2026-10-19 - Human Affairs Committee

00:00Here.

00:01>> Alderman Sennett is here. Alderman

00:02Ravan?

00:03>> Here.

00:05>> Uh Alderman Kelly or Alderwoman Kelly,

00:07vice chair?

00:08>> Here.

00:09>> And Alderman Lopez, chair.

00:10>> I'm here.

00:11>> Also joining us this evening is Alderman

00:13Johnson.

00:14Okay. I believe we have a guest in the

00:16audience.

00:17Um first, does anyone have any public

00:19comment to make?

00:23No members of the public here. Um any

00:25communications?

00:26>> There are none.

00:27>> Unfinished business?

00:28>> There is none.

00:28>> New business resolutions?

00:30>> We have R 26-076

00:32relative to the acceptance of $45,180

00:36from the United States Department of

00:38Justice into police grant activity 2025

00:41Justice Assistance Grant multi-juris-

00:44jurisdictional. Wow.

00:46Uh I'll make a motion to recommend final

00:48passage.

00:49>> All right. Um do we have any discussion,

00:51presentations?

00:53>> Nope, just uh I'd love to speak about

00:54just exactly what it's for.

00:56>> Awesome. Come on up. Give your name.

00:57>> Uh my name is Steve Helm. I'm a uh

00:59police officer with the Nashua Police

01:00Department as well as the uh grants

01:02manager.

01:03Um this grant is a federal grant through

01:05the um Department of Justice. It's

01:07called the Justice Assistance Grant. Um

01:10we use this funding to to fund our

01:13Citizens Academy,

01:14uh neighborhood crime watch meetings,

01:17um more importantly, our civilian

01:19response active shooter events training

01:21for all the schools throughout the city

01:22in Nashua.

01:24Um

01:26and several other uh community policing

01:27events including uh National Night Out,

01:29several Touch-a-Truck events,

01:31um PAL internet safety workshops. And we

01:34also use a portion of this funding to

01:36send officers to trainings um once our

01:38training budget is depleted. We use

01:40these funds to pay for that. Um

01:44yeah. I mean, do you guys have any

01:45questions about it or anything like

01:46that? Sure.

01:47>> Everyone is familiar with the Citizens

01:50Academy. And Alderman, it's a huge

01:52opportunity for us to find out what the

01:53police are doing so we can explain that

01:55to the constituents. Alderman Sennett?

01:57>> Uh thank you, Mr. Chair. Um

01:59just the go-to question whenever it

02:01deals with any grants, is there any um

02:03matching obligation on the city's part?

02:05>> No, there's no matching obligation. Um

02:07standby for one.

02:09Um

02:10the grant does not cover the city's cost

02:12of wage-driven benefits including

02:14pension costs, social security, and

02:15Medicare

02:17um associated with overtime costs, but

02:19that will be funded through the police

02:21department's current operating budget.

02:22>> All right. Thank you.

02:24Um

02:25regarding one of the items that the the

02:27grant funds, the active shooter response

02:30and training, um is there a component of

02:33um

02:34crisis stabilization from a mental

02:36health perspective? I know that this uh

02:38police department does have I believe at

02:40least social workers on staff.

02:41>> Yes, so we do have Leah Elliott, who is

02:43a doctor, who uh she responds anytime

02:46there's any type of emotional situation

02:48or um mental illness-type driven

02:49situation. So, um this grant doesn't

02:52specifically cover anything like that,

02:53but we do have a clinical psychologist

02:56on our staff.

02:57>> I was saying for certainly for the

02:59public, these are scary, terrifying

03:01events um and traumatic if you

03:03experience them, but for the law

03:05enforcement officers who've been through

03:07these kind of events, but also still

03:09have to show up and present and

03:10organize, you know, in the middle of a

03:12crisis, that's where that kind of

03:13support I think would be obviously very

03:15helpful.

03:16>> Absolutely, yeah, definitely. And Leah

03:17Elliott, she she also follows up with

03:19which is the the the forgotten component

03:21of this whole thing is the follow-up

03:23after just touch base and and see if we

03:25can connect these individuals with the

03:27proper resources and all that, but

03:29>> Okay.

03:30Uh Alderman Kelly.

03:31>> Uh thank you. I know this is a grant we

03:33get every year. How does this uh funding

03:37look in terms of like previous years? Is

03:39this about in line, less than you

03:41usually get?

03:42>> It's always right around the same range.

03:44It's around the the $45,000 range. So,

03:46it goes up and down, but it's usually

03:48around the same ballpark.

03:50>> Okay. And it's been pretty consistent.

03:52>> Yeah, exactly.

03:53>> Thank you.

03:53>> This one has been delayed. So, this

03:56stuff we we typically get this a little

03:58bit earlier, um but there was a delay

04:00obviously with grant funding throughout

04:02the country. So, this took a little

04:04while and we're ready we just applied

04:06for the next one already. So, that

04:07should be coming in shortly. So, I

04:08should be back pretty soon once we

04:10receive that. So, and we're we're

04:12subrecipient through Manchester. So,

04:14Manchester is a fiscal agent on this

04:16grant. We're the subrecipient.

04:19>> Can I follow up?

04:20>> Yep.

04:21>> Um are you able to because the funding

04:23came in late, are you able to use it for

04:25previous costs or only for going

04:27forward?

04:27>> Um we could technically, but our finance

04:30division likes to make sure everything

04:31is set and confirmed before we actually

04:33start spending the funds. So,

04:35>> Okay.

04:37You just had a longer delay this year.

04:39>> Exactly.

04:40>> Okay.

04:40>> [laughter]

04:40>> Thank you.

04:42>> Anyone else?

04:46All right, seeing none.

04:47Uh all those in favor of recommending

04:49final passage

04:50>> Say aye.

04:50>> Aye.

04:51>> Opposed?

04:52We'll see you at the full board.

04:54>> Uh thank you so much. Have a good night.

04:55>> Thank you.

04:55>> Yeah, thank you for coming.

04:57>> Uh new business ordinances.

04:58>> There are none.

04:59>> Tabled in committee.

04:59>> There is none.

05:00>> General discussion.

05:02Um I will just bring up that it is cold,

05:05obviously. Um we have started the

05:07resource center, so I will ask them at

05:09some point to present. I didn't want to

05:10jump right on top of them while they're

05:11still getting their ducks in a row.

05:13Um and then additionally, the warming

05:15station is due to start in November.

05:20Um

05:20>> some hands over here.

05:21>> Ooh. Wait.

05:22>> Oh, right here.

05:23>> Alderman Morgan and Alderman Kelly.

05:24>> Just a quick question. What Do you know

05:26what the date is that the warming

05:28station will open?

05:30>> I am pretty certain we said November

05:321st. In the past, it's been after

05:34Thanksgiving, which you know, you get

05:36weekends like this where it's too cold.

05:39>> Okay. Thank you.

05:40>> Alderman Kelly.

05:41>> I was going to reiterate the same point.

05:42I

05:43went to church on Sunday and I I pulling

05:45down Main Street and I thought, "Wow,

05:47it's really cold and there were still a

05:48lot of people out." So, I know we talk

05:50about it a lot, but it would

05:52be great to have the warming station

05:53open even if it's just,

05:55you know,

05:57haphazardly, but like it was 30° on

05:59Saturday night.

06:01>> Uh one of the daytime one of the

06:02benefits of the resource center pilot

06:04that was presented is that it would

06:06operate on the weekends, which there's

06:08not a lot of programs that do that. Um

06:10but I also think that we have enough

06:11churches out there that if they could

06:13pull a little coffee stand outside, it

06:15probably would bring in a lot of people.

06:17So, it's something I've basically asked

06:19every church I've bumped into repeatedly

06:21if they're interested in, so maybe

06:23someone will do it.

06:25Any other questions or discussion?

06:29All right, I'll try to have a little

06:30more presentation on that

06:32um in our next Human Affairs Committee,

06:33which will be in November.

06:34>> You got another one.

06:35>> Actually, I lied.

06:36I wanted to ask you, actually. Do you um

06:39have

06:40a schedule for the gaps analysis

06:42committee and when you're going to start

06:43meeting?

06:44>> I have not received that communication

06:46yet, but I did just come back from

06:48working in Washington, so I haven't

06:49checked my official city email, so it

06:51may be there.

06:52>> Okay.

06:53>> But I can probably coordinate that

06:55somehow with this committee just so

06:56we're not feeling out of the loop.

06:58>> Yeah.

06:58For sure.

07:01>> All right.

07:04Any remarks group public comment? Anyone

07:07here for public comment?

07:09Seeing none.

07:10Um remarks by the aldermen? Any other

07:12things to comment on?

07:14>> Alderman

07:15>> Uh Morgan?

07:16>> Um just a quick reminder that on

07:19Saturday will be the Howling

07:21Howl-O-Ween, which is a dog parade, and

07:24Monster Mash downtown um put on by

07:26Downtown uh Nashua Association. You find

07:30the info start time on their website.

07:32>> Probably not as same scale, but Involved

07:36in Fact is doing a Halloween costume

07:38over Liquid Therapy costume party thing.

07:40Um but then next week um

07:43outside Soul Sisters are doing a trunk

07:44or treat.

07:46So, any parents looking for like a a

07:47convenient and also well-monitored

07:50location, I would definitely recommend

07:51that.

07:55Any other announcements?

07:57All right, seeing none, can I get a

07:59motion?

08:00>> I move to adjourn.

08:01>> All right.

08:02All those in favor of adjournment, say

08:04aye.

08:04>> Aye.

08:05>> Opposed?

08:06We are adjourned at 7:08 p.m.

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