Board of Aldermen — 02/13/18 Page 13
Alderwoman Melizzi-Golja
|, too, am going to support this. As | stated during the campaign season and | know at least once in this
Chamber, as | look around this city we have many facilities for many different interests. We've invested in our
parks, we’ve invested in Stellos Stadium as well as Holman. We've got Conway with ice, and we even have ice
in the winter in some of our parks. The other night | came by Roby Park, and | was wondering what was going
on late at night with all these cars. Should | be calling the police? Then | realized that people were out there
playing hockey on the ice. When | look at the area of recreation and interest that we really haven’t addressed, it
seems to be the performing arts. | think this is one of those areas that we have really not addressed in a while
and this is the time to go forward and do that so | will be supporting this.
Alderwoman Kelly
| also will be voting in support of this. It’s been an interesting go of it through campaigning. Having it on the
ballot, | have had similar experience as Jette and Klee. | think we all had to kind of get up onboard and the
conversations again. | think everybody was really good at making sure that we got that information. That
presentation that was put together, making sure that the concerns that were coming to us, were being
addressed and yet again brought forward. | think there was a lot of good things that were said at that meeting.
The gentleman from the Palace Theatre talked about the arts being an investment and not looking at it as
something like ours parks, it’s not always going to be we’re going to make a profit. | think those things have
really come to light and we have done our due diligence on the questions that came to us when we were
campaigning and as new aldermen. | know we will continue to have that due diligence as well as we watch this
project go through.
Alderman Tencza
| also wanted to thank Tyler Gouveia for coming tonight and speaking on this issue. | think he put forward a lot
of the arguments that we have heard from other people. He was the one who came tonight, had the courage
to present these at what is going to be a final vote on this issue.
To echo what Alderman Wilshire said, there are always going to be reasons to say no. | think the last Board
passed a bonding bill for the roads which will take care of a lot of concerns in the future. Unfortunately that is
not something that can be done all at once. And, the schools will be cared for and have been cared for and will
continue to be cared for as well.
I’m not from Nashua, but when | was offered a job here what | did was | called a lawyer that | knew from the
town | grew up in. | said | got offered this job in Nashua; what do you think about moving to New Hampshire
and starting a practice up there? | didn’t Know that this lawyer who is pretty well Known down in Worcester, he
said Nashua? | love Nashua. | go up there and have lunch at Martha’s. It’s a great downtown. | sit there and
it’s a great feel to it. That is what sold me on coming here, on taking the job and starting my life and family up
here. | think this performing arts center is going to have the same effect on a lot of young people, a lot of
young families. They are going to see a vibrant downtown. They are going to see a community that they want
to be part of. | think it’s an investment that the city is making in the city. | think if we want other people to
invest money in the city as well, we need to take the lead and say we’re willing to put the infrastructure, support
the arts, support culture and want to attract other people and businesses to Nashua. | am supporting this
project. | hope once it passes that it is a full community project that everyone gets on board and it is
something that we can all do together and be proud of together.
Alderman Harriott-Gathright
| too am going to support the arts center. What has come into this with me is 38 years as a resident here, four
children, and ten grandchildren. Tyler, | just hope when this is all over tonight that you will come up and speak
with me. | was really happy to see that we had an 18 or 19 year old come and give us his spill as to what he felt
we should be doing. For me, as a person who has lived in this town for 38 years, | see this as an investment. |
see it as an improvement. | see it as jobs. | see it as an additional cultural venue. | can’t see us losing, only
