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Record of Proceedings

Human Affairs Committee Meeting on September 15, 2025: Grant Approvals and Future Planning

Board of Aldermen Meetings — Monday, September 15, 2025
BodyNashua, New Hampshire
SessionBoard of Aldermen Meetings
DateMonday, September 15, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 27:26

Original source
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0:08

7 p.m.

0:10

Unmuted.

0:12

Get it all out of your system.

0:13

He's on muting.

0:13

All right.

0:14

I actually didn't know that.

0:15

Good evening, everybody.

0:16

I'm calling to order a meeting of the human affairs committee.

0:18

It is September 15th, 2025, uh at 6 p.m.

0:22

7 p.m.

0:23

sorry, 7 p.m.

0:24

uh in the Aldermanic Chamber.

0:26

Um it is fully uh noticed in two places, including the city's website in accordance with requirements of RSA 91-A, colon two, Roman numeral two.

0:37

Let's start the meeting by taking a roll call attendance.

0:39

Alderman Chris Thibodeau here.

0:41

Alderman Tim Senate is here.

0:43

Alder Woman at large, Gloria Timmons.

0:46

Alder Woman at large, Shoshana Kelly, Vice Chair.

0:49

I'm here.

0:50

And Alderman Tom Lopez, Chair.

0:52

I'm here.

0:53

We have four in attendance.

0:54

Also joining us this evening is I see Director Sullivan.

0:58

I do not see uh Kevin Rourke or Camille Correa.

1:02

Hmm.

1:03

Well, hopefully Chief Work will be attend joining us.

1:08

We have a representative from the police department just walked in.

1:11

Alderman Kelly, do you want to say?

1:13

We have a representative from the police department just walked in.

1:15

Wonderful take it.

1:16

I can't see you.

1:17

Sorry, no worries.

1:19

We're just worried about a massive amount of grant money, and then nobody to tell us why.

1:23

Um so we did the roll call public comment.

1:25

Anybody wishing to make public comment?

1:27

Please uh approach the microphone.

1:31

Seeing none.

1:32

Um discussions presentation.

1:35

There are none.

1:36

Communications, there are none.

1:37

Until these business.

1:38

There's none.

1:39

New business resolutions.

1:40

We have R 25201 relative to the acceptance of $650,000 from the state of New Hampshire Department of Safety into Police Grant Activity Fiscal Year 2026, Granite Shield Substance Abuse Reduction Initiative, sorry grant.

1:55

I'll make a motion to recommend final passage.

1:59

All right, the motion is heard.

2:01

We will discuss it.

2:02

Can we explain why it's called the SARI grant?

2:05

Yeah, so it's it's typically called uh granite shield.

2:08

They just changed the granite shield this year.

2:09

It keeps fluctuating with names.

2:11

Umunds apologetic.

2:13

Yeah, definitely.

2:14

One year was uh substance abuse reduction initiative, the next it's granite shield, but they always come up with a new name every year.

2:20

So um this is for the acceptance of 650 grand.

2:24

These are state funds from the uh Department of Safety, and uh this is set to last for two years.

2:29

Typically, it's one year that these grant funds are initiated, so that's why it looks so high.

2:33

650 grand.

2:34

Typically, it's only 325 that we get is the ballpark of how much we get, but uh this makes it easier for everybody instead of us having to come back every year and makes it easier for them as well.

2:44

And this is uh these are funds that we use to um you know fight the uh substance related uh abuse and trafficking.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Safety██████████████████████████████████████38%
Transportation Safety█████████████████████████████████████37%
Procedural█████████████13%
Homelessness████████████12%
Summary of Proceedings

Human Affairs Committee Meeting – September 15, 2025

The Human Affairs Committee of the Nashua Board of Aldermen met on September 15, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. in the Aldermanic Chamber. Four members were present: Chair Tom Lopez, Vice Chair Shoshana Kelly, Alderman Chris Thibodeau, Alderman Tim Senate, and Alderman at large Gloria Timmons. Director Sullivan and a police department representative also attended. The committee considered three grant resolutions, discussed future meeting topics, and addressed constituent concerns.

Consent Calendar

  • No items were on the consent calendar.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No public comments were made; no members of the public were present.

Discussion Items

  • R25201 – Granite Shield Substance Abuse Reduction Initiative (SARI) Grant
    • Motion to recommend final passage of a resolution accepting $650,000 from the New Hampshire Department of Safety into the Police Grant Activity for Fiscal Year 2026. The grant is a two-year award (typically $325,000 per year) used to combat substance abuse and trafficking, including investigations conducted jointly with Hudson Police. The funds cover overtime costs with no local match required. Committee members confirmed the grant is a state-level award, not a federal pass-through. Alderman Kelly and Thibodeau expressed support; the motion passed unanimously with all voting aye.
  • R25202 – New Hampshire Highway Safety Fiscal Year 2026 Grant
    • Motion to recommend final passage accepting $48,200 from the New Hampshire Department of Safety. This is a federal pass-through grant requiring a 25% local match, which has already been identified in the budget. Funds are used to enforce speed, distracted driving, and DUI laws based on crime analyst data. The grant runs through September 30, 2026, and is a regular annual award. No further discussion; motion passed unanimously.
  • R25204 – Transit Capital and Operating Match Funds
    • Matt Sullivan, Community Development Director, presented the resolution accepting $68,250 in capital match funds and $534,638 in operating match funds (split over two fiscal years) from the New Hampshire Department of Transportation. These state funds are used as the local match to draw federal FTA transit dollars. Capital funds will support upgrades at the transit center (electrical, sidewalk repainting, bus stop signage) and purchase of three ADA paratransit vans. Operating funds cover about 5–6% of the Nashua Transit System’s $4.3–4.7 million annual budget. Sullivan noted that state funding has remained level despite a tight budget, but warned of potential cuts in the upcoming GACIT (10-year transportation plan) hearings, scheduled for October 7 in Hudson. He encouraged attending or submitting letters to support Nashua projects. Committee members voted unanimously to recommend final passage.
  • Future Agenda Items
    • Chair Lopez announced plans to invite representatives from recovery housing programs for an October briefing, and to schedule a tenant rights session with city departments. Alderman Kelly noted that a requested list of supplies for the warming center (from prior meeting with Director Bagley) had not been received, and that the warming station is expected to open after Thanksgiving, not earlier.

Key Outcomes

  • R25201: Approved to recommend final passage (unanimous aye).
  • R25202: Approved to recommend final passage (unanimous aye).
  • R25204: Approved to recommend final passage (unanimous aye).
  • Warming Center Supplies: Committee will follow up with Director Bagley for the list of needed items.
  • Crossing Guard Inquiry: Alderman Thibodeau was directed to the school department (Crystal Degree and Superintendent Andre) regarding a replacement for an outgoing crossing guard.
  • Upcoming Events: A housing forum hosted by Greater Nashua Interfaith Housing Justice and Granite State Organizing Project will be held September 17 at Main Street United Methodist Church.

The committee adjourned at 7:27 p.m.

Meeting Transcript

7 p.m. Unmuted. Get it all out of your system. He's on muting. All right. I actually didn't know that. Good evening, everybody. I'm calling to order a meeting of the human affairs committee. It is September 15th, 2025, uh at 6 p.m. 7 p.m. sorry, 7 p.m. uh in the Aldermanic Chamber. Um it is fully uh noticed in two places, including the city's website in accordance with requirements of RSA 91-A, colon two, Roman numeral two. Let's start the meeting by taking a roll call attendance. Alderman Chris Thibodeau here. Alderman Tim Senate is here. Alder Woman at large, Gloria Timmons. Alder Woman at large, Shoshana Kelly, Vice Chair. I'm here. And Alderman Tom Lopez, Chair. I'm here. We have four in attendance. Also joining us this evening is I see Director Sullivan. I do not see uh Kevin Rourke or Camille Correa. Hmm. Well, hopefully Chief Work will be attend joining us. We have a representative from the police department just walked in. Alderman Kelly, do you want to say? We have a representative from the police department just walked in. Wonderful take it. I can't see you. Sorry, no worries. We're just worried about a massive amount of grant money, and then nobody to tell us why. Um so we did the roll call public comment. Anybody wishing to make public comment? Please uh approach the microphone. Seeing none. Um discussions presentation. There are none. Communications, there are none. Until these business. There's none. New business resolutions. We have R 25201 relative to the acceptance of $650,000 from the state of New Hampshire Department of Safety into Police Grant Activity Fiscal Year 2026, Granite Shield Substance Abuse Reduction Initiative, sorry grant. I'll make a motion to recommend final passage. All right, the motion is heard. We will discuss it. Can we explain why it's called the SARI grant? Yeah, so it's it's typically called uh granite shield. They just changed the granite shield this year.

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