Board of Aldermen — 9/12/17 Page 19
comment on the beauty of our downtown. They’re right. It is a beautiful downtown. Like every merchant
behind me, our shops and our restaurants are individual destinations for visitors. | would love nothing more
than to not make jajaBelle’s a destination any more but rather be proud that | have been replaced by a much
bigger and cohesive destination called downtown Nashua.
| believe a performing arts center specifically at Alec will achieve this and put our city on the map. I’m excited
about the arts but truthfully and a lot of people may disagree with me, | think bringing a performing arts center
to Nashua has very little to do with the arts. It has everything to do with bringing culture and vibrancy and life
to our city and the heart of our city. 1’ll be honest with all of you and you’ve heard me say it. If this doesn’t
pass and we can’t come together as a city on the kind of downtown we want not only for ourselves but for our
visitors, | really do need to think long and hard if | want to continue being in my hometown. I’m not saying this
because I’m bitter and I’m not getting my own way but because | have very little faith in those that are elected
can come together to put our differences aside to progress our city.
| would like to read you an excerpt from the business plan that | have for JaJaBelle’s. This is actually
regarding the target market. “In the next few years with the development of a museum, performing arts center,
hotel, and movie theater, commuter rail, and condominiums, the downtown market will continue to expand.
The target age will range from those in their 20s to those approaching retirement age with the same common
bond. They want to live and surround themselves with the art, music and dining provided by our downtown.”
This is proof we have not progressed. This business plan was written with a master plan and | wrote this over
14 years ago. It is absolutely shameful that these words are still relevant today.
To the Aldermen who vote no, well | don’t own you actually but | just want to ask you in 14 years if we were to
fast forward are we going to still be talking about the same thing? I’m not in politics and this is just tiring.
That’s the truth. | want to end it one thing I’m very proud of. | need bookmarks but they don’t seem to help.
I’ve read from my business plan written over 14 years ago. Today downtown Nashua has become a mecca for
growth, revitalization, and community commitment. | am very proud that that spirit still rings true today. Thank
you.
Judith Carlson, 15 Manchester Street.
Hi my name is Judith Carlson. | moved to Nashua in 1963 and into my house at 15 Manchester Street in Ward
3 in 1976. So I’ve lived in Nashua for a very long time, raised my daughter here, and worked as a commuter to
Nashua for many years in high tech. | was in three Fortune 500 companies, Fortune 50 companies that no
longer exist but as part of my job in marketing communications, | ran a $10 million budget and went through
training on financial management for non-financial managers. So I’m pretty good at reading documents like
what we’re presented by the city and | thought the city and the consultants did an excellent job in looking at all
the different aspects it takes to do an evaluation and a business plan for something that is yes an investment
for the city. I’ve been also very active since retiring. | was on the Board of City Arts Nashua for five years and
I’m not on the Nashua Arts Commission. We do have a very vibrant arts community here who is very
interested in what a performing arts center will do to enhance what we already have here. The Arts
Commission has been running some seminars. We just did one with the NH Division of Economic
Development on how to get more people to come to Nashua and take part in what we already have here in the
arts. We formed a collaborative marketing task force with City Arts Nashua, Great American Downtown with
an aldermanic representative and we are looking at ways to make Nashua known as a destination for the arts
because Chronicle Magazine is already calling us the art hub of New Hampshire. We have more public art
here than in any city in this State and we are admired by other cities and looked at for what we’re doing down
here in the arts already. So a performing arts center would bring so much more to what we’re doing now.
But getting back to what Tracy said before. | have just one more thing that | would like to add here. The
American for the Arts which City Arts Nashua has been affiliated with over five years and we see all the
reports. The Greater Rochester area — Rochester mind you — they’re $12 million yearly impact, almost $8
million just $100 under of that came from spending by audiences. That’s $8 million and had a $12 million
impact. The second smallest was the Monadnock Region of their $18.5 million, there’s $5,380 came from
spending in audiences. When you look at Greater Concord, they have $31 million in total economic impact
