Nashua Finance Committee Meeting - June 4, 2026
Nashua Finance Committee Meeting - June 4, 2026
The Finance Committee of Nashua, New Hampshire, met on June 4, 2026 (the meeting was called to order on June 3, 2026, per the transcript, but the provided date is June 4, 2026). The committee reviewed and approved a series of purchasing contracts, change orders, and a resolution authorizing transit service agreements. All items were passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 7:53 p.m.
Consent Calendar
- Purchase of replacement parts for Gillig bus fleet – $70,000 from the Transportation Fund. Matt Sullivan (Community Development Director) explained the aging fleet (average age 6 years, expected life 9–11 years) requires OEM parts. The aggregate authorization exceeds $25,000, necessitating committee approval. Passed.
- Purchase of 28 SWAT body armor vests – $98,228.81 from Homeland Security SWAT grant and general fund. Lt. Mike Lang noted the vests (last purchased 2015, 5-year warranty) are overdue for replacement. Passed.
- Purchase of 4 night vision binoculars – $29,729 from Homeland Security grant. Lt. Lang explained the need to upgrade from monocular to dual-tube systems for better depth perception during extended missions, using a combination of conversions and new units. Passed.
- Purchase and installation of mobile wireless routers for fire department – $39,844.93 from Fire Rescue Fund. Asst. Chief Adam Plea stated the upgrade from 2011-era MDTs to iPads with 300-foot range improves on-scene functionality. Passed.
- Roof replacement at Fire Station 3 and repair at Station 2 – $552,795.37 (including $50,000 contingency) from Fire Rescue Fund Bond. Asst. Chief Plea detailed full replacement at 38 Lake Street (asphalt shingles and rubber membrane) and partial repair at Spitbrook Road (asbestos abatement needed). Passed.
- Landfill perimeter litter fence construction – $278,250 from Solid Waste Fund Bond. Superintendent Jeff LaFleur stated DES requires the fence for Phase 4 landfill. Passed.
- Change order #1 for SCADA telemetry panel on Phase 4 landfill leachate pump house – $58,586.32 from Solid Waste Fund Bond. LaFleur explained this will unify landfill monitoring into a cloud-based system. Passed.
- Change order #5 for Phase 4 landfill construction – $98,786.28 from Solid Waste Fund Bond. LaFleur noted 90% of the cost is due to DES approval delays; expects Phase 4 to open by early July/August 2026. Passed.
- 2026 Pavement Preservation Program – $894,875 from Admin Engineering Fund Bond. City Engineer Dan Hudson stated the program covers 60 miles of crack sealing and microsurfacing to extend road life. Passed.
- Change order #7 for sewer replacement project – $1,000,000 from Admin Engineering Fund Bond. Hudson explained the contract with Crisp Contracting allows quick response to emergency sewer repairs; the fifth amendment brings total to $1M. Passed.
- Change order #1 for 2026 paving program – $350,000 from Streets and Wastewater funds. Hudson detailed sidewalk and drainage improvements at Ledge Street School (including rapid-flashing beacons and drainage fixes). Passed.
- Purchase of 12 traffic signal controllers – $35,400 from Amherst Street Traffic Mitigation funds. Hudson noted a 40% discount on controllers for the Amherst Street corridor, funded by developer mitigation fees, not city general funds. Passed.
- Reconstruction of Greeley Park wading pool – $298,200 from Parks Fund Bond. Superintendent Brian Conant stated the pool (1950s construction) leaks excessively; Weston & Sampson was low bid and has relevant experience. Passed.
- Installation of drop ceilings at wastewater treatment facility – $32,812.50 from Wastewater Fund. Superintendent Dave Boucher said the project includes new LED and emergency lights in five areas of the administration building. Passed.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Michelle Mells (Litchfield resident, 32-year teacher at Ledge Street School, chair of PTO Playground Committee) thanked the city for addressing flooding at Memorial Park, which impacts the school playground. She noted the PTO is fundraising for playground improvements and expressed optimism about the next steps. No vote taken.
Discussion Items
- Resolution R26033 – Transit Service Contracts – Matt Sullivan presented five contracts: (1) UPass agreements with Rivier University and Nashua Community College (fixed-route bus access for students, no cost increase, but ridership rise increased not-to-exceed amounts by $2,000 and $3,000); (2) Paratransit contracts with Town of Hudson, Town of Merrimack, and Souhegan Valley Transit Collaborative (SVTC). Hourly rates increased by $3 for Hudson and Merrimack; SVTC rate is $8,042 due to longer distances. The contracts generate approximately $300,000 in annual revenue. Passed.
- Record of Expenditures – Period May 15–28, 2026. Approved as compliant with charter.
Key Outcomes
- All 14 purchasing items and the resolution were approved unanimously.
- The committee removed R26033 from the table and recommended final passage.
- The record of expenditures was approved.
- General discussion included Alderwoman Clee urging support for the Ledge Street playground and clarifying that the 8% figure on tax bills refers to late-payment interest, not an overall rate increase.
Meeting Transcript
We're going to call the meeting of the committee to order June 3rd, 2026. Mr. Clerk, would you please call them? Yes, Alderman Smith. Alderman Sullivan is here. Alderman at large Greg? Here. Alderman at large Clemens. Alderman at large Wilshair? Here. Alderman Cleve, Vice Chair. Here. And Mayor Jim Donchus. Here. You have one, two, three, four, five, six in attendance. And we also have Alderman Paula Johnson. And you've got to be able to do that. No, you were you're on the committee. Mr. Mayor, Alderman Clemens uh reached out to me that he was unable to make the meeting tonight. Okay. Okay, thank you. All right, we have public comment on any of the items that uh are on tonight's agenda. No one's coming forward on that. So we go to the communications. The first being from Amy Girard purchasing manager, uh Alderman Sullivan. Yes, I'd like to make a motion to accept place on file and approve the purchase of various replacement parts for the Gillig bus fleet and the amount not to exceed $70,000. Funding will be through Department 186 Transportation Fund, transit grant 61 supplies and materials. Good evening, committee members. Matt Sullivan, community development director. This is an annual authorization or request to the finance committee in the form of aggregate purchasing power for the fiscal 27 uh purchasing year. Uh Gilly is the manufacturer of most of our bus fleet down at NTS. As you know, we have a somewhat aging fleet, they're sort of midlife right now, uh, but we buy a lot of replacement parts from Gillig, whether that's uh sort of OEM parts or body work that needs to be replaced from time to time. We're making a fair amount of purchases through them as the original manufacturer of that equipment. In the past, we've been able to purchase keep these purchases below $50,000 or about $60,000. With the aging of the bus fleet that we have right now, we're looking at it spending about 70 up to $70,000 in fiscal year 27. But again, because it exceeds in aggregate that $25,000 threshold, we're required to come forward before you. So again, these will all be smaller purchases most likely than the $25,000 number that you typically look at. But together they ref reflect something over $25, and so that's why we're here. I will just note for the record that in the past we've in on some occasions had to come and get even further authorization later in the year. I don't anticipate that being the case, but certainly if we need to again come back during fiscal 27 above $70,000, any request above and beyond needs to come back to you before review. So I just wanted to be really clear about that. Happy to answer any questions that you all might have. Alderman Sullivan. Thank you. Uh uh two questions. Are these uh are these um replacement parts or are they parts for any uh piece of equipment that's offline right now? They are uh Alderman Sullivan, these are these are fiscal twenty-seven. This is sort of a uh a future predictive asked, so these are actually going to be parts that we anticipate having to buy in the future, so it's nothing to replace or or fix anything right now. Uh this is anticipatory of repairs that we expect to have to make.
openpublica.com