Search

Board of Aldermen 05-25-2021 Page 42

Attorney Bolton

The Board of Education certainly has that authority. | think the Board of Health was just stating that they
understood that it was the Board of Education that could make rules concerning school buildings and school
children and so forth.

Alderwoman Kelly

OK thank you.
President Wilshire
Alderman Jette.
Alderman Jette

Yeah thank you Madam Chairman. So hearing the discussion am | correct Attorney Bolton that if we repeal the
mask ordinance effective tonight that it would go into effect as soon as the Mayor signs it. He has indicated he
will sign it. So as soon as he signs it. Are you saying that in your opinion the City Administration would not
then have any authority to control access to City Hall, require a mask or require social distancing or any of
those measures. They would lack any such authority so after the Mayor signs the repeal then anybody could
come into City Hall without being masked no matter whether they are vaccinated or not and we would have no
way of preventing them from coming in. Am | understanding you correctly?

Attorney Bolton

Yes.
Alderman Jette

| guess that leaves us with a choice that we could either not pass this tonight, refer it to the Committee as
originally planned and seek your guidance as to how to re-write the ordinance to provide us with that authority.
| Know people are anxious about this and they want to do it as soon as possible. | suppose tonight we could
amend the repealing language to say something to the effect that City Buildings or whatever language you
would recommend that City buildings remain under the mask requirement or that the Mayor be authorized to
create rules regarding mask wearing in City buildings. Am | correct?

Attorney Bolton

You could do those things.

Alderman Jette

OK if we chose the latter, do you have, | hate to put you on the spot but are you quickly able to formulate

something that we could adopt tonight or would you say that this is unfair to try to expect you to come up with
language on the spot.

Attorney Bolton

It won’t be as good as if | had my colleagues in the Legal Department to discuss it with and time to reflect on it.
But you could add “notwithstanding or foregoing the Mayor shall have the authority to adopt rules regarding
mask wearing in City Hall or in all City Buildings”.

Board of Aldermen 05-25-2021 Page 43
Alderman Jette

Thank you. So Madam President, if it is in order I’d like to make a motion to add that language to amend by
adding that language as formulated by Attorney Bolton.

MOTION BY ALDERMAN JETTE TO AMEND BY ADDING “THE MAYOR SHALL HAVE THE AUTHORITY

TO ADOPT RULES REGARDING MASK WEARING IN CITY HALL AND / OR CITY
BUILDINGS”(EXCEPTION FOR SCHOOL BUILDINGS) BY ROLL CALL

ON THE QUESTION

President Wilshire

OK so now we have three amendments, Attorney Bolton.

Attorney Bolton

You can only go two deep.

President Wilshire

Two deep, OK. So why don’t we vote on the two amendments that we have and then take up your amendment
Alderman Jette. The first amendment is Alderman Clemons’ amendment to make the effective date 12:01 a.m.
on May 26, 2021. And then the list of 7 paragraphs that Alderman Dowd read. So that the motion. The
motion is to amend, further discussion on that motion. Alderman Klee?

Alderman Klee

Thank you Madam President and this is to Attorney Bolton through you. If the Mayor doesn’t sign this until
tomorrow and we make it effective 5/26 12:01 a.m. that’s actually going to be before he would sign it. Are we
not confusing the public by putting this through yet it still won’t be signed. But | would look to Alderman

Clemons to see if he would be willing to do the date of 5/27 instead of 5/26. Am | correct in that Attorney
Bolton?

Attorney Bolton

Well | don’t know whether people will be confused or not. | suppose some people might be and some people
might not be. But the fact is it will take effect when the Mayor signs it or 7 days after passage if he doesn’t sign
it. And if he were to veto it it would not take effect unless the Board of Aldermen overrode the veto. So if it
says that it takes effect at 12:01 tomorrow morning, and the Mayor doesn’t get around to signing it until 9:00
a.m. tomorrow morning, it takes effect at 9:00 a.m.

Alderman Klee

OK thank you for the clarification.

President Wilshire

Alderwoman Lu?

Alderwoman Lu

Thank you Madam Chairman. Through you to Corporation Counsel, when the City wanted to have a resident

taken out of City Hall arrested, it seems that we were treated as a company or a business. But in this case we
are not a business and we cannot dictate the terms of City Hall? Is that correct?

Board of Aldermen 05-25-2021 Page 44

(Unidentified person speaking in background)

Attorney Bolton

No that’s not correct and | never said anything like that.
Alderwoman Lu

Could | follow up please?

President Wilshire

Yes.

Alderwoman Lu

But as City Hall, let’s just stick to that part of the question. At City Hall can we not dictate the terms of visiting
City Hall with a mask or with not. Did we lose that ability... ?

Attorney Bolton

You may pass an Ordinance that provides for regulations about conduct within City Buildings. You may pass
an Ordinance or a provision in an ordinance that gives the Mayor the authority to establish rules to that effect. |
think | already discussed that possibility.

Alderwoman Lu

And just one follow up?

President Wilshire

Yes.

Alderwoman Lu

But we can’t just be lumped in with the rest of the business community is that correct, because ... go on.
Attorney Bolton

In my opinion, if you mean Government, you say Government, if you mean business, you are not talking about
Government you are talking about business.

Alderwoman Lu

OK thank you, that’s all | was trying to get an understanding of. Thank you.
President Wilshire

Anyone else on the motion to amend? Alderman Schmidt.

Alderman Schmiat

Sorry. I'd like to vote separately on these two if that’s possible.

Board of Aldermen 05-25-2021 Page 45
President Wilshire

It is. How about we take the motion changing the final passage date of 12:01 May 26, 2021? We will take that
motion up first since it was made first.

Alderman Schmidt

And one more question. Could we move the date to the 27" instead of the 26"? Would that be more
appropriate since it would give us time to get it signed?

President Wilshire

| don’t think it’s really going to matter. | mean the Mayor indicated that he was going to sign it.
Alderman Schmiat

OK. Thank you.

President Wilshire

You're welcome. Alderman Clemons.

Alderman Clemons

Yeah Madam President, | agree with you. | mean | think the intent here is we want to move this along and the
Mayor indicated that he would sign it tomorrow morning.

Alderman Schmiat

Thank you.

Alderman Clemons

| think people are going to understand the spirit of what we are trying to do.
President Wilshire

Ok so the motion is for the final passage of this to be 12:01 a.m. May 26, 2021. Let’s vote on that. Could the
Clerk please call the roll?

A viva voce roll call was taken which resulted as follows:
Yea: Alderman O’Brien, Alderman Klee, Alderwoman Kelly, Alderman Dowd,
Alderman Caron, Alderman Clemons, Alderman Lopez, Alderman Tencza,
Alderwoman Lu, Alderman Jette, Alderman Schmidt, Alderman Laws,
Alderman Cleaver, Alderwoman Harriott-Gathright, Alderman Wilshire 15

Nay: 0

MOTION CARRIED

Board of Aldermen 05-25-2021 Page 46
President Wilshire

And that motion carries. So our next motion was made by Alderman Dowd. If anyone wants him to read all
those again that’s find but if not, anyone? Would the Clerk please call the roll?

A viva voce roll call was taken to adjourn the Board of Aldermen meeting which resulted as follows:
Yea: Alderman O’Brien, Alderman Klee, Alderwoman Kelly, Alderman Dowd,
Alderman Caron, Alderman Clemons, Alderman Lopez, Alderman Tencza,
Alderman Jette, Alderman Laws, Alderman Cleaver, Alderwoman Harriott-Gathright,
Alderman Wilshire 13

Nay: Alderwoman Lu, Alderman Schmidt 2

MOTION CARRIED

President Wilshire

OK did we have a third amendment? Alderman Jette?

Alderman Jette

Yes | now move to adopt the language that was enunciated by Attorney Bolton.

MOTION BY ALDERMAN JETTE TO AMEND BY ADDING ATTORNEY BOLTON’S LANGUAGE THAT
THE MAYOR SHALL HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO ADOPT RULES REGARDING MASK WEARING IN CITY
HALL AND / OR CITY BUILDINGS (EXCEPTION OF SCHOOL BUILDINGS) BY ROLL CALL

ON THE QUESTION

President Wilshire

So that motion would give the Mayor the authority to make rules for Government Buildings. Discussion on that
motion? Alderman Tencza?

Alderman Tencza

Thank you Madam President. Just for clarification, | am wondering if Alderman Jette would amend it so that it is
non-educational government buildings so that there’s no confusion, even though it is spelled out in the
ordinance that the Board of Education is going to make the decision for the schools.

Alderman Jette

Madam President?

President Wilshire

Alderman Jette.

Alderman Jette

Yes if the intention is to exclude the schools, | agree. We don’t have authority over the school buildings | don’t

think. That’s within the purview of the Board of Education. So yes, this would only apply to non-school,
buildings that are not governed by the Board of Education.

Board of Aldermen 05-25-2021 Page 47

President Wilshire
OK. Alderman Clemons?
Alderman Clemons

Thank you, would the maker of the motion also well | guess this is what | am going to say here on this. |
understand the desire to do it, but there’s a lot of like Alderman Tencza just stated with the schools, there’s also
the Police, the Fire Department, the Public Works. In addition to that there are spaces that are private spaces
that the City rents out to people such as Liquid Therapy, some of the places in the Hunt Building. | don’t mind
having the Mayor have the authority but it is going to be, it has to be, he has to use that authority well and not to
say that he wouldn’t. The other thing is, | Know for a fact, I’ve talked to several employees of the City and they
are ready to be maskless. | know it is something that they desire because they have reached out to me to tell
me this. | understand the need to protect the public and | would support, of course, having limited hours,
restrictive hours in the morning and | think that the way that we are doing things with the appointments and
everything and the million dollars that we spent to upgrade City Hall to make things more spaced out and things
like that. | think we have done a really good job using the COVID time to really update some of these spaces to
make them more friendly for people. | think with the appointment schedules, | think people have a lot of
opportunities to be socially distanced and | am hoping that the appointment schedule is something that can
continue not for the general public because believe me, | had to wait my turn to go into the DMV to get my car
registered and that just delayed things even more for me so | understand people’s frustration. But maybe to
make an appointment for those who are immune compromised, they can make an appointment and have a
separate space in the building and things like that would be a good option. So! guess | am on the fence with
this. | don’t mind like | said | don’t mind giving the authority but | don’t know that it would be used and to what
degree and certainly there are spaces that | think it would be inappropriate to be used such as the private, the
people that are renting out private spaces that are in the public. So! guess |’m on the fence on this one.

President Wilshire

Alderman Lopez.

Alderman Lopez

Well | recognize Alderman Clemons’ intent, personally | feel like we should probably refrain from over regulating
the Mayor and what he is going to do, because he does still have the right to either veto it or not do anything for
a week and then veto it like right in the last day. So | think there’s a point where we have to say OK as
Legislators we’ve written the law and when it comes to City Buildings and City Staff, that’s within his
responsibility. And if he does something that we as Aldermen collectively feel is inappropriate, we should
address that. But! don’t think there’s a reason to second guess him in this particular case. And | feel like we
shouldn’t set that dynamic up. Because the intent is to clearly communicate a citywide response to the mask
mandate and in my opinion, that communication should be done per the Public Health Department guidelines,
though | would let the Mayor run City Hall and the City Buildings and let him lead by example with regards to
how businesses can make those decisions independently as well.

President Wilshire

Alderman Dowd.

Alderman Dowd

You have 4 options on this, you could wait and do a separate ordinance that more clearly defines the powers of

the Mayor relative to the buildings. In other words you can have legal think about it. You could limit it to only
City Hall or you could put a time limit on it. Or if we didn’t think that the guidelines were being followed correctly

Board of Aldermen 05-25-2021 Page 48

we could rescind that ordinance. But if we rescind this ordinance, | don’t think that’s what we want to do. |
suppose we could rescind part of the ordinance, but it’s just more confusing. | am on the fence with this as well.

President Wilshire
Alderman Cleaver.
Alderman Cleaver

| believe the Mayor should have input on anything that is going to affect City Hall or rules that he is going to
adopt or not adopt. | think a separate ordinance would be fine and more appropriate. | don’t think in the first
place we should put this burden on the Mayor. | think it’s too complicated. The ordinance as is, stands for itself.
So | don’t think we should include anything associated with City Buildings.

President Wilshire
Are you all set Alderman Cleaver? Alderman Jette?
Alderman Jette

Yeah thank you Madam Chairman. | think it was pointed out to us that if we rescind the mask ordinance which |
detect that there’s a desire to do that as quickly as possible, it has been pointed out to us that the Mayor or the
City Government, the City Administration would not have the ability to restrict access to City Hall, require
masking, or require distancing or making any of the rules, which by the way, we have adopted the
recommendation of the Board of Health which says that business owners should be allowed to make rules as
they deem appropriate and that we should encourage them to do that and we should support them in doing
that. We are left with not being able to do that ourselves. So you are exposing our employees throughout the
City to the public choosing either to follow the recommendations or not follow the recommendations and | don’t
think there’s any doubt that there are people out there — you’ve gotten the same emails that | have who are
encouraging us to remove this mask ordinance, not because the Board of Health is recommending it but
because they don’t think that we should have adopted it in the first place. It’s not constitutional in their opinion, it
is not effective in their opinion.

The so-called science that they point to says that masking has no effect whatsoever, but our Board of Health
says that masking has helped and they are encouraging not to go through their recommendations but they are
encouraging us to follow the recommendations that they’ve outlined which include the recommendations of the
CDC and the State Epidemiologist, Dr. Chan. So there are certain people who should remain masked and we
have employees who are vulnerable and without carving out the opportunity for the Mayor, the City
Administration to adopt rules that our businesses can adopt to protect their employees and protect their
customers, without carving this exception for City Hall and City Buildings, we are leaving us without those same
protections to adopt the recommendations that the Board of Health has made to us and that we’ve adopted in
the amendment to this ordinance. So my motion, my amendment all that my amendment does is it gives the
Mayor, the Administration, the ability to follow the recommendations provided by the Board of Health to protect
our employees and to protect the public that visit our City Buildings. So | ask that you please adopt it.

President Wilshire

Alderman Clemons?

Alderman Clemons

Thank you. | just want to be clear and Attorney Bolton can correct me if | am wrong but whether we adopt
giving the Mayor the authority to do this, the only thing that it gives him the authority to do is to tell employees or

to tell those in the public that they have to wear a mask in a certain City Building or at a certain time in the City
Building. It doesn’t restrict him from setting up policies that give a separate appointment time to certain people

Board of Aldermen 05-25-2021 Page 49
who are at risk or developing extended hours in City Hall or doing things to help mitigate social distancing and
things like that. It has nothing to do with any of that, we can still do those things. The only thing that this does is

give the Mayor the authority to tell employees and people entering that they must wear a mask and the hours in
which they have to do so. Am | correct Attorney Bolton?

Attorney Bolton

Well at this stage | am not sure exactly the wording that we are discussing. | mean | reeled something off the
top of my head about the Mayor would have authority to make requirements concerning COVID mitigation
measures including wearing a mask or words to that effect.

Alderman Clemons

| have it written down if | might.

Attorney Bolton

If you read it to me, | might be able to answer the question.

President Wilshire

Alderman Clemons.

Alderman Clemons

Thank you. It reads “The Mayor shall have the (audit cuts out) to adopt rules regarding masks in all City
Buildings’.

Attorney Bolton

Well depending on what you want ...

Alderman Clemons

And with the amendment, I’m sorry “In all City Buildings except schools” with Alderman Tencza’s amendment.

Attorney Bolton

You're right it says nothing about social distancing, it says nothing about establishing hours it says nothing
about special hours for vulnerable populations. So if that’s desired, | suppose that ought to be added.

Alderman Clemons

But if | could continue.

President Wilshire

Yes.

Alderman Clemons

Yes. Don’t those things already exist? Are the hours by City Hall adopted by Ordinance or are they the

administrative authority and the way that certain departments run and things like that, those are all
administrative rules that the Board of Aldermen really doesn’t get involved in. Am | correct?

Finance Committee — 02/16/2022 Page 3

From: Kelly Parkinson, Purchasing Manager
Re: Personal Protective Clothing in the amount not to exceed $32,580.17 funded from 61110 Protective Clothing (Fire
Department)

MOTION BY ALDERMAN GOUVEIA TO ACCEPT, PLACE ON FILE AND APPROVE THE PURCHASE OF A TEN (10)
SETS OF PERSONAL PROTECTIC EQUIPMENT (PPE) FROM BERGERON PROTECTIVE CLOTHING OF EPSOM,
NH, IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $32,580.17. FUNDING THROUGH DEPARTMENT: 152 FIRE RESCUE;
FUND: 61110 PROTECTIVE CLOTHING, BY ROLL CALL

ON THE QUESTION

Assistant Fire Chief Steve Buxton

Good evening. Assistant Chief Steve Buxton, Nashua Fire. With me Deputy Chief James Kirk and Deputy Chief Robert
Barrows. This is responsibility falls under Deputy Kirk. As many of you know, our department is in a period of transition

right now. So Deputy Barrows is here just to kind of observe the process and see what's all about but Deputy Kirk will be
doing the speaking this evening.

Deputy Fire Chief James Kirk

Thank you for having us here tonight. This request is to purchase ten sets of full complement of firefighting protective
clothing for new hires that will be set to take the line sometime around May 2". I've listed it out there — it’s jackets, pants,
boots, reflective parka, helmet, and vest. As the communication says, it’s coming from Bergeron Protective Clothing
which is a New Hampshire company right here in New Hampshire.

Mayor Donchess

Questions?
Alderman Klee

Thank you Mr. Mayor. This always is more for the public than anything is within the budget and you're not asking for
additional funds, correct?

Deputy Fire Chief James Kirk

Correct. It’s within our budget.
Alderman Klee
Thank you.

Alderwoman Timmons

| just have one quick question. How many new people are you servicing for this equipment?

Deputy Fire Chief James Kirk

This is for ten people. Ten new hires. These are hires that are replacing people that have retired or left the job.

Mayor Donchess

Anyone else? Could the Clerk please call the roll?
A viva voce roll call was taken which resulted as follows:

Yea: Alderman Klee, Alderman Comeau, Alderman Gouveia, Alderman Clemons,
Alderwoman Timmons, Alderman Moran, Mayor Donchess 7

Nay: 0

Board of Aldermen 05-25-2021 Page 50

Attorney Bolton

| don’t know that. | don’t Know the answer to that question.
Alderman Clemons

OK.

President Wilshire

Alderman Lopez.

Alderman Lopez

In my opinion it seems plausible that we have not recently modified all the rules to City Hall by pure ordinance
and that they likely had some types of rules in order in the past. What we were specifically trying to accomplish
with Alderman Jette’s amendment was the masking. There are many public health recommendations with
regards to how business should operate, which | think we probably already have control over and we have no
evidence to suggest we don’t have control over it. | think the concern about whether somebody access to a line
or didn’t have access to a line or how long their DMV Registration was going to be, | think if we simply allow the
Mayor the authority to decide how to manage masking then that meets the public health recommendations, it is
unilaterally done. If everyone in the building is wearing a mask then they can decide where the line is supposed
to go and all that kind of stuff without us trying to legislate it and | think we need to let the Mayor, in terms of
running the building that he already does.

The simple focus here is when are people supposed to mask and when are they not supposed to mask? There
are other recommendations that can be implemented, absolutely but it seems like you can find all kinds of holes
with this, that’s what Attorney Bolton pointed out. He would be doing it on the fly and it wouldn’t be perfect, but if
we want to add things to it later based on things we observe we are welcome to. All we are authorizing the
Mayor to do right now is to decide whether or not people are going to wear masks and when, when they are in
City Buildings.

President Wilshire

OK anyone else? So the amendment is to add wording that allows the Mayor to have the authority to make
requirements government buildings, not including schools, regarding masks. Does that sound right? Is that
what we discussed?

Alderman Clemons

Yes.

President Wilshire

OK any further discussion on that. Seeing none, would the Clerk please call the roll?
A viva voce roll call was taken which resulted as follows:

Yea: Alderman Klee, Alderwoman Kelly,
Alderman Caron, Alderman Lopez, Alderman Tencza,
Alderman Jette, Alderman Schmidt, Alderman Laws,

Nay: Alderman O’Brien, Alderman Dowd, Alderman Clemons,
Alderman Cleaver, Alderman Harriott-Gathright, Alderman Wilshire 6

MOTION CARRIED