Board Of Aldermen - Minutes - 9/27/2016 - P10
Board of Aldermen Page 10
September 27, 2016
Mr. Krishna Mangipudi, 20 Salmon Brook Road
My wife Latha and | have lived in this town since 1990 and we’ve made this our home and brought up
two children in this community. | have worked in this community in various technology companies, some
of which were start-ups and as a first generation immigrant we made this our home and a place to work
and live and in those start-ups | was responsible for giving an opportunity to several individuals to work in
high paying jobs. My story is similar to hundreds of others immigrants of this town who have opened up
their arms and welcomed. The other thing that I’d like to mention is that | am also here on behalf of one
of the sponsors of this legislation, the Nashua Chamber of Commerce. As a member of the Board of
Directors | have watched Tracy Hatch lead an initiative this year to change the direction of what and how
the policies will be set for the Nashua Chamber of Commerce. She wants to make Nashua a Welcoming
City for every citizen. | can see that this will be very effective. Also in hearing and listening to several
people that have preceded me, several non-profit organizations and community organizations are deeply
involved in this effort to make the Nashua community a Welcoming City so given that | propose that
affirming that the City of Nashua as a Welcoming City and to participate in the Welcoming America
Initiative is something that you should all consider affirming and in doing so | will also suggest that you
are ratifying what is already happening in this city and what the citizenry is already engaged in.
Sushma, 47 Royal Crest Drive, #3
| am a student at Rivier University and | support the original resolution.
Mr. Kyle Schneck, 26 Chester Street
| am a commercial banker in the community of Nashua and | have many for profit and non-profit clients
and when | think about this issue it should not be a political issue. This is an economic issue. | speak to
a number of businesses here in Nashua and | say to them what do you need to help your business grow.
They say they need help, they need labor; there is a major labor shortage here and it’s hitting all
industries across the board and it’s impeding our growth. The other thing is that | see a lot of vacant
storefronts on Main Street and other areas of Nashua. Those storefronts could have entrepreneurial
businesses come in and be paying tax dollars and growing our City of Nashua. Let’s not make this a
political issue, let’s think about this as an economic issue. When | look at the Welcoming America
Initiative, and I’ve done a lot of research looking through this website, what it is really about is immigrant
integration. It’s taking people in our community, perhaps underserved and under voiced people, giving
them the tools that they need to help them out to make them more productive citizens. In no way is this
going to hurt our community, it’s only going to help our community. | do ask for all of you to strongly
consider making a vote to support the growth of Nashua.
Ms. Padma Vootkur, 5 Jonquil Lane
| have been a resident of Nashua for almost 20 years. The best part of Nashua is that it is inclusive and
very friendly. Since | first came here Nashua has only grown and improved and | am here tonight to
support the original resolution because Nashua is my home right now.
Mr. Rich Boehler, CFO of St. Joseph’s Hospital
| am here to support the resolution. We have submitted a letter of support and | also happen to be a
member of the Board of the United Way. | speak this evening on behalf of my Board of Director’s at the
hospital and certainly my personal views resonate very strongly with those that | have heard this evening.
Our hospital was formed 108 years ago to address the need of immigrants and in that case it was French
Canadian mill workers who came to Nashua. Over the last 108 years our doors have been open and
supportive of individuals who have come to this community. Let me first sway any fears that you might
have about who will care for these people when they come, we are here and ready to help. As both an
employer and an educator | think it’s very important that you understand some of the challenges we face
