Ward 11 Town Hall: Talking the talk with residents on crime, housing, garbage and West High School

MANCHESTER, NH – Following a similar recent event in Ward 1, Manchester Mayor Jay Ruais met with residents of Ward 11 on Wednesday night at Gossler Park Elementary School to directly share updates from the city and seek out face-to-face input.

Here’s a rundown of what was discussed, topic-by-topic. Video of the meeting is also expected to become available on the Manchester Public Television website.

City Budget/Infrastructure

The mayor will be releasing a Fiscal Year 2025 city budget in the next few weeks and told the crowd that rising healthcare costs, increasing cost of living adjustments and a needed one-time use of $1.7 million in rooms and meals tax revenues for last year’s budget will make this year’s process difficult.

There was also discussion later in the meeting regarding sidewalk and crosswalk repair, with Ruais saying capital funding would be included in the budget for sidewalk improvements, road paving and the retrofitting of parks.

Crime

A woman named Claudette asked if information has become available regarding shooting incidents, with Ruais advising that Claudette check out the new crime information dashboard on the Police Department’s portion of the city website.

He also referenced a recent press conference regarding bail reform and noted that while crime overall is decreasing in the city, efforts to maintain safety will need to increase in upcoming weeks as the weather improves and more people are out and about in the city.

Additionally, he asked residents to use the See-Click-Fix app to identify issues in parks and elsewhere, stating that a clean and safe environment is vital to retain new residents and attract tourists or others that may stop in the city en route elsewhere and spend money in city businesses.

Homelessness/Housing

Ruais noted recent proposed zoning ordinance changes aiming to alleviate housing shortages in the city by making it easier to develop multi-family homes and accessory dwelling units.

He also mentioned an upcoming initiative to identify several city-owned parcels of land that could be declared as surplus for the purpose of creating new housing, but noted that it will not be a “Wild West” effort and feedback from the community will be requested.

West Side resident Brittany Ping expressed concern that too much of the city’s tax burden is being placed upon residential properties and fears the burden may be worsened following the city’s next property re-assessment. However, she also was optimistic that if the several thousand units currently under construction or planning can come online, those new residents could hopefully help carry the city’s tax burden.

Ping also praised efforts by the Manchester Police Department in their response to concerns from neighbors about homeless individuals trespassing on private properties. She noted that officers were compassionate toward both the residents and homeless individuals and provided information to residents on how they can proceed further legally.

Ruais thanked Ping for her praise of the officers’ work and stated his goal is to not simply break up homeless camps for the sake of breaking them up, but improve coordination and communication between homeless individuals, the city and local non-profit agencies to hopefully end the cycle of hopelessness for homeless people and help them find a better life.

He added that he frequently collaborates with Manchester-Boston Regional Airport, local businesses and nearby towns to help identify areas where homeless people may be congregating.

Garbage

There was frustration voiced over inconsistent garbage pickup, with some buildings littered with trash and facing no fines from the city. There was also concern and frustration with a lack of automated trash pickup services and thefts of trash bins.

Ruais said that individuals who violate ordinances regarding trash pickup could face fines and then face court hearings if they do not pay those fines, but the city would need to know about those infractions first. He asked members of the audience to use the city’s See-Click-Fix app to let the city know about problems they notice in their neighborhoods.

Residents in attendance said that See-Click-Fix implementation varied depending on the city department and Ruais said that if a city department was unresponsive, they should contact their Alderman, Board of School Committee member or the mayor’s office to address the issue. In this, Ruais praised Ward 11 Alderman Norm Vincent and Ward 11 Board of School Committee Member Liz O’Neil for their responsiveness to residents’ issues.

Walkability

One man who identified himself as with the Queen City Bike Collective expressed concern with the city’s safety for pedestrians and cyclists and asked about plans for improving access for non-motorized transportation. Ruais said that these concerns were priorities in the city’s new master plan and he was happy to meet with groups interested in addressing this problem such as the Queen City Bike Collective, or any other group, in order to collaborate on ideas.

West High School

Some residents expressed concern about the future of Manchester West High School given the Manchester School District’s plan to revamp the city’s public high school footprint soon as part of the ongoing facilities plan. Currently, the district expects to have three renovated high schools: two primary high schools and a magnet/arts high school. One of the primary high schools is expected to be on the Manchester Memorial High School/Manchester School of Technology campus and the others are expected to be at either the current site of West, the current site of Manchester Central High School or near Gill Stadium.

Ruais said that high schools would be examined as part of Phase 2 of the facilities plan, which is expected to be released over the next few weeks. He also noted that SMMA, the primary architectural firm overseeing the facilities plan, will be holding listening sessions along with the district over the next few weeks where residents can share their perspectives on topics such as these.