Special Board of Aldermen 12-07-2021 Page 31
Tim Cummings, Economic Development Director
Sure, it was with the Board of Aldermen. It was the Infrastructure Committee and I'm gonna say it was in September off
the top of my head, but I'm sure you could go back to the meeting minutes and look. | don't know.
Laurie Ortolano
Yes, the meeting was in March 24" of 2021 was your meeting on the Riverwalk project with the Infrastructure Committee.
You are not on the agenda in September, October, or August. In that meeting, you said that you would like to come back
to either this committee or the entire board and on the Board of Aldermen minutes, | have a specific search engine | can
use. The last time Riverwalk was discussed was 2019. | feel it's inappropriate for you to do a presentation of this nature
at 9:30 at night and then roll into a Budget Committee to approve a bond of this size. This should have been vetted before
the full Board and the community should have an opportunity to discuss this. | have a lot of questions. I'm with Dan on
this. | don't like the TIF funding on this and | don't like what | see going on with the TIF funding because it's not fair to the
rest of the community.
At the end of the meeting, Alderman O'Brien said that there would be future meetings that we would get together with the
committee that Dave Tencza is on and we would be able to work more on ideas to move this project forward. That joint
meeting | can't find either. So there is very little history on this. The community has had very little information and it
almost seems like you and the Mayor have been working more quietly behind closed doors to push this forward. | don't
see how TIF funding means it doesn't cost the taxpayers anything because we're bonding $21 million here. You're going
to close Water and Factory Street for a period of time to do work. How exactly is that going to work when you put barriers
up on Main Street for three years?
Alderman O’Brien
30 seconds.
Laurie Ortolano
That's another issue that needs to be addressed. So this should be tabled. | hope the goal is not to get this approved
before a new Board of Aldermen seats or spend this kind of money. I'm asking the Budget Committee to table this, take it
to the full board, hold some more meetings, and | would like another public hearing on this when we have more information
and can ask more questions. Thank you.
Tim Cummings, Economic Development Director
Thank you. Again, | just want to reiterate, we were before the Infrastructure Committee and | don't have the date in front of
me but September, off the top of my head early fall, late summer, where we discussed this because we had a conversation
at length about Water Street. So | don't have the time to go through the minutes but | can tell you that we had that
conversation. | wasn't alone. It was with other members of the Infrastructure Committee.
Chairman Dowd
Is there anyone else that would like to speak in opposition?
Laura Colquhoun
Laura Colquhoun, 30 Greenwood Drive. First of all, Mr. Cummings gave this same presentation in March of 2021 and
never mentioned $21 million. | also find that the TIF program is stealing from the general fund to get it into the TIF
area therefore screwing the Nashua taxpayers. This is something that should be brought up in front of all the
residents of Nashua that we should see this because $21 million for another downtown project is absolutely ridiculous.
You also have to realize between the PAC, the new school, and now this how much more do you people want us to
pay? We have inflation coming up and Mr. Cummings doesn't even live in Nashua where he's putting all these things
in and | think that the residents have a right to say whether they want this to go down or not. So I'm asking you to
table this. | thank you.
Chairman Dowd
Anyone else want to speak in opposition? Seeing no one, | will go back to testimony in favor.
