Personnel Administrative Affairs Committee Meeting - December 1, 2025
Personnel Administrative Affairs Committee Meeting - December 1, 2025
The Personnel Administrative Affairs Committee convened on December 1, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. in the Aldermanic Chamber to review appointments and consider new business. The meeting featured the nomination of Susan McNamee for the Greeley Park Advisory Committee, as well as deliberations on a new business ordinance regarding city-owned property development. Several committee members, including Alderman Jetty and Vice Chair Clemens, expressed reservations about the drafting and placement of the proposed ordinance, leading to a motion for indefinite postponement.
Consent Calendar
- Nominations Approved: The committee unanimously moved to recommend:
- Susan McNamee to the Greeley Park Advisory Committee (term expiring November 25, 2028).
- Laura Santor for reappointment to the Mine Falls Park Advisory Committee (term expiring November 1, 2028).
- David Heath for reappointment to the Airport Authority (term expiring August 31, 2030).
Public Comments & Testimony
- No public members addressed the committee.
Discussion Items
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Appointment of Susan McNamee: Mayor Donchus nominated McNamee, a long-time Nashua nurse practitioner and resident next to Greeley Park, citing her advocacy and connection to the community. McNamee expressed her desire to help "move things forward" and protect the park's beauty. Alderman Jetty offered support, noting the convenience of her location. Alderman Clemens questioned her regarding development near the park; McNamee expressed that development near the playground path has become "sad" and she views the committee's role as stewardship and protection of the park's existing nature.
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Ordinance O 2582 (Development of City-Owned Property): The committee considered a motion to recommend final passage of the ordinance, which proposes referring housing development proposals for city-owned property to the Board of Health.
- Alderman Senate: Explained the ordinance's intent to apply the "Four Pillars of Healthy Housing" model (costs, conditions, consistency, context) to future housing proposals. He mentioned that Alderman Moran, a co-sponsor, was out of state but intended to add a step to evaluate housing proposals against these pillars.
- Alderman Jetty: Stated they were not ready to support the ordinance as currently written. They expressed uncomfort with the wording and its placement within the procurement section of the municipal code. Jetty argued the ordinance fails to define the "four pillars" internally or cite the source article, and questioned why the Board of Health was not solicited for their opinion on the ordinance's language prior to this review. They suggested this should be deferred to the "new board" next term.
- Vice Chair Clemens: Expressed agreement with Jetty regarding the need to define the pillars and solicit the Board of Health's input on the ordinance itself. While acknowledging the good intention, they noted the ordinance is not "ready to go" and suggested a "Hail Mary" approach involving further workshop or referral to the full board with specific amendments.
- Alderman Senate (Second Proposal): Suggested sending the bill to the full board with no recommendation as a "Hail Mary" to allow amendments before the term ends.
- Alderman Clemens (Rebuttal): Expressed lack of preference but noted that the committee should not send a bill to the full board without a recommendation, as the full board expects vetted proposals. They suggested that "indefinitely postponing" the item would be a clearer signal to the full board.
- Alderman Jetty (Response to Recess Proposal): Indicated they would not be in favor of sending the bill to the full board without a recommendation but would support indefinitely postponing the item if the original sponsor could provide answers and Board of Health review before the next term.
Key Outcomes
- Appointment Recommendations: The committee unanimously recommended the appointments of Susan McNamee, Laura Santor, and David Heath to their respective boards/authorities.
- Ordinance O 2582: The committee voted (all in favor) to recommend indefinitely postponing the ordinance. The clerk noted the item was "tabled in committee" (effectively dying in committee if no action is taken next term).
- Other Items: The committee agreed to allow the non-binding ballot referendum and the foreign ownership of property ordinance to "die in committee" due to the absence of primary sponsors.
- Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 7:25 p.m.
General Discussion
- School Closures: Alderman Senate announced via mobile device that schools are canceled for the following day (December 2, 2025).
Meeting Transcript
And we'll go on record. Good. And I hope there's a pen in here. If not, I'll just get out my rigged out one here. I got one. Go ahead. Okay. This is a meeting of the Personnel Administrative Affairs Committee on Monday, December 1st at 7 p.m. in the Aldermanic Chamber. This meeting was duly noticed in two places, including the city's website in accordance with the requirements of RSA 91A2. Would the clerk please call the role? Uh Alderman Senate is here. Alderman Lopez. Alderman Jetty. I'm here. Alderman at large Clemens, Vice Chair. Here. And Alder Woman at Large Kelly Chair. We have three in attendance. Also joining us this evening is Mayor Donchus. All right. So I know Alder Woman Kelly told me she would be unable to attend uh this evening. I believe um Alderman Lopez also uh expressed his uh inability to be here as well. Um so is there anyone in the public that wishes to address the committee? I don't see anyone. So we will jump right into interviews and Mayor, if you'd like to come forward. Uh first up we have Susan MacNamy. New appointment, term to expire. November 25, 2028, 94 Concord Street, Nashville, New Hampshire. Okay. Welcome. Thank you. Mayor. Um well, Mr. Chair, I'm here to nominate uh Sue McNamy for the office of uh Greeley Park Advisory Committee. Um Sue uh Ms. McNamy is a has been a um nurse practitioner in Nashville for a long, long time. Many of her clients or patients have uh and their children have visited Greeley Park probably thousands of times because she's treated a lot of people. Uh she lives near the park, next to the park, uh has been you know a strong park advocate and uh it for many years and I know from talking with her over a long period of time, she's values Greeley Park very much, um sees it as a major asset for the community. Um and we are assembling the Greeley Park Advisory Committee for the first time. This will be uh the I think the required seventh uh appointment. And um therefore um I think I know that Ms. McNamy will be a you know great addition and uh will contribute much to the uh just maintaining Greeley Park as the gem of the city that it is. So uh with that I will turn it over to Ms. McNamy and ask her if she'd like to add anything about herself or regarding her interest in being on the advisory committee. Great. Thank you, Jim. Um I've lived in Nashua for most of my adult life and um have enjoyed the park and for several decades now I've lived next to Greeley Park, have um enjoyed my tenure here um and uh I've used the park with my kids and um I really think it's a shining light of Nashua. So um I would love to be involved in helping to move things forward and just take care of the park and enjoy the beauty and the um availability to our um our Nashua folks to enjoy it. Great, great.
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