Parking Lot Lease Decision Goes Back to Committee

After nearly 90 minutes of intense discussion over the controversial lease agreement plan between CVS and Southern New Hampshire Medical Center, brokered by the city, the Board of Aldermen voted to send the matter back to the Infrastructure Committee. 

A letter co-authored by Aldermen Art Craffey and Richard Dowd (see below) urged their fellow board members to "expeditiously review" the resolution put forth to negotiate a deal and settle a rift between CVS and Southern New Hampshire Medical Center over use of the parking lot, a patchwork parcel owned partly by the City of Nashua.

At the top of the meeting, Mayor Donnalee Lozeau included in her remarks to the board a summary of the situation, including the involving of some key members of the board of aldermen in negotiating a deal: President Brian McCarthy, Vice President Lori Wilshire, Alderman Michael Tabacsko, who is Chair of Planning and Economic Development Committee; and Ward 4 Alderman Art Craffey.  

>You can read discussion of the original resolution here, in the November 7, 2012 Finance Committee Meeting minutes.<

The legislation was sent to the Infrastructure Committee for review during the last full Board of Aldermen meeting in August. However, Craffey requested the legislation be pulled out of committee and go back before the board before the infrastructure committee voted on it.

Tuesday night Craffey explained that he did so because he had concerns over the stalling of the legislation, and that, after nine months of back-and-forth negotiations between CVS, the hospital and the city, the proposed lease agreement was a good compromise.

He also said he felt some committee members, in reviewing the agreement, were "overreaching" by getting into the particulars of the site plan rather than focusing on the terms of the lease agreement.

Alderman Jim Donchess reacted initially, saying he felt the board of aldermen should be asking more questions, and have more information, before making a decision. 

"In my mind, we represent the public and if we are kept in the dark and told you can't see information that's relevant to an important decision made by the city, not only are we being excluded, the public is being excluded," Donchess said. 

Alderman Diane Sheehan said she felt the agreement reached between CVS and SNHMC was a "good solid compromise" for everybody.

"Nobody gets exactly what they want, but this will work," Sheehan said. "I will support this now. A lot of good work went into it, and it needs to move forward."

Sheehan also raised the ire of Infrastructure Committee Chair Mark Cookson when she said her main reason for not wanting to send the legislation back to committee was "analysis paralysis."  

"We've had this for weeks, we've had the opportunity to talk to people. I've done my homework on what things have sold for on Main Street," Sheehan said. "We can twist these things forever and use analysis paralysis and never do anything, or we can look at the facts and do what's in our purview. We need to vote it up or down."

Cookson said his committee had only spent three hours reviewing the proposal.

"I'm just flabbergasted by the clerk's comments, that we hold things in committee for the sake of holding them in committee – in fact, the majority of the committee chooses what's held," Cookson said, urging his fellow board members to send the legislation back to the committee to complete the review at the next meeting, scheduled for Sept. 25. Cookson then said he would see about moving up the date of the meeting to expedite the process, at Board President Brian McCarthy's request.

In the end, the board voted 9 to 6 in favor of sending the legislation back to the infrastructure committee. Voting in favor:  Alderman Mary Ann Melizzi-Golja; Alderman Paul Chasse Jr.; Alderman June Caron; Alderman Dan Moriarty; Alderman Jim Donchess; Alderman David Deane; Alderman Kathy Vitale; Alderman Mark Cookson; Alderman Barbara Pressly. Voting against: Alderman Lori Wilshire; Alderman Richard Dowd; Alderman Michael Tabacsko; Alderman Diane Sheehan; Alderman Art Craffey; Alderman Brian McCarthy.