LACONIA — A citywide increase in overtime parking fines has been approved by a 4-2 vote of the City Council, boosting the cost from the current $10 to $15.
Councilors Andrew Hosmer and David Bownes were against, and Councilors Bob Hamel, Mark Haynes, Henry Lipman and Bruce Cheney were in favor.
By a unanimous vote, the council also decided that a previous ordinance on the violation of blocking sidewalks required updating. Fines for that violation are now $25 for a first offense, $75 for a second and $150 for a third.
Councilors also unanimously boosted from $10 to $25 fines for parking from midnight to sunrise, or in the street overnight during the winter or during a no-parking period.
Rescue boat
The Laconia Fire Department will be getting a new inflatable, towable rescue boat.
The City Council has approved an expenditure of about $18,000 for as boat to replace the current rescue boat, which has been deemed by an independent evaluator as unsafe.
Chief Kirk Beattie said the boat is a critical piece of water rescue equipment that is used year-round.
In the black
LRGHealthcare ended its support for municipal ambulance services on June 30, 2018, leaving the city responsible for billing.
A cost analysis shows the city will be in the black for these services.
A September financial and operational trends document filed with the City Council shows that from July 2018 to June 2019, the city collected payments of $919,531.
That number will increase because payments lag billings by several months and are expected to top the $931,821 cost of providing the service. Another factor on the positive side of the ledger is $10,000 generated by a paramedic and Emergency Medical Technician refresher course taught by Deputy Chief Shawn Riley.
They said it:
“We find stuff wasn’t where it was supposed to be and stuff that was not supposed to be there. This causes shifting around and redesign work.” — Public Works Director Wes Anderson on complications of major road repair projects.
"Customer count is down from last year. Sales are down. We've had angry customers because the flagger was mean to them. They even gave employees a hard time coming to work. It's been crazy." — Aroma Joe’s Manager Alexyss Lemay on the effects of a road project detour.
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“I am running for City Council this year. I also helped with the regulations that they are declining. I am all for allowing this; the way it’s written.” — Sarah Jenna on a recommendation the Planning Board made to the City Council on regulation of short-term rentals. The council is considering more restrictive regulations.
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