Minutes of closed-door meetings about property purchase to be released

LACONIA — Details of the closed-door City Council meetings which led to the city buying most of the property of the former St. Joseph Parish will be released in the coming weeks, Mayor Andrew Hosmer said Monday.

At Monday’s council meeting Hosmer said the minutes of all the non-public meetings of the council when the potential purchase was discussed will be made public. City Manager Scott Myers said the vote to unseal the minutes of those meetings will occur at the next council meeting, scheduled for Sept. 14.

At the opening of the council meeting, Hosmer announced that the city had signed a purchase-and-sale agreement for the historic Busiel House, the former Holy Trinity School building, and the parking lot for $1.14 million.

St. Joseph Church, which ceased being used for services in March 2019, was not included in the purchase. An effort is underway to preserve the 91-year-old Gothic revival building

The city and the Diocese of Manchester announced the agreement in a joint news release issued Saturday. In addition, members of St. Andre Bessette Parish late last week received a letter from the Very Rev. Marc Drouin, pastor of the parish, which outlined the deal.

St. Andre Bessette Parish was created in 2010 when the city’s three Catholic parishes, including St. Joseph, were merged.

The existing parking on the site will provide about 85 parking spaces. Additional parking is seen as critical to future development in the downtown area.

Hosmer called the agreement a “critical component to get more and more visitors to come downtown.”

After describing the essence of the agreement, the mayor gave members of the public who might have been logged in to the teleconference meeting a chance to make comments. No comments were forthcoming.

The City Council’s vote to purchase the former Catholic school building and a rectory took place in a non-public session. The money for the acquisition were contained in a bond listed in the recently-passed city budget only as “XYZ.” Both Hosmer and Myers said it was legal for the council to take that vote behind closed doors.

When the minutes of the non-public meetings are made public, City Councilor Bruce Cheney asked that all prior public comments about the potential uses of the property be included.