Is that all you need, Katie?

All right.

So I'm gonna jump in, just kind of kick off how we're gonna do it and run through this.

This meeting is being recorded.

We're not uh live streaming it, we are we are recording it, so we'll have that out there.

Um the city clerk is gonna take a basic set of minutes.

Um but I've asked Tyler to help out with this project.

Um he's gonna take the actual individual um information that we talk about, and that's what we're gonna put together for the for the final document.

Um the goal will be to have a final document to you guys hopefully by the first meeting uh in April, um, but definitely before budget presentations are done.

I mean, started so that way you can you can see that.

Uh as we've done in the past, we've done it a few different ways in the past, but just kind of run through what I'd like to see done today, and you certainly this is your event, and you can do whatever you would like.

But um when we talk about topics that you're looking at, all topics are welcome.

Um, and we also put it, you know, don't be afraid to look at the low-hanging fruit as well.

Even if it's seemingly simple, it doesn't mean it's not a good thing to throw in there because these are things that our departments can check off quickly.

Um you guys are encouraged to repeat and expand on what was previously stated by another counselor.

Um so if one person brings up a topic, certainly you bring it up as well.

And when it's your turn, is there's that's encouraged.

But in the same vein, just because you don't bring up something that somebody else says, it doesn't mean you're against what somebody else said.

Um see here.

Um all of our departments are here with us tonight.

Um they don't necessarily participate.

This is this is your time to talk.

Um, but if they're they are here, uh, one to hear what you have to say, but two, if you have questions um that are specific.

Um I say at the 30,000 foot view level.

Um so if we were to say, you know, for an example, um you know, you know, uh, how do we address this particular topic?

They can give you the 30,000 foot view on it.

If you want to know how much it's gonna cost or and how many people it takes, that's really not something we're ready to talk about today, but they can give you the smaller one.

So we'll avoid getting into the weeds on it.

Um when we present this to you, um, the way we're gonna lay it out, similar to the one of the examples that I passed out.

You we're gonna have an overarching topic.

I'll pick one that's gonna come up homelessness.

That is gonna be there, right?

That'll be that'll be a that'll be a headline, and then we'll break down underneath it different ideas um and and sort of filter it out that way.

Um when we're putting that together and finalizing that.

I'm gonna also work with the department heads to see if they have specific information that is that is worth adding to it.

So it not only looks like a headline or our header, but it also has a some topics, and then maybe have some things that we're already working on, or you know, know we need to work on in the future and in and it's being planned out.

Um so similar to how we've done this before.

I know some of you have been through these, some of you haven't.

Um this is really uh, you know, the six of you or seven here, uh Council Harpin's unable to be here today.

Um it's a six of years ability to kind of have these conversations and let us hear what you're thinking.

Um, and uh I'll turn it over to the mayor to kick it off and start with what you're doing.

So the first things first, Kirk already brought it up, the homelessness situation.

Something we really need to address.

Chief Canfield's been doing an excellent job as of late, making sure they're out of sight, out of mind.

Um there's still a lot of work that needs to be done on that now.

Solutions a lot harder than just saying we want them gone.

Um so we gotta find ways to kind of keep them out of our downtown areas, more importantly, keep them off individuals private property, and I don't think we should be allowing them in public spaces to sleep and defecate and all that.

So I think we need to come together and try to target the homelessness situation in this area.

Um it's still prevalent, it's not in sight as much as it's been, but it's still out there.

So that's topic number one.

Counselor Susie.

Yeah, I'm on that same line, if you don't mind.

Okay.

I know that one of the things that to me helped to solve the homelessness is to get the affordable housing.

Those are both very well linked together.

So the problem is I I don't mean to have the left deal.

The well, we can't define affordable housing in my point of view, number one, and I I I personally don't like that term because that term what be might be affordable for you might be different than what's affordable for counselor Bogart.

What's affordable?

How do you define it?

I I don't have definition.

That's I don't have a definition.

I think for this exercise, it's a little bit more about the topics.

Certainly looking in like you you mentioned homelessness and then some targeted items that we could hit.

I don't know if we're gonna have solutions and talking about like correct getting into the way you know, defining, but that's something that we can build out on with any of the topics that you're gonna bring up.

Okay.

I mean, Chief Canfield, do you have any recommendations on how to help alleviate the situation on from your end or on the homeless issue?

Yes.

No, not beyond what we've been doing.

Okay.

I just wanted to make sure you didn't have some bright idea that would help assist us in that.

I don't think anybody does.

Um the affordable housing issue, again, we don't have affordable construction rates either.

Well, I know that, and we've talked about as a council, okay, and as a as an item in the list that you gave us 79E to help get developers of contractors to build more housing that might be lower costs or again affordable, and what's the definition?

But at the same time, we got burned in the last deal, okay.

Um in Lakeport, we thought we offer the 79E, there was going to be apartments or something like that, and there'd be higher cost condos.

Okay.

So we addressed that in the ones after that.

We did fix that problem moving forward.

Okay.

So which we did with the last one we did.

Okay.

And I think that's 79E is a great thing.

I'm waiting to see something done on New Salem Street.

Okay.

Uh I think the developer there has got some ideas of doing something.

We've heard that on the papers.

I have another developer that's looking into something.

Everybody's waiting for the rates to drop.

Yeah.

Okay.

And who two o'clock?

I think the uh the Fed's gonna say whether or not they did this month or not.

But uh that's why I come right down to the definition.

Okay.

Uh the homelessness, I think a lot of those people maybe don't want do not want they like being homeless.

Oh, they like living outside or taking advantage of nature or something like this, because I think there's plenty of agencies around to help people.

Correct.

Some people don't want it or qualify or sorry.

Counselor Hildra's.

Thank you.

Um I think I think this is probably as much as it's connected, a second goal.

Um, as much as they're connected and one affects can affect the other, like counselor Susi said, if they don't want to to be in a a house or home, there's nothing you're gonna do about that.

But I think it should be two separate um two separate goals.

Yeah, no, that's fine.

We'll we'll break this up.

What I'd like to see just for the to keep everybody on track is I'd kind of like the mayor to run down through his list and then we'll go around and let everybody have their own.

Yeah, no, no, no.

Have let everybody let everybody have their piece because they're probably they may want to say something about the topic, and then if you want to open up the general, it seems to work out that way.

That way everybody gets their their opportunity to uh lay out their goals.

Um really need to start approaching businesses from outside the area and trying to lure them into this area.

Um they're doing it very successfully down in Salem right now.

I mean, we have the lakes, it's a beautiful, beautiful place to be.

Whether we have to give them tax incentives, no matter what we have to do, we have to focus on getting bigger companies to this area, so we're giving people careers, not just jobs.

And I I think it's something we really need to focus on.

We're just going through all the time.

Yeah, we're just gonna run out.

I was gonna say I was gonna comment, but I was gonna wait till you go through all the time.

Okay, um, so that that's another big goal I think that we really need to address is luring in careers instead of jobs, because we focus too much on the tourist industry.

Um I mean, those are the hot topics that have been brought up to me the affordable housing, the homelessness issue, generating new jobs.

I mean, I could go through the whole survey, but those were the three hot topics.

All right, so I think what the way it's worked well in the past is you've run down your through, we'll go around to each of the councils by by ward or whoever wants to go is fine.

Yeah, that's up to you guys.

And then I think having an open up conversation at the end works well.

Well, like everyone sitting here, excuse me, the uh the transient homeless population is is an issue.

Um, and also housing, very important.

Excuse me.

Um another topic that is of concern and something that we really have to monitor and be diligent on is the control growth at the former state school.

Because we can't affect a lot of that, but whatever we can, we need to make sure we stay on it, make sure that things are um progressing the way they're supposed to.

Another uh another goal in my mind that people have talked to me about is um development downtown, making sure we maintain that, make sure that we continue to build on the successes that we've had, and um and work to make this a place to come for people not only in Laconia, but from the Lakes region, other parts of the state.

I think uh we've moved in the the right direction there, and uh I think um we need to continue that however we can with the downtown TIFF, which uh whatever, whatever we can use, whatever tools we have.

Thank you, Councillor Susie.

Okay, I know we're not gonna get into the the weeds, the deep weeds, okay.

But um when it comes to economic development, now you brought up a good point where great great attraction to a lot of tourists want to come here.

So I've spoken to, as we all know, around the lake because we're so good.

We have some very influential people, some large corporate people here.

I've spoken to a couple of them, and they say, Bob, I love coming up here for as a tourist, but I'm sure not going to put a plant here and have to work.

It's it's a good thing for us, and at the same time, it's it's it's not uh it's not a bad thing, it's just that we're gonna take a different approach.

So we do have a an economic development position that we filled last year or the year before.

Okay, and joyer is in that.

We might have to review all of that and help that person or help that position, you might say.

And I think the state at the same time, we're seeing a lot of stuff in the press today about everybody's moving to Texas or Florida because of no taxes.

We have no taxes here.

We have no income tax and no sales tax, and I think we should the state should be pushing, and maybe they are, but we're not seeing it here.

The governor is pushing for uh companies to come here, right?

Okay, but I mean we're gonna help that out as much as we can do, whether we put together uh uh a team to work with joyer or whoever that is, okay, and and really become aggressive in it.

Okay.

The other a couple of other things.

Of course.

Infrastructure, okay.

We all talk about our roads and and everything else like that, but we're really really gonna uh we've got a couple of real areas that someday we're gonna get pushed to the wall.

I'm concerned about downtown not being really ADA compliant, okay.

And I'm a it just concerns me that someday we're really gonna get hit.

We're gonna have to do something not just there but everywhere, okay.

And I I marvel really, I I just applaud what the chief and his department has done and been able to get grants for 80 percent, 90 percent of the equipment that they get, and they do a fantastic job.

And I know we're trying, um that's just another area we're gonna I think do more work at.

You did a good thing, I guess a couple weeks ago um with the uh um the old Scotland Williams building with the you know, try and get some additional monies there from redoing the apartments or maybe more something else like that.

We've got to put more emphasis in that area and those things like that.

The other one that I like to do, and I know everybody's got the runs one more to add.

I like to see us really put a lot more focus and help the school department to expand our Vogue Tech Tech School, okay?

And today's world as a businessman, um, I can tell you I'm the people that are coming to me, and some of the kids come in looking for jobs, they're coming out of college, and they're not prepared at all.

But I know kids coming out of the folk school go to work as either a uh a trainee or something with some of a plumber or electrician, they're making six figures three years later.

I'd really like to see us find a way to take that Vogue school and expand it, the high school, but the ages between get out of high school, let's say it's 17 or 18, between there and 23, 24, open that school up some more, whether it's evenings or whatever it is like that, and invest in that and get take that age group, or those the people in that age group, maybe it's outside, but once you get out of high school, if you're not going to the college, you're going to the service, which I think everybody should do, okay, but something like that, then you're you're stuck.

How do we promote that and get that for the city?

I think that'd be that's my other one.

Well, that's like I said, 61 percent of children in New Hampshire are leaving the state.

So I think here, I mean with the growth we're gonna have with the state school, and we look at our building permits this year, roughly a hundred million dollars.

What do the people need?

They need plumbers, electricians, contractors, this and that.

We don't have enough.

Okay.

Counselor Haynes.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mayor.

Um I think to go along with the downtown, and I think it's never gonna fit.

And I know this may be into the weeds, but we need to do some event planning.

I don't care who it is or how it is done.

Um, if you look at there's no company that can stay in existence without advertising their product, okay.

We have a product here, we're not advertising it.

When I I mean, it's no due respect, no, no disrespect to some of our people that have helped out with different things, but it's we could pull it all together and and actually advertise and have a budget where we can advertise the area and the quality of life that's here.

Um of the other things that that concerns me the greatest is water quality, and I'm not talking about drinking water, I'm talking about the lay lakes in general, and what we're doing as far as uh promoting conservation and the whole work.

Yes, we can have recreation, but they go hand in hand.

So I think uh that the other thing I'd like to mention is um sitting on the um committee, um we've had a lot of demolition permits, and I think that's fine with um people that are on the lakes that are taking down cottages that have um that are going to build year-round homes, but we also have a lot of other buildings that have been allowed to deteriorate to the fact that they should come down, okay.

And I think uh in some respects that has to do with code enforcement and the whole work.

Okay, when you have a building, I just give you a hypothetical.

When you have a building that has cracks in the infrastructure and the whole works, and there's people that live there, and um you know now we're taking it down because it's not inhabitable.

Well, how did it allow to get to that uh to that point?

So, anyways, it's enforcement and homework.

Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you, Councillor Bogart.

One second.

Trying to take notes.

Um so far I think uh the council has hit on nine very good uh things, and and uh uh a lot of it's to me is gonna go back to economics because if you don't have if we continue down the same path of economics, the money is not gonna the money we pay a lot of people will not afford them to buy a house and pay for groceries.

So the economic portion is gonna be the most important part.

Now, a lot of people say chicken or egg, whatever, but you gotta have some jobs that are gonna pay a meaningful wage, and through that a consistent meaningful wage.

So that's part of bringing in the companies and stuff like that, that's gonna pay that 25 to 30 bucks an hour if you look at plumbers and stuff like that.

We're gonna need if if our labor force doesn't improve, all the workers that are gonna be over there in the state school property redevelopment into the villages of Laconia are gonna be for mass.

And they're gonna come up here in droves to work and stuff.

Some might find a way to live here, some might not.

But that goes with what counselor Susi said, the vote and stuff like that, making improvements there at the community college, you know.

Uh and what counselor Haynes has said about the advertising, and I think you said that uh we do it on the state level.

We do it on the state level, but we don't do it as a city level, and I think that's a very important thing.

Now, if you go back to the uh affordable housing and stuff, the state has two programs.

Uh one is going to the Senate.

The first one was called C Space Pacer.

CPACER provided the ability to finance work on things that like windows and stuff that's gonna improve and have like a 20-year lifespan or something.

It allows them to separate that out and finance that differently than they would with the regular property.

And the beauty of that is those things they take out and get a lower interest rate on will ride along with the property.

So if the company goes out bankrupt, that doesn't go bankrupt.

Now just this past week, there was a bill that passed the House.

It's called R Pacer for residential.

So if a developer's gonna come in and they want to develop something, they could separate those same things out, the windows and stuff that's gonna make it uh uh energy friendly type things and finance that differently than they would the property and stuff like that, so that they can get a lower interest rate.

Now, mind you, it's going to the Senate, and we don't know what it's gonna look like.

Um but each of these, all nine of these are all closely well woven together, you know, because each one of these is gonna help us grow in the future that I feel.

I don't have anything to add to the list because I think the four of y'all have already hit on every cylinder, but if we don't make some changes, and I'm gonna throw this out there as a negative, don't do something different now, and start them start it changing.

We're gonna end up as Claremont has, we're gonna end up as Berlin has.

And it's not gonna be pretty.

If if we don't look at moving this boat in another direction, we're not gonna have the money available to keep the roads in place to do the kind of projects that we need to show our things.

So that's all I have to say.

Thank you, Council Conan.

Yes, I'd like to um address the fact that that we have at our advantage the ability to create social districts, and that goes to the development of downtown, which has been mentioned, and it also goes where I think we could take advantage of what counselor haynes said and advertise that Laconia is creating these social districts and attract folks that typically wouldn't come here.

So I think we need to take advantage of what's in front of us and get that um solved and and start with downtown and get it right, and then once we have it right, we can advertise the heck out of it and attract some some new people to our city.

Um we would talk, um, Kirk mentioned low low-hanging fruit, um, but I think this is a very, very important topic, and that is pride in our city.

In in my ward, um, we have several locations which I've already worked with the planning department and code enforcement to get notices sent out where people basically have junkyards in their backyard.

And it may start off as they've got an unregistered car, and now there's another one, and then there's a camper they haven't used in forever, and it makes the neighborhoods unattractive.

And Elm Street is in my ward, and if you drive down Elm Street, you're forced to look at an abandoned box truck that has another truck on top of it, and it just gives Laconia a bad taste.

And so I think if we all could get the citizens involved in pride of Laconia and clean up the neighborhoods, I just think that would be a step in the right direction to make us more attractive.

So that's what I'd like to put on the table.

Well, I say, yeah, but I'm I'm kind of on the same board like pride and ownership too, because I see a lot of homeowners that aren't maintaining their properties and letting them go down the hill.

Yeah, and it's nothing we could force upon people because it's kind of out of our realm, but I think if we give some sort of and and the pride in ownership goes back to what Councillor Haynes mentioned with the demolition uh things, you know, folks are tearing down perfectly good cottages to build McMansions, but we also have eyesores in the city that have just been allowed to do deteriorate to the point where they're dangerous and they're still there.

So what can we do?

And that kind of goes hand in hand with the whole pride in the city.

It's not the New Hampshire way, but I know a lot of communities outside of New Hampshire that do actually regulate stuff like that, like lawn trimming and you know, basically the way your house looks.

Um we have that problem at the corner of parade road and roller coaster.

I know exactly what you're talking about.

You you have another one at on the entrance of 106, just past the the where you get on the bypass and stuff as you come in.

It's almost across from that gas station.

It looks like I'll leave it as that.

And and it has been that way for years.

And this is one of the first things that you see as you enter the city.

Yeah, so right.

I think we got some what are we up to 10 topics now?

10.

So I think we came over 10 good topics.

We're gonna like I said, we're gonna take these topics and sort of clump them in and and and organize them by category, but uh certainly um as I'm sure you still have more to talk about, but as I as I mentioned earlier, this also gives the opportunity for department heads as they get ready to prepare their budget presentations for you to bring these up.

And you know, each time that this happens, that's exactly what they they look to.

They look at some of the things you said said, oh, I can actually address something on this, or I can do something about that and put that into their presentations, with which tends to work out.

So on that topic, I know you brought this several people brought up downtown.

I see a lot of empty storefronts.

What can we do to lure more business into that area?

I think there's there's many subjects.

One of the ones I know, excuse me.

No, you've got counsel that uh uh has been as council bogots is one of the helping of the leaders of it.

Put the you know, the things to it's more of optics, put the lights up overhead, like we talked about, where that bit is or that grant of stuff.

I think we we do that.

I think also turn around and I mean I know in the audience here, John is here.

We take a look and talk to the talk to the all the uh the landlords, okay.

And what can we do in in their minds and things that we can control?

Okay, we can't control what they want to charge for rent.

No, okay.

No, we can't.

That's not our business.

We're not in a rent control business, okay.

I mean, I there's certain types of opportunities I like to see brought downtown.

Everybody's talks about more restaurants, some clothing stores, legal late hour places that are open past five, six o'clock would draw uh you know, some um you know, there's there's buildings that are empty, as you talked about.

We talked to landlords about why are they empty, how do we get some other people in here?

What do we do on that?

And we have a we have an economic development person, okay?

How do we help that person or how to guide that what's been happening from that point?

I think we need to speak to that whole situation.

The other thing is is that what do we have to do that is our control, whether it's cosmetics from the street side, the curbs, all that kind of stuff, okay?

Is the parking way the way it is today, the diagonal parking?

Everybody has their feelings on that.

But what is the best way to do it?

Okay, we've done a million traffic studies down there, okay.

You know, there's there's a lot of data.

How do we gather that all together and make some decisions?

Okay.

I know there's you mentioned or maybe it was Councillor Haynes and events planning.

Okay, we have some events that take some events that take place downtown, okay.

Um, one of them that I'm involved with is public.

So I think it's great.

Okay, we're gonna expand it this year.

But we need there's other things that take place.

What can the city do to help those?

Now I know we're doing a lot of things.

Go ahead, Council Bulgaria.

The website.

I have sat down with the website, and it'd probably be better if we had a user-friendly website or to do some changes and stuff.

I've worked with our economical developer a little bit, and we were going through looking at how to showcase our city for economics, because when a company's looking uh to relocate, they're gonna go to your website and look at your 10-year plan.

And if if the website is is not uh showcasing the right things for our city, then and our 10-year plan, which is being actively worked on, the two go hand in hand.

And and you only got about 20 seconds when the guy goes looks at the website if you don't grab his attention next to the first 20 seconds.

I have an idea about that.

Well, two ideas.

A separate visit Laconia website, kind of like we ever visit New Hampshire website.

If we I don't know what the cost would be, I it it's not that much nowadays to create and maintain a website.

It's five thousand bucks.

Yeah, if we can't if we came up with like a visit New Hampshire, uh visit Laconia website with all the highlights and good pictures and good ways that you know, and maybe we do need to put together an events committee.

Yeah, um that they know social because we have so much, but we don't show people to the rest of the state or the rest of the country.

Well that comes out to the other thing that you said, okay, economics.

Okay, so in this year's budget, we should probably put a line item in there that of an event line item, whatever it is that we're gonna, we as a council, we're gonna use to invest promote the city, or whatever you want to call it, okay.

I call it invest, course or invest, yeah.

Whatever, you know, stuff like that, and do that, okay, because yeah, I'm I'm you know, from the from Pumpkin Fest, some other things that I just think it's awesome for us to do that.

Okay, we're gonna really push it and find a way to get national exposure.

That's what you're leading to.

And I think and and using the assets that we have.

If you took the Colonial Theater as its main asset, and you had something going on every week, not once a month, but every week.

I don't care if it's uh uh uh a big name ban or just something local, but something that creates foot traffic, because the more foot traffic we can get downtown, the more people are gonna want to stay open past five, and and and it might bring in other businesses because with limited foot traffic, it's only gonna provide limited business growth.

But every week, every week if we had something there, and that lights are owned.

Well, I'm thinking like a visit laconia website.

We don't want to detach the city of Laconia's website because we want to use this as a welcoming as a marketing tool instead of you know who who really wants to check the city website to see what's going on.

If you go to Visit Laconia.com or whatever we make up for that, it's and we can advertise too.

You do Facebook advertising, Instagram advertising, it's not that much money.

And you can you could target a certain age group, you could target, you could do targeted demographics, and it could really help us draw people more people to the area.

And you know, there's the public uh access that we have public access TV, and there's nothing that's stopping us from utilize them and and and do little trailers or tril, I don't pronounce it correctly, but little short videos of showing our things that we have that are great downtown, and that way they get a video, or they they have the video of the public access channel, wouldn't they be able to do maybe even a show that would highlight a business every week a different business every week?

Absolutely.

The challenge with that is the cable the cable television that we have today.

Most people have a cable TV I don't cable anyone.

I you might not, but a lot of people do they don't carry those channels.

Okay.

So we'd have to find ways around that.

But I think all these are in the weeds that we'll get to.

Okay.

Yes, I think that's yeah.

I I think you know me, I if I had my way I'd reverse urban renewal.

I don't think you'll find anybody in this room that would say not.

I do not disagree with you that that traffic pattern is horrible.

Well, it's more advantageous for them to blow right through than it is for them to stop.

So the traffic patterns change four times in fifty years.

So it's only gonna it's not like it's not uh adjustable, yeah, reviewable.

What else?

Councillor Haynes as far as the downtown is concerned.

I think during Punk and Fest, the downtown looked remarkable.

And I know that there is a a lot of TIFF money that was spent as far as the aesthetics is concerned.

But as far as events planning, as far as we the downtown and and as we continue to do that, I think it the the downtown should look that way all the time.

I agree.

Okay.

Um, and I know it's hard to do, but um I I just I don't want to sound like a broken record, but during Punk and Fest, if the downtown look remarkable, and that's the way it always should look.

And I think I think one of the things that we're missing is people look at aesthetics, okay?

Whether building needs to be painted, there's trash on the street, um, there's weeds growing out of the curbing.

That's what people look at.

That's the selling point.

So, you know, the biggest downside people look at is the transient population wandering our streets, and it actually deters people from doing business downtown or even going downtown.

So that's really doesn't have anything to do with the downtown, but I think one of the things we're missing is that young people, young families want to recreate.

They want to do activities.

And I don't think that at times we go out of our way, and the TV program is uh we don't go out of our way to sell our park system.

We don't and you know, Opeach's beautiful.

You know, the point, the whole works.

The the whole Opechi complex is remarkable with the track and all we don't sell it.

Okay.

Um all the parks, Elm Street, what and Robbie Mills, uh, Memorial Wyatt.

Well, we just don't sell it.

Well, since if we did Levitt Park, I do notice a lot of young families there and and a lot more utilization.

We put a lot of money in there, but we but it's working.

The rest of the parks are suffering a little bit, okay.

Um we might have to address that somewhere.

I think we do a great job on the athletic science for our parks.

Awesome.

Robbie Mills and all those others.

We don't do as great a job when it comes to the non-athletic business, I think.

Okay.

I know Amy's here, and it's not a shot at Amy, it's just the fact that we kind of call it budget limited her in the same time.

Yeah.

Council Bogart.

I know there's a group looking to run a statewide men's softball, and they were looking for a now.

The question is, because they do all of this.

They were gonna do a Robbie Mills, if I remember right.

They would love to do a Robbie Mills, and because we already allow drinking, they drink, and that's the only part we allow alcohol, you know, that I'm aware of.

Uh so that would bring in people from out of out and around from different parts of the state to our city also.

So all great ideas.

How do we implement them?

Well, that's well, I think that's something I think we're just coming up with a more than no.

We're coming up with a basically framework right now, and then we could get into the weeds and and try to figure out how we because I think everybody's had great input and green ideas, it's just now we gotta focus on getting them done.

Because we can all sit here and see where blue in the face saying we're gonna fix this, we want this, we want that, but we need to come up with an actual plan.

Right.

And like somebody mentioned earlier, the downtown, we want to make it a destination, not just uh, okay.

And I mean, I agree.

Um, you know, we know some of them, some we don't know, okay.

How do we are how do we I want to say what get them going, leverage whatever word you want to make, okay?

I mean all that kind of thing.

Yeah, yeah.

You know, how do you do that?

Or take the Masonic building, okay.

One of the most anybody goes inside the Masonic building and looks at what they've got inside there and on the upstairs with the ballroom and everything else like that.

Beautiful, beautiful, okay.

How do we find a way to get something done there?

You you you know, the if I could add to that idea, uh we could do a survey.

We could have our economical development via the city manager's office, uh, take and and put a survey together and send it to all the one all the business owners or building owners, and and and try to find the first level of the onion pill is to find out what their thoughts are, and they're more likely to say something in a survey than they would in public if we had a public meeting.

Then we could start to scratch at it some and see if there's something we can do or not do.

Get them to a complete the survey first.

Well, there's uh uh a smaller amount of people you're working with downtown, uh trying to get that done.

But I agree with you getting them to do it.

Uh but if they could see it would help them to grow, maybe they will do it so that they can grow.

So I think another thing we have to worry about, perception.

Perception is certain people's reality.

And I've spoken to many people from outside the area in other parts of New Hampshire, and even within the area that are scared of downtown.

So we got to get that stigma and perception away.

So we have to do something that makes it more welcoming.

I mean, we're working on the transient situation and stuff like that, but I I think you know, that they it unfortunately it's got a bad rap from my understanding outside of us locals who love it.

Um, if you talk to people in outside areas, it's got a bad stigma behind it.

I'm if I'm gonna be blacked.

You know, if I could and and I agree with you, and I think the main thing that would do that is we would have to find a few more officers for the police department because with the resources they got, they're doing a bang up job.

Oh, they are but they're stretched a little bit.

So if we were to increase the and have the beat patrol down there, people see an actual cop in the days in the evenings and stuff like that as they're walking the beat, the old beat off the same.

People they feel safer.

It's just, you know, uh, and I think that's gonna take an investment on our part to do something like that, because you can't ask the police department to stretch something as it is and not provide resources for them to be able to do it.

So again, like I said, that's that's just perception outside perception.

I love downtown, I think it's beautiful.

I think we have a lot of opportunity to grow down there and do these cool events and stuff, but we have to like that's a good idea if we bring in more law enforcement, which obviously is gonna cost us, but it'll get that stigma away a little bit, and that's it won't sting people as much.

Excuse me.

Yeah, as the old beat officer, okay, for many years down there, probably take about five positions to do it 24 hours a day, seven days a week, okay.

And I'm not saying it was it was good.

I made a lot of friends down there with the community and have a good time on there to and everything else like that.

Sometimes we're good, some days were at two o'clock in the morning in the middle of winter.

Okay.

Not the greatest, but you know, I think I think you're right.

Okay.

And uh today we have opportunities where by using, and I might be wrong, and I'd have to leave this to the chief can't feel, but we I think we just bought a gator and they have the bikes and stuff like that, so make it probably a lot more visible.

Yeah, but I think that's we have the equipment, and I agree with you.

Just we need the staffing, something to put on the seat.

I'd also like to see us turn around and do something with the river walk or whatever we want to call it, all the way down to the Fair Street Bridge, whatever we can put together for that.

We are starting right with the lights you're talking about.

Take a take advantage of that river we have there, okay?

Hopefully, and work and work with the whoever owns the uh properties that are butts up butts it and do something along that line.

I think that's a gold, you know, that's a diamond in the rough right there, that whole river walk.

Well, that should be and I don't know what the state's position is on that either.

I don't know.

I don't either.

I haven't had a chance to think of that.

But I think through our our our planning side, then that could be encompassed into site plans and stuff like that, if if it's brought up to them.

And in some cities, they have a planning book.

And the planning book, when you want to come into a city and stuff, that you hand them, here's our book, here's our our likes, and here's our dislikes.

And that way a developer up front, instead of waiting for technical review and all of that, they can pick up this book, it don't have to be thick.

It's just saying this is what we'd like to see in your designs and stuff like that.

And they go, oh, okay, great.

And a lot of times it doesn't cost them more because they if it's done up front versus waiting to them to do the designs, then it's gonna cost them a fortune.

But if you get it out there up front, like the lighting, the friendliness of the trails and stuff like that, as this is the atmosphere we're going for.

Non negotiable.

And then you support it through all of our boards, our zoning board, our planning boards, and stuff like that.

It's only as good as these boards will support what planning's trying to do.

And planning's only going to be as good as what this tier is gonna be.

There's so much red tape to get anything moving ahead.

We gotta cut the red tape somehow.

You gotta for the downtown lighting, I think is the most important.

Yeah, it'll make people feel more welcome.

Yeah, it'll also deter the the other problems.

Yes, yeah.

I think the lighting is a huge help.

It's a huge step in the right direction.

And then when you talk about visibility, I'm sorry, about the optics and all, we've got to do something, I think about the painting or whatever we want to do.

I know these are getting into the weeds a little bit, crosswalks.

Okay, all those kinds of things to me that's the something that rubs me the wrong way.

You can't see them have to.

No, you can't and you look down and you're like, oh, there is a crosswalk there.

Yeah.

Once again, I agree with you, and these are investments.

These are investments.

We gotta think about this differently because if we continue doing the same thing, this is insanity.

Oh, because if we we're we're doing the same thing over and over again, and guess what?

It's not working.

We're spinning tires and muddy.

That's what we're doing.

And we're not getting anywhere fast.

Our infrastructure, our road infrastructure is suffering.

This is the worst winter we've had in a long time.

It's gonna cost us a fortune to uh overcome all these uh potholes and what's those uh freeze bottoms.

Frost heaves frost heavies and and stuff like that.

I mean, some of the roads, people that live on some of these roads over in my ward, they can't even drive their truck pulling a trailer because the mechanisms are bottoming out on the because of the ruts.

Now it's not anything other than the fact that we had a rough winter and all the frost teams.

I will say I was in Manchester yesterday.

We're much better off than Manchester, but uh we still have a lot of work to do.

Oh yeah.

Oh, yeah.

Well, uh but each of these go hand in hand with each other.

Uh as as those 11 items, they're all intertwined.

Yep.

And every section of it is gonna help us grow.

But if we get the economics side, then it's gonna give us more tax money to do something with to include the to improve our infrastructure.

Now we can have money to give them more uh law enforcement officers too.

Yes, but we need to seriously look at at how to spend our money wisely and and and invest in the right portions to make sure that we are at least moving forward and not falling backwards.

I think we're using the right terminology by investing in Laconia.

We're we're we're not here to spend taxpayers' money frivolously, but if we invest and get a return on our investment, it benefits the whole community.

Do we have anything else pertaining to this?

I don't think we need to get into the weeds until we're gonna be able to do that.

I got one other thing for you that I didn't send out to you, but it's but we review this each time.

Um we have the vision of the city of Laconia that's gone, this goes back a number of councils now.

I'll read it to you, and usually it just gets put back into the next time, but it gives you an opportunity to to add, subtract or or change something to it.

Um currently it's one sentence.

Create a vibrant and thriving community based on the values and visions of Laconia's citizens.

Wheels turning no, just I'm I'm I'm looking at that.

I agree with that 100%.

And every citizen's gonna have a different idea when you come down to that.

That's it too.

Especially when you get into the weeds.

So when you try and look at that at you know, 20,000, 50,000 feet.

That's the hottest part.

And if you guys want to talk about it, no, I think I have no problem with it whatsoever.

I think it's great.

I would like to think about it myself, but from a 20,000 foot level, it sounds cute.

Uh, but when you start to get down to the realities of it, the uh the older age group has a different viewpoint than the young ones, and and we have to try to figure out how to improve on both counts.

But when you start to get down to the realities of it, the uh the older age group has a different viewpoint than the young ones, and and we have to try to figure out how to improve on both counts.

And a lot of the young I would say 70% of the young have don't see the hope.

They don't have that dream.

The other 30% are leaving to go chase those dreams.

We need the jobs.

We need something about building a stronger future for our next generation, like something something forward-looking instead of something to mention economics.

Right.

We need to you know come up to a point where we have we're able to announce company companies are coming to Laconia because they're moving out of New York.

That would be a vision statement, but we do, yeah.

That's you you do that, and then you start to set the role to go because you can really build off that.

Okay.

I know that Southern New Hampshire, the Guinea, because you know, the population's right here.

We want to, as I think, as everybody said, we want to become the destination.

We're a vacation destination.

I bet you a lot of the those people come up here already.

We just want to get them to stop thinking this is a place to come and not just vacation, but come to work and live.

So when you talk about our school system, I think our school system is good.

Okay, right?

No, but that's where I was going.

You know, if you're gonna go down that route, you have to look at what is a major um company looking at.

Do we have a young workforce?

School, places to recreate.

Okay.

What's the on economic viability?

Where to go shopping?

What all of that?

But I think we're looking at a vision statement, not uh I mean we're kind of off topic.

We're we're gonna do that.

So it should be we should have something in there, my point of view about building a stronger future.

You're on the right track in there some way, somehow, how we come up with the verbiage.

I could take me a few minutes or everybody here, but I think we we I think we need to start forward thinking instead of being stuck in a rut, we need something in there like something about a stronger future for the city.

That's just my honest point of view.

I think we need to start looking forward as not just as a mayor, as a city council.

I think we need to we need a forward vision instead of just saying where we're at, we need to move ahead.

I think you're right on target.

I feel that you're right on target, and we need to change our headline from homelessness to economics or something more positive.

Yeah, thriving community looking, you know, building a better future for its residents, something long.

We're taking all these notes.

We'll listen to you as you as you got instead of coming up with the final thing.

Yeah, we don't need to today, right?

We hear your piece.

No, we hear your pieces and we're uh we'll put something together and definitely think we want that forward vision.

And this one, this one lasted through uh quite a few iterations of it with different councils, but now it's times have changed.

I mean, last time I don't know when this was written, this was a from the 2020.

I don't know if that was created then or if it was even before.

So I mean it is so we've been stuck in our in the changes in the in the world in that time.

So when when I pick up the paper and this the sun when it comes out to short, but soon it'll probably go back every day.

Yeah, you see all these big little headlines that are wrapped around as you said, the homelessness or this and that.

I want the headlines to change.

Yeah, yes, too.

Social districts, Laconia's packed and thriving, where we're doing this kind of stuff, we're doing this kind of stuff, and and and Gabe, not against you, because I know you might not have full control over that, but I want to get that off the front page and get on the front page, how proud we are.

Yep.

I and I think we I think we can get to that.

You know, that that's you know and if I could just say if there's any gold that we need to make happen today by spring, today would be great.

Is gonna be social district in place.

Oh, we need that by the spring.

We need that done yesterday.

We're gonna have a it's a meeting on Tuesday.

I mean, the public safety committee is on Tuesday, it's it'll be posted today.

It'll be to hopefully get enough put together.

We need that done by the end of April, the latest and implemented.

If I may, Mr.

Mayor, make a request that at every city council meeting, that is uh a standing item on the agenda that we have an update so that we can make sure that this they're not gonna have a meeting until Tuesday.

We're meeting on Tuesday.

That's okay.

But we'll have it by the time.

Even if there's no update, an update to that, so that we can make sure something doesn't slip and we lose another summer.

As chairman of that, I'll make sure that happens from that side of it.

Okay.

And at the same time, I would like to get make I know we're off subject for one minute.

Make sure we get a uh an update on the lights.

Yes.

The boat the two bids or whatever it is like that.

Okay.

And then I like to make one request because I know the school department's here somewhere.

I saw her.

Okay.

I you probably heard me when I talked about the Volk school.

Okay.

Maybe over next, and I know everything can happen in a hurry, but get some ideas together and come to us and say this is what it's gonna cost.

Right.

Okay.

Yes, she spoke about that.

Yeah, so we have plumbing and heating and electrical front page program already.

So but we can't expand on that.

Right.

Okay, thank you.

But you know where I'm coming from.

I do okay I actually took a CAD class.

Oh, at night school there at the high school.

And then we got a teacher here too, who is west.

He's not here.

He's not go, yeah.

He's okay.

He was heading.

He teaches there at woodworking.

Oh, that's at the high school.

Okay.

Well, he does the board.

When you say vote tag, are we talking the Hewitt tech?

Okay, I just want to make sure we I'm not sure why took the code.

Because I know the college also offers some vote, you know.

I'm talking about the Hewitt.

That's what I said.

That's uh that's only I think that's that Hewitt Center is a gem that we need to really.

I remember Hewitt is just going up.

Yeah, right.

Because I know within the papers, and we've all seen it about the vocational mechanical school in Moltenborough.

Let's be realistic.

As much as I think it's great, and if you go to Manchester North into the airport, it's also right there, okay.

But here we are in Laconia with a large population right in our immediate area, and that's a gem.

Okay, I think that thing is so awesome.

And we've got a lot of people that work in this area that probably help with the teaching of kids.

Okay.

And uh I I just the tiny house uh Lakes Region um contractors helps with the tiny house every year.

I saw that so like they have plumbers come in and electricians come in and builders come in and help the kids to build those tiny houses.

We had at the at the appointments committee meeting the other night.

We had a gentleman come in who's looking to be a member of our building codes of appeal, and he told us right out straight he went there, and from there he went right into work with I think it's a plumber locally.

He's a plumber, and he's he's on the committee now.

He's on the committee now, but he goes the timeline of going through the school, and today he you know he's doing the the six plus figures that everybody wants to be at, and that's where he started.

And uh, I can't be more proud of us what we have that.

We don't nothing against the school department, but we need to really blow that up.

Not only blow it up by dismiss, I mean blow it up to make sure that's there.

Okay.

Pump it up.

You know, and expand it to the areas that you'd want to go.

I think it's it's just great.

You know, I think one of two things, kids either go into service or go to Vogue school.

So I think we had a excellent discussion.

We certainly have enough to put together uh you know a good document for you with with all these talking points.

The department has heard what you have to say, and you know, can wrap that into what their their budget requests and and presentations, which is an important piece of this.

Um, so you know it's your meeting, your time to talk.

You guys don't get an opportunity to sit around and talk like this too often, so this gives us that opportunity as well.

Umce you guys are done, we're we have what we need.

Council Bogan within the downtown area itself during the winter months.

I know priority one is get the main roads open, priority two is to get the secondary roads open, and then three, four, five, and six is just general cleanup.

Uh are we relying on DPW to clean up the sidewalks in downtown as far as the snow removal itself are cleaning up the sidewalks, or sh or or should the city look at encouraging because I've seen some store owners out cleaning up so people can come across.

I'm not complaining.

I'm no, I I get an answer.

I think I I mean the answer to what your question is the the actual plowing of it and rem in that part of snow removal is the city.

Our sidewalk plows, um obviously roads uh with sidewalks on the sidewalk side of it.

We do put an emphasis on school routes if they're gonna be going to school that morning and then it it expands out.

As far as the snow removal goes, yep, that's that's DPW that does that.

Um but we know that at a minimum, probably 48 hours at best, probably the or at worst, probably in the 72-hour range to actually do that.

Um just for timing of of crews.

They've been on the road for 16 hours plowing.

We know it's gonna take a couple days to get reset and then be able to go back out at night to do snow removal.

So yes, it's us.

For the most part.

Would it be advantageous to have to push that snow into the street, and then when the plow comes through, because there's a no parking ban.

So if if they were able to push that into the street and then use a plow to push it away, uh to do whatever they do with their plow.

I think we might be fighting it, pushing it back into the in the sidewalk, but you know, I think it'd just be fighting each other.

Yeah, it's not recommended to throw snow into the street anywhere, Chris.

Yeah, we have an ordinance, and I'm gonna I was driving down Elm Street and I had a guy with a snowblower, and he covered my whole car with B plow.

Yeah, okay.

Sidewalk B Plo.

Counselor Haynes.

I think counselor, you're on to something, okay.

Um there are different ways to do it, but I think that we rely too much on our smaller trucks.

They have to take the sanders out and the whole works.

I don't want to get into the weeds, but I think that whole process you're talking about could be rethinked, and maybe use some private contractors, larger trucks, do it quicker and sooner.

And then like I said, I don't want to get into the weeds, but I think that whole situation could be rethought.

It's usually a higher cost with outside contractors.

I never thought about that either.

That's what I do.

I mean, it's it costs money.

But when you think about what's in, and I don't want to take money out of somebody's uh off somebody's table, but when you think about we got to take the plows off, we've got to take the sanders out, okay.

We gotta now we gotta pick up snow.

The smaller trucks are hauling less, and it that costs money where you could get private contractor with larger trucks and do the same kind of work.

You'd have to run the thing, but I I you know it just it's just the process of how can we do something a little different, rethink the process and go from there.

Maybe it's not.

I don't know.

I also want to think about how the buildings are used in a downtown today.

I think in some places the buildings are being used in the wrong way.

Well, uh along that line, Mark, if I may, um I think that would be attractive.

Uh we want to attract more businesses to downtown and more different diverse businesses, and um and have more to add down there so that we can go in and go ahead and advertise, like counselor Conan said.

But once we we we need more to be able to advertise it, so the lights above, all those things, but with this snow remu removal and that pride of downtown, we talked about Laconia Pride to use a private contractor or contractors to make sure and clean that up immediately.

That's something that a potential business owner downtown would say, Wow, there's a big plus for me.

They're always gonna be able to get to my my business.

Yeah.

I myself want to go to home run to sh to over to get my hair cut, what I have left.

And uh you park, and then you gotta get out of your car, walk out to the street, because we haven't got the opportunity yet to clean it up.

So you walk out into the street to walk down to the crosswalk so you can walk back in to get back onto the sidewalk.

And you're getting you're it's getting it's sometimes you're gonna fall down and get soaking wet in the plug in the train job.

That's why I don't try to climb over to here.

At my age, I'm not gonna do that.

And Councillor Baldre.

You could have just said getting a cup of coffee.

You didn't have to go the hair route.

Well, he's getting his head waxed, okay?

Going to get a cup of coffee.

But I think we had a good discussion.

I think there was 11 items.

Yeah, I'm gonna know it, Jared.

Uh 307.