away from a matching $600,000 grant

3:36:49essentially is what it is. So, we can

3:36:50get all this design work done, find out

3:36:53what the costs are, what the

3:36:55expectations are, and then figure out

3:36:57the agreement. So [clears throat] we

3:36:59we're going to need to do it one way or

3:37:00the other. So why not do it now? So very

3:37:03much in support of it.

3:37:04>> Council council Schllasa.

3:37:06>> Yes. I agree that the Pentacook

3:37:08residents need sort of a fair shake and

3:37:10so that theou will divide the costs a

3:37:14portion the costs fairly. So I think

3:37:16that they've got a good case and I

3:37:18support that. At the same time I think

3:37:20we need to move this this effort

3:37:23forward. We need real numbers that we

3:37:26can talk about how we will divide them.

3:37:28I will support this measure and I agree

3:37:31that we should not uh uh appropriate

3:37:35additional monies until we have a clear

3:37:37understanding of both the cost and how

3:37:39we're going to share it with the the

3:37:41school boards.

3:37:42>> Okay.

3:37:42>> Thank you, councelor. Council Davey,

3:37:46>> um I will reluctantly be supporting this

3:37:49tonight. I

3:37:52don't see myself supporting a 50-50

3:37:54split for the final

3:37:57go at it

3:37:59in a year, year and a half, whenever

3:38:00that is. Um, I want to see staff

3:38:05research as many grants and outside

3:38:07funding opportunities as possible. I

3:38:10would perhaps charge the joint committee

3:38:12with initiating a capital comp campaign

3:38:15of some kind. So,

3:38:17>> thank you, councelor. Anybody else?

3:38:22Sorry, Council Caleb.

3:38:23>> Thank you. Um, yeah, I am also

3:38:28reluctantly

3:38:30supporting this. Um, I first off,

3:38:36I don't love that we are bonding what is

3:38:39essentially $600,000. I

3:38:43to me that feels like a I mean, I

3:38:45understand it's 1.2 million. We've

3:38:47gotten half of that from the conquered

3:38:48school district. The rest rel it's not a

3:38:52low amount of money, but it feels kind

3:38:56of like

3:38:58split like ordering on Door Dash and

3:39:00then it offers you to split your payment

3:39:01into four with CLA.

3:39:04[snorts]

3:39:04>> Not everybody.

3:39:05>> It doesn't feel super responsible. I'm

3:39:07like I'm not loving the bonding aspect

3:39:09of it. Um I thought there would be more

3:39:11talk of that. Honestly, I do appreciate

3:39:13that the city manager ultimately

3:39:16uh

3:39:16>> I'm going to come to that.

3:39:17>> Uhhuh.

3:39:18>> I'm going to come to that.

3:39:19>> Oh, okay. Well, I'll finish my sentence

3:39:21there. I do appreciate that he came

3:39:23ready with the balances that we have

3:39:26available. Um

3:39:30I

3:39:31I took a little look back. Um, one of

3:39:34the first documents on the memorial

3:39:36field page, um, on the website

3:39:40is a report from 2012 from HL Turner

3:39:44about the condition of the bleachers um,

3:39:48and drainage as well. Um, it's a lot.

3:39:51They had some recommendations that

3:39:53weren't not followed through with. Um,

3:39:56and

3:39:57I think about that and I was that 2012 I

3:40:01was still in high school. Um, here I am

3:40:04right now and

3:40:08this is weighing very heavily on me, but

3:40:11I don't feel like I can be complicit in

3:40:14that same playbook of pushing this off,

3:40:19but my generosity I I begins and ends

3:40:22with this 1.2 million. Um, I'm going to

3:40:25need to see a lot to be confident that

3:40:28we can

3:40:30that we are doing everything that we

3:40:32possibly can. Like councelor Davyy said,

3:40:34like others have said, theou first and

3:40:36foremost. Um, super important, but I

3:40:40would like specifics. I would like

3:40:42specifics about potential grants. I

3:40:44would love a framework for a capital

3:40:46campaign, a goal in mind. That would be

3:40:48awesome. Um, exploring public private

3:40:51partnerships. And I also am just

3:40:54unsettled a little bit and not feeling

3:40:57super confident that when this is built

3:41:00eventually

3:41:03are can we run this? Can we do this? Are

3:41:06we responsible enough? Are we ready for

3:41:09this? That kind of freaks me out

3:41:11thinking [clears throat] about the

3:41:13decades admitted admitted by many

3:41:15people. the decades of deferred

3:41:18maintenance, postponing things, and now

3:41:22I'm in this position.

3:41:25And I don't I don't want to vote yes,

3:41:26but I I will for those reasons. And I'm

3:41:31sorry if this sounds mean. It's very

3:41:34late and I'm tired. [laughter]

3:41:36>> Good. Uh, Council Caleb, Council Brown.

3:41:40>> Yes. Uh I would like to know from the

3:41:42city manager what is the budget surplus

3:41:45>> from the end of the year that

3:41:47>> the

3:41:48you don't have the after June 30th we

3:41:51don't know the budget surplus

3:41:56>> so are we still in that phase or you

3:41:59want to

3:42:00>> question

3:42:00>> stay with me so as the resolution that

3:42:03is before you bonds the $1.2 2 million.

3:42:07As councelor Caleb mentioned, the city

3:42:09manager brought to us some of the some

3:42:12of the reserve funds or the uh impact

3:42:14fee dollars that we have available

3:42:17should we want to use that money rather

3:42:19than bond this project. It is

3:42:21traditional to bond all aspects of a

3:42:24construction pro uh uh a construction

3:42:27project.

3:42:28City manager also pointed out that uh

3:42:32some of that like uh certainly not the

3:42:34impact fees which was 90 no 86 I think

3:42:38available

3:42:39uh but the recreation reserve funds that

3:42:43are available which are about 590,000 I

3:42:45think something like that

3:42:48>> 520

3:42:49>> 29

3:42:49>> thank you 529 I didn't write it down 529

3:42:53uh you know could be could be tapped for

3:42:56uh the uh uh master plan uh and uh and

3:43:01uh the permitting. Um, however, that

3:43:05means that that money would not be

3:43:06available, for example, to pay off the

3:43:09debt for the community center or to uh

3:43:14help pay the debt on the clubhouse,

3:43:17which is currently this year's payment

3:43:21for the the clubhouse debt is being

3:43:23entirely covered by uh the golf course

3:43:26re reserve as well as the recreation

3:43:29reserve. So

3:43:31while we might, you know, not bond this,

3:43:35we would probably have to budget to to

3:43:37pay off other debt these funds would

3:43:40take. So I'm opening this up to a

3:43:42general discussion or a sense of the

3:43:45council before you take the vote as to

3:43:48which way you would want to go. Would

3:43:49you want to stay with the bonding as it

3:43:51is currently written or would you want

3:43:53some combination of the impact fees or

3:43:56other funding?

3:43:59Council Sec,

3:44:00>> I'm not going there yet. I just want to

3:44:02say this about the project. I think uh

3:44:05that's why I ask you, are you asking

3:44:08question or are we still going to

3:44:10>> uh Sorry, I didn't I didn't understand

3:44:11what you were asking.

3:44:13>> Okay. I just want to say based on

3:44:15everything that we heard tonight from

3:44:17director Gell presentation to the

3:44:19testimonies of some of our children, the

3:44:21most talented kids in

3:44:24the community and hearing that there is

3:44:27even some that are even the best of the

3:44:29best left the community because they

3:44:32didn't feel they had the support.

3:44:35hearing the need of safety overall and I

3:44:38think sitting around this council for

3:44:40almost three years now I heard that

3:44:43safety has always been our priority

3:44:45either it's public safety when it come

3:44:46to police or whatever we always

3:44:49supported safety and I think this is

3:44:51even more a priority when it come to our

3:44:53own children safety

3:44:56I heard our children travel

3:44:59to other communities to play because we

3:45:02could not give them a place here to play

3:45:05as a father of three and maybe I'm

3:45:08selfish but I will say to you guys we

3:45:10have the responsibility as we have a

3:45:12responsibility on everything and this is

3:45:14not about the money to do

3:45:19the project this is a money to design

3:45:21the project and from there we can move

3:45:24on to other things and I want to say

3:45:27that for all these reason and the aspect

3:45:30of the competition that we want to

3:45:32create in our communities so our kids

3:45:34can go to the Ivy League school to be

3:45:36the ambassador of Concord. I think this

3:45:38is the time for all of us to be

3:45:42looking at all this that plays in and

3:45:45the importance of sports. So for that

3:45:48reason I will join other counelor to

3:45:50support this but I will also say what

3:45:53previous councelor said this is more

3:45:55than I think needed andou should be a

3:45:59requirement. We cannot go two entities

3:46:03cannot come together on an agreement

3:46:05without a written agreement and it

3:46:07should be an MOU and I will not allocate

3:46:09one D as well. I second to everybody

3:46:12what they said this design the only

3:46:13reason I'm supporting it is really to

3:46:15not only get the design but to help get

3:46:18the grant to help literally see the full

3:46:21picture of what this is. So for that is

3:46:24I'm supporting this tonight. Thank you,

3:46:26council. Councelor Fennessy, I thought

3:46:28you did you not put your hand up?

3:46:30>> No, I was going like this.

3:46:31>> Oh, I'm sorry. Flinching a

3:46:32>> little hot under the collar.

3:46:34>> Council Kirks.

3:46:35>> Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Um, Mr. City

3:46:37Manager, uh, could you remind me I noted

3:46:39that we hadund We have $140,000 of

3:46:42capital project funds, but um, I don't

3:46:46recall [clears throat] where that was

3:46:48coming from. Could you remind me? the um

3:46:51those dollars are anticipated to come

3:46:54from the $385,000

3:46:58or so, excuse me, or so that you were

3:47:00using for the bleachers to come down and

3:47:02the monies that's left over. Now, all

3:47:04that is not closed out yet. We don't

3:47:06know.

3:47:06>> So, you don't but it'll be a safe

3:47:08estimate is that about that much will be

3:47:10available.

3:47:11>> May I ask a followup?

3:47:12>> Absolutely. Could I maybe I try to

3:47:14anticipate

3:47:16>> I I I don't think you I'm gonna

3:47:19>> pardon the late hour, but I don't think

3:47:20you should get hung up on where the

3:47:23these individual pieces of money because

3:47:25it's really an opportunity cost. If you

3:47:28take the money from the reserve funds or

3:47:30the impact fee funds or from the

3:47:33leftover funds from that project, you

3:47:35can do that. But once you spend them,

3:47:37you can only spend them once, right? So

3:47:40now next year, now think about you're

3:47:41going to be dealing with a budget in in

3:47:43a few months, a new budget. And you're

3:47:45going to be looking around for dollars

3:47:47so you don't have to raise taxes. And

3:47:50you're going to look to the reserve

3:47:51account. And you're going to look to the

3:47:53impact fee account. And you're going to

3:47:54look to to whether it's to pay the bonds

3:47:58on this project or to pay the

3:48:01uh the uh interest payment on the

3:48:03community center, whatever it's going to

3:48:04be, you're going to be looking at those

3:48:06dollars. that if those dollars aren't

3:48:07there for whatever reason you don't want

3:48:09to spend them, you spent them on

3:48:10something else, then you have to raise

3:48:12them and you're going to raise taxes. So

3:48:15then you can either raise taxes and do

3:48:17it or you can make additional cuts into

3:48:19it. So I wouldn't get hung up. I the

3:48:21where you should get hung up on is do we

3:48:24want to spend the money? And and I've

3:48:26always suggested that if you're going to

3:48:28spend the money on the design, be

3:48:30prepared to go the next step and do the

3:48:33capital. If you don't think you're going

3:48:34to do a capital project out of this,

3:48:37don't spend the money on the design. And

3:48:39based on what I've heard from generally

3:48:42from the council is we all understand

3:48:44something needs to be done out there. So

3:48:46there is going to be a capital project.

3:48:48How it gets done, how it gets uh how it

3:48:50gets paid for is one thing, but you you

3:48:52are going to do something. So if you're

3:48:54going to do a capital project, you need

3:48:55to do do the design. If you want to

3:48:57apply for grants and you want to move

3:48:59forward and come up with anou, whatever

3:49:01it's going to be. So, but the the the

3:49:04really the un the unimportant question I

3:49:07think is is it coming from this pocket

3:49:09or this pocket or this pocket? They're

3:49:10all your pockets. They're all it it's

3:49:12just from a different a different place.

3:49:14So, um if you want to spend all the cash

3:49:16you got right now, go right ahead spend

3:49:18all the cash right now. Doesn't it it

3:49:20what it does is it it does reduce some

3:49:23of your flexibility when you're looking

3:49:25at how to h how to move forward. So,

3:49:28that's why that's why it's been in the

3:49:30bond. It's been as a bond for many, many

3:49:32years. I think this project has probably

3:49:34been in the capital budget for, I'm

3:49:36sure, well over a decade in different

3:49:38elements and pieces. And then finally,

3:49:40the last several years, she said, "Put

3:49:42it all together and actually create a 20

3:49:44maybe 12 or 13, you actually created a

3:49:47memorial field project and lumped them

3:49:49all together and move forward." But

3:49:51there's always been do the track, do the

3:49:54uh do the stands, uh get rid of the

3:49:56contaminated waste underneath this area.

3:49:59That that's all been there. It's just

3:50:01and back if I just go while my voice is

3:50:04delay theou is not a big deal. we did

3:50:07anou you most of you will remember when

3:50:10we did um the community center if you

3:50:12remember that community center was uh

3:50:15being uh uh just as you're getting

3:50:18properties now for uh the Dwey school at

3:50:21the same time that community center

3:50:22property the Dame school was made

3:50:23available and city council wanted to do

3:50:26that because there was going to be no on

3:50:29the heights there would be no really

3:50:31governmental uh entity there there'd be

3:50:34no school there'd be no there'd be So

3:50:36you you stepped forward and said, "Let's

3:50:38do a community center there." And you

3:50:40went to the school district and said,

3:50:41"Hey, can we have the the community

3:50:43center so we can do something here?" And

3:50:44they said, "No." Then you went back a

3:50:46year later and you said, "Hey, can we

3:50:48have the we'd like the the property for

3:50:49a community center?" And they said no.

3:50:51And that went on for years. And then

3:50:53finally after a couple years uh the the

3:50:55conquered school district recognized the

3:50:57fact that they were going to broken

3:50:58ground and they were leaving the heights

3:51:01and everybody agreed the school board

3:51:02and the city council agree wouldn't it

3:51:04be great to have some sort of cultural

3:51:05amenity on the heights created anou

3:51:08that's how all the sharing got done and

3:51:10it got done there was no animosity and

3:51:12it all got worked out and they actually

3:51:14use it sometimes and they use other

3:51:16facilities sometimes and it and it was

3:51:18all was all worked out together so it's

3:51:20there's nothing earthshattering or or it

3:51:23can all be done. It's just a matter of

3:51:24just deciding you want to work together

3:51:26on something and and and make it make it

3:51:29uh make it work. The the last thing I'd

3:51:31add is this sounds like it's going to go

3:51:32very much the same way where when you

3:51:34did that plan, you also said, "Okay,

3:51:36we're going to collect enough revenues

3:51:38from the use of that facility that it's

3:51:41actually going to help offset all these

3:51:43these costs that are associated with the

3:51:45construction and the operation of this."

3:51:47And then after a very short time, you

3:51:49said, "Nah, we don't need that money. uh

3:51:51we're going to we're just going to have

3:51:52the taxpayers are just going to pick up

3:51:54all those costs and that's what we do

3:51:55right now. That's why it's so very cheap

3:51:57to use that facility. Um you're going to

3:51:59run into the same thing with Memorial

3:52:01Field. I'm sure you're going to get

3:52:01people are going to come forward say

3:52:02we'll pay all kinds of money to use

3:52:04Memorial Field. And then six months

3:52:06later they come back and say, "Yeah, we

3:52:08we really like to use it for free." And

3:52:09you'll say, "Yeah, but that's just

3:52:11that's just the way it works."

3:52:13>> Council of Fantasy.

3:52:14>> Thank you. [clears throat] Uh quick

3:52:15question for the city manager. Uh, are

3:52:18there any impact fee dollars that are

3:52:21going to expire if we don't use them

3:52:23now?

3:52:23>> No. No. So, but but then again, you

3:52:26could, let's say you theoretically,

3:52:29let's say you uh did a bond, if you

3:52:31wanted to do a bond, you could take

3:52:33those impact fees, set them aside so

3:52:35they're not used for anything else and

3:52:37can use that as the city's share of the

3:52:40bond payment. So, it doesn't have a tax

3:52:41rate impact on anybody's home going

3:52:43forward. So, there's all kinds of

3:52:45imaginative ways you can do it.

3:52:47eventually you'll run out, but if the

3:52:48housing continues the way it's going,

3:52:50it'll also keep feeding that system so

3:52:52you can use that going forward.

3:52:54>> Thank you,

3:52:55>> Council Caleb. Okay, Council Schultz.

3:52:58>> Oh, I I appreciate that rundown. I do

3:53:01feel though that the how is the most

3:53:04important part and maybe and I I I

3:53:08understand the consequences associated

3:53:10with pulling from these various

3:53:13reserves, but

3:53:16I mean

3:53:17We made our bed. We have to lie in it. I

3:53:19maybe the reduced flexibility is that's

3:53:22just the that's also the price we pay. I

3:53:25don't know. There are other ways of

3:53:28looking at it. I think um not to say

3:53:30that our city manager is wrong. I he

3:53:32knows these numbers. But

3:53:34>> my sorry my point is do whatever you

3:53:37want to do. It really doesn't.

3:53:39>> Okay.

3:53:39>> When it comes to the money this you can

3:53:42make anything work. It's just how you

3:53:44feel going forward doing it and what

3:53:46dollars you want to use. It really does.

3:53:48>> How do we feel?

3:53:49>> I'm going to I'm going to interrupt the

3:53:51discussion. I'm going to entertain a

3:53:53motion to suspend the rules to meet

3:53:55after 11:00.

3:53:56>> Moved and seconded. All those in favor?

3:53:59>> I opposed.

3:54:00>> No.

3:54:01>> The motion passes with the required

3:54:02two-thirds majority.

3:54:05>> All right. Go ahead.

3:54:07>> Oh, no. Uh me

3:54:10>> I thought you I thought you

3:54:11>> I appreciate that. Um the last thing I

3:54:14had was a question because I had earlier

3:54:17written down recreation reserve 879,600

3:54:21350k committed to other projects at this

3:54:24time. Is that

3:54:24>> the city council already committed?

3:54:26>> Right. Right. Those bond payments and

3:54:28whatnot. Okay. So in my mind is

3:54:32recreation reserve impact fees and what

3:54:35we have underspent for the bleachers.

3:54:37>> Right. Councelor Schulz.

3:54:39>> Thank you Mr. Mayor. Um,

3:54:44first of all, I just want to say I hope

3:54:45that folks will stop using your salary

3:54:48as a bludgeon and start being grateful

3:54:50to all the ways you've served this

3:54:52community knowing you're in your less

3:54:54than a year left. I know, Mr. Mayor, but

3:54:57I feel I I didn't like that it happened

3:54:59that way today.

3:55:00>> Quite a while.

3:55:01>> So, uh, questions for you. One is, uh,

3:55:05capital campaign. Have we done something

3:55:07like that before? And what is the

3:55:09history that we should understand today?

3:55:11And second question is uh have we have

3:55:16we approached St. Paul's school to do a

3:55:19pilot? I don't believe they pay anything

3:55:22to the city. Correct me if I'm wrong

3:55:25because they have an a1 $1 billion

3:55:27endowment that uh I feel fits nicely

3:55:31with the speech I gave earlier today.

3:55:33Tell me if I'm wrong.

3:55:34>> So starting at second one, yes, they pay

3:55:37uh for the property that's under state

3:55:40law taxable. So they pay for those for

3:55:43those properties. There's some that are,

3:55:44some that aren't. It's kind of very much

3:55:45like Caret Hospital in Darm. Good.

3:55:48>> Um the um have we done capital campaigns

3:55:53in the past? Yes. But in generally

3:55:55they're run by because you got to be

3:55:58careful because if you're out asking the

3:56:00the general community for cash and

3:56:03favors, they're used to that, but

3:56:05they're used to also getting something

3:56:06in return. Um so uh so in the past many

3:56:11times what's happened is separate uh

3:56:13separate groups or neighborhood groups

3:56:15sometimes neighborhood groups and

3:56:17sometimes um for example the the uh the

3:56:20White Park playground uh the Marramac

3:56:23Lodge I use the Marramac Lodge as a good

3:56:25example um that was I'm going to say

3:56:28roughly $550,000

3:56:30each. David. Um the city would put in

3:56:34$550,000 bond. The um uh and the and the

3:56:38private group go out and raise $550,000.

3:56:41And the private group did everything

3:56:43from I think the mayor was involved. I

3:56:44think Jennifer was involved. I don't

3:56:46know who else may have been involved.

3:56:48I'm sorry. Council um uh Mayor Boule was

3:56:53involved. So, and what you uh so the

3:56:55city had its money and and that way the

3:56:58private group that was out there raising

3:56:59the money could say, "Yes, if we can

3:57:00raise our money, the city's standing

3:57:02behind us." So, they went out and raised

3:57:04money and I I'm going to guess it's

3:57:05$430,000. They weren't able to get to

3:57:08the total amount. Um and they owed $150

3:57:11$170,000.

3:57:13So, when it came time for to float the

3:57:15bond, I came forward to the city council

3:57:18and said, "Hey, we have money in

3:57:20surplus. Instead of floating in the bond

3:57:22and paying interest on this for 20

3:57:24years, why don't we use cash? And you

3:57:27use cash not only to cover the city's

3:57:29portion, but use cash to cover the

3:57:31portion. And you thank the group who

3:57:33raised the money and said, "Hey, we

3:57:35realize you tried hard. You couldn't

3:57:36quite get there, but we're going to

3:57:38cover your shortfall, too." So, they

3:57:40covered they got came up with 43% of the

3:57:42project. And that and then you went to

3:57:45the Marramatic Lodge. I went to the

3:57:46board of directors meeting and we said

3:57:48hey would you be willing to give us I

3:57:50can't remember Dave was $50,000

3:57:53higher.

3:57:53>> Yeah it was about 90 was it 90 David

3:57:56>> $80,000 and it was over five so so many

3:58:00years and they pay a portion and that's

3:58:02why it's called the Marramac Lodge.

3:58:04>> It's under the Marramac County Savings

3:58:06Bank. That's why and they and they

3:58:07actually we worked with them to come up

3:58:08with a lodge. So, there's all kinds of

3:58:09ways to do these things, but then again,

3:58:11you didn't b you went into it thinking

3:58:13you were going to bond it, but you

3:58:15didn't bond it because you had the cash

3:58:16because you had money at the end of the

3:58:18year and you knew how much your surplus

3:58:20was and then you took those dollars and

3:58:22you used that to underwrite that cost.

3:58:24>> Thank you.

3:58:24>> So, does there's dozens of examples like

3:58:26that, did you have your hand up earlier?

3:58:29>> I did. Thank you, your honor. U picking

3:58:32up what uh councelor

3:58:35Kob mentioned, I'm always very

3:58:38reluctant. Hey, I got her name right. Um

3:58:42what she was saying is I I I I'm also

3:58:47have concerns about bonding it when we

3:58:49have pots of money around. They're not a

3:58:52lot. And yes, we could get skinny, but

3:58:55you know, when you bond, you're paying

3:58:56interest. And I'm going to guess there's

3:58:58a transaction cost to for the bond as

3:59:01well. So that's for me that's throwing

3:59:03good money away

3:59:06just I that's why I support I would

3:59:08support if someone made a motion to pay

3:59:11it out of a a pot of money that we have

3:59:13in different areas currently just

3:59:15because of reasons like that.

3:59:17>> Councelor Todd. Excuse me.

3:59:19[clears throat] Thank you, your honor.

3:59:20Um I uh I appreciated councelor

3:59:23Schultz's remarks a moment ago about uh

3:59:26the manager and I won't take it there.

3:59:28I'm going to take it in a different

3:59:30direction and say that uh I'm going to

3:59:32miss when you're gone to be able to

3:59:35reenapsulate 20 years of history in a

3:59:37few moments, right?

3:59:38>> Whether it's a question about the the

3:59:40citywide community center or how we did

3:59:42the Marramac Lodge project or it goes on

3:59:45and on and on. And personally, I would

3:59:48rather take a ride with a uh 20 a driver

3:59:52that has 20 years experience than one

3:59:54that just got their license. So, I'm

3:59:55going to really miss all of that. I'm

3:59:58going to miss all of that uh uh part of

4:00:00it. Let me go back though to the point

4:00:02at hand, which is uh the uh whether or

4:00:05not to use bonding. Uh my concern is

4:00:09that uh I will want I would want us to

4:00:12be in a position as council uh when we

4:00:14go next May and June to the fiscal year

4:00:172028 budget to have as much flexibility

4:00:20during that budget as possible. Um, I

4:00:22know this isn't a tremendous amount of

4:00:24money, but I still think that um that is

4:00:27going to be a very challenging budget.

4:00:28We thought that this last budget was

4:00:30it's going to be a repeat and maybe even

4:00:32more challenging next year. So, my view

4:00:35is this is not a huge dollar amount and

4:00:38I think I would rather keep those

4:00:40reserve funds and everything else that

4:00:42we have available to us in place because

4:00:44we don't know what those needs are going

4:00:45to be when we're going to do the next

4:00:46budget next year.

4:00:47>> Is that a motion?

4:00:50already a motion. I know, but

4:00:52>> if it's a motion, I'll second it.

4:00:53>> That's true.

4:00:55>> I'll I'll make it a motion. I don't know

4:00:56what the motion is for the city clerk,

4:00:58but I'm

4:00:58>> move the question.

4:00:59>> Yeah, move the question.

4:01:01>> All right. All right. Second. Second.

4:01:03>> All right. All those in favor move the

4:01:04question signify by saying I

4:01:06>> I

4:01:06>> oppos. No.

4:01:08>> All right. Well, that means I don't get

4:01:10to make a speech

4:01:12>> because there's no more debate. It was

4:01:13worth it right [laughter] there.

4:01:14>> That was worth it right there. Good

4:01:15work. Good work for you.

4:01:16>> All right. All those in favor of the

4:01:18motion is presented, please signify by

4:01:20saying I.

4:01:20>> I.

4:01:21>> Wait.

4:01:22>> Roll call.

4:01:24>> We've already started the vote. I'm

4:01:25sorry, councelor.

4:01:26>> But you didn't even give us a chance to

4:01:27say roll call. I think this

4:01:29>> citizens would want to know how each of

4:01:30us voted.

4:01:31>> Well, councelor, I already started. I

4:01:32already start the votes already started.

4:01:34I opposed.

4:01:36>> No. No.

4:01:37>> Motion passes with the necessary

4:01:39>> chance to vote either.

4:01:40>> You need you need to do that over.

4:01:44>> I know it's late, but you have to be

4:01:45fair [clears throat] to the citizens. to

4:01:47know where we are. I mean, sure, a

4:01:48reporter can ask us later, but I think

4:01:50you're being unclear,

4:01:51>> counselor, the time, you know, you're in

4:01:54the state legislature. You understand

4:01:56the parliamentary procedures,

4:01:57>> and we would do a vote over if we

4:01:59weren't clear. I realize that's your

4:02:01call as the mayor, but you have a

4:02:04responsibility.

4:02:04>> I have checked with our parliamentarian,

4:02:06>> council. Council veness,

4:02:08>> I will offer a motion to reconsider.

4:02:11>> In the interest of time.

4:02:13>> Thank you, councelor. All right.

4:02:14>> In the interest of time. In the interest

4:02:16of time.

4:02:16>> In the interest of time. Counselor.

4:02:18>> Roll call.

4:02:19>> All right. Roll call. A roll call has

4:02:20been requested.

4:02:21>> We have to vote on my motion to

4:02:22reconsider first.

4:02:23>> Oh, that's right. Thank you.

4:02:25>> All those in All right. Is there a

4:02:26second? Who said it?

4:02:28>> All those in favor of reconsideration,

4:02:30please signify by saying I.

4:02:32>> I.

4:02:32>> No.

4:02:33>> No.

4:02:34>> Eyes have it. Uh, all right. Uh,

4:02:38councelor Schultz request a roll call.

4:02:40Madam city clerk. Councelor Schultz.

4:02:42>> No. Councelor Seiko.

4:02:44>> Yes. Councelor Todd,

4:02:47>> yes.

4:02:49>> Councelor Brown,

4:02:50>> no.

4:02:51>> Mayor Champlain,

4:02:52>> yes.

4:02:53>> Councelor Davyy,

4:02:54>> yes.

4:02:55>> Councelor Fennessy,

4:02:56>> yes.

4:02:57>> Councelor Foot,

4:02:58>> yes.

4:02:59>> Councelor Grady Sexton,

4:03:00>> yes.

4:03:00>> Councelor Horn,

4:03:01>> no.

4:03:02>> Councelor Caleb,

4:03:04>> yes.

4:03:05>> Councelor Ke,

4:03:06>> yes.

4:03:07>> Councelor Credick,

4:03:08>> yes.

4:03:09>> Councelor Curts,

4:03:10>> yes.

4:03:11>> And councelor Schlasher,

4:03:12>> yes. The motion passes.

4:03:15>> The motion passes by the necessary

4:03:17two-thirds majority. All right. That

4:03:19takes us to item 27.

4:03:23>> Whenever you're ready,

4:03:25maybe

4:03:26[laughter]

4:03:27I don't know. I have to pick up Ben at

4:03:30the airport. So I

4:03:31>> All right.

4:03:32>> Thank you, council.

4:03:33>> The rest.

4:03:35>> Thanks.

4:03:35>> Yeah. Be careful.

4:03:36>> Be safe.

4:03:37>> All right.

4:03:38>> Yeah, that's clerk. Item 27.

4:03:43Yes, it is an ordinance amending the

4:03:45code of ordinances title 2 traffic code

4:03:47chapter 18 parking stopping standing and

4:03:49parking. Parking time is limited in

4:03:52designated places modifying time limits

4:03:55for parking spaces on the north side of

4:03:57Marramac Street and Panak approval.

4:04:00>> Moved and seconded. All those in favor?

4:04:02>> Opposed?

4:04:04>> Eyes have it. Madam city clerk item 28.

4:04:07It is an ordinance amending the code of

4:04:09ordinances title 4 zoning code chapter

4:04:1128 zoning ordinance by amending article

4:04:1428-7 access circulation parking and

4:04:17loading move approval

4:04:19>> second move and seconded discussion

4:04:21right all those in favor please signify

4:04:23by saying I

4:04:24>> I post no I have item 29

4:04:28>> is an ordinance amending the code of

4:04:29ordinances title 4 zoning code chapter

4:04:3228 zoning ordinance by amending article

4:04:35288

4:04:36uh section 288-5 and 288-5D

4:04:41>> move approval. Moved and seconded. Any

4:04:43discussion?

4:04:44>> All those in favor, please signify by

4:04:46saying I.

4:04:47>> I. No.

4:04:48>> Eyes have it.

4:04:50>> Madam City Clerk, item 30

4:04:52>> is an ordinance amending the code of

4:04:53ordinances title 4 zoning code chapter

4:04:5628 zoning ordinance amending article

4:04:5828-2-3

4:05:00and section 282-3B1.

4:05:04>> Move approval.

4:05:05>> Second. Second.

4:05:05>> Moved and seconded. Any discussion? All

4:05:08of all those in favor signify by saying

4:05:09I.

4:05:10>> I.

4:05:11>> No. [clears throat] Eyes have it. Madam

4:05:12city clerk. Item 31

4:05:14>> is an ordinance amending the code of

4:05:16ordinances title 4 zoning code chapter

4:05:1828 zoning ordinance by amending appendix

4:05:22B and appendix C.

4:05:24>> Move approval. Second.

4:05:25>> Moved and seconded. Mr. Thompson, would

4:05:28you

4:05:29please answer the question about uh why

4:05:32we label streets arterial

4:05:34>> from Miss Fox?

4:05:36Certainly uh the the recommendations for

4:05:40the changes to arterials and collector

4:05:42streets were done at the request of the

4:05:44city's transportation engineer based on

4:05:46the analysis of the volumes and

4:05:49characteristics of those streets.

4:05:50>> Super. Thank you so much. Right.

4:05:54Any other discussion? All right. All

4:05:57those in favor of the motion as

4:05:58presented, please signify by saying I.

4:06:00>> I.

4:06:00>> Post no. Eyes have it. Madison clerk,

4:06:03item 32

4:06:05>> is an ordinance amending the code of

4:06:06ordinances title one general code

4:06:08chapter 8 fire.

4:06:10>> Excuse [clears throat] me.

4:06:11>> Don't we have to vote on 32 and 33

4:06:13together?

4:06:14>> Yes.

4:06:14>> Yes. That's what we combined last time.

4:06:17>> One vote or two.

4:06:17>> Is that one vote?

4:06:18>> Two votes.

4:06:19>> It can be one vote for

4:06:21>> it can be two separate votes.

4:06:23>> They should be taken together.

4:06:25>> They should be. So we should have one

4:06:26vote on both of them.

4:06:27>> Yes.

4:06:27>> Thank you. That's a clarification. Would

4:06:29you please read item 33?

4:06:32It is an ordinance amending the code of

4:06:34ordinances, title 3 building and housing

4:06:36codes, chapter 26, building regulations,

4:06:39and chapter 27 housing maintenance and

4:06:42occupancy code.

4:06:43>> Okay.

4:06:45>> Second.

4:06:45>> Moved and seconded for both items 32 and

4:06:4833. Any discussion? Thank you,

4:06:50councelor. Right. All those in favor,

4:06:52please signify by saying I.

4:06:54>> I.

4:06:55>> Opposed? No. The eyes have it. Madam

4:06:57City clerk, item 34

4:06:59>> is a resolution appropriating the sum of

4:07:01$23,397

4:07:04for law enforcement related programs and

4:07:06accepting the sum of $23,397

4:07:10in unmatched grant funds from the United

4:07:12States Department of Justice.

4:07:14>> Move approval.

4:07:15>> Moved and seconded. Discussion. Council

4:07:17Brown.

4:07:17>> I'm recusing myself from this item.

4:07:21>> Purpose reason.

4:07:22>> The reason has not changed from earlier.

4:07:24Could you state it again please for the

4:07:26rules?

4:07:27>> Um, sure. Councelor Grady Saxton, my

4:07:32husband is a police officer.

4:07:34>> Thank you.

4:07:37>> Thank you. Uh, all those in I'm sorry.

4:07:39All those in favor, please signify by

4:07:40saying I.

4:07:41>> I.

4:07:41>> Oppos? No. The eyes have it. This brings

4:07:43us to consideration of items pulled from

4:07:46the consent agenda.

4:07:48Mayor, city clerk. Item seven.

4:07:51This was pulled from consent by

4:07:52councilors Kredic and Grady Ston. It is

4:07:55an item uh a proposed ordinance amending

4:07:58the code of ordinances title 2 traffic

4:08:01code chapter 17 vehicles and traffic

4:08:03article 176 miscellaneous rules by

4:08:06adding section 176-12

4:08:09Noise Street and Cypress Streets

4:08:11restricted access during school dropoff

4:08:14pickup hours.

4:08:15>> Motion to uh um move this item to a

4:08:18public hearing in December. Second move

4:08:20and second. Would you like to speak to

4:08:21your motion?

4:08:22>> Yes, sir. Um members of the council, um

4:08:25I'm not inclined to continue delaying

4:08:28the conversation further around the

4:08:30traffic patterns around uh the new

4:08:32Runland Middle School. I think that in

4:08:35the city, we all want to have a place

4:08:37where we live, work, stay, play, and

4:08:39thrive in our neighborhoods. And our the

4:08:42children in these neighborhoods have

4:08:44been living, walking, biking, and

4:08:46playing here in a shared space on the

4:08:48roadway for more than 70 years. The full

4:08:51existence of the time that Runlet Middle

4:08:53School has been here. The traffic pla

4:08:55patterns have changed over time

4:08:57certainly, but the what has changed is

4:09:00the number of parents that come to pick

4:09:02up kids at school. And these proposals

4:09:05around the school are really putting the

4:09:08needs of the parents picking up their

4:09:10students in advance of the kids that are

4:09:12walking and biking to school in that one

4:09:14and a half mile radius. We've worked

4:09:17with the school districts successfully

4:09:19at other schools managing parent pickup

4:09:23in our schools without need the need for

4:09:26disrupting neighborhoods. And I think

4:09:28that we need to have this conversation

4:09:30again. I also think it's important that

4:09:32our legal department review this

4:09:34ordinance, but I think to be expedit

4:09:37expeditious to the needs of the

4:09:39neighborhood that we take this up sooner

4:09:40rather than later, which is why I made

4:09:42this motion.

4:09:44>> Other discussion? Council second.

4:09:47>> I just have a question. So, when you

4:09:48said you need our legal department to

4:09:51take a look at this, what are you

4:09:53looking for?

4:09:55The ordinance itself may have

4:09:57restrictions on it because it is public

4:09:59roads that would be restricted. But I

4:10:02think given that this would be posted 30

4:10:04days in advance and of our November

4:10:06meeting, whatever revisions needed to be

4:10:08made, he'd be have time to do so or his

4:10:11department would.

4:10:12>> Did you mean to say November?

4:10:14>> Uh November. Yes. Thank you.

4:10:15>> It's it's late.

4:10:17>> Thank you.

4:10:18>> Just a followup.

4:10:18>> Yeah. Follow Is that a recommendation to

4:10:20send it to the legal council or is that

4:10:23just a suggestion because those are two

4:10:25different things?

4:10:26>> It's a suggestion, but I'd like to see

4:10:28this in December.

4:10:29>> Thank you, Councelor Sassa.

4:10:31>> So, I think uh the noise and Cypress

4:10:35residents who I've talked to and I've

4:10:36been there have a legitimate concern. At

4:10:39the same time, this issue has been

4:10:41reviewed and adjudicated in many levels

4:10:44by uh both by the school board and by

4:10:48the city council, our traffic engineers,

4:10:51residents, traffic engineers um employed

4:10:55by the school board for the design. I

4:10:58think what the school board is trying to

4:10:59do is how to balance the the concern

4:11:03about those narrow streets which I think

4:11:04is real and I appreciate that concern

4:11:07with the overall concern the benefit of

4:11:09separating parent and bus traffic which

4:11:12I think is considerable and we've heard

4:11:14there's been much testimony both at

4:11:16among the building committee and TAC and

4:11:19traffic operations committee that

4:11:22there's uh benefit overall benefit by

4:11:25separating parent and school traffic. So

4:11:28before we and I don't know the actual

4:11:31legality of the wording of this

4:11:33ordinance, so I think we'd want that

4:11:34reviewed thoughtfully by our city

4:11:36solicitor, but I guess in all matters

4:11:38like this, I appreciate the advice of

4:11:42our committees with experts on it with

4:11:45engineers and residents uh who think

4:11:47about traffic uh issues, you know, every

4:11:50month. So, I would oppose setting up for

4:11:54public hearing at this time and

4:11:56recommend that we refer it to the city

4:11:58solicitor and refer it to transportation

4:12:00policy advisory committee so they can

4:12:02have another shot at it and advise us

4:12:04what they think is the best path

4:12:05forward.

4:12:07>> Thank you, councelor. Council Fenny,

4:12:08>> I just had a point of clarification

4:12:09because I've heard both set it down in

4:12:11November and December. Which date are we

4:12:14talking about? I believe that it would

4:12:16be on our agenda in November for a

4:12:19public hearing in December.

4:12:21>> Okay.

4:12:22>> Council sex.

4:12:23>> Thank you, your honor. Um and thank you,

4:12:25Councelor Kredbec. Um I also support

4:12:28setting this for a public hearing, so

4:12:31noticing it next month, having a hearing

4:12:33in December. I know that the uh school

4:12:36board is looking at alternatives, and

4:12:38I'm certain that if they come up with a

4:12:40solution before December, then there

4:12:41would not be a need for a public hearing

4:12:43on this item. But we have already heard

4:12:46from TAC. The council has heard from

4:12:48legal and we've heard from engineers and

4:12:50I respect their expertise. But being the

4:12:53safest option that was presented to them

4:12:56does not mean that this option is safe.

4:12:58Um I think the issue is much bigger than

4:13:00a traffic study or a legal opinion. I

4:13:03think it's about resident safety, about

4:13:05their quality of life and the future of

4:13:07an entire neighborhood. And I personally

4:13:10support this ordinance, but others may

4:13:12not. Um, I think my point is that

4:13:15further referrals postpone this decision

4:13:17that the council needs to make. I think

4:13:19it's really time to hear from the

4:13:22community through a public hearing and

4:13:24decide one way or another. And I think

4:13:26that we owe that to the south end.

4:13:29>> Thank you, Councelor Kurts.

4:13:31>> Thank you. Uh, a question. If we were to

4:13:35notice this uh next month for a hearing

4:13:37in December, does that two-month window

4:13:40give legal and both of the recommended

4:13:42committees an opportunity to review the

4:13:44ordinance such that by the December

4:13:46public hearing we could have information

4:13:48from all three of those entities?

4:13:50>> My understanding is the motion does not

4:13:52refer this to the committees or the or

4:13:54the solicitor.

4:13:55>> Let's a followup.

4:13:58Should uh if I were to make a friendly

4:14:00amendment to that effect, would the

4:14:02timing play out?

4:14:05[laughter]

4:14:06>> I would I would assume that those

4:14:07committees would and the solicitor would

4:14:10take up the issue with elacrity.

4:14:15No

4:14:16>> and you're not Mr. Confor is not

4:14:20>> counselor. Why don't you come up to the

4:14:21table if you

4:14:23>> your honor? I can I can only speak for

4:14:24our office. We can certainly turn our

4:14:26portion of this around in terms of what

4:14:28TPAC um has what their availability is

4:14:32to turn around a report in that time

4:14:34frame. I

4:14:36>> Okay.

4:14:37>> Thank you,

4:14:38>> Council Schultz.

4:14:40>> Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I feel like uh

4:14:42councelor Todd would be better than me,

4:14:45but he motioned that I could go ahead

4:14:47and say that we had already had a

4:14:50lengthy discussion with many citizens

4:14:53testifying on this. Uh I personally feel

4:14:57maybe the other two members of of city

4:15:00council on TAC agree with me, but um I

4:15:03feel we did due diligence that night,

4:15:06but I guess I'm only speaking for

4:15:08myself.

4:15:10Council, [clears throat]

4:15:11>> I think the baton has been handed over

4:15:12to me by council. I take it. Um, well, I

4:15:15think that um I would support uh maybe

4:15:19having a venue here uh at council to

4:15:22hear from the public, but I wouldn't

4:15:25support that without first referring and

4:15:27getting reports back from the city

4:15:29solicitor's office, TAC, and traffic

4:15:31operations committee. Uh particularly,

4:15:33I'll I'll just pick traffic operations

4:15:35committee. there where they would meet

4:15:36and uh we have police presence there on

4:15:38that committee and they would be able to

4:15:40tell us well is this uh ordinance as

4:15:42it's written enforceable.

4:15:45I have concerns about that. Um how how

4:15:48are you going to enforce uh uh

4:15:50preventing parents from traveling down?

4:15:52Who you how are you going to know who's

4:15:53a parent, who's not a parent? So um so

4:15:55there may be some issues with that. Um

4:15:57but I'm not the person to examine that.

4:15:59I think traffic operations is so if in

4:16:02fact the motion were to uh as I believe

4:16:05the friendly amendment was being made or

4:16:07suggested to

4:16:08>> to [snorts]

4:16:10well [laughter] I would support that

4:16:11amendment that would uh uh refer them as

4:16:14originally suggested refer this to city

4:16:18solicitors TAC and TOC uh and then if we

4:16:22also wanted to set a a a public hearing

4:16:24for December I' I'd support that as well

4:16:27but not without having the referral

4:16:29because otherwise we're going to be

4:16:30sitting here. We're not going to know

4:16:31what to do.

4:16:32>> Right. Thank you, Council Councelor

4:16:33Davey.

4:16:35>> I don't support the ordinance as

4:16:36written, but I do support another venue

4:16:39to discuss it, whether that's peer or

4:16:41one or both committees.

4:16:43>> Council, did you have your hand up?

4:16:44>> Yes. Thank you, your honor. I also sit

4:16:46on TAC with other counselors and uh I I

4:16:50thought we had a very deliberate

4:16:52discussion. I thought it was lengthy. I

4:16:54think that the we heard loud and clear

4:16:57from the public about safety. We just

4:16:59talked about safety with Memorial

4:17:01Fields. I think that um [clears throat]

4:17:03as someone who went to Runlet, whose

4:17:06kids went to Runlet, whose father went

4:17:07to Runlet,

4:17:08>> I asked at the T at the TAC meeting

4:17:11about these different alternatives and I

4:17:13asked has there ever been a single

4:17:16pedestrian vehicle conflict and the

4:17:21answer is no. So I think that

4:17:24[clears throat]

4:17:24we should bring this to a public hearing

4:17:27and you know let the let the folks hear

4:17:31let's hear from the folks. What I'm also

4:17:33concerned about [clears throat]

4:17:35um if we don't move quickly is you know

4:17:37we look at um other school projects uh

4:17:41I'll say Millville

4:17:43Beaver Meadow and Chris McAuliff schools

4:17:47those when those schools were built that

4:17:49created traffic problems where they

4:17:51didn't exist before. So um I would

4:17:55rather get it to a public hearing sooner

4:17:57rather than later. Again I'll I'll

4:17:58repeat I think TAC um we spent

4:18:02considerable amount of time. The room

4:18:03was packed. We heard loud and clear. Um

4:18:06I just think that what we

4:18:09unintentionally there's a lot of good

4:18:10people around. I am a licensed

4:18:12professional engineer and I think that

4:18:13um we may be creating a problem that

4:18:16doesn't exist today. And so I for that

4:18:18reason I would support uh moving this

4:18:21along sooner rather than later.

4:18:23>> Are you saying to have a public hearing?

4:18:26>> Just one more time. I I find that this

4:18:28body is has a lot of challenges making

4:18:29decisions and I think sometimes not

4:18:32making a decision is making a decision

4:18:34and I just want to remind folks about

4:18:36that.

4:18:37>> Um I have reservations taking a an

4:18:41ordinance over the transom

4:18:44>> without [clears throat] having the

4:18:45appropriate committees take a look at

4:18:46it. I know that uh TAC uh and TPAC

4:18:50[clears throat] you know both discussed

4:18:52the issues around the traffic flow with

4:18:54and I believe that all the people who

4:18:57will be here for a public hearing on it

4:18:59were also at TAC and had a and and had

4:19:02an opportunity to voice their concerns

4:19:05there. Uh I'm not averse to giving them

4:19:07another opportunity to say the to voice

4:19:10their concerns. However, I want to do

4:19:12this in an organized manner and I think

4:19:14that looking at a specific ordinance is

4:19:16a lot different than talking in

4:19:18generalities about various traffic

4:19:19patterns and whatnot. So, I would have a

4:19:23higher degree of confidence in the end

4:19:25product if we make sure that city

4:19:27solicitor TAC and TAC take a look at the

4:19:31actual ordinance and what it actually

4:19:33does and what it what impact it actually

4:19:35would have. So, I would support a motion

4:19:39to uh to uh notice uh this for a public

4:19:46hearing in November, for a public

4:19:49hearing in December

4:19:51with the proviso that it go through

4:19:52legal tact.

4:20:01>> There's a motion.

4:20:01>> Was that a motion? because I'm not

4:20:03seconding it. But

4:20:05>> no, I I'm saying what I would

4:20:07>> unless it's a friendly motion.

4:20:08>> Yeah. Well, I'll make it a friendly

4:20:10motion if you want.

4:20:11>> I I just want to make sure that the

4:20:14conversation is around the ordinance

4:20:16that the conversation is not around

4:20:18sidewalks on Noise Street and Cypress

4:20:20because the decision by the school board

4:20:22was made for these traffic patterns

4:20:24without sidewalks. And I believe all the

4:20:26engineers have agreed that if there are

4:20:29sidewalks, it would be safe. There are

4:20:31not sidewalks today. So that is the

4:20:34purpose for the neighborhood raising

4:20:36concerns. It is about the addition of

4:20:38sidewalks to make it safe in order to

4:20:42separate buses from the parent traffic,

4:20:46not the kids that were walking and

4:20:47biking to school. So if the conversation

4:20:50is around the ordinance, then it should

4:20:52be around the ordinance and not a

4:20:54further discussion around sidewalks that

4:20:56didn't exist when decision

4:20:57>> council. Did I say anything about

4:20:58sidewalks? Nope, you didn't.

4:21:00>> Specifically, the ordinance. This is

4:21:02about the ordinance. That's all this is

4:21:04about is we I'd like I'd like to see

4:21:07what the the committees recommend

4:21:09relative to the ordinance and the city

4:21:12solicitor's office.

4:21:13>> If we're going to come back and we're

4:21:14going to have a public hearing, I'm

4:21:15going to vote on Schulz.

4:21:18>> Second.

4:21:19>> There's already

4:21:20>> Sorry, what was

4:21:21>> I said move the question.

4:21:23>> Move the question seconded. All in

4:21:24favor? I

4:21:25>> opposed. No.

4:21:26>> Passes by the necessary 2/3.

4:21:30So, we have

4:21:32>> Well, don't hold it.

4:21:33>> So, what's next?

4:21:34>> Well, basically

4:21:37there's only one motion on the table.

4:21:38>> I thought you had an amendment. No,

4:21:40>> correct.

4:21:40>> It was not second.

4:21:41>> It was not seconded.

4:21:43>> And I'm voting on things I shouldn't

4:21:45vote on [laughter]

4:21:46>> and the hour is late. [clears throat]

4:21:49>> Are you making is the floor open?

4:21:52>> Let me let me explain the parliamentary

4:21:54situation.

4:21:56moving the question is a non-debatable

4:21:58motion and it moves the motion that's on

4:22:00the floor which is to to post this for

4:22:02public hearing. However, if that fails,

4:22:06I will make a motion to post this for

4:22:08public hearing with the provisos that I

4:22:10mentioned. All right. So, the vote is on

4:22:13the motion uh on council credic's

4:22:16motion. All those in favor signify by

4:22:18saying I.

4:22:19>> I opposed.

4:22:20>> No.

4:22:21>> Nose have it. Uh I move that uh we

4:22:25notice um this ordinance uh for in

4:22:30November for public hearing in December

4:22:32>> with referrals to the city solicitor's

4:22:35office to TAC and to talk.

4:22:38>> Second.

4:22:39>> Second. All right.

4:22:41>> Councelor.

4:22:41>> So

4:22:43if we notice it in November, this is a

4:22:46question. We notice it in November

4:22:48>> and we get information that the

4:22:51ordinance as written is really illegal

4:22:54or uninforceable or something not

4:22:56workable in some way.

4:22:58>> What will that do to our notice for the

4:23:00December?

4:23:01>> Absolutely nothing because that would be

4:23:02a recommendation that would come

4:23:04>> to the floor

4:23:05>> on in December

4:23:06>> in December with it.

4:23:07>> Okay. Okay. Right. That's

4:23:09>> great.

4:23:09>> Like a staff report.

4:23:10>> Thank you.

4:23:11>> Okay.

4:23:11>> So it would have no impact.

4:23:13>> Okay. on having the public hearing

4:23:16December council secret.

4:23:17>> Thank you honor. So my understanding is

4:23:19that all the committee that we are of

4:23:22course as our city solicitator said he

4:23:24cannot respond on behalf of other

4:23:26committees but there is one to three

4:23:30committees plus the city solicitator

4:23:33>> two plus the city.

4:23:35>> Do we think it will make it for December

4:23:37for public hearing? That's my question.

4:23:39>> I think it should. Okay,

4:23:41>> councelor Schultz,

4:23:42>> I think it's also helpful to know, if

4:23:44you don't already, the fact that what

4:23:47was initially given to us came from an

4:23:49outside lawyer. So, really, it's about

4:23:51checking all the boxes to make sure that

4:23:54uh our solicitor and our city staff are

4:23:58comfortable with what's being presented,

4:24:00but it seems pretty unoffensive, but I'm

4:24:03not the person that says that. Council

4:24:05>> Brady.

4:24:05>> Um, thank you, your honor. I uh will

4:24:07support this motion. I will also say

4:24:09that I think it's really unfortunate

4:24:11that this neighborhood has had to employ

4:24:13a lawyer to do this. I think that we

4:24:16have created a uh extraordinary amount

4:24:20of stress on the neighborhood. I think

4:24:22that um that it makes sense uh to move

4:24:26forward on this and I'm glad and I hope

4:24:27that we can. I'm not sure who the chair

4:24:29of the other committee is. Uh so

4:24:32[clears throat]

4:24:33um councelor Todd, you can you feel that

4:24:36you can um

4:24:39have some sort of adjudication of this

4:24:41issue with your committee prior to decac

4:24:46I'm actually not the ch I'm the vice

4:24:47chair but uh but I would assume that

4:24:50there is meeting scheduled I mean and if

4:24:52there isn't there will be now because

4:24:53we've have a referral so I'm sure that

4:24:55everyone's on on notice that

4:24:58>> so I would I would say the answer to

4:24:59your question is yes there should be

4:25:01time

4:25:01>> good thank you so much

4:25:03>> and I'll ask the city uh the city clerk

4:25:06to notify tomorrow Morning the chairman

4:25:09of T.

4:25:10>> Thank you.

4:25:11>> Coming quickly.

4:25:12>> Are we ready for the vote?

4:25:14>> All those in favor, please signify by

4:25:16saying I.

4:25:16>> I posted. No.

4:25:18>> Right. Eyes have it. Uh that brings us

4:25:20to item number 22. Madam city clerk.

4:25:23>> This was pulled from the consent agenda

4:25:25by councelor Brown. It's a report from

4:25:27councelor Kredik, the rules committee

4:25:29chair, recommending proposed changes to

4:25:32the rules of the city council by

4:25:34adopting an ethics complaint form. Do

4:25:36you have a motion?

4:25:38>> Move approval.

4:25:39>> Second.

4:25:40>> Seconded. Council Brown.

4:25:41>> Yes. I'm speaking to the voluntary

4:25:43ethics complaint form recommended by the

4:25:45rules committee. The form is a useful

4:25:48resource that prompts for dates,

4:25:50location, pattern versus one-time

4:25:52occurrence, evidence, and specific code

4:25:54of ethics provisions. But it doesn't

4:25:56change ordinance 30-3-29.

4:26:01Citizens may still file any written,

4:26:03sworn, specific, and to the point

4:26:06complaint in any format that meets the

4:26:08ordinance. Other improper activity

4:26:11remains available. The rules committee

4:26:14consists of five members. Only three

4:26:16were present at the last meeting that

4:26:18advanced this form. There was no

4:26:19discussion about adjusting the meeting

4:26:21time to make it more accommodating to

4:26:23the other members or to the public. that

4:26:26limited attendance and lack of

4:26:27discussion about accessibility should be

4:26:29noted as the form moves forward. I also

4:26:32note that the committee advancing this

4:26:33form includes members who have

4:26:35themselves been subjects of ethics

4:26:37complaint involving dual roles. One as a

4:26:41documented member of the city golf

4:26:43course who participates in rate setting

4:26:45and related decisions and another as a

4:26:48registered lobbyist while chairing the

4:26:50public safety board who has used council

4:26:52chambers to lobby for bills. paid to

4:26:55promote.

4:26:56>> Move the question.

4:26:57>> Move the question. Is there a second?

4:26:59>> Sorry, counselor.

4:27:00>> Excuse me. Can you explain?

4:27:01>> It's a non It's a non-debatable motion

4:27:03>> because I brought up that councelor

4:27:04Grady Stton held held meetings in

4:27:07council chambers to lobby for bills.

4:27:09>> Seconded. All those in favor?

4:27:11>> I.

4:27:12>> All those opposed?

4:27:13>> No.

4:27:13>> All right. Eyes have it. The question is

4:27:15moved. All in favor of the motion

4:27:16signify by saying I.

4:27:18>> I.

4:27:18>> Opposed? No.

4:27:19>> No.

4:27:20>> Eyes have it. Motion is passed. Thank

4:27:22you. Does anybody have any energy in

4:27:25them for any last comments?

4:27:27>> Yes.

4:27:28>> Uh we'll start with council.

4:27:30>> I'll be very brief. I just want to thank

4:27:32everyone involved in the first uh fall

4:27:34festival in the village. There was this

4:27:35past Saturday. So special thank you to

4:27:37Sweet Dreams Ice Cream and Irene Ortega

4:27:40and the other volunteers who helped make

4:27:41this event happen. Hopefully we can look

4:27:43forward to having it uh in future years

4:27:45as well. Um and then the Pentagon

4:27:47Historical Society has a couple of

4:27:49events coming up. Their annual Halloween

4:27:51celebration is on October 24th from 1 to

4:27:543:00 p.m. at the 1834 Ralph House on

4:27:56Penuk Street. This is a uh free all ages

4:27:59Halloween costume parade and community

4:28:02celebration. Great way to kick off

4:28:04Halloween fun. Reminder to folks,

4:28:06Pinnacook trick-or-treating this year is

4:28:07on October 30th from 5:00 to 7:30.

4:28:10Conquered trick-or-treating is on

4:28:12October 31st from 5 to 7:30. That's

4:28:15twice the candy for our lucky residents.

4:28:17That's the way I look at it. Uh, and

4:28:18then coming up on November 6, the

4:28:20Pinnacle Historical Society will be

4:28:22hosting a community potluck dinner and

4:28:24event, what's the history of your house?

4:28:26Sponsored by funding from the New

4:28:28Hampshire Humanities. Erin Molton will

4:28:30be the guest speaker and discuss how to

4:28:32access information regarding researching

4:28:34your home. So, if you're interested in

4:28:35learning more about the history of your

4:28:36house, then this is the event for you.

4:28:38Thank you.

4:28:38>> Thank you, Council Horn. Council

4:28:40Predict,

4:28:41>> your honor, we have a celebrity among

4:28:43us.

4:28:43>> We do. We have the citizen of the year

4:28:46that sits at the table next to you.

4:28:48Congratulations, Mr. [applause]

4:28:53>> Very nice surprise. Thank you.

4:28:54>> Yeah, it was. We'll see you in November

4:28:55for the party.

4:28:56>> Yeah, November 4th.

4:28:58>> Thank you.

4:28:59>> Um, while we still have two members of

4:29:01the community development department

4:29:02here, um, I just want to thank your

4:29:04department for the master plan workshop

4:29:06in September. That was very well done.

4:29:08Um, and [applause] please extend our

4:29:10thanks to the consultants um for their

4:29:13presentations and it seemed like you had

4:29:14basically your entire staff there. Super

4:29:17duper well done. Um, please vote in

4:29:19November.

4:29:20>> Council Schultz.

4:29:21>> Well, that that ties nicely to what I

4:29:23was going to say. Uh, wishing well to

4:29:26our wonderful city clerk and her staff

4:29:29and all the wonderful folks uh that will

4:29:31be at the polls on November 3rd. I feel

4:29:34like anybody watching this is already

4:29:35going to vote, but uh so there is that.

4:29:39I do encourage folks though to uh

4:29:43on the second ballot measure to vote

4:29:47against the tax trap. That's what I'm

4:29:49calling it. Um

4:29:52also we've rebooted the transportation

4:29:55subcommittee on public transportation.

4:29:58We're meeting tomorrow 3:30 at the

4:30:00second floor of the uh city hall. If you

4:30:04can't make it but want to be involved in

4:30:06the committee, please let us know. And I

4:30:09am honored to be the chair of that

4:30:11committee. Thank you.

4:30:14>> All set.

4:30:15>> All set. All set. All set.

4:30:17>> I just echo what councelor Schultz said

4:30:19to the clerk's office. I know you'll do

4:30:21a great job on November 3rd and thank

4:30:24you for all your hard work in advance.

4:30:26>> Thank you.

4:30:29>> [applause]

4:30:31>> That's a second.

4:30:32>> That's another star. We have a second

4:30:33star. [laughter] City clerk, are you

4:30:36going to address the fun ethics and

4:30:38rules and respect around city council

4:30:41tonight or what is your plan?

4:30:43>> What?

4:30:45>> I'm sorry.

4:30:47>> No.

4:30:47>> Oh. Oh. Oh, yeah. Well, when I get when

4:30:49it gets to me. Sorry. I'm sorry. I had

4:30:51to I had to recalibrate. Go ahead,

4:30:54Council Brown.

4:30:55>> Great. [clears throat] Uh because the

4:30:57250th anniversary of our country uh hap

4:31:01is this year, four important historical

4:31:03figures of conquered and New Hampshire

4:31:06will be speaking on Friday, October 30th

4:31:09from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. The event lasts

4:31:12one hour with the spirits speaking for

4:31:1515 minutes about their history and how

4:31:18they embody the spirit of these figures

4:31:20in their own work and daily life. This

4:31:23is completely separate and unrelated to

4:31:26the 250300 committee. These are not

4:31:29fictional characters but actual

4:31:32important historical figures to be

4:31:34celebrated. Please join us. Thank you.

4:31:37>> Thank you, Council Foot.

4:31:38>> Thank you, your honor. Uh quickly,

4:31:41[clears throat] October is breast cancer

4:31:42aware awareness month. Uh just a good

4:31:46reminder to uh seek routine screening

4:31:48for all types of cancer for both men and

4:31:50women. Um and uh also along those same

4:31:54lines [snorts] um if you can please

4:31:56donate blood platelets

4:31:58uh if you were able. Uh and then lastly

4:32:01good friend uh yesterday was his last

4:32:04day as the president of the American

4:32:08Dental Association, our very own

4:32:10conquered resident, Rich Rosado.

4:32:12Thank him for such a great job and very

4:32:15proud of him being a conquered resident.

4:32:17It's great stuff.

4:32:18>> Thank you counselor.

4:32:19>> Thank you. Uh only a few things on my uh

4:32:22calendar. Uh one is uh that last month

4:32:26uh we had an unfortunate accident uh

4:32:29where uh a personal cell phone emitted

4:32:33noises uh most disturbingly while one of

4:32:35the council members uh was uh

4:32:38memorializing the anniversary of 911. uh

4:32:42that this was an accident, but I just

4:32:44want to use it as an opportunity to ask

4:32:46counselors to we're all wedded to our

4:32:49phones, but when you're in this body and

4:32:51we're in uh uh meeting, please put your

4:32:54phones on silent uh and uh and be very

4:32:58judicious about about using them because

4:33:00the uh you know uh we need to uh we need

4:33:05to maintain the proper decorum around

4:33:07the table. Uh the other things I wanted

4:33:10to mention were uh not only is the city

4:33:12clerks going to do a magnificent job on

4:33:15election day, but uh sample ballots are

4:33:18right now on the city website, uh uh

4:33:21Monday, October 26 is the last day to

4:33:23register to vote. Uh and absentee

4:33:27ballots are also available.

4:33:28>> You can still register to vote at the

4:33:30polls.

4:33:30>> You can Thank you. You can register to

4:33:32vote at the polls. And finally, I want

4:33:34to congratulate uh Marramac Valley uh

4:33:37football uh at their for their six-0

4:33:40record. Uh and here's hoping that they

4:33:42win their next game and tie their seven

4:33:44and two record. So way to go Pride and

4:33:48that's it. Uh so

4:33:51>> motion to adjurnn. Second move

4:33:53>> in a second. All in favor?