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Special Bd. of Aldermen — 5/2/17 Page 18

have touring artists and entertainers that attract people. That’s really the key, catalytic event. Once those
people are seen on the sidewalk and active, that’s the thing that encourages entrepreneurs. Then these other
efforts work on the barriers. What really matters is taking down the barriers, like addressing people’s concerns
about parking, safety, will there be somewhere to go afterwards to eat. That drives participation further and it
starts this virtuous cycle where more people, more activity, other things develop and ultimately it becomes a
destination which is then part of this idea of a district. If you want to attract tourists and visitors to Nashua, it’s
very hard to do that with just a theatre, one anchor. You have to give them a series of things to do and
experience in Nashua. We say here’s a building that makes sense, but please think about this building as an
anchor in a district because that’s the thing that’s really going to put it over the top.

Alderman Dowd

| know this isn’t on the scale of the Palace Theatre in Manchester, but the last few months because of my
granddaughter’s stage presence, I’ve been up there probably more often than | wanted to be, and they were
double-booked a lot of times with practices, rehearsals, performances. They seem to be doing phenomenal.
Are they a similar type of setup with an endowment? They do have plaques on the walls of residents who
have donated money to the theatre, but they seem to be doing really well. | Know they are bigger. Is there any
relationship in what you are proposing to the way the Palace Theater operates?

Mr. Webb

The scale is different, but the impacts are the same.

Alderman Deane

You're perceived impacts are the same as the Palace Theatre?
Mr. Webb

In terms of direction. It does the same good things in a small theatre, in a small community as it does in a
bigger theatre in a larger community.

Mr. Aquilina

From an architectural point of view, bigger is not necessarily better. The Palace Theatre has its own
challenges like a theater in downtown Boston. They have 750-800 seats. They have to basically fill those
seats in order to make it viable. Their whole pro-forma is different. They have to succeed at doing something
different. They have their own challenges because of their size. A theatre at 500 seats can succeed in ways
that the Palace Theatre couldn’t because they don’t’ have the same operational challenges.

Alderman Lopez

| really don’t like hearing artists being called Stormtroopers. | think when artists are bringing vibrancy to a
community, they are just authentically expressing themselves. Usually the gentrification starts when someone
gets an agent and then suddenly people are noticing the local vibrancy and trying to capitalize on it. | think
what we have here in Nashua is a lot of very strong local groups and a lot of local talent which is why earlier |
was trying to reinvigorate the idea of the arts district. | think this is a scenario where the artistic community of
Nashua is where many hands make light work. | think that’s a strength we should not ignore. As aldermen, we
Cleary have to take a close look when someone suggests a project that’s going to cost us $15 million. It’s our
responsibility to vet it. | also think this conversation should really be a conversation of not if but how. How do
we get to the point where we can get the full anchor that we are looking for at Alec, and what pieces do we
have in place right now that we might be able to enhance to bring more money into the scene, more tourist,

Special Bd. of Aldermen — 5/2/17 Page 19

more interest. | think this Saturday's Nu Muse Festival is a huge example of how we can create destination
interest and get people using those roads.

By the way, | think we did exactly the right thing with repairing the roads. When you have a road that starts to
degrade and it starts to collapse it costs more fix it. | think our arts scene, as Alderman Wilshire point out, is
starting to face the same risk. We can’t continue to turn down opportunities like this. We do have to get
forward motion on this. This project has taken a couple of years of discussion. We have to figure out how to
do this, | just want to make sure we’re doing our full due diligence as we do that.

Mayor Donchess

| would to first thank Duncan and his team for doing this project. If we think back a couple of years ago where
we were and what we were thinking about, the fact that you have brought professionalism and experience to
this has given us far, far more insight into what we should consider and how it might be a success. | think
without your efforts and input, we would be way, way behind where we are now. | also want to thank the
owner of Alec, John Koutsos, for holding his building stable while we’re looking at this project, and Tim
Cummings for helping to advance it. I’d like to thank all the people who came out tonight and at our other
presentations. There’s been a lot of citizen interest. And, all the people here who have contributed in other
ways have really helped us formulate ideas regarding how we should proceed.

We haven't yet talked about the new market tax credits which might be available and have been used in other
civic projects around New Hampshire. There’s no guarantee, but they can be potentially obtained and reduce
the cost of the project, the overall capital cost, and Director Cummings can correct me if I’m wrong, in the
range of 25 to 30 percent. On a $15 million project, $4 million or something like that.

| think Duncan and his team have been enabled us to consider an exciting project, a project that could take
place at an exciting location. | and others really appreciate everything you’ve helped us accomplish.

Director Cummings

What I’m looking for tonight is a motion or some sort of direction that you would like me to come back before
you with the financing plan in relatively short order because the opportunity to explore the Alec Shoe Building
is slipping. If we want to advance this conversation, we need to work diligently. We could take in some
alternative funding sources, like tax credits. We could anticipate other revenue streams. We could anticipate
disposing of other city assets that might help us bridge the gap. There are many ways we can arrive at the
$15.5 million figure. | would like that opportunity to bring that before you so you can have a good, honest
robust discussion comparing it to your other capital needs. Also, in addition to that, understanding that we
would need to also appropriate some money in short order to help also advance the conversation, whether it’s
a capital campaign consultant, whether it’s helping to do some design work, and also understanding that we
would have to put an option on the Alec’s Shoe building for a certain time period. | would like to come back
before you in relatively short order and present this plan and help you advance this conversation.

President McCarthy

| think that’s the direction | want to take. It’s no secret that | havfe supported doing a performing arts center for
some years now. We started this with my resolution a couple of years ago on the parking garage rooftops,
which lead to the Spring Street proposal, which lead to getting a contract with Duncan so we could actually
understand the need, etc., etc. This is one of the most solid economic forecasts | have seen in a long time on
this Board. | understand we have skepticism about what was said about the Broad Street Parkway, but there’s
a lot of reasons for that. That project was one thing and became another. | think you will also see that it is
having an effect with things like Brady Sullivan, etc., but they take a lot of time. Real estate deals do not pop
up overnight and zoning just change and assessed values don’t go up as quickly as we might like. | think we
see evidence that some of that is happening. | think there’s good evidence here that this will have a

Special Bd. of Aldermen — 5/2/17 Page 20

tremendous effect. | will be happy to work with you on trying find answers to some of the questions that got
asked here tonight. | think Alderman Siegel brought up a lot of points that we need to fit.

We have a template that says it’s possible. We need a template that says it’s optimal by doing some more
work. Unless anybody on the Board wants to make a motion to the contrary, | think we'll give a
recommendation to Director Cummings that he pursue getting a concrete proposal before us that we can look
at and in the course of the budget we review the bond schedule again so we understand what our debt
tolerance is over the coming years.

Alderman Lopez

Does it make sense to form a committee for the building plans? | thought one of the recommendations was
that we form a committee.

Mr. Webb

There are three committees that we recommended. One is related to find funding, one related to physical
planning, and one related to operations.

President McCarthy

| think we'll figure out how to structure that in the proposal that comes forward.
Alderman Deane

Wouldn't this fall under the Committee on Infrastructure, the former Committee of Lands and Buildings? | take
it the deal here is we’re going to use Alec’s Shoe. Am | right?

President McCarthy

That’s the proposal. The Infrastructure Committee is not appropriate to manage that on a day-to-day basis.
We are going to need something to deal with the programming and the operation of the center if it is going to
work.

Alderman Moriarty

In reference to what Alderman Schoneman was saying, is there any chance in the future you might be giving
us a presentation on a cost of a commuter rail station? Have you done any work of any sort towards that
endeavor?

Director Cummings

| have been diligently working on trying to develop a way to bring passenger rail up into Nashua and then
further north to Manchester. Is there any proposal to come before you in any short order? The answer to that
is no. There’s a lot of work ahead. Would | be looking to possibly fund a short appropriation to help bring in
some consultants to help fine tune that plan, to bring professional staff in as consultants such as Duncan to
help the city move forward, that would probably be the only type of proposal that would be coming before you
but nothing in terms of this order of magnitude at all.

Special Bd. of Aldermen — 5/2/17 Page 21

President McCarthy

Before | ask for a motion, for those of you that are in the audience who would like to get opinions to us, | would
suggest you send them through the web either through our legislative assistant or to me. I'll collect them up
and make sure that we get everything out to the whole board. | would ask for comments, but there are a lot of
people here and it is getting late already. We will undoubtedly have additional meetings where there will be
more opportunity for public input.

ADJOURNMENT

MOTION BY ALDERMAN WILSHIRE TO ADJOURN
MOTION CARRIED

The meeting was declared adjourned at 3:49 p.m.

Attest: Patricia D. Piecuch, City Clerk

building creativity

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Agenda

Needs assessment summary
Physical and business plans for Court St.

Physical and business plans for a new facility

Webb Management Services Inc. Page 1

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Webb Management Services

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Webb Management Services, Inc. is a management consulting \ =a
practice for the development and operation of performing arts ul

facilities. We work for governments, schools, developers, and
arts organizations on facility feasibility, business planning, and
strategic planning. Our practice was founded in 1997, and we
just started our 390" assignment.

In 2001, we completed the original feasibility study for this
project. Other regional experience includes projects in Gilford,
Keene, Lowell (MA), Framingham (MA), Lynn (MA), Worcester
(MA), and Fitchburg (MA).

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Study brief + background

The idea of building a performing arts center in Downtown Nashua has been
under consideration for at least 15 years.

Significant cultural development has been accomplished since the genesis of
the idea.

While some community leaders and local residents think that a performing arts
center would be another important catalyst for downtown development, there is
much work to be done around the idea.

Webb Management Services was hired to establish whether or not building a
theater in downtown Nashua is feasible. In 2016, we assessed the market for
the arts in Nashua, demand for performance space, the current supply of
performance facilities in the region, and the goals of the City for the future.

Having reached positive conclusions on the need for facilities, we went on to
develop physical and business plans over the past six months.

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Market segment 3 is
defined as the 40-mile
radius surrounding
the Keefe Auditorium.

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Board of Aldermen Page 15
June 28, 2016

NEW BUSINESS — ORDINANCES

O-16-014
Endorsers: Alderman-at-Large Brian S. McCarthy
Alderman-at-Large Michael B. O’Brien
Alderman Benjamin M. Clemons
Alderman Lori Wilshire
Alderman Ken Siegel
Alderman Richard A. Dowd
Alderwoman Mary Ann Melizzi-Golja
Alderman Sean M. McGuinness
Alderman Tom Lopez
Alderman David Schoneman
ENABLING THE SAMPLING OF BEER OR WINE AT FARMERS’ MARKETS
Given its first reading; assigned to the PERSONNEL/ADMINISTRATIVE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE by President
McCarthy

PERIOD FOR GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT

Mr. Jim Cutter, 86 Palm Street

Mr. Cutter read aloud a letter dated June 28, 2016, addressed to Alderman McCarthy and is attached to these
minutes.

Ms. Paula Johnson, 15 Westborn Drive

| have a question. | thought anything with new business had to come to the end of the meeting that we couldn’t
discuss it at the beginning of the meeting like earlier this evening. First of all, Alderman Clemons, it is the will of
the people that we have the spending cap and it was a teacher that changed it that made it a little bit worse now
so you would have a little bit more money if he didn’t change the dynamics of it and the City Clerk’s office was a
little bit more informed with the public on that spending cap. We are starting to have a revolution in this country;
they already had it in Britain because the will of the people is being stomped on.

| am here for R-16-048, the relocation of the David W. Deane Skateboard Park. How many people go and walk
in Mine Falls Park? Five, okay, | live by Stello’s Stadium and when | was on the Board | was against Stello’s
Stadium because of the noise. We were promised everything by Streeter and by the time Streeter left all of his
promises were broken. It has become very congested in the that area, we’ve got the Y, Conway Ice and | know
they want another sheet of ice and | hope we sell the street department over there to Conway at market value
and not for peanuts. Companies pay their fair share and it offsets our taxes and when they don’t pay their fair
share then we have to pick up the cost to maintain. So now we are going to put in the David W. Deane
Skateboard Park.

| am a nimby and | have spoken to a lot of the neighbors who are also concerned about this. We have a Board
of Public Works commissioner who lives in the neighborhood. If you look at the congestion over there now, we
have the high school, the police department, the buses; we have Stello’s in the fall and in the spring that’s very
active and we’ve got the Y.__| have some pictures of where everybody parks over there to go into Mine Falls
and now we are going to have people go skateboarding over there. | guess the question is how much can one
neighborhood take. They park around the oval and by the side of the salt barn. We have a dirt road that goes
into Mine Falls that we have to share with bicyclists and cars. We share it with people who are not accountable
for keeping their dogs on a leash and the DPW started to put up signs but they didn’t put up the ordinance with
the signs. These dogs are off leash and they can bite someone. Now we are going to cram in the skateboard
park. Because none of us are direct abutters we were never notified of what was going on. If | just didn’t
happen to ask anybody about this, which was Director Fauteux, | probably wouldn’t have known that the first
reading was tonight. Since | can’t make all of the meetings | figured | would voice my opinion about this. My
concern as well as a lot of the neighbors concern is with the neighborhood, who is going to come into the