2026-10-06 - Board of Mayor and Aldermen

Summary

Built from the official minutes of this meeting (71 pages); no video or agenda is on file.

• Regular meeting, 7:00 PM to 12:25 AM; 13 of 14 aldermen present (Bonilla absent), Mayor Ruais presiding. The Pledge was led by Burkush. Thomas was recorded present at the start but absent for the non-public vote late in the night.
• Recognitions: a resolution thanking Waldron for service on the Conservation Commission (October 5, 2021 to August 4, 2026, including three years as chair); a proclamation of Fire Prevention Week, October 4 to 10, on lithium ion battery charging safety; and a resolution honoring the police comfort dog Patch as the new comfort dog Chip takes over.
• Public comment (22 speakers) covered kratom (four for regulation, one physician for a ban), revaluation notices, the tax cap, the Ward 7 School Committee nomination, the Hartnett lot, senior housing at the Wilson School, homelessness spending and registered offenders. Motion to take all comments under advisement and receive and file written material: Terrio, second Dexter.
• CliftonLarsonAllen presented the fiscal year 2025 audit: unmodified opinion, five internal control findings, eight single audit findings.
• Consent agenda approved (motion Dexter, second O'Neil) with 19 committee reports, including the Motorola radio upgrade (final contract to return) and 10 capital resolutions referred to Finance. Two items were pulled: the revaluation communication (Kantor) and the PFAS sewer ordinance (Terrio).
• Revaluation Q&A with the Assessors chairman: hearing requests due October 16, formal abatements March 1; communication received and filed.
• Ward 7 School Committee: resignation of Potter accepted with regret; roll call chose Spencer over Tremblay, 7 to 5 with O'Neil abstaining; confirmation lies over to October 20.
• Approved: return of the Spruce Street lot, a 2028 Olympic torch relay agreement, no trespass authority for the City Clerk and Police, a Police Lieutenant for the Parking Unit, a Water Works staffing change, a single northbound lane on Maple Street, no parking signs at Karatzas Heights and a $15,000 opioid recovery services grant (Kantor opposed).
• Finance recessed meeting enrolled 13 resolutions totaling about $2.2 million; credit ratings (Moody's and S&P) reported as affirmed; a heated exchange over how the school building bond was structured (Sapienza and Wickens).
• New business: Hallsville School closing a day away; Chief Marr said 13 failures to appear out of 12,589 subpoenas; kratom routing; Hartnett lot parking.
• Recesses for collective bargaining strategy and for legal advice; the PFAS ordinance report was then tabled. Non-public session: the Mayor was authorized to negotiate a purchase and sale agreement for the Wilson School property (Kantor and Sapienza abstained).
• Tabled items remained on the table: the North Church Street discontinuance (tabled July 7) and the $20,800,000 DPW-Highway bond (tabled August 4).

Recognitions

• Waldron: resolution of thanks for work leading monthly meetings, supporting applicants, outreach tours and monitoring the City's conservation easements.
• Fire Prevention Week proclamation (theme "Charge into Safety: Safe Charging is a Superpower"): use the manufacturer's charger, charge on a hard flat surface, watch for heat or swelling, unplug when full and charge e-bikes outside away from exits.
• Patch, the Police Department's first comfort dog (brought by the Health Department in 2020 with Culture of Health prize funds), was commended for service to thousands of residents; Chip is the newest comfort dog.

Public comment

• Rules read by the Mayor: three minutes each, remarks to the chair.
• Kratom: Mercier, Smith, Rainer and Neslusan opposed a blanket ban while supporting action on synthetics and concentrated extracts (Mercier offered a retail compliance checklist; Neslusan pointed to the state Kratom Consumer Protection Act). Hartner, a family physician, urged a ban, citing emergency department psychosis cases and FDA warnings. See Kratom Sales Ban Ordinance.
• Taxes and revaluation: Roux said eleven members raised the tax cap and invited the Board to an October 19 presentation; Barton said her assessment rose to $545,800; Girard called the values flawed, asked that the October 16 deadline be reconsidered and that the City publish the tax rate with and without the $20 million increase; Ping feared 36 to 38 percent tax increases for working class rentals; Rodriguez criticized the override. See Tax Cap Override and Citywide Property Revaluation.
• Ward 7: Tremblay introduced himself; Spillers, Potter backed Spencer; Tassey backed Terrio's nominee; Girard called overriding a ward alderman "mob rule." See Ward Seven School Committee Vacancy.
• Hartnett lot: Thivierge, Veysey and Ouellette raised parking losses. See Hartnett Lot Housing Development.
• Wilson School: Blais and Pinder supported a senior housing proposal led by Coffey. See Wilson School Property Sale. Blais also urged cutting school administration costs.
• Homelessness spending (Gravel; see Elm Street Infirm Shelter), registered offenders and enforcement (Carswell), school crossing safety at Jewett and Southside (Spillers; see School Area Crossing Safety).
• Rodriguez also cited school proficiency figures, the Queen City Bridge closure (see Queen City Bridge Closure) and police staffing.
• Ping announced a Girl Scout mural project at Cullerot Park and the next day's ribbon cutting for the 27 apartment Rendezvous on Elm. William Barter announced a comedy "public comment" show at the Shaskeen on November 17.

Annual Financial Audit Findings

• Presentation of the fiscal year 2025 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report by Hunt of CliftonLarsonAllen (first year as the City's auditor): unmodified opinion; general fund balance about $37 million with about $14 million unassigned (7.2 percent of expenses); long term debt about $589 million; pension liability about $260 million; five internal control findings and eight single audit findings on about $23 million in federal grants; training for officials within about a week.
• Sapienza asked what the New Hampshire Retirement System liability means; Terrio asked how the City is doing and whether about $305 million in general obligation debt is excessive (Hunt: "on the higher side," but judging it is outside the audit). Pelletier said each department has a corrective action plan and she will check implementation in a month or two. Wickens noted the debt includes the court mandated combined sewer overflow project and the airport.

Consent agenda

• Approved (motion Dexter, second O'Neil): item 3, minutes of the September 1 Finance and Board meetings; item 4, five residential 50/50 sidewalk petitions; item 5, Green Streets Canopy plantings at three sites; item 6, a communication from Friend-Gray on the Queen City Bridge after its closure and reopening (Queen City Bridge Closure); item 8, referral of 10 capital resolutions to Finance.
• Administration/Information Systems: the Fire Chief's Motorola system upgrade contract, pending a finalized copy (unanimous). O'Neil asked whether warranties, an issue in an earlier Motorola contract, would be in the final agreement; Chief Cashin said yes. See Motorola Radio System Upgrade.
• Community Improvement (all unanimous): Wolfe Park $72,621.43; Municipal Deferred Maintenance $27,690; Dilapidated Building Demolition $77,943; JFK Coliseum chiller plant $850,000 (JFK Coliseum Chiller Plant); FY26 Deferred Maintenance $200,000; Hazmat equipment and training $25,000; Seabrook Station $13,000; 2025 JAG $206,998; School Based Dental Program (Medicaid) $100,000; Oral Health Program $45,000; the ARPA expenditure report through June 30, 2026; extending the Hazmat grant deadline to August 31, 2028; a Police ARPA officer bonus and hiring transfer from salaries to other; and permission to apply for a Project Safe Neighborhoods formula grant, a COPS crisis response training grant and a domestic violence response grant.
• Lands and Buildings (unanimous, Sapienza absent from the committee): a Declaration of Covenants and Conservation Restrictions with the state Department of Environmental Services to protect a stream at the Bridge Street Extension facility; and a revocable license for the Derryfield School on discontinued River Road land and for landscaping in the traffic circle (River Road Roundabout Land License).

Citywide Property Revaluation

• Item 7 (Board of Assessors: preliminary notices mailed) pulled by Kantor, who asked for the process, why neighbors' numbers cannot be compared and the abatement deadline. Kurfehs: hearing requests by October 16 (not the end of hearings, which run to about November 3), formal abatement by March 1, decision by July 7, appeal to the Board of Tax and Land Appeals or Superior Court by September 1. 48 communities revalue in 2026; the contractor, Vision Government Solutions of Hudson, Massachusetts, may be overloaded after taking on Concord.
• Values are viewable at the vendor's site, but some browsers show old values; try another browser or private mode (Kaw-uh).
• Fajardo pressed for flexibility on the ten day scheduling window (Kurfehs: "as flexible as we can") and asked why the state requires revaluation; Terrio asked about changes and the rate (final rate in late November from the state); Trisciani asked how the March 1 date works; Sapienza asked about a time crunch for the MS-1 and the likely increase (Kurfehs estimated "under 16 or 15%"; the Mayor said it is too preliminary).
• Received and filed (motion Terrio, second Goonan).

PFAS Sewer Discharge Ordinance

• Item 28 (Public Safety report, unanimous, to refer the Chapter 52 PFAS amendment to Bills on Second Reading) pulled by Terrio, who understood the solicitor had concerns. The Mayor moved it to the end of the meeting to avoid recessing twice; Fajardo, a signer of the request, wants a public conversation on the record.
• After the recess, tabled (motion Fajardo, second Kaw-uh).

Ward Seven School Committee Vacancy

• Resignations accepted with regret: Planning Board member Brian Beaupre (O'Neil/Kaw-uh), Zoning Board member Nick Taylor (Terrio/Dexter) and School Committee member Potter (Trisciani/Terrio).
• Nominations: Terrio nominated Tremblay; Trisciani nominated Spencer. Nominations closed (motion Terrio, second Sapienza).
• Roll call: for Spencer (Kaw-uh, Goonan, Dexter, Fajardo, Trisciani, Burkush, Barry); for Tremblay (Kantor, Terrio, Sapienza, Vincent, Thomas); O'Neil abstained. Kaw-uh raised a point of order that Rule 11 requires abstentions to be explained; O'Neil said he would vote for neither nominee.
• Kantor noted the Mayor could veto; Mayor Ruais said the charter leaves the choice to the Board and mayors have not intervened for about 50 years (Normand read the charter). Terrio and Barry exchanged views on precedent. Confirmation vote at the next meeting.

Appointments

• Nominations laid over under Rule 23: Police Commission (Patrick Sullivan to succeed John Cronin, term to September 15, 2029; Pinder to succeed Eva Castillo Turgeon, same term); Planning Board (Christopher Morrow to succeed Brian Beaupre, to May 1, 2027; Ken Easthouse as alternate to May 1, 2028); Zoning Board (Scott Godzyk to succeed Nick Taylor, to March 1, 2029; Tony Boutin as alternate to March 1, 2028; Derick Alexandre as alternate to March 1, 2029).
• Confirmed (motion O'Neil, second Kaw-uh): Arts Commission, Suzanne Riel from alternate to regular member to December 1, 2028; Manchester Housing and Redevelopment Authority, Christine Leary as Resident Commissioner to December 31, 2031.
• Confirmed (motion Kaw-uh, second Dexter): Southern New Hampshire Planning Commission members Ray Clement, Peter Capano and O'Neil, each to June 30, 2030.

Spruce Street Lot Return

• Families in Transition asked the City to take back 401 Spruce Street. Belanger gave the history (acquired 2010 with Neighborhood Stabilization funds, conveyed 2014 for a garden and learning center, affordable housing allowed in 2022 but not feasible). O'Neil valued it as a garden; Trisciani said it has no water. Approved (motion Sapienza, second Barry).

Other approvals

• Nazaka's request for an agreement with the Los Angeles Organizing Committee for the 2028 Olympic Games to host a torch relay and cauldron lighting: approved (motion Barry, second Burkush). See Olympic Torch Relay Agreement.
• Solicitor Rice's request to designate the City Clerk's office and the Police Department to issue no trespass orders for City property: approved (motion Sapienza, second Burkush). See No Trespass Order Authority.

School Building Project

• Credit ratings communication from Wickens (information only): Moody's and S&P held the rating, noting high leverage largely from the court mandated sewer project; Moody's toured the Pearl Street lot and McLaughlin Middle School. The $244,855,000 school bond closed October 1, after about $28 million in bond anticipation notes.
• Sapienza said he was told repeatedly that $55.4 million in operating funds spent on the project would reduce the $290 million bond dollar for dollar, which would have meant a bond of $234.6 million, and objected to $8.6 million returned to operating accounts. Wickens said the project was always $306 million (shown to the Board January 21, 2025), the $20 million received early was applied at once and she issued only what was needed. Pelletier said spending will not exceed $306 million; the Mayor said the argument is with the 2023 Board; Trisciani said it was asked and answered.

Opioid Abatement Spending

• Community Improvement report on $15,000 for 200 Elm Street opioid and substance use recovery service expansion (motion O'Neil, second Burkush); approved with Kantor recorded in opposition. Mayor Ruais: funded by a Granite United Way opioid abatement grant; a pilot putting Hope for New Hampshire Recovery and an Elliot Health System treatment support specialist on site, with no medication assisted treatment provided and the Hanover Street Doorways site staying open. See also Elm Street Infirm Shelter.
• Wastewater items from Community Improvement: Solids Disposal Master Plan $106,697.19 (motion Barry, second Burkush) and Secondary Clarifier Design and Construction $469,567.03 (motion O'Neil, second Burkush).

Finance report and resolutions

• Recess for Finance (motion Trisciani, second Burkush); see 2026-10-06 - Committee on Finance. Reading of the report waived and report adopted (motions Burkush with O'Neil and Dexter); the 13 resolutions were read by title only (motion Trisciani, second Barry) and ordered enrolled (motion Burkush, second Barry).

Remaining committee reports

• Human Resources/Insurance: Police Lieutenant (grade 126) for the Parking Unit (motion O'Neil, second Barry; see Police Parking Division Transfer); Water Works to eliminate three Accounting Technician II positions and add one Accountant I and two Customer Service Representative III positions (motion O'Neil, second Burkush).
• Public Safety, Health and Traffic: Maple Street from Hanover Street to Bridge Street limited to a single lane northbound, with no parking anytime on the west side from Cilley Road to Hanover Street and from 60 feet north of Concord Street to Webster Street, and rescinding the existing west side prohibition from Cilley Road to Webster Street (motion Vincent, second Barry); and no parking signs for Jemco Properties in the new Karatzas Heights subdivision (motion Dexter, second Burkush).

New business

• Hallsville School Redevelopment: Sapienza said he was told September 1 the school was sold and that his agenda item requests are not honored; Belanger said buyers and the City were about a day from closing on condominium documents.
• Police Court Appearances: Chief Marr reported 12,589 subpoenas served from January 2024 through September 30, 2026, 13 reported failures to appear, all investigated, 12 with discipline; Terrio asked about verifying data with the County Attorney; O'Neil questioned continuing; the Mayor ended the topic.
• Kaw-uh thanked Wickens for her availability and expertise.
• Kratom: Kantor asked why it did not go to the Alcohol and Drug committee. The Mayor called it a scheduling issue; it returns on the October 20 consent agenda and then to Bills on Second Reading. A symposium on unregulated intoxicants was set for October 7 at Southern New Hampshire University. See Kratom Sales Ban Ordinance and October 20.
• Hartnett Lot Housing Development: Kantor worried about permit holders and churches; Belanger traced the 2021 RFP, 2022 contract and amendments and said Pearl Street will have about 450 garage spaces; Fajardo and Dexter spoke; the lot is not sold and Dexter will meet the developers; the Planning Board heard the plan the previous Thursday with about 20 angled spaces proposed.

Non-public session and close

• Recess under RSA 91-A:2, I(a) for collective bargaining strategy (motion Kaw-uh, second Dexter) and I(b) for legal counsel (motion O'Neil, second Burkush); then the PFAS report was tabled.
• Non-public session under RSA 91-A:3, II(d) (motion Burkush, second Barry; unanimous roll call, Bonilla and Thomas absent). Minutes sealed (motion Barry, second O'Neil). Mayor authorized to negotiate a purchase and sale agreement for the Wilson School property (motion Kaw-uh, second Goonan); Kantor and Sapienza abstained, Bonilla, Thomas and Terrio absent. Kantor said she abstained out of respect for Bonilla. See Wilson School Property Sale.
• Adjourned (motion O'Neil, second Barry). Minutes prepared by the Assistant City Clerk.

Sources

• Board of Mayor and Aldermen minutes, October 6, 2026: https://manchesternh.api.civicclerk.com/v1/Meetings/GetMeetingFileStream(fileId=5366,plainText=false)