Concord City Council Sends Panhandling Ordinance Back to Legal

Board moves forward on Main Street redesign plans; construction costs rise to $11 million.

While it took about four and a half hours to get through, the Concord City Council was able to get a lot of things done on Feb. 11. Here is a short overview of the meeting. Panhandling ordinance sent back The Concord City Council held a public hearing about a proposed ordinance to deal with “aggressive panhandling” that has cropped up in the city in recent months. Three proposals were on the table including a general code on “morals and conduct” on police regulations when dealing with panhandling, the licensing of peddlers, and a fees and fine structure. After weeks of meeting with advocacy groups and other concerned citizens, a last minute modification of the proposal was put before the council, which sought to “narrow” the proposal and …

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New Board of Ethics Appointment Made

Concord Mayor Jim Bouley says he will “follow up” on 2012 analysis request.

Assuming the consent agenda is approved by the Concord City Council on Jan. 14, the Board of Ethics will have a new member. Clyde R. W. Garrigan has been nominated by Concord Mayor Jim Bouley to fill the position of board member Scott Daniels, who resigned to take a position as a federal judge dealing with patent law in the Washington, D.C., area, according to an email from Bouley. Garrigan has been an attorney for more than three decades. He was an assistant U.S. Attorney for more than 10 years, stepping down last year. Before that, Garrigan worked in the New Hampshire Department of Justice, in various capacities, dealing with drug prosecution, health care provider fraud, and patient abuse, according to his resume. He also served as a …

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Jack Duncan

7:16 am on Sunday, January 27, 2013

I have known Mr Garrigan for about 20 years and I have nothing but good things to say about him. He would be the prefect person. He was a tremendous scout leader and supportive friend. Professionally in his positions with the Feds he has shown nothing but brillant skills and a VERY higi level of confidentiallity.   more ›

Concord NH Patch Top Stories of 2012

Grappling with Development, Ethics

In 2012, the Concord City Council focused on the future.

While the Concord School District and school board were hitting milestones, the Concord City Council was focused on the future. Or at least, half of the most popular stories of the year involving the council, councilors, and the mayor, were focused on future development, whether it was improvements to Downtown Concord or a deal struck on the Penacook tannery site. The other half of stories, however, involved ethics issues – a mayor denying a conflict of interest with a developer, ethics charges filed against the mayor and two city councilors, a city councilor involved in a traffic ticket flap, and more. Here are the top stories for 2012 involving the Concord City Council, councilors, and the city’s mayor:

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Rick Watrous

11:42 am on Monday, December 31, 2012

Many questions remain concerning Mayor Bouley’s dubious behavior concerning his financial relationship with developer Steve Duprey. What is happening concerning the mayor’s apparent violations of the charter and council rules? It’s appears that the mayor isn’t going to change his ways and will continue to disregard the law. Has the city solicitor weighed in on the mayor’s official actions …   more ›

It's Daniel St. Hilaire Day

Gov. Lynch offers proclamation to outgoing Concord, Portsmouth Executive Councilor.

Gov. John Lynch, D-Hopkinton, has proclaimed Dec. 19, 2012, "Daniel St. Hilaire Day" in honor of the District 2 Executive Councilor who chose not to seek re-election this year. St. Hilaire, a Concord attorney, at-large city councilor, mayor pro tem, and former county attorney, posted a picture of the proclamation on his Facebook site earlier today while at the last Executive Council session of the year. "The Governor was kind enough to proclaim today as Daniel St. Hilaire day," he wrote. "You may now all take the rest of the day off." New Executive Councilors will be sworn in on Jan. 3. Democrat Colin Van Ostern, another Concord resident, was elected to the seat in November.

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Granite State Elections 2012

Ron Paul, Jesse Ventura Receive Write-in Votes in Concord

Voters offer other funny, serious choices on ballots.

While Democrats won all the top offices in the city of Concord, in some cases, by two-to-one margins, some voters offered both humorous and serious alternative choices on their ballots via write-in vote on Nov. 6. Concord voters, not happy with the presidential choices, offered a range of write-ins including a slew of votes for former Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul, who received the most presidential write-ins citywide. In Ward 1, as an example, six voters, according to information released by the Concord City Clerk’s office, offered write-ins for Ron Paul and Jesse Ventura, the former governor of Minnesota in the vice presidential slot. Green Party candidate Jill Stein, the 2012 nominee, received eight write-in votes across …

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Bouley Names Committee to Look at Improving Downtown Concord

Advisory group features 17 business owners, others.

In a 15-minute special Concord City Council meeting on Sept. 25, Mayor Jim Bouley presented a new advisory board that will take the next two months to analyze what improvements should be made to Main Street in Downtown Concord. The group of 17, officially called the Downtown Complete Streets Improvement Project Advisory Committee, was created by the mayor in the wake of the approval of a multi-million dollar federal grant. Councilors got a chance to look at the committee membership a few minutes before the meeting started. According to a memo, the group will look at both underground and above ground infrastructure; car, bike, and pedestrian safety; economic development; and whether or not Main Street will be able to “consistently thrive …

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Allan Herschlag

9:25 am on Tuesday, September 25, 2012

My last sentence should read: Interesting that the ad hoc committee as tasked by the Mayor, there is no mention of how the city (and downtown) are going to pay for our 40% of this project   more ›

VIDEO: Concord Food Co-Op Grand Re-Opening

Festive, free food events scheduled for this weekend.

The Concord Food Co-op celebrated its grand re-opening on Sept. 14, with a ribbon cutting and has an expanded weekend of activities to ring in the new digs. The Co-op, which has been under re-construction for a number of months, has a completely redesigned building, façade, cooking area, and more items than ever before. At-Large City Councilor Dan St. Hilaire called the renovations “amazing” and hoped that it would be a launching pad for more business and upkeep coming to the western side of South Main Street. “It’s not only a great looking building,” he said, “but the products inside are wonderful and are really going to be helpful to the Concord area, making sure we transform our lives as you have this building.” Nancy Girard, the …

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Granite State Elections 2012

Concord’s St. Hilaire Backs Ovide

Calls Lamontagne “principled conservative and a business leader.”

A Republican leader once toying with the idea of running for governor of New Hampshire in 2012, has thrown his support behind another attorney in the race. District 2 Executive Councilor Dan St. Hilaire, who is also an at-large city councilor in Concord, endorsed Republican Ovide Lamontagne on July 18, praising the candidate’s “real world leadership” in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. “Ovide is a principled conservative and a business leader who understands the importance of creating a pro-jobs business environment while keeping our taxes low and our budget balanced,” St. Hilaire said in a statement, adding that Lamontagne was “a man of integrity and character.” Lamontagne thanked St. Hilaire for the endorsement, praising him …

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Ethics Board Dismisses Charges Against Councilors [VIDEO]

Board keeps complainants from testifying; one calls hearing “a sham.”

The Board of Ethics cleared the mayor and two city councilors of ethics complaints on July 11, stating that the complaints against officials were subjective, without merit, and lacking evidence, while at the same time barring the complainants from submitting evidence about their charges. The board took about an hour to nominate and elect a chairman, talk about the process, and go through all the complaints individually. John Sullivan, the chairman of the Board of Ethics, said it was his belief that there “was confusion” over the ordinances and stated that he believed the committee, as an advisory board to the council, “had a very limited jurisdiction.” He added that the board could make a recommendation to the council, “and they don’t have…

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News Follow-Up

Bouley Hires Former Concord Mayor to Fight Complaints

St. Hilaire, Kretovic also file Board of Ethics requests to dismiss complaints against them.

The Concord’s Board of Ethics is scheduled to meet at noon today to nominate and elect chairperson for the board as well as review and discuss all the complaints it has received through June 19. Currently, the board has five complaints to eye: Two against Mayor Jim Bouley, two against At-Large City Councilor Dan St. Hilaire, and one against Ward 2 City Councilor Jennifer Kretovic. Bouley and St. Hilaire are facing complaints filed by state Rep. Rick Watrous, D-Concord, who accused them of engaging in improper activities and ethics violation as it related to their dealings with the reprimand of Ward 8 City Councilor Dick Patten earlier this year in a traffic ticket flap. In the complaint, Watrous stated that Bouley and St. Hilaire failed to…

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