Council deadlocks over Colonial condo parking request

LACONIA — Rusty McLear’s request to change the terms of a parking agreement for residents above the Colonial Theater ran into a barrier at the April 11 meeting of the Laconia City Council.

Ward 1 Councilor Bruce Cheney attempted to table the motion to give him more time to look into the request, citing his concerns that the agreement appears to leave too much discretion to McLear’s EJM Holdings, LLC, in awarding parking spaces. His motion to table failed on a 3-3 vote.

Cheney said the council was led to believe that each residential unit would receive one parking space in the City Hall parking lot and one space behind the post office.

“I now understand that’s not how EJM has been doling out those parking spaces,” Cheney said, “and I received more than a few calls about whether it was appropriate to assign more spaces to one lessee or owner than another.”

Ward 3 Councilor Henry Lipman said the discussion amounted to micromanagement and suggested that they just move on. If tenants were not being treated fairly, he said, “I’m sure it would affect the resale value of it. I think we’re getting into micromanaging the arrangement between people who buy units there and what the parking arrangement is.”

Ward 6 Councilor Tony Felch said his objection has always been that the agreement allows residents to use downtown parking spaces.

“There’s no reason we should be taking parking spaces away from our downtown merchants,” Felch said.

Lipman noted that the city recently purchased the Church Street parking lot to provide more downtown parking, which he said addressed Felch’s concern.

At the outset of the discussion, Mayor Andrew Hosmer explained that the agreement would not affect him, and he would take no position on it, “but I do have residence and parking spaces in the lot.”

Rather than breaking the tie, Hosmer reiterated, “I’m not gonna vote.”

City Manager Scott Myers said the only significant change in the lease agreement is that, instead of there being eight spaces in one lot and 10 in the other, it would provide for nine spaces in each lot.

“There’s no change in the price,” Myers said. “We added language that the Council could request they move to the parking garage if and when that’s rehabbed... The rest of the agreement is identical to what the Council passed a few months ago.”

Ward 4 Councilor Mark Haynes commented, “Here we go again. We pass something and then we decide, oh, let’s review it again. I’m sorry. We negotiated this, we talked about it. I’m fine with it.”

In discussing what to do with a failed motion, Myers noted that any of the councilors who voted against the motion could ask to bring it up for reconsideration at a future meeting.

Beach parking

The council has scheduled a public hearing for its next meeting, on April 25, on a proposal to increase parking fees on Lakeside Avenue and Endicott Rock Park in Weirs Beach.

Myers presented a chart of the parking rates in other “resort-type” areas of the state and said Public Works recommends increasing parking fees on Lakeside Avenue from $1 to $1.25 per hour, with all of those proceeds — an approximate increase of $5,000 — going into the city’s general fund.

Parking fees at Endicott Rock Park would increase from $2 to $2.50 per hour. The proposal would increase the amount of revenue going into the general fund from $25,000 to $30,000, and raise about $5,000 for the beach refurbishment account, according to estimates.

The fee change tentatively would take effect on May 28.

In response to a petition asking the city to lay out a Class V road at the end of Cottonwood Avenue, the council scheduled a public hearing on that matter for May 22.

Grant applications

The council authorized Myers to apply for an American Rescue Plan grant of $747,600 for the Northern Lakeport Area Sewer Replacement Project.

Myers explained that the project currently is listed as number 77 on the Clean Water State Revolving Fund priority list. The project is in the final design stage, with an estimated project cost of $2.5 million. The cost would be covered through a loan from the Revolving Fund, and the grant would reduce the amount of that loan.

The council also authorized Myers to apply for a $100,000 ARPA grant for wastewater planning. Hosmer explained that the Public Works Department is working with an engineering consultant to develop a master plan for the existing sewer system, with recommendations for system rehabilitation and expansion.

The council also voted to apply $18,000 in impact fees to reduce the amount of general fund money going toward the $296,165 purchase of self-contained breathing apparatus for the fire department.

Councilors agreed to send a letter of interest to the Northern Borders Regional Commission’s State Economic and Infrastructure Development Investment grant program, seeking 50% funding of the Opechee Loop that would extend the Winnisquam-Opechee-Winnipesaukee Trail by 1,000 feet, from Elm Street to Franklin Street. The estimated cost is $250,000, and the remaining portion of the project would be paid by the WOW Trail and a USDA Community Facilities grant.