Board of Aldermen — 01/09/18 Page 3
incapable of judging a building’s suitability for desired use, and b), the project cost for Alec’s building or
similarity off base.”
In regard to the Burke Street property, Mayor Donchess recently said, “Once we started looking at it in more
detail, we learned that it was going to cost considerably more than $10-15 million.” [Nashua Telegraph, 1
August] When buying property, reasonable, prudent folks hire an inspector to prepare a written report. You
wouldn’t buy a house unless you have an inspector these days because you don’t want to walk into a money
pit. | don’t know if anybody saw that movie many years ago, The Money Pit, but that’s what happens. And we
don’t have a money pit: we don’t have a lot of money in this city, on taxpayers’ dollars. The goal is to avoid
post-purchase surprises, the hidden problems that would be costly to fix. This due diligence should be part of
the City’s standing operating procedures, rather than spending money on an option to buy, which would make
sense only if the building was likely to sell quickly. The city should get an inspector’s report, actually, an
independent inspector's report, not somebody from the city. It always has to be independent, so we always
have, in my opinion, clean hands.
The Alec’s Shoe building has been vacant for months. Paying for an option simply enriches the building’s own.
To pay for such an option is a misuse of public funds, even if the city employee has required expertise to
inspect the building, an outside expert should be hired. | just said that; | didn’t read that yet. If serious problems
are missed, the city can look to the inspector or the inspector’s insurance company for readiness. No such
redress can be had from city employees. Cummings has previously said that the conservative estimates show
that the Center will bring in more than $1.3 million a year to downtown businesses. Does Mr. Cummings have
a factual basis for his estimate? If so, on what does he base his estimate? If not, why does he offer an
estimate?
In short, the city needs to spend work on this Performing Arts Center that officials get and publish reports
prepared by experts that show in detail the condition of the building, the likely renovation cost, and the likely
sources of revenue from the project. Off the cuff estimates are fine for small projects, as is new athletic fields.
When it comes to multimillion dollar projects, due diligence is required. There seems to have been no such due
diligence. Those who oppose the doing of this due diligence need to change their ways. If they are unwilling to
do so, they should be replaced.
We have a new board here and | know that everybody is — everything is fresh and new to everybody. So | hope
that everybody is going to really take a look at this with open eyes, because we can’t afford another mistake.
We've got Burke Street building sitting there. Are we going to sell that building? What are we going to do?
There are a lot of problems. Who is going to want to buy a building with problems? So, | hope that the board in
this coming year will be looking at the needs of the city versus the wants of the city, and thinking about the
taxpayers’ pocketbook. | want to wish you all great luck, and I'll be talking to you about something else after.
Doris Hohensee, 15 Swart Terrace
| came here because on the agenda you have a letter about the vacancy at the Board of Ed. I’m kind of
anxious to see that. But when | was looking at your agenda, | also noticed that you had a letter - NRO 5-6 —
about compensation. | was sort of puzzled as to why only the Aldermen would have an ordinance to withhold a
stipend from someone who missed three meetings. We don’t have that on the Board of Ed, we don’t have that
for the Board of Public Works. We currently have someone who has been out for five months due to health —
and | know you're all new, so | know you'll think of it carefully. | thought if we’re going to do something, it ought
to be equitable across the city. | trust you'll do the job you’re elected to do.
President McCarthy
That ordinance was passed a number of years ago —
Doris Hohensee
I’m unaware of it.
