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Graham, Donna

From: Jeff Bois

Sent: Tuesday, March 01, 2022 11:47 AM

To: Board of Aldermen; O'Brien, Michael (Alderman)
Ce: Jeff Bois; Jeff Bois

Subject: Support for Expanded outdoor dining

CAUTION: This email came from outside of the organization. Do not click links/open attachments if source 1s
unknown.

TO BOA-

Hello- | am writing in favor of expanded outdoor dining. | ama fourth generation Nashua resident that works
downtown. I've pasted below a note that | sent out on behalf of my small business located downtown off East Pear! St,
Stella Blu. It captures most of my sentiments on the matter, but | will add a few points.

1.) Lappreciate the efforts being put into this matter and the thoughtfulness of the public officials tasked with the
analysis and decision-making. Some of the treatment | am seeing online by certain public officials is horrible and does
not reflect Nashua residents at large. These individuals no doubt fill their time watching conspiracy-theory based
YouTube videos and Facebook-shaming everyone that does not agree with them. This does not adequately represent
the will of the people. The half a million people that joined us for outdoor dining over the last few years better
represents what people want. Actions speak louder than words!

2.) Certain individuals pushing their own agendas through Facebook is leading to misinformation, negativity and
generally making your job more difficult. It's a shame it's not all adults in the room...it's embarrassing.

3.) The will of the people. Due to the nature of my business, | have interacted with tens of thousands of individuals over
the last two years. While people hate traffic (obviously), | see an enormous amount of support for the expanded
outdoor dining. In fact, almost every customer this winter has asked about it. Summertime seems short in NH so these
warm summer nights relaxing outside are so precious to them/us. | travelled downtown over 600 times in the last two
years...the traffic is not that bad and frankly there will always be traffic during rush hour. Have you tried travelling down
Amherst St or DW Highway during rush hour?!? Nashua is a CITY not a town.

4.) What is downtown. There is a general misunderstanding in what "downtown" means in this proposal. People are
mostly focused on Main Street. The side streets have much less sidewalk than Main St, so the thought that all
restaurants have always had plenty of outdoor seating is inaccurate. Obviously, establishments with more frontage and
larger sidewalks (on Main St) have much more seating. The largest and most well-known restaurants will be fine, and
many are building owners not just business owners, it is the new true small businesses we should be continuing to
attract as a city.

5.) Jobs. There may be a misunderstanding of the true job growth this creates. Restaurants are the largest employers
(as an industry) downtown...period. Restaurants require a lot of workers. For example, if a clothing store increases their
sales by 30% they can likely get away with hiring zero or maybe one more part-time employee. If a restaurant increases
their sales by 30% it can require many more employees to accomplish their goals. We are literally cooking, cleaning,
prepping, serving thousands of people per week. It takes a lot of employees to do so.

Also, locally owned independent restaurants downtown are much more likely to employ Nashua residents. This means
that the money goes back into Nashua, and often into downtown where many of our employees live and work.
Restaurant jobs are great for seasonal employees (kids back from college), second shift jobs for parents and high-
schoolers, flexible schedules for single parents, part-time work for teenagers, etc...

It also creates higher-level roles in management for Nashua residents (GM, Executive Chef etc...). Chain restaurants (on
Amherst ST and DW highway) don't always have these roles and their profits are often shipped out of the city/state to
their parent location. For example, Go to Chillis and your profits are going to Texas, go to Applebees and your profits are
going to California. | have nothing against chain restaurants, I’m sure some Nashua residents also work there, but they
simply do not hire many “executive” roles locally.

In addition, restaurants require a lot of upkeep. There is a lot of wear and tear when you are serving thousands of
people per week. Add 30% in sales generates work not only for restaurant staff but our food suppliers, local farms,
liquor store staff, beer suppliers, truckers, cleaners, linens (Falvey), plumbers, electricians, hardware stores,
merchandise, Uber drivers, taxi, handymen, babysitters, musicians, artists, ... the list goes on.

Locally-owned restaurants are more likely to use local help for these needs when we can. | use Wells for plumbing
(Nashua company), MintPrintworks for my staff uniforms (Nashua company), Loren Morse for my electrical (Nashua
company), All Clean for my cleaners (Nashua company), Bellevance Beverage (Nashua), Alphagraphics (Nashua), Falvey
Linen (Nashua) and the list goes on. It’s not just about the people that work at the restaurant, but those that work to
support restaurant operations.

6.) Charitable Contributions. Locally owned (downtown) businesses are much more likely to make local charitable
contributions. The more profits, the more contributions. Front Door Agency, Soup Kitchen, Jenny Fund, and many
youth sports programs are just a few ways we have recently contributed to.

7.) NH collects 8.5% meals and entertainment tax. This is strictly for restaurants, hotels and hospitality. No retail or
other service industry (law, dental, pharmacy, etc...) is required to pay M&E taxes. This represents A LOT of money

the state can send back to local municipalities to off-set property taxes and other needed projects. Literally millions per
year.

8.) It’s bad for retail?!? This talking point is grossly inaccurate. It’s good for all. You know what's bad for
retail...Amazon. You know what's bad for retail... mask mandates. You know what's bad for retail...being closed when
thousands of people are walking by your store at night and on weekends. The barriers have zero negative impact on
downtown retail success...unless you consider increased exposure and advertising to potential shoppers negative. The
majority of retail establishments downtown remain open during the day during the week (when the majority of our
population are working). That is a choice. The barriers have ZERO impact on travel during the day (9am-Spm)...literally
zero. Astute and agile retail business owners have thrived over the last few years. See MyOptic, DesignWares,
Camaraderie. In fact, retail psychology 101 says if someone puts more effort into getting to your establishment, they
are far more likely to buy something and spend more money when they do. Individuals sitting in cars on Main St are
literally looking at your storefront for longer periods of time. Larger retailers pay millions for such exposure! As far as
parking, if “customers” can’t walk two blocks to get to your shop no offense but they probably don’t value you!

9.) Slows down traffic. People shouldn’t be ripping down Main St at 50mph. This is a family community, | want to see
families, kids dogs walking downtown. Not sure why anyone would promote speeding down Main St...it’s just

wild. Unless you are going to Main St, you should not be on Main St. It seems so simple and intuitive to me...not sure
why people want it to be a thruway. Probably just because it is convenient for them. It’s weird and frankly it’s

selfish.

10.) Downtown should be a place to go to, not to go through. A good Main St is the destination, not part of the
journey.

Posted by Stella Blu 2/28 on FB/Insta

The past two years have presented enormous challenges to our community driven mostly by the pandemic and related
economic uncertainties. One of the bright spots of this period was the expansion of outdoor dining in downtown

Nashua. It allowed individuals the opportunity to come together to dine, shop, walk and enjoy the outdoors during the
precious moments of a New England summer. Hundreds of thousands of people flocked to Nashua to enjoy this unique

2

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b. Overnight delivery by a nationally recognized overnight courier
company, whereby delivery is deemed to have occurred the business day
following deposit with the courier.

c. Registered or certified mail, postage prepaid, return receipt requested,
whereby delivery is deemed to have occurred on the third business day
following deposit with the United States Postal Service.

d. Electronic transmission provided that such transmission is completed no
later than 5:00 pm ona business day and receipt is confirmed.

Addresses: Notice shall be addressed to the parties as follows, or at such
other address as given by such party in accordance with the notice
requirement of this Agreement:

MCAT
David Thomas
100 Quarry Dr.

Milford MA, 01757

To Customer
Nashua WWTP
David Boucher
2 Sawmill Rd.

Nashua NH, 03060

Facsimile Signature and Execution in parts: Execution of this Agreement
evidenced by scanned or facsimile signature shall be valid for all purposes, as
if signed in original. Each party may execute a duplicate copy of this
Agreement, which executed copies together shall constitute one agreement.
Consolidation: This agreement is the final expression of the agreement of the
parties as to the subject matter herein. All previous discussion, proposals,
writings, and agreements are superseded and replaced by this Agreement.
There are no other terms or agreements between the parties as to the subject
matter contained herein.

[Signature Page to Follow]

experience. | have not seen such vibrancy in our downtown in decades...Nashua NH truly became a destination! It also
created hundreds of good paying jobs for Nashua families, generated additional tax revenue and attracted more
businesses to the city.

Various professionals from Nashua fire, police, traffic, health, economic development, and the business community have
collaborated on a revised plan that alleviates some of the traffic and parking concerns while keeping this program

going. Please visit NashuaNH.gov and/or attend the next Board of Alderman meeting on March 9" to review and
participate in this discussion.

Stella Blu, recently voted “best outdoor dining” by the community in The Telegraph annual Best Of Greater Nashua
2021, sees a decrease of 88% in our outdoor capacity without the expansion. From 52 seats to 6. SIX. (on E. Pearl St we
do not have the frontage and wider sidewalks of the large Main St spots). That’s 288 fewer seats we will have available
for you each week. This is just one smail restaurant. Think about the impact compounded over all of us.

| get it, traffic is annoying, and no one hates it more than me...but it’s not that bad, the new plan makes it better, and a
little inconvenience is no a reason to take jobs away from our citizens and vibrancy away from our city. This represents
a competitive advantage for Nashua...don’t let them take it away.

Traffic and parking have been a topic of conversation in this city long before the barriers and will continue to be no
matter what is decided here. Nashua is a CITY...let’s make it a great one!

-Jeff and the Stella Blu Crew

Jeff Bois
Owner, Stella Blu

www .stellablu-nh.com

Graham, Donna

From: Cristina Piwowarski
Sent: Tuesday, March 01, 2022 12:03 PM
To: Board of Aldermen
Subject: Downtown Barriers

CAUTION: This email came from outside of the organization. Do not click links/open attachments if source is
unknown.

Good afternoon,

As a long time resident of ward 3, id like to share my opinion on the Main Street dining barriers. During the
peak of Covid-19, it was a great and welcome

idea that assisted the downtown businesses and kept residents safe. At this point in time with vaccinations rates
rising and covid cases dropping, there is no longer a justification to keep these barriers up. As someone who
frequents downtown and has lived here for 30 years, I don’t see the value in keeping them up. Sidewalk outdoor
dining is available and plentiful. Reducing main st to one lane each way is dangerous and frustrating to those of
us who live in the area and need to frequent Main Street as a primary artery to other parts of the city. As
someone who frequents main st as a pedestrian, I find the barriers have decreased pedestrian safety as they
block the the line of site of drivers in some areas and cause traffic that backs up into crosswalks that would
otherwise be clear during peak hours.

Please restore our downtown to its intended functionality.

Thank you,

Cristina Piwowarski

41 Summer St

Nashua NH

Graham, Donna

——z

From: Anne-Marie [a
Sent: Tuesday, March 01, 2022 12:42 PM
To: Board of Aldermen

Subject: outdoor dining

CAUTION: This email came from outside of the organization. Do not click links/open attachments if source is
unknown.

I would love to see outdoor dining continued in downtown Nashua. It has been so nice to see people outside
enjoying the beautiful weather. I think it really revitalizes the city and gives it an air of European bistros.

Please consider keeping outdoor dining alive in Nashua this spring, summer, and fall.
Thank you,
Anne-Marie Bergeron

| Resurrection Circle
Nashua, NH 03063

Graham, Donna

From: Paul Bossi ‘a
Sent: Tuesday, March 01, 2022 2:15 PM

To: Board of Aldermen

Subject: Outdoor Dining

CAUTION: This email came from outside of the organization. Do not click links/open attachments if source is
unknown.

Good Afternoon:
My vote for outdoor dining is YES.
Thank you and have a great day.

Paul Bossi

Paul L. Bossi
22 Royal Crest Drive Apt 2
Nashua, NH 03060

Graham, Donna

From: charles emmons
Sent: Tuesday, March 01, 2022 4:35 PM

To: Board of Aldermen

Subject: In Support of Expanded Outdoor Dining

CAUTION: This email came from outside of the organization. Do not click links/open attachments if source is
unknown.

Even though | rarely eat out downtown | think that it is a great idea.

| enjoy walking and even driving through downtown just to look at the people.
So it'd be great if it could stay.

Bringing even more activity out to the street would be great as well.

Chuck Emmons
8 Strawberry Bank Rd
Nashua, NH

Graham, Donna

From: Julia < ae :

Sent: Tuesday, March 01, 2022 5:10 PM

To: Wilshire, Lori; Graham, Donna; Board of Aldermen
Subject: Letter for Alderman Prior to March 9th Meeting

CAUTION: This email came from outside of the organization. Do not click links/open attachments if source is
unknown.

To the Nashua Board of Alderman:

Charron Medical Equipment is an essential business and has been on the frontlines of the Covid19
through the worst of the lockdowns. We were here on Main Street in 2020 when the barricades wer
with expanded outdoor dining. We believed this was important to get people back to work and to he
amount of normalcy.

That was in 2020. Now comes 2021 with barricades again. We sincerely believe that ALL business
the opportunity to succeed and thrive. That was not the case in 2021. Many of our customers are el
parking near our store because of the barricades on Main Street. So, they chose not to come in for
equipment. This has broad and deep implications for the health of our community.

Our employees travel to work from out of town and the elimination of two lanes means it takes 2-3 ti
to work. Our delivery truck must plan extra time for the traffic on Main Street when there are just twe
patients served because of the barricades.

Therefore, we DO NOT support the use of barricades for expanded outdoor dining. We DO support
businesses. In fact, we support them as customers; we are frequent patrons of all the restaurants o
found that with the barricades it takes too long to order take-out from a restaurant on the other side «
food and get back to the south end of Main Street with enough time to eat.

The proposed ordinance will effectively cause economic hardship for certain businesses on Main Sti
Street. We think this is unfair and wrong. The proposed ordinance will effectively support and prom
while impeding the ability of other customers (i.e., elderly and disabled) from shopping on Main Stre:
store during 2020 and 2021. We cannot tolerate another year of this unfair and unwarranted prefere
over others.

In 2022, Main Street should be open for business for all customers and all businesses; Covid19 prot
social distancing can continue to occur without the barricades on Main Street. Outdoor dining will cc
barricades. We believe the overreaching ordinance for expanded outdoor dining and barricades on
because it is restrictive to general commerce, discriminates against certain shoppers, and promotes
businesses over others.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. Please place this email/letter in the Next Board of Alder

Sincerely,

Julia Bartlett, Treasurer

Charron Medical Equipment
222 Main Street, Nashua

Sincerely,

Julia Bartlett, Treasurer

CHARRON MEDICAL EQUIPMENT
222 Main Street

Nashua, NH 03060

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