Board of Aldermen — 9/12/17 Page 11
center for the arts to be located at the former Alec Shoe Store. Beyond the positive economic impact, we
believe this project will bring to Nashua and the downtown area. It is our view that our Hunt Community and
the Huntington at Nashua residence along with members of At Home by Hunt will use and enjoy this venue as
active citizens of Nashua. We believe the proposed center will provide an intimate, cultural experience for our
residence and members that is not currently available here in Nashua. The mixed use of this venue provides
an added attraction to the downtown area that our residence and members will enjoy for years to come.
Bringing this proposal to reality is something we endorse without reservation. Sincerely Peter Worecki, CEO of
Silverstone Living.” Thank you for listening and thank you for your vote tonight.
Al Sewell, 5 Lincoln avenue
Good evening. Thank you very much. | originally also was not going to speak but I’m going to speak from the
heart this evening briefly. Al Sewell, 5 Lincoln Avenue, Ward 7. My wife and | have lived here in Nashua for
25 years. Third generation here in Nashua. | didn’t grow up here in Nashua but my grandparents were natives
of Nashua and my Mom grew up here as well. The last year or so of my grandmother's life, | lived with her.
She was one of the original founders of the Nashua Center for the Arts over on Court Street where there’s a
mural there in her memory. So this is very, very passionate to me. | can’t think of a more ideal location. The
people of Nashua clearly want this. That’s just volumes. So the last year or so of my grandmother’s live, my
wife and | got married shortly after her passing and my wife was really enthusiastic about Nashua. She said
why don’t we live here and bring up our children. We ended up — and | of course love Nashua and we decided
to settle here in Nashua. We have two children one of which is away at college and one in high school. | look
to the future. I’m looking at Nashua where we're going to be 5, 10, 15 years out. We've missed some
opportunities whether it’s Holman Stadium, the Verizon center, or you look at other communities that has been
stated — Concord, Portsmouth. We have a gem here. Let’s not miss it. Let’s maximize our potential here. |
called Alderman June Caron and I’ve listened to some of the concerns on the opposing side and | understand
that there are risks involved but the risks of not doing this is just catastrophic. It's mind-blowing if we don’t do
it. We need to do this for the future of Nashua. Thank you.
Fred Teeboom, 24 Cheyenne Drive
A lot of emotion here but the Mayor mentioned some figures. Let’s talk figures and cents and let’s talk facts.
First of all it's going to take 10 votes of the Board of Aldermen to pass this — 2/3 vote. That’s a 2/3 vote — 10
votes. Second of all, has anyone looked at the details? First of all the bond for $15.5 million, you’ve got to
take $21 million to pay it back. That means $1.1 million a year for 20 years. On top of that, there’s a $37.5
million bond. The Mayor mentioned it but when you lay it out, it’s not fully self-supported. When you take your
other $37.5 million on top of debt on a $75 million street program, 5 years from now you’re looking for another
$37.5 million and none of that is going to be supported because you have to continue paying for the first bond.
Now | hear there’s another $50 million come off of Elm Street.
Now when | was here during the public hearing, | asked where is the details for the $15.5 million. If you
remember, the figure showed up from Director Cummings. Some of it hidden behind the George Washington
Bridge and | wasn’t able to tell what it was. There were no details. Strangely enough during the Board of
Aldermen meeting from 2 May when the consultants came and made the presentation, all this fancy emotional
discussion and guess what there were not details presented on the $15.5 million. None. It was just a number
thrown out. | asked for those details. | suspect the details someone provided because if you look at the
consultant’s studies, there were four consultants. There was Webb doing the marketing study; Bruner/Cott
doing the architectural study. Fantasy Consulting doing the constructing costing and Fisher Docks Associate
doing theater equipment study. Four consultants. They came up with a number. If you add it up, | can’t do it
now with all these people waiting, $20.9 million to do this job. $20.9 million. Now included with that is $2
million for land. What’s the land for? It’s not identified for parking? Well of course there’s no parking. How
are the trucks going to deliver the stage props? How are handicapped people going to have access? Are they
going to walk 400 feet to one garage and 300 feet to the other garage? How are people going to get dropped
off? Is that what the $2 million is for? There’s no land. All you have is a little alleyway behind the store, the
building behind Alec Shoe Store. It’s actually two buildings. It’s a four story building and a two story building in
the basement. Where are they going to park? Where are they going to buy the land? It makes no sense.
