Search

Board of Aldermen 02-22-2022 Page 22

Steve Bolton, Corporation Counsel

| have no opinion on that as | sit here now.

Alderman Comeau

If | could, I'd like to make a motion to amend O-22-006 to include language to specifically remove that paragraph and say
that City Hall and other non-educational government buildings should follow the same rules as the rest of public buildings
in the city. So if there's no citywide mandate, there should be no mandate within non-educational government buildings.

MOTION BY ALDERMAN COMEAU TO AMEND BY ADDING THE FOLLOWING LANGUAGE: THAT CITY HALL
AND OTHER NON-EDUCATIONAL GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS SHOULD FOLLOW THE SAME RULES AS THE
REST OF PUBLIC BUILDINGS IN THE CITY. SO IF THERE'S NO CITYWIDE MANDATE, THERE SHOULD BE NO
MANDATE WITHIN NON-EDUCATIONAL GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS

President Wilshire

Okay. That's a motion. Motion is to amend. Discussion on the amendment?

ON THE QUESTION

Alderman Jette

So, | may not be very articulate about this because this comes as a surprise, but | don't have that in front of me either. |
guess | would think that the — in my own opinion - is that dealing with that aspect of it without a vetting by the appropriate
committee doing it tonight, you know, without any warning, | wouldn't be opposed to. | think that the motion to having a
second reading of resending the existing ordinance was passed because of the existing ordinance is going to expire ina
few days anyway. | think a lot of people probably voted to allow a second reading because with that in mind.

The ordinance that you're referring that gave the Mayor, | believe, the authority to require masks in city buildings gave the
Mayor the authority to do that as he judged the situation in consultation with the Board of Health to protect not only the
public but city employees. | would be reluctant to tonight take that authority away and expose our city employees to a
Coronavirus which is still very much a threat to us without a full discussion on that issue. So | would oppose your motion
on that basis.

Alderman Clemons

Thank you, Madam President. | don't disagree necessarily with the sentiment of what Alderman Comeau is trying to do.
It's probably legislation that | would support. However, | disagree with the process. To me, the process is a very
important part of what we do here. | tend to believe that personally that when you want to rescind legislation or rescind
things that we have done in the past that you should bring forth legislation like Alderman Moran has done with what's
before us. It should be vetted whether that's either at a committee or if it's a second reading like we're doing tonight if it's
something that, you know, should come up, but there really should be something in writing and it should be something
that we can all review and really look at, understand, know what the consequences are.

Now | think in relative terms to this versus some other thing, you know, | think the consequences are much less.
However, | would not want to set the precedent of just doing something - and | also don't want to disrespect you either
Alderman Comeau because | don't think you're doing this just on a whim either. But | personally would like to see
something proposed and go through the channels - the proper channels. Again it's not because | disagree with the
sentiment behind the or the rationale behind what you're trying to do. Something | like | said, | probably sign on to it but
because of the way how | feel we should be doing business, | won't support that amendment this evening.

Alderman Comeau

Thank you, Madam President. If | could just add on to what Alderman Clemons was just talking about. The initial
language that | was referring to was added via amendment to legislation that was brought forward in a Special Board of
Aldermen meeting that the rules were suspended to move to a second reading. So | fail to see how the situation is any
different to remove that language than the situation that brought it forward in the first place.

| also don't understand why people inside City Hall are at greater risk than people anywhere else in the city. If we're
talking about the numbers being low enough that the Board of Health has no strong objections to lifting the mandate, then

Board of Aldermen 02-22-2022 Page 23
| don't understand why that wouldn't also apply in the other handful of buildings that it doesn't already apply to.
Alderman Klee

Thank you, Madam President. We talk all the time about that we should lift them in the mandate, which | think probably
will happen this evening. We also say that every business should have the right to decide for themselves if they want to
have this mandate. The Mayor is kind of the manager and he's responsible for all the employees here. There's a lot of
traffic that comes through City Hall. | think that it should be his right to decide how to protect his employees to make sure
that employees are here, to make sure that they aren't put in harm's way, and | appreciate him wanting to do that.

| think that we should not vote for that change. If you want to bring it forward in a separate one, we can have a
discussion. We can read it, we can have more discussion on it. As | pointed out, | don't think this is the way to do it. |
think we should have a clean bill here as to whether or not to lift the mandate six days early. | don't think we should be
muddying the waters just because people are saying, | don't want to wear a mask in City Hall. It was put there for the
protection of the employees and it was put there for the protection of the citizens. If the citizens don't want to be
protected, then that's fine. They wear a mask. They don't wear a mask somewhere else. If the SURF were to say you
have to wear a mask and you don't want to go there, fine you don't want to go there. You do have to come to City Hall |
understand for different things. | don't think it's that much to ask for people to wear a mask to protect the employees here.
Thank you very much.

Alderman Moran

At this moment, | don't think | would be able to support that amendment simply because | do feel that the Mayor is in
charge of this building and that is what he was elected to do is to manage the people in this building. | think that authority
should remain with him at the time. | definitely would consider looking at a motion in the future.

Alderman Sullivan

Thank you, Madam President. Question. If when the mask mandate expires on the 28th, does that apply to City Hall? Or
will it be extended after that, if needed?

President Wilshire

| don't have that answer.

Steve Bolton, Corporation Counsel

| don't think it applies to City Hall. The Mayor would be free to have other requirements for City Hall. The library would be
free to have other requirements for the library. (inaudible) department for fire stations. Police Department for the police
station. Private businesses for their own private business.

Alderman Sullivan

Thank you. As a follow up Madam President. Thank you. | would support this because it's the people's house and the
library is a public building. | think its common sense. It keeps it in sync with the rest of the city and | would support that.

Alderman Lopez

So | would point out that there are some places that are still going to be mask mandated regardless such as the bus. It's
dictated by federal guidelines. | would have to agree with what's been said previously. | don't think it's a good idea to try
to verbally construct an amendment that could become very, very tricky particularly the definition of government buildings.
The actions that the School Board has taken with regard to this mandate now ending the 28" but if we pass this tonight
amended, then they didn't have the authority to do that. | think the complexities are a quagmire. With respect to public
buildings being the people's house, | agree with Alderman Klee that not everybody feels safe in the middle of a pandemic
going to certain places without a mask. | think we should be looking to ensure that people who are not feeling threatened
by wearing masks but find them inconvenient or not being put on the same pedestal as people who feel like they might
have autoimmune diseases, or health conditions, or lost loved ones that still wear a mask because ultimately the masks -
it was referenced earlier that they have different percentages of effects.

| would look at instead of just a gross percentage if you look at the different studies that were released on masks and the
different impacts that they have, it's also exposure time. Some masks will give you up to 25 hours of standing within four

Board of Aldermen 02-22-2022 Page 24

feet of people. Some will give you like, two hours in terms of accumulating the viral load that ultimately means your body
is most likely to contract COVID. So with variables like that, | don't think it's a given that COVID has disappeared just
because our hospital rates are down. | think it's still a pandemic and we're still at substantial transmission levels. We may
see some increase over the next couple of weeks because people are going on vacation, they're going to be traveling
more, and because we're lifting his mask mandate. | don't know which one is going to have a bigger impact. | know
people's opinions vary and we aren't running a focus group or a specific study in Nashua to justify these things clinically.
The best we can do is look at best practices elsewhere. | would say for public buildings where people need to use them,
there are foundational access right for everybody. We should make sure that we're protecting people during a pandemic.

Steve Bolton, Corporation Counsel

Yeah, I'm concerned based upon some of the subsequent discussion that | didn't make myself clear in my previous
response. The Board of Aldermen cannot make rules for the schools, cannot make rules for the library, cannot make
rules for the police station, the fire station. So whether you pass anything tonight, the library can still have rules adopted
by the Library Trustees. Fire stations by the Board of Fire Commissioners. Police Department by the Board of Police
Commissioners and the school buildings by the Board of Education. So | don't think that should enter into your
consideration. They can make their own rules for their buildings.

Alderman Thibeault

Yeah, | mean | agree. | mean, it's the people's house, but it's still a place of employment for people. So | feel that, you
know, the Mayor's the CEO of this business and he's got to protect the employees that are under his watch. If we're
letting the Fire Department because we can't do that make their decisions, and library, and any other private business
then | think we should let him do that the same thing and maybe he will decide that, you know, tomorrow is the right way
or next weeks the right way. | think we should let him do that.

Alderman Comeau

Can | ask the Mayor a question through the Chair?

President Wilshire

Yes.

Alderman Comeau

Mayor Donchess have you considered the possibility of changing the face covering restrictions within City Hall? If not,
what kind of metrics and numbers would you need to see in order to consider reconsidering the mandate?

Mayor Donchess

Well | haven't looked back to all the history of the legislation as you were recounting before, but my recollection is we did
remove the mask mandate in City Hall for a period of time and then re-instituted it.

| first want to get the input of city employees and actually we have a meeting scheduled later in the week to kind of see
how people feel. | don't have a definite answer and | think | would come up with an answer sometime in the near future.

Alderman Comeau

Given the temperature of the room here, I'd like to rescind my motion to amend.

President Wilshire

Okay, so be it. Then the motion is for final passage.
MOTION BY ALDERMAN MORAN FOR FINAL PASSAGE OF O-22-006, BY ROLL CALL
Alderman Jette

So on the motion that’s now before us which is to pass this rescission of the mask mandate. As | said before, | came to
this meeting fully expecting to support the mask mandate because | thought that's what the Board of Health was their

Board of Aldermen 02-22-2022 Page 25

position. At the last meeting that | saw, they talked about the fact that the mask mandate was going to expire on February
28. So | didn't think there was any reason to accelerate that.

| wanted to say | watched the Board of Education meeting. | was very impressed by the three high school students who
spoke. They were very articulate. | wish | could be as articulate. The student who spoke tonight, similarly she was very
impressive. But | want to say that the conversation and the public should know that what we're talking about here is a
mandate. | don't think and I'll ask whether or not you would allow the Board of Health to speak on this issue. | don't think
the Board of Health is saying that the pandemic is over and that people should stop wearing masks that they don't need to
wear masks. The Mayor said tonight the rate of transmission was down to 14%. | think on Friday the last number | saw
was still around 17%. The recommended level at which people should - the level at which community transmission is that
where people should wear masks and indoor public spaces is 8%. So we're still in a - it's called substantial. In the State
of New Hampshire calls it substantial.

In the CDC where we're at a high rate of transmission anything above 10% is the high rate. 8% would be substantial and
below 8% is the level at which the CDC says and others have said that, you know, people can feel that it's safe to not
have to wear a mask. So even if we vote to eliminate the mask mandate that just means that the law requiring people to
wear masks will be rescinded. | think the recommendation by the Board of Health is still if you want to protect yourself
while the rate of community transmission is above 8%, certainly above 10%, 14% where it is now. If you want to protect
yourself, you should continue to wear a mask.

President Wilshire

If you'd like, | can ask Dr. Storace to address that.
Alderman Jette

That would be fine. Thank you.

Tony Storace

Currently the rate is 14.8 percent and you're correct. Ideally, we'd like it to be 5%. If you rescind the mask wearing, the
Board of Health will step forward and say that we highly recommend everybody continue to wear masks. Okay. My job
today was really show you the rates were coming down because the last time | was here, | was the one telling you the
rates were going up. If you go on to the New Hampshire website and look at the COVID numbers in the graph, and the
graph like | told you last time was shooting up and now it's shooting back down. So we're definitely going in the right
direction. Is it perfect? No. | mean, there's no question. It's not perfect.

What we were basically saying to you is we're close to the end of the legislation not of the pandemic. No one said that
we're out of the pandemic. The pandemic is still out there. Would | advise you if | was advising about masks, wear
masks. There's no question about it. We were hoping to extend this to the end of the month because we're going into
March and people start to go outside. We know that this is a viral disease, respiratory disease and what happens in the
fall when we all know inside, we start seeing the flu. We start seeing the common cold. We're going to be able to get
outside and that's going to help a lot. If you look at the graphs prior to Omicron, in which | gave you the first statistic was
in June, it was way down. It was 11 or something like that. It's progressively gone up and then skyrocketed through
December.

Basically what we're saying is yes we're in a better position. Are we going to go and die on this hill for six days? | don't
think that's the case here but | would tell you, it's not safe. | will tell you the reason why those numbers went up was
because of the holidays. You can wear the mask all day long and be protected but then when you get a group of people,
especially those that are outside your bubble, sometimes there is even some of your family, that's where we started to see
the disease start to grow, cross pollinate because of people. We have Thanksgiving. We have Christmas, and the other
holidays, religious holidays, and now from the CDC we're looking for is a blip from Superbowl weekend. So we'll probably
see a little bit of an uptick there. So | would wear a mask. | will tell you (inaudible) for the sake of the public. If we want
to mandate it, that's your arena not mine. Did that help?

Alderman Jette
Could | follow up?

President Wilshire

Yes.

Board of Aldermen 02-22-2022 Page 26

Alderman Jette

So we're simple people. Okay. So we're asking you a simple question. Would you prefer that we continue the mask
mandate until the end of the month as originally provided for in the ordinance?

Tony Storace

Yes. It would make our day.
Alderman Jette

Okay. Thank you for clarify that.

Alderwoman Timmons

Well thank you for your information because | did have a conversation with Director Bagley today and | am the liaison for
the Health Department on one of her input and she said exactly what you just said that we should keep the mandate until
the 28th. So that’s my stand as well and it’s for all the reasons everybody talked about in here.

I'm sorry, | did have two deaths this week and they were COVID related. Okay. That you could call it fear all you want.
It’s the truth. It’s the facts, it’s what it is. Masks do work. | Know that for a fact. My kids work in the hospital. They were
masks all day long because they have to protect their patients. Masks work. So all the stuff that people say on masks
don't work. They don't do this. They don't do that. That's a bunch of garbage.

Secondly what happened at the Board of Education last night, | hate to say this, but take you away from what you're
seeing now, these students that spoke last night were traumatized because he got heckled and | got a message from him
at 11 o'clock and said that the parents heckled him. A kid because he was pro mask. That's a shame. This kid right here
was elegant on the way she speaks much better than | course but she was elegant. She got heckled. People we got to
stop that. We got to stop attacking people that don't agree with you. If you don't agree with that particular person, just
respect their opinion like | respect your opinion. | don't attack you. And that is | don't attack you on Facebook. | don't
attack you anywhere. Your opinion is your opinion and just that’s what it is. You are not the professionals. You're not the
doctors. You're not the healthcare workers. You're just what | have — opinion but my opinion means a little bit more
because | was elected. And by the way, | was elected by the masses and the masses said keep demanding. That's all |
have to say.

Tony Storace
Just add to that, | didn't bring the statistic last time was up here but 140 people died in Nashua.

Alderwoman Timmons

Thank you.

Alderman Thibeault

Just two quick comments and it's not a question I'm sorry, Dr. Storace. So just looking at the screen up there. Someone
put he's a dentist. | don't care. He's the Chairman of the Board of Health. The Board of Health has other types of
specialties. We have a pediatrician here. They're made up of multiple specialties. He's representing them. He comes
and delivers the facts or the facts as of the Board of Health. Believe it or don't believe it but to demean someone like that,
that's what Gloria is talking about.

The other thing | want to say is, you know, I'm going to stick with my original that, again, I've been going back and forth all
day but I'm going to still vote to go till the 28th. I'm going to do that for a really the principle because my principle was that
we have the mandate to the 28". That's the original thing | voted for. I'm going to speak for the kids in high school and
other than want the mask mandate but can't vote out here, and the seniors, and people who have e-mailed me that want
to keep it. It's not just the people that don't want it that have e-mailed me. We get plenty of e-mails from people that do
want it and unfortunately they just don't come out to these meetings. I'm going to stick with principle and I'm going to
continue to vote that way that | said earlier.

Board of Aldermen 02-22-2022 Page 27

Alderman Clemons

Thank you, Madam President. | agreed with the previous two speakers in the sense of | think it is terrible that some of the
public has really put a bad taste in people's mouth. | said this after the last meeting in December when we passed the
mask mandate to begin with. Some of the things that were said about some of the Aldermen for voting for the mandate -
you know no one wakes up - none of us in this room wake up one day and say how can | tick off half the city. It just
doesn't happen. We come here and we're elected. We do the best job that we think we can do and every two and four
years we stand up for election or re-election and we say how did | do? And that's when people can express their ultimate
opinion. But the attacks to say that, you know, people don't appreciate or just terrible things. I'm not even going to repeat
them.

My whole thing is | have voted no on the mask mandate in the past. | will continue that stance. | do not believe in
mandates. | do believe in masks. | agree with the Board of Health that wearing a mask is the right thing to do | think
when you're in public. Do | do it all the time? No but then again | don't follow my doctor's advice. My wife will tell you |
probably maybe follow the advice of my doctor 25% of the time. So | will vote to rescind the mask ordinance but it is not
because | disrespect the Board of Health. It is just not because | agree with people who are slinging mud essentially
online and in other places. | think that's behavior that's inappropriate. It is not political discourse that is right for our
country and | think we need to really write the track on that. | hope we can do so you know maybe tonight and moving
forward. | think we've done a good job. | think this group has done a good job and | hope we can continue to do that.

Alderman Dowd

| think everybody's expressed their opinion. I'm not going to make a motion to move the question, but | think we ought to
vote on this.

Alderman Gouveia

Yeah, | have to agree with Alderman Clemons and what he said. I’m just not for a mandate. | don't think this question
and nobody here is saying you're debating do masks work or not. The fact is, is can the city mandate us to wear masks?
I'll be voting no. I'm just not for mandate. I'll be voting yes.

Alderman Klee

Thank you, Madam President. Earlier, | said that based on the numbers and the information given from the Board of
Health that | would vote for the rescinding of this. After hearing from Dr. Storace again, I'm going to vote against it
because | believe that maybe we should go those extra few days. | think itis important. As it was pointed out, those who
won't wear are just not going to wear but it also gives those who want to wear them and have a little anxiety about going
to the grocery store know that the majority of the people there will have masks on because of this mandate. | think it's
important.

The Governor who lifted the statewide mandate gave permission to all the municipalities to do what was best for their
people. This body at one point voted for what the way they wanted. | think it's been a great discussion. I've seen things
back and forth. We've been listening to each other. | think it's wonderful. At this time, | am going to vote against it. So
thank you.

Alderman Cathey

Thank you, Madam President. | have to agree with my colleagues about mandates in general but also | believe Alderman
Clemons mentioned something about political discourse. In that light, Alderman Moran reached out to me about this
ordinance and | appreciated that he wanted to reach out and try and get this ordinance passed. | even spoke to him and
said, | think this would be a good faith gesture to the city. To me, it's not about six days. Aldermen in this chamber said, if
the numbers come down, we will change our minds and the numbers came down. Now you have a chance to vote
proactively to stop something for rescinded instead of just sitting around and waiting for it to expire. So | think that says
more about us as a Board being proactive and making a move on something that we saw the data and we feel like it's the
right time to move. So to me, it's not about the six days. It's about the gesture to the public about passing this ordinance.
So obviously, I'd be voting in favor. Thank you.

Alderman Sullivan

Thank you, Madam President. A yes vote is to resend it. A no vote is to keep it, correct.

Board of Aldermen 02-22-2022

President Wilshire

Correct.

Alderman Sullivan

Thank you.
A viva voce roll call was taken which resulted as follows:

Yea: Alderman O’Brien, Alderman Sullivan, Alderman Moran,
Alderman Lopez, Alderman Clemons, Alderman Comeau,
Alderman Dowd, Alderman Gouveia, Alderman Cathey,

Nay: Alderman Klee, Alderman Jette, Alderman Thibeault,
Alderwoman Timmons, Alderman Wilshire

MOTION CARRIED

O-22-007
Endorsers: Alderman-at-Large Ben Clemons

Alderman Patricia Klee
Alderman-at-Large Melbourne Moran, ur.
Alderman Thomas Lopez
Alderman Alex Comeau
Alderman Richard A. Dowd
Alderman Tyler Gouveia
Alderman John Cathey
Alderman Derek Thibeault
Alderman-at-Large Lori Wilshire

Page 28

EXTENDING THE HOURS OF ON-PREMISES SALES OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES TO 2 A.M. FOR

CHARITABLE GAMING FACILITIES

Given its first reading; Assigned to the PERSONNEL/ADMINISTRATIVE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE by President Wilshire

O-22-008
Endorsers: Mayor Jim Donchess

Alderman-at-Large Michael B. O’Brien, Sr.
Alderman Patricia Klee
Alderman-at-Large Melbourne Moran, Jr.
Alderman Thomas Lopez
Alderman-at-Large Ben Clemons
Alderman Derek Thibeault
Alderwoman-at-Large Gloria Timmons
Alderman-at-Large Lori Wilshire

RELATIVE TO SEASONAL ROAD CLOSURES AND ELIMINATION OF CERTAIN ON-STREET PARKING FOR

EXTENDED OUTDOOR DINING AND OTHER NON-VEHICULAR USE

Given its first reading; Assigned to the COMMITTEE ON INFRASTRUCTURE AND PLANNING AND ECONOMIC

DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE by President Wilshire

O0-22-009
Endorsers: Mayor Jim Donchess

Alderman-at-Large Michael B. O’Brien, Sr.
Alderman-at-Large Melbourne Moran, Jr.
Alderman Alex Comeau
Alderman John Cathey
Alderman Derek Thibeault
Alderwoman-at-Large Gloria Timmons

RAISING THE LANDFILL DISPOSAL FEE FOR CONSTRUCTION AND DEMOLITION DEBRIS FROM $90 PER

TON TO $300 PER TON
Given its first reading; Assigned to the FINANCE COMMITTEE by President Wilshire

Board of Aldermen 02-22-2022 Page 29

PERIOD FOR GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT

Laurie Ortolano

Laurie Orlando, 41 Berkeley Street. | want to address the barriers. On December 8" when we had an Infrastructure
Committee meeting, Director Cummings said that he was happy to facilitate a working group and it would be a public
meeting where it would be publicly noticed. Alderman O'Brien stated, “It's my intention probably, maybe to have it as a full
committee but I'm willing to appoint committee members. | would encourage that it's open to members of the public, the
stakeholders. We've got to have the stakeholders. We got to have you people at the meeting to really tell us. To come to
the Aldermen meeting like this is really not the kind of place it's putting the horse - the horse got out of the barn a bit. So off
we go on the ninth with we're going to get this committee done and it's an urgent thing on the eighth. On the ninth, | wrote a
question. | asked O'Brien you know, what's going on? How does this committee really get appointed? | was told after
January 9'" when the board is sworn in will do with it. And then he said, “As stated earlier, it's a work in progress with a keen
eye on the calendar for a solution that stated with an eye on the calendar. | assure you it is a project of high priority and it
will be done.” | looked on the calendar. It was never posted.

On January 12", | wrote an e-mail to Alderman O'Brien and Cummings requesting an update and had a committee been
selected, and general questions on the format, and | worded as a Right to Know. | never got a response but | did learn last
week that on the 11 Cummings received an e-mail from Marylou Blaisdell that informed him of an upcoming meeting on the
14" - two days later with the DIC to discuss the barrier issue. Nobody was told. | was never told through that Right to Know.
This meeting was never posted on the digital city calendar.

On January 26, we had an Infrastructure meeting. Barriers went out on the agenda. It was very strange, weird. | spoke at
the end. | was the only member of the public there. At the end, | said I’m confused with this is an emergency. What's going
on? Alderman O'Brien waited till the very last comments and said there's an organization that's been around probably since
the inception of Main Street and we're relying on them for citizen input. He went on to say we need stakeholders and | might
have a few names | can give you. | feel it was very deceptive not to state who that group was. You didn't even say it was a
public group. | didn't know who you were talking about. I've never been to a DIC meeting. The last set of minutes online are
from April of 2021 and there has never been a committee report...

Donna Graham, Legislative Affairs Manager

30 seconds

Laurie Ortolano

...submitted to the Board of Aldermen since last year. This goes on and on with deception and Right to Knows. | was
tasked by people in this city to try and tell them when something was happening. | did everything | could to do that and | got
duped because nothing was posted. I'm very disappointed at the underhanded nature. We gave you about $50 million to
improve the downtown with an art center, with a walkway, with School Street project, and now we're hearing...

Donna Graham, Legislative Affairs Manager

Your time is up.
Laurie Ortolano
...i/f we don't give you the sidewalks, it's not good enough. | think we gave you enough. Thank you.

Michael O'Connor

It's Michael O'Connor, 42 Berkeley Street. Thank you. Good evening. My comment is on the method being used to
advance the extended outdoor dining proposal offered by Mr. Cummings. His letter to the Committee of Infrastructure, a
Chairman in your in your agenda, states and | quote, “We waited for some time to see if interested parties would offer
anything as an alternative but to date no alternative arose.” This assertion is striking and Mr. Cummings lack of mentioned
when and how could interested parties have been able to submit their input. Many citizens voiced their concerns at the
Committee on Infrastructure meeting referred to on December 8". From those minutes, you could notice not only alternative
suggestions but an emerging voice for compromise. Hence, what was then proposed was tabled. You should know in those
minutes both Chairman O'Brien and Mr. Cummings stated that in January there will be a working group formed and the
motion would be brought back.

Board of Aldermen 02-22-2022 Page 30

In the minutes from the only Infrastructure Committee meeting since that December meeting, Alderman Comeau stated that
he received constituents’ communications asking how they submit their comments. I'll read an excerpt from Chairman
O'Brien's immediate response to Alderman Comeau. It was, and | quote, “I can answer that. There is an organization that
has been around probably since the inception of Main Street and we're relying on them for citizen input. That way we can
have stakeholders of Main Street.” Citizens who are more expert on the inner workings of city government than | advised me
that that organization who which Chairman O'Brien refers is the Downtown Improvement Committee. As can be seen on the
city's agenda center, that committee has no announced meetings since last April. Other sources have suggested there
actually has been at least one unannounced meeting, a recent meeting of the committee in which the barrier proposal may
have been discussed. If true, maybe this unannounced meeting was the only time for citizen input. I've requested of Mr.
Cummings, both in e-mail and my voicemail, for minutes of any meeting since that last one recorded on the agenda center.
However, he has not responded. Mr. Cummings states in his letter to you Chairman O'Brien that his proposal represents the
consensus of the administration. No doubt. To date, what other input has been recognized.

Donna Graham, Legislative Affairs Manager

30 seconds

Michael O’Connor

He may believe that he has the best consensus proposal, but it is only the consensus of input available to him. Surely the
public comments attached to tonight's agenda should convince you the board that there are responsible stakeholders and
citizens have alternative input that should be considered.

In closing, Board of Aldermen | asked you is there a working group? If so, will its meetings be announced on the agenda
center and open to the public? Thank you.

Mike Ortolano

Hi. Mike Ortolano, 41 Berkeley Street. | appreciate a lot of the commentary that | heard. Kind of sounds a little bit like, you
know, righteous indignation that the chamber has when, you know, students and others are being demeaned. | think that
that's a good thing. The only thing that | would like to ask the chamber is that, you know, at the last meeting | observed a
communication that | think fell into the category of either knowingly or unknowingly hitting hard at a community member,
which amazingly enough happened to be my wife. But you know, it kind of opened up by suspending of the rules and of
course, you hear a lot of that. You guys suspend the rules a lot. This whole discussion, you know, over the six days of this
masked mandate which is kind of the grand scheme of things kind of nothing. | get it. It's nice to show good faith. You said
he dropped the thing if the numbers look good but in reality wnen you suspend the rules and then you allow an employee of
the city to, you Know, to basically state that a member of community has been reported to the Police Department and there's
an ongoing investigation from Corporate Counsel advising that you can no longer talk about it. It really reeks of an
opportunity missed for, you know, for somebody on the Board to call point of order, to shut down discussion when it's
inappropriate. Some of this stuff of righteous indignation really should cut both ways both to the people that you like and
other people that maybe you don't like that much, whatever the case. So | think the suspending of the rules, | mean it really
is something that has its place but | think it's very casually used by this Board.

The other thing is | wanted to communicate that | do not agree with maintaining barriers on Main Street. | feel that the
process being used there is very similar to the process that was used to try to change the structure of the Police
Commission. It was very closed. It wasn't open. It wasn't a process that allowed...

Donna Graham, Legislative Affairs Manager

30 seconds
Mike Ortolano

...interaction with the community. It's being driven by Mayor, and a team of people, and it needs to be open if there's going
to be any consensus. Thanks,

Paula Johnson
Good evening again. Paula Johnson, 15 Westborn Drive. Member of the Board of Education, but I'm speaking on behalf of

myself. I'd like to thank the members of the Board for rescinding this mask because | made a comment last night, | guess,
but | guess it happen what | said last night happened tonight. Thank you very much. Because the people like me who have

Board of Aldermen 02-22-2022 Page 31

a disability don't have to walk around and show our letter anymore to say I've got a disability and | can't wear a mask under
number six of the ordinance and a mandate is not law. If you would like me to read it, | just looked it up in my phone.
Mandates are not laws. So I'd like to say thank you.

The other thing I'd like to say is that for $5 million, you don't debate anything like this. You just spend $5 million like that but
on amask we debate. You were killing the horse. You're beating the horse to death basically but that's not what | want to
talk about here right now.

Back in March - excuse me, December 17, 2021 and December 28, 2021, Alderman Wilshire you got a letter from Sue
Lovering, City Clerk, talking about three aldermen, and | know one of them was sick, missed three regular meetings. They
have to pay back their stipend. And what happened was on Alderman Kelly, there was a motion to table. Now if you
remember Alderman Wilshire when we were on the Board together, we had an Alderman that didn't show up most of the
time and we wrote that. | wrote that ordinance and its NRO 5-6. It basically says if in any quarter, and then it got amended
later on, if in any quarter any member of the Board of Aldermen is recorded absent at three or more regular meetings of the
Board, the City Clerk shall transmit a communication stating to the fact that the Board of Aldermen and the stipend for that
quarter shall be withheld. That did not happen. So | don't care. They don’t have to repay back the money. | mean other
than former Alderman Laws was out May 12, May 26, and June 3. | understand former Alderman Skip Cleaver was ill.
That was accepted and then Alderman Kelly was out three times. This basically states that you can't be out in a quarter.
Good cause shall include - because | wrote this with...

Donna Graham, Legislative Affairs Manager

30 seconds

Paula Johnson

...Attorney Clarke on this whole thing and | think Ms. Graham you were up in the office at that time that for maternity, health,
and other things adoption. So | am as a public citizen, and also elected, and if | was out, | would have to give back my
money. Whatever the stipend was for that time period, we need to get it back or Alderman Kelly doesn't get her stipend
check. Enough, is enough, is enough here.

Donna Graham, Legislative Affairs Manager

Time.
Paula Johnson
| mean and it shouldn't be. It should not be like this ever.

President Wilshire

Your time is up Mrs. Johnson.
Paula Johnson
Excuse me? A freudian slip there.

President Wilshire

Yeah.
Paula Johnson

| still retain the title if | want to and “honorable” | guess and “Representative” because | went up the scale like that. Some
people might not like it, but it is what it is.

President Wilshire

Okay. We need to get on to the next.