CLAREMONT, N.H. – The Claremont City Council meeting on Wednesday, April 8, opened with a speech by Mayor Dale Girard honoring Fiske Free Library Director Michael Grace for his 21 years of service, the longest of any city librarian in Claremont’s history. Grace will be retiring on April 17.
A number of upcoming events were then announced. The Well Collaborative is hosting a May Day breakfast from 8-11 a.m., at the First Congregational Church on Pleasant Street. The parks and recreation department is working on a scholarship golf tournament, which will take place on Wednesday, May 20. The Center for Safer Communities is having their 20th annual Stepping Up to End Violence 5K Walk and Run Fun Run on Saturday, May 2. Registration begins that day, at 8:30 a.m., with walking starting at 10 a.m. Registration for youth soccer is open currently, and runs through May 14, at the Claremont Parks and Recreation Center.
There were several reappointments up for council approval for various committees. The list is as follows: Erin Groff Greenhouse, for Alternate Seat 6 on the conservation committee; Gary Dickerman, for Seat 5 on the conservation committee; Bruce Kalen, for Seat 5 on the planning committee; Maxine J. Gell DeFrance, for Seat 3 on the planning committee; Jill Chastity, for Seat 3 on the historic district committee; Wayne Hemingway, for Seat 4 on the zoning board of adjustment; and Michael Lemieux, for Seat 5 on the zoning board of adjustment. The reappointments were approved by the council.
Council member Nicholas Koloski mentioned some of the committees can’t hold meetings because there are not enough committee members to meet their quorum. If anyone is interested in volunteering for a committee, Koloski recommended people check for information on the city’s website, www.claremontnh.com.
During citizens forum, artist Ernest Montenegro displayed his painting of former City Manager Guy Santagate, who served in the role from 2001-2016. Montenegro would like to gift his artwork to the City of Claremont in honor of Santagate’s many accomplishments, which include the Common Man complex of buildings, the industrial park on River Road, the Claremont Makerspace, and the city’s parking garage. The artist hopes that the painting of Santagate will be hung in the council chambers.
Charlene Lovett from the Claremont Sugar River Rotary Club spoke about citywide litter pickup, which is happening from April 18-26, with the goal of cleaning up the roads and sidewalks of Claremont. People can register at the community center, and the Rotary will organize the bag retrieval. Trash bags and gloves will be available at the community center.
Director of Parks and Recreation Justin Martin offered the proposed rates for swim lane reservations for the lap pool and the teaching pool at the community center. They are $15 per lane per hour for swim lessons, and $10 per lane per hour for swimming. He also stated that the Upper Valley Aquatic Center is eager to start piloting swim lessons at the community center. The council approved these fee rates.
Director of Public Works Alex Gleeson has been working on standardizing the meter hydrant fee, which currently does not exist. He recommended a $150 daily connection fee to cover the setup, monitoring, and administration costs associated with it. After much discussion, the council approved a fee of $100, instead of the proposed $150.
Police Chief Brent Wilmot recommended changes to restitution fees, copying fees to the public, and false alarm fees. The council approved these fee changes.
City Manager Nancy Bates said there are some proposed changes to the costs of the North and Main Street project. She introduced Brian Colburn, who was contracted by the city to oversee this project. Colburn explained that the volatility in the costs of fuel and pavement, along with the need to relocate the water main line, have increased the cost of this project. Bates explained that the state will pay for the bulk of this cost. However, the city needs to come up with $59,400 for their share of this cost increase.
The resolution presented to the council for approval proposed that the money needed come out of the unassigned general fund budget. The council voted “no” to this proposal. Members expressed an interest in finding the money from another source. One source suggested was using funds not spent on salaries in the planning department due to vacancies.
Gleeson asked for approval to join the Greenwater Infrastructure Design Project with the Upper Valley Sunapee Planning Commission, to solve the problem of sheets of water running down Park Avenue. This design project will be using grant funds already obtained from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. The grant is to specifically provide for engineering consultancy and planning. The council approved this plan.
Fire Chief Jim Chamberlain sought approval for funding the purchase of a new fire engine at the cost of $9,480,364. City Treasurer Cathy Parks presented three payment options. Girard stated that he was opposed to holding future council members to a lease in which they will have no say. He added, “I think we need to come in with an overall plan, which is why the Capital Improvement Plan is there, so that everything is brought to council at once so that we can come up with the money that we’re going to be spending…I can’t support any of these options this evening. I’m for the firetruck, but not this way.” The Chief requested that the council approve the purchase of a fire truck, with no financial plan needed for this initial approval. The council agreed to this.
Bates explained that, while the roof work was being done at 56 Opera House Square, the work crew found asbestos in the second-floor ceiling. She requested that the council approve the application and expenditure of money through a Capital Regional Development Council grant to remove the asbestos so that roof work can be complete. The council approved.
Bates expressed interest in working with a website developer to design a new city website with timely, professional tech help when needed. She feels input from the public, the council, and the staff is important. The council applauded this.
Bates also told the council that a prior planning and development director had applied for and received funds for a two-phased small-business development project, and that she had recently discovered that some of the stipulations in the grant have not been followed. Councilor Wayne Hemingway noted that this “would probably affect our chances of getting another grant.” Assistant Mayor Debora Matteau asked that Bates come back with a new proposal for spending the remaining funds in the Phase 1 portion of the grant on small-business development in the downtown. She suggested that then Phase 2 compliance could be addressed.
The Claremont City Council meets on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month, at 6:30 p.m., in the Claremont City Hall Council Chambers.