New applicant for Ward 5 vacancy; council to consider potential appointees Monday

LACONIA — City council will indeed interview three candidates to fill the vacant Ward 5 seat Monday, July 17, though it won’t be the same three applicants as earlier reported. One candidate, Lawrence “Cody” Pfaff, has withdrawn his application, while a third submitted an application prior to the deadline Thursday.

Council is scheduled to convene for a special meeting at 7 p.m. on July 17, at which point councilors will interview candidates and could vote on which applicant will become the appointee.

The Ward 5 vacancy was created by the death of Bob Hamel, who served on the council from 2005 until his death on June 12. The applicants are seeking to fulfill the remainder of that term, which expires on Jan. 1, 2024.

The most recent applicant is Michael Denufrio, who has lived in Ward 5 for just shy of one year. This would be his first experience serving on a city board.

In his application, Denufrio said he is motivated to serve and to “give back to the community.” He also believes that city council would be a suitable platform for his skills, expertise and ideas.

“As a younger millennial applicant with a marketing and business development background, I have a perspective that is unique. I can see the potential for economic development, educational improvement, entertainment opportunities, and an increase in the quality of life for the community,” Denufrio wrote in his application, adding that he’s driven by a desire to “make a positive difference in the lives of Laconia residents.”

The key issues facing the city, in Denufrio’s view, include the need to equip small businesses with the information they need to operate profitably during a period of rising costs; a need for further economic development to attract more white collar professionals; a stronger educational system; and addressing evident drug and alcohol problems, which directly impact the lives of many residents. Denufrio wrote, “It is also detrimental to the businesses in downtown as well as those who want to visit. This is a threat to public safety as well as business operations.”

Breanna Neal, who has lived in Ward 5 for three years, according to her application, served on the Downtown Tax Increment Financing Advisory Board 2015-2022, and during the same period, served as a ward moderator and city ballot clerk.

Neal wrote she doesn’t seek the office for herself, “I seek it only to offer residents the option of diverse representation and an approachable, open-minded listener who will speak for those who cannot be present. That is the example that has been set by those I have witnessed at the many council meetings I have attended, which I hope [to] be given the opportunity to live up to.”

She listed the most important issues facing the city as inflation, affordable housing, homelessness, substance misuse and addiction, workforce shortage, “and a number of different things which are all interconnected.”

Steven Bogert, who has been a Ward 5 resident for 20 years, represents the city in the Statehouse, is on the Mayor’s Housing Task Force and the Zoning Board of Adjustment. He’s also part of the Laconia Youth Football and Cheer Association, and also served in similar capacities when he resided in Miramar, Florida.

Bogert believes his experience would be useful for the “positive growth of our city,” he wrote. “Laconia is at the crossroads of maintaining its past while moving forward and creating a city of the tomorrow. I believe we could achieve an improved future while maintaining the tax cap.”

Key issues facing the city, in Bogert’s view, are the development of the former State School property, affordable housing, employment, drug addiction and homelessness. He also expressed interest in developing areas of the city to attract new businesses, and encouraging year-round business activity in Weirs Beach.