Special Board of Aldermen 04-08-2021 Page 7
Alderman Dowd
Any other Aldermen with a question? Seeing none, I'll go right into the Public Hearing.
PUBLIC HEARING
R-21-118 ESTABLISHING A HOUSING EXPENDABLE TRUST FUND FUNDED BY APPROPRIATIONS
AND MAKING A SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATION OF $30,000 INTO THE EXPENDABLE
TRUST FUND
TESTIMONY IN FAVOR
Aron Dibacco Yes, can you hear me?
Chairman Dowd
Thank you.
Ms. Dibacco | am Aron Dibacco, | work with GSOP supporting the Nashua Area Chapter. | want to thank the
Mayor for acknowledging that this has been ongoing conversation and sometimes quite vigorous. This is a
really important issue; we are excited to see the City moving in this direction and we look forward to adding
conversations about how to get the financial support that the fund needs to meet the need that Director
Marchant so clearly just talked about. Thank you.
Chairman Dowd
Alright, thank you very much. Anyone else speaking in favor? Mr. Keating, you’re on mute. Name and
address for the record.
Bob Keating The name is Bob Keating, | am from 5 Colburn Woods. | want to echo the remarks of Aron
Dibacco | am very pleased about this initial step. So | thank the Mayor and the vast majority of the Aldermen
who have endorsed this; | appreciate the efforts from Director Marchant for this. | think this is a very exciting
first step here and following the remarks of another advocate that Director Marchant has referenced, | think that
often we say that the Devil is in the Details and | want to go to the baby. | think that we’ve made the initial
endorsement here in terms of a baby shower and we are looking to fund for the child’s future and | think the
number of possibilities from this in terms of developers being a very potential area to look at is an exciting
possibility on this. So | just think this is a very good start and that it does reflect, which | have always felt that
there was a very, very strong endorsement by this Board and the Mayor to say that we do want to move this in
terms of the people who are most stressed by the cost of housing. Those are the people in the 30 and 50% and
below in terms of the area median income. So thank you for the steps. | look forward to mechanisms which
would allow continuing dialogue from the community into being able to shape this Trust Fund. So thanks again
for this step.
Chairman Dowd
Thank you. Would the Clerk please note that we have been joined by Alderman Schmidt and Alderman
O’Brien. OK is there anyone else who would like to speak in favor? Reverend Woodward, you are on mute.
Reverend Woodward | live at 36 Hampton Drive here in Nashua. | have been connected with an organization
called Family Promise for probably close to 20 years who now are in the City of Nashua at the Church out on
East Hollis Street. There’s a wonderful thing that they do is to teach people how to manage money and
prepare themselves for the challenge of finding housing when they have lost their housing and have to live ina
facility that provides an adequate, basic life program for them while they make that transition. And | think this
fund would also be helpful to other agencies that provide housing resources to individuals in the community.
And that’s my words for you.
