These plans are not publicly posted on the City website (for reasons unknown), but you can read the relevant parts of meeting minutes here to learn more about the progression of the drafted resolution to support Domino’s over the mixed-use housing/commercial community development of “The Turnstile.”
Economic Development Committee Meetings:
City Council Meeting:
Domino’s proposal by Boston Pie Co.:
The Turnstile proposal by James Farrell Construction:
The following Resolution was passed unanimously at the Monday, December 13, 2021 meeting of the Somersworth City Council. All 9 councilors were present and voted in favor of its passage.
To view the discussion, start at 42:50 here: https://somersworth.viebit.com/player.php?hash=xzfnBYmD36VN
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| Resolution No: | |
| CITY COUNCIL VOTE TO OPPOSE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION (PUC) ORDER #20-092 | |
December 13, 2021
WHEREAS, energy efficiency is the most cost-effective way for us to meet our energy needs; saving a kilowatt hour by investing in better lighting, heating, or processes typically costs around half as much as building new power plants to supply rising demand; and investing in efficiency keeps electricity rates low for all Granite Staters, even those that don’t take part in the incentive programs; and
WHEREAS, Public Utilities Commission (PUC) Order 20-092 directly contradicts the focus on energy efficiency in Governor Sununu’s 2018 update to the 10-year energy strategy; and the order significantly and negatively impacts small businesses that offer energy efficiency services in NH, and municipalities like the City of Somersworth, who just last month saved over $122,000 through the Energy Efficiency program; and
WHEREAS, this order rolls back years of progress on energy efficiency, ignoring the State of New Hampshire, energy savings goals and capping and reducing budgets; and there is already overwhelming evidence in the record that the settlement agreement in this docket is just and reasonable, serves the public interest, and is cost-effective; and
WHEREAS, the Commission’s efforts to ignore the well-established record of cost-effective energy efficiency programs in this docket is blatantly dismissive; and this order strips away opportunities for the Granite State’s most vulnerable populations to take advantage of energy efficiency programs at little to no cost, and energy efficiency programs protect lives, keep homes warm, reduce energy bills and saves municipalities like the City of Somersworth thousands of dollars that would otherwise be paid for by Somersworth property taxes.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the City of Somersworth strongly opposes Public Utilities Commission (PUC) Order #20-092 and urges immediate reversal of this order by the PUC, and a return to the settlement agreement agreed upon by industry and statewide stakeholders, which would reinstate public interest and ensure more energy efficient progress and cost savings for Granite Staters and Hilltoppers.
| Sponsored by Councilor: | Approved: |
| Crystal Paradis
Kenneth S. Vincent |
City Attorney |
Last night, the Tri-Cities’ chambers of commerce (Dover Chamber of Commerce, Falls Chamber of Commerce from Somersworth and Rochester Chamber of Commerce, aka the “Tri-Chambers”) hosted a informational session in conjunction with Strafford County Public Health network, to address concerns and share factual information about COVID-19/Coronavirus.
Some key informational takeaways and quotes from the meeting:
While the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) should be the high-level resource for this fast-changing situation, local health officials and organizations should be reeferenced for more localized information, including recommendations on large gatherings, etc.
Below are photos from the session, with slides containing information and URLs for reference:
Scott Schuler began with a general overview of what we know so far about this virus. Below is some information on the fatality rate in particular. As Scott pointed out, data can be skewed to fit various narratives, but this is the data that public health officials are looking at.
One reason Scott mentioned that the US rate is currently so much higher than, say, South Korea, is that South Korea has invested heavily in testing, so they are catching a lot more of the cases, earlier on, and able to treat or at least track all those who have COVID-19 but recover. There are other factors, but that is one to consider — if folks aren’t being tested, the data cannot be collected.
Next, he shared recommendations directly from CDC and NH’s DHHS / NH Department of Public Health Services on what you should do if you have symptoms:
Call your doctor if you:
Promote Daily Practice of everyday Preventative Actions, including:
Below is the graph showing the result of an earlier outbreak, versus a delayed outbreak — the key is staying underneath that dotted line, which is the capacity of our health care networks. Exceeding our hospital/ventilator/caregiver capacity means some people aren’t going to be able to get the care they need.
Below are slides directed at small businesses, with best practices and recommendations.
A representative from Senator Shaheen’s office encourages everyone to document all business expenses and losses, since some federally-appropriated funding may be allocated to help NH small businesses.
Keep an eye out for a future City Council meeting agenda to contain an item to officially approve this dog park project — here are some high-level updates, informed by our recent Recreation Committee meeting:
Last night, the Recreation Committee (which I am a member of) approved the City Managers’ recommended location of Millennium Park on Stackpole Road, along with an estimated budget of $45,000. Most of the cost is fencing in the roughly 23k-sqft area with 6-foot fencing perimeter, with 4-ft interior fencing separating large/small dog areas, plus a water/hose hookup feature (for filling dog water bowls), sign board, signage with park rules and marking big/small dog areas, etc.
You can view the City Manager’s Memo on the dog park, including pros and cons of various city parks that were considered, here with the Public Notice of the February 5th meeting:
The source of funding will be discussed further when council officially takes the matter up for approval, but the City Manager has recommended we look at funding at least in part from the Cable Fund, which means this will *not* affect the budget that comes from property taxes. It has been discussed by the Rec Committee that we’d like to do a small capital campaign to raise funds to offset the cost even further. This would allow us to do focused community outreach to local businesses and make this a truly community-led and community-supported project.
As currently proposed, the park would be closed in the winter, since Millennium Park is already closed during winter, and the additional and ongoing cost to keep the site plowed, etc., would be considerable. There would also be city-provided waste bag dispenser(s) and disposal bins.
I have discussed this project with many Somersworth residents and have heard lots of support. I look forward to continuing to hearing from you and am excited to discuss more specifics with my colleagues on the council.
Stay tuned for a specific date when this will be heard by council — but not need to wait! If you’d like to voice your support or ask any questions about this or any other City matter, every Council meeting has a “Comments by Visitors” section early on the agenda — you are always welcome!
And, you can always come to my next Coffee with a Councilor if you’d like to chat in a more informal setting.
This presentation of the proposed design of the new Somersworth Fire Department station was given by Port One Architects, at 6pm on Tuesday, January 21, 2020.
You can view a video of the entire presentations, including questions and answers, here: https://somersworth.viebit.com/player.php?hash=mRShVd9wmrrM
Slideshow presentation file posted here: https://www.somersworth.com/sites/somersworthnh/files/uploads/somersworth_fire_station_presentation_january_21_2020.pdf
Please view the full presentation above for full details — below are some key takeaways from this presentation.
Why do we need a new fire station?
Our current fire station was built to get us through for a time until we could build a long-term station. One notable vulnerability of the building is that it’s not rated to withstand even a moderate earthquake/seismic event. It also doesn’t have the recommended facilities to keep cancer-causing/hazardous materials and contaminated air separate from the admin/living quarters, which is a health concern for our first responders.
Where will it be?
As shown below, the new station will be in the same location of the current fire station. It will be built in phases to allow the current station to be used while part of the new building is constructed, then the operations can move to Phase 1 of the new building and final construction will complete the new station.
What’s it going to cost?
The current estimate, including “soft costs” (furnishings, etc.) comes in around $7,669,917. In questions from the council on the cost, the architect reminded us that this was in concept stage, so some costs might tighten up as we get closer to detailed schematics. He said, “Could we get it below $7M? I don’t know. We’d have to really work hard.”
Who created guidelines for this new station?
The current proposed design/concept is based on input from a Fire Station Advisory Committee, which in 2016 “looked at the current station deficiencies and proposed space programming suggestions,” and in 2018 conducted an analysis by MRI which “analyzed the current station, referenced several pertinent codes and conducted a response study with current resource deployment and incident analysis.”
Below is a summary of recommendations:
What’s with the “Hot Zone” design?
A significant part of this design is the Hot Zone element. This refers to areas that are more likely to be zones where contaminants and hazardous materials/air are likely to be — notably gear rooms and decontamination areas. Modern health and safety guidelines are to separate these zones — both physically and through entirely separate HVAC systems, etc. — from admin and living zones.
See below for color-coded view of the hot/warm/cool zones:
What about sustainable energy elements?
Councilor Vincent asked about sustainable energy/green energy elements. The architect said that while the narrative from Yeaton Associates did metnion “Potential Sustainable Options” including geothermal and solar elements, they didn’t include them in the current proposal since they would add more cost to an already costly proposal. It was discussed that grant moneys could be pursued from Eversource, Liberty Utilites, etc., as well as state and federal grants, but they hadn’t been directed to pursue them at this stage.
What’s next in this process?
The mayor assigned the Finance Committee to look at the financial details of the proposal and look at a schedule for the bond. The mayor also assigned the Public Safety Committee to review design components, including a potential Emergency Operations Center, which could qualify the project for an additional $140,000 in grant money.
If you’d like to attend the committee meetings who will take up various parts of this project next, all committee meetings — and, of course, full City Council meetings — are public and you are welcome to attend:
If you cannot attend these meetings but have input to share, please contact me directly, and/or reach out to the mayor or other councilors.
We are open to any feedback throughout our process of refining/questioning/approving this project. We look forward to hearing from you!
The following is a Public Notice posted today by the City of Somersworth. For more information, contact the City Clerk:
https://www.somersworth.com/city-clerk
Pre-election Testing of the Accu-Vote Electronic Ballot Counting Devices
The Office of the City Clerk hereby announces that Pre-election Testing of the Accu-Vote Electronic Ballot Counting Devices, which will be used at the five polling places in the City of Somersworth for the February 11, 2020 Presidential Primary Election will be conducted on Wednesday January 22, 2020 beginning at 10:00 a.m. in the Office of the City Clerk, City Hall, One Government Way.
Kelly Gagne
Deputy City Clerk
Date Posted: January 16, 2020
Posted by: Kelly Gagne
Deputy City Clerk
Posted at: City Hall
City Website: www.somersworth.com
Channel 22
Originally published on Fosters.com: https://www.fosters.com/news/20200109/somersworth-council-supports-hospital-merger
By Alison Eagan news@fosters.com
Posted Jan 9, 2020 at 5:14 PM Updated Jan 9, 2020 at 7:32 PM
SOMERSWORTH — The City Council unanimously voted in favor of a resolution that would merge Exeter Hospital with Dover’s Wentworth-Douglass Hospital under the Massachusetts General Hospital umbrella.
The resolution was brought to the council by Ben Bradley, director of government relations and public policy for Wentworth-Douglass Hospital. It’s part of an effort to garner support from communities for the merger, which is being opposed by the New Hampshire attorney general.
“It shows Somersworth is in support of all the benefits it would bring,” City Councilor Crystal Paradis said of the resolution.
In September last year, state AG Gordon MacDonald announced his office’s opposition to the merger of WDH, MGH and Exeter Health Resources, citing anti-trust concerns with the proposed affiliation. Upon the AG’s Charitable Trust Unit’s assessment of other hospitals in the Seacoast area, MacDonald was concerned the merger would push competing health centers to the side and raise health care costs.
“We happen to disagree but hope to work (with the AG),” Bradley said.
WDH President and CEO Greg Walker has previously said his hospital’s already completed merger with MGH reduced costs, adding the new affiliation with Exeter Health Resources would further reduce costs for an expanding network.
“The proposed investment in mental health and substance use disorder would not only increase access to prevention and treatment programs but also help address social determinants of health including homelessness,” the resolution states.
City Councilor Martin Dumont called approving the resolution a “no-brainer” and expressed his unwavering support for the merger.
Benefits being touted by the local hospitals from the proposed affiliation include local specialized care for premature newborns, including a Level II nursery accessible on the Seacoast, access to lower cost options and advanced care from experts at MGH to local residents, including Somersworth.
The hospitals have been waging a public campaign to back the merger since the AG’s office announced its opposition.
In case you missed it (ICYMI), here are some notes from our last City Council meeting, which took place at City Hall at 7pm on Wednesday, January 8, 2020. You can watch a video of the full meeting here.
Why Wednesday? Typically, council meetings are on Mondays, or Tuesdays if Monday is a holiday. This meeting was scheduled for Wednesday to be after the inauguration of newly-elected members. The inauguration was Tuesday, January 7th (you can watch the Inauguration here), so our first meeting was scheduled for the following day — Wednesday, January 8th.
Issues and items before the Council this meeting, and notes on outcome and/or discussion:
If you have any questions, let me know — or come to the next Coffee with a Councilor or City Council meeting!
I am committed to the priorities I campaigned on, which are listed below. Some of these have evolved as I talked with members of our community, and I expect them to continue to evolve as I learn more and hear from more constituents as your councilor. For posterity’s sake, below are the issues that were listed on my campaign website during my campaign, through my election until inauguration.— Crystal
Last updated with progress on these goals: June 15, 2021