Franklin City Council overrides mayor’s veto with supermajority to authorize bond for opera house

FRANKLIN — This city now has a plan to renovate and restore the Franklin Opera House, following a vote by city council Tuesday night. 

After nearly eight hours of contentious discussion, the city council voted to authorize a bond to borrow up to $6.8 million to restore the Franklin Opera House. Mayor Desiree McLaughlin vetoed the vote, but the veto was overridden by a supermajority vote of six councilors.

The city council voted on a resolution to renovate the entire building at once, with an option for a scope reduction if needed. Councilor Ed Prive of Ward 3 and Councilor Timothy Johnston of Ward 1 voted against the resolution. Councilor Ted Starkweather of Ward 1 was absent from the meeting, which over 100 people attended.

The renovation option selected by the council, Option 1B, will increase capacity for city meetings and opera house events, consolidate city offices from offsite buildings and bring the building up to code in fire, electrical and life safety, according to a proposal presented a previous meeting. The nonprofit Franklin Opera House, Inc., which runs the opera house, will share the cost of the renovation.

During council discussion of the resolution, it became clear there was still much confusion about the four provided options. Much time was used to question Fire Chief Mike Foss and principal architect Tracy Kozak of ARCove Architects, the firm that offered the four options for renovation of the Soldiers Memorial Hall. Councilors questioned whether there were less expensive options which could have been presented to the city council.

Foss said there may be other options that could be considered, but that would continue to defer renovations. But ultimately, his primary concern is correcting the building's life safety issues.

“If you chose none of these options tonight and you wanted to go about it a different way, you're not going to get an assembly or an occupancy permit until every single fire code-related issue and building code-related issue in that building is corrected. It's just that simple.”

City Manager Judie Milner pointed out $7.3 million was already decreased from an original proposal price of $13 million earlier this year, so reducing that number any further could potentially leave issues in the building unfixed. The original $13 million proposal ras referred to as the "Taj Mahal option" for its grandiose additions. McLaughlin was against the selected proposal.

“In light of the whole thing, nobody doesn't want to see the 'Taj Mahal version,' or whatever we called it version, but we want more time to find funding, and there's been 100 reasons why we can't do it that way, which I'm not buying into,” she said.

Franklin Opera House Executive Director Dan Darling emphasized the importance of acting on the issue Tuesday night.

“I don't begrudge Chief Foss for doing what's necessary to finally address 60 years of neglect and deterioration conditions that are getting worse by the day when he issued his order two years ago,” Darling said.

Laurie Downey of Ward 2 believed the four options presented were manipulative to favor Option 1B. She questioned why any options were provided that didn’t fix all the issues within the building.

“People were given four different options and left to believe that Options 2 and 3 would allow them to do things the minimum that they could with getting the fire codes up to date, and now we're finding out it doesn't,” she said. “That's not only dishonest, it's disrespectful, it's a waste of time, and it's manipulative, and I do not appreciate that.”

There was also skepticism as to whether Franklin Opera House, Inc. could pay their share of the bond, since otherwise the city would have to pay their share for them. But Darling reassured the council that there is nothing to worry about.

“There's been some concern expressed about our ability to manage the financial strategy that we're suggesting to get the renovation project moving forward. I fully appreciate that concern. Twelve, 13, 14 years ago, things were pretty bleak when I became a member of the opera house board. A decade ago, we hired a part-time executive director who quit after three months because, in his words, ‘You can't afford to pay me,’” Darling said. “When the board asked me to step into the role of executive director, I initially said, 'No.' I wasn't sure I wanted that challenge, but when asked again, I agreed, because I believe in its mission. When I took over, there was a little over $1,000 in the checking account and $15,000 in debt. Through a combination of grants, donations, frugality and hard work, we've been able to turn that around and then some.”

According to tax filings for the nonprofit in 2023, they had a net income of $18,205, with $119,000 in revenue. The New Hampshire Department of State recognizes the nonprofit in good standing. Darling also said holding performances in the opera house will significantly increase revenue, contributing to their pool of money for the monthly payments.

But when it came down to the vote to pass the resolution, all councilors had seemingly made up their mind, except Leigh Webb of Ward 3. When his name was called in the roll call vote, there was only silence. Then, he said he was still thinking. After a few seconds, he sighed and voted yes.

Webb said it was one of, if not the most difficult decision he would have to make as a city councilor. He wanted to pass it, but had concerns regarding the cost.

“I've been uncomfortable with the process from the beginning, I tried to get more facts that, unfortunately at this stage, were difficult to acquire. As in, was there a fourth option, Option No. 4,” he said. “And according to the chief of the fire department, Mike Foss, there could have been, but he wasn't sure what the overall effect would have been. And what we're talking about here is the potential loss of an important municipal building.”

One issue he spearheaded was the conservation of the historic Grand Army of the Republic Hall. The Grand Army of the Republic is the largest Union Army veterans’ organization, founded in 1866, a year after the end of the Civil War. The GAR Hall in Soldiers Memorial Hall is dedicated not just to veterans from the Civil War, but all wars. Webb believed the proposed plans for renovation would completely change the hall, removing its historical value. But he was reassured that steps can be taken in the final design process to maintain the memorial.

Before the vote, Webb asked for a five-minute recess, which turned into 15. He used that time to speak with some people privately on the matter.

“I'd like to see that history continued today, and that space utilized to its greatest efficiency, to its greatest effect, I should say,” Webb said. “And the opera house obviously has striven over these last 20+ years to make that a community space. And it would be appropriate, I think, to Franklin for that to continue.”