Board of Aldermen 01-12-2021 Page 3
Alderman Harriott-Gathright
| am present, | can hear everyone and | am alone.
President Wilshire
| am here, | am alone and | can hear everyone.
Susan Lovering, City Clerk
You have 14 in attendance.
President Wilshire
Thank you. Also in attendance this evening is Mayor Jim Donchess and Corporation Counsel Steve Bolton.
Mayor, do you wish to address the Board this evening?
REMARKS BY THE MAYOR
Mayor Donchess
Yes, Madam President, thank you very much. | had a number of things that | wanted to mention to you or talk
with you tonight about. First, the tragic and horrible events that occurred in Washington, DC where the Capitol
was stormed by a group of insurgents. It’s a very tragic thing for our nation, the first time that’s happened in
many, you know, a couple of centuries. And | think we should all lament that very unfortunate event. But we’ve
been asked, and | know other members of City Government, Members of the Board of Aldermen have been
asked about our local situation. We have reduced or lowered the flag to half-staff, to commemorate the death of
the Officer who was killed during the attack, Officer Sicknick is his name, a young man who was killed; one of
the Capitol Police Officers. So our flag is at half-staff. And we have also been asked, Madam President, about
what security measures are being taken.
| have talked with our Police Department, Chief Carignan specifically. The Police Department is working in
conjunction with the FBI, the State Police to monitor all social network traffic and to assess any risks that may
arise here in Nashua or in New Hampshire. So all of our Law Enforcement Agencies are working together.
Chief Carignan reports to me that they are on top of the situation; they are going to be very active and vigilant
during the next eight days between now and the Inauguration. Therefore, | think we can have confidence that
they will do the best they can and be on top of the situation locally in terms of any security threat that may exist.
Next, Madam President, | wanted to turn to the pandemic. You are going to get a report from Public Health &
Community Services Director Bobbie Bagley as well as Angela Consentino, Epidemiologist a little later in the
meeting. But briefly, the cases have been on the rise; December was the worst month here and in most places
in the country. As the medical experts told us, the number of cases would rise during the winter. We have seen
a rise in positivity rate. At our local clinic last Tuesday, a week ago today, they actually saw 20% positivity rate;
in other words 20% of the people tested at that clinic were positive. Although overall the tests during the week,
the positivity rate was 13%. Still not good but not as high as 20%. Those were all of the tests done in Nashua.
So we need to be vigilant, we need to continue to wear masks, we need to continue to social distance. We are
working, following the advice of the medical experts. We know that the masks will help us eradicate and
eventually eliminate the pandemic. The vaccines are coming, more slowly than we wished, so far many of our
First Responders, part of so-called Group 1A have been vaccinated for the first time and are signing up for their
second doses. And then after that the State — the State is in control of all this — will move to Group 1B which
includes many nursing home residents and others. Also in Group 1A those being vaccinated now are the Front
Line Healthcare Workers, so many of the people at our hospitals have been vaccinated at least for the first time.
