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
