[Music] hi Portsmith Alexis here with ppmtv today we have the great opportunity of sitting down with mayor Delan mcran so let's get started great to be here Alexis thank you for having coming in we really appreciate having you we I know we've carved some time out to be with us today well um anybody that can pronounce my name I'm happy to spend as much time with as possible so well in that case I suppose we'd better segue I wasn't sure I'd ever get that right and with a name like Alexis you're always certain to ask yeah it is tough third grade you know other than that smooth sing so we have a handful of things that we have spoken about covering today and of course uh you can feel free to obviously speak freely if I ask you anything for which we may not have an answer we'd love to have you back great so first and foremost I'm going to to ladies and gentlemen I'm going to get right to the heart of some of the things that are affecting everyone the tourists the res residents the people that are close to being residents the workers let's talk about parking one of your favorite topics it's my least favorite Topic in the history of Municipal Affairs um but it is something that certainly uh has a huge effect on literally everything uh that we do so uh we're going through the middle of a parking master plan uh at the moment so we're studying uh we're studying uh parking and we'll have some of those uh feedback early next year to to Really begin to have a larger conversation but you know parking affects everything from quality of life to housing um you name it um it's likely uh having to do some way a decision that a municipality either ours or somebody else sometime either now or in the future is made that is affecting most things and they usually kind of stem from all parking related decisions I'm sure with the outdoor dining plan that has always a bit of a Juggle you know it's a um I would say it's a it's a clear uh folks um it's a great example because like sometimes people always want parking they always want more parking you are never really kind of given the uh really the opportunity to say okay uh do I want parking or do I want to be able to eat outside um with this restaurant and I think having outdoor dinning made us start to have more of a conversation of whether or not we're going to have uh ports Smith's Downtown built for cars or we're gonna have more people scale and I you know I don't think you know we would have been able to have outdoor dining if there wasn't the exogenic shock that that was Co you know to be able to say we're going to convert parking spaces to dining spaces and one people are going to enjoy you know dining in a you know in a parking spot with next to Jersey barriers although uh very beautifully appointed Jersey barriers with the uh the garden boxes you know I don't think that happen happens um and I don't think uh the restaurant tours uh would have taken it up um if not for you know the fact that we were in a pandemic and then when we did turned out that people really uh did enjoy being outside and dining with a view of the the the church or um you know having more space at a restaurant that they love and they couldn't get into uh otherwise so it's been a big success it's just trying to make sure that we are uh keeping what's good going uh and then trying to create a plan for the future so it's not always just Jersey barriers it's not always a war between parking um and and dining uh and then it can look intentional rather than something that is sort of you know uh an afterthought you with the you know the commandeering of parking spaces I for one am very happy that you've stuck with the outdoor dining I think it's a great plus yeah so um it speaks to the uh you know there's nobody that's going to uh I guess councils like when good ideas happen uh and we were just at the opening of the skate park you know they happen regardless of whether or not the government's in support of them or not I think outdoor dining is another example um it Rivals education in terms of the amount of emails around budget season or uh that we get to say hey want to make sure that you keep this whenever it's been up to a vote or not Portsmith really kind of shown up and said this is something that we enjoy this activates the downtown in a way that we had not experienced before and taking that trying to figure out you know ways that we can further improve like that to to to broaden it but also to make sure that it it feels like you know it's intentional um and a part of Portsmith you know 400 years which is not a no simple task there's nothing simple you know I get to you know there's nothing um usually the um the benefits of municipal government it's nonpolitical for the most part you know we have different factions than maybe Party politics um but you have to make decisions and the decisions are usually just tradeoffs between this use or that use because at the end of the day there's nobody else to make the decision you know except us and so it tends to be kind of populist in terms of we want uh you know we want outdoor dining and we want parking and trying to figure out how do we do those both at the same time is the you know those are the trade-offs that leads me to think I'm thinking now about as we discussed earlier looking at the Market Square Plan and how do you see this and you probably not have an answer with this a little early in the game but the idea of making a few of the streets in particular we had Daniel Street Congress and State as going potentially two ways yeah so you know it's a um so first off I think um inaction is also in action and the and the inaction would be to keep things the way uh they are right now a conscious decision was made you know many decades ago that any good vibrant City should have the main thoroughfare meaning route one I mean people kind of forget sometimes that that is Route One uh the bypass goes by my house but that's Route One um so down State Street is Route One North and down Daniel onto Congress Street is Route One South and so having those be the main you know State Road that that goes through the middle of our downtown might not be uh the best uh use of of where we're drawing the cars especially want we want you know more pedestrians and and more bikers and more people to to flock to that and feel like they can walk around which is going to help the retailers um down there so the conversation has been okay if we would like to make and you know if I was naming things and I don't get to name everything I would probably not have named it the Market Square redesign process I would have probably said just the you know let's keep what's good going um and uh and eliminate the rest but that's why they don't let me name things and so uh what ends up happening is that you know we're not going to change full stop what Market Square is uh Market Square is going to continue to be the the the center uh of town but what we could do is maybe have retractor Ballard that allows us to close down that area without bringing in you know uh the DPW dump trucks and all the things that we now have to be considera of given the state of affairs with somebody that potentially could you know seek to do harm so being able to have a more uh Lively um downtown Market Square at nights weekends is something that I think would Aid the retailers much more so than you know even you know outdoor dining certainly has and allow more people to experience walking around uh the downtown you know potentially with an adult beverage and that's just going to get more people um down there walking around and feeling as though they can they can actually enjoy it that is going to take you know some changes and whether it's two-way street on on on state congress I think we've come to that you know I'd be surprised if we really you know looked at that we've looked at that um before um but the two-way on state could could certainly alleviate some of the traffic that comes in there um obviously that's money uh that's time and that's also approvals from the state since we don't technically control that road that we pay for and Daniel Street as well you were looking at which leads me to a question about the McIntyre building topic we've lost that part though we've lost it so I saw 100 whole spaces but you said we haven't really lost well so um the spaces exist um and the owner now is able to monetize those spaces at a far higher rate than so the the city of Portsmouth and big plug to anybody this is Portsmouth now if you see a municipal lot that's the set amount of money the the other private Lots they are a completely different uh charge and they can vary by hour and so you found that out the hard way yeah I have uh as well and so um they are now a part of a private lot that the spaces are still there you're just going to be charged a lot more money than the city is going to charge uh you for them so whether or not that's a good thing or a bad thing you know that's up to your pocketbook if you really want to park there's usually a spot down there it's just going to be a lot more money than you're going to find an on street parking and it's going to be a lot more money than you're going to find in one of the garages and now the garages there are some perks to for residents and workers parking in The Foundry and the Handover Street gares um we are about through uh the um the Reconstruction on the Handover garage and we've updated the ticketing system uh so you can leave you know in under three hours you know something like that oh boy you have to get am so like we would you know and you know we it's a you know if this is if everybody's tuning in we could say hey there's going to be an event you know the Indigo Girls were there on Friday you know there's we can tell when there's going to be uh an increased load downtown sure but nobody you know the nobody is really uh uh tuning into the city newsletter uh all that much to make sure that they are aware of that too um but uh when something like that happened in the past the choke point was the card readers and now we have state-of-the-art card readers down there so it should not be as hard to get your credit card read it shouldn't be that hard to pay you know uh for your spot in the in the in the uh the garage and so that's going to be improved and we're going to have the third of the spaces back next year and kind of be done with the construction so we're going to have you have you can always there's annual spots in there what we've done in The Foundry is really uh try to incentivize workers to to be in The Foundry garage um and we allow up to 10 hours a day for $3 um so from a parking standpoint it's much less costly than you know other places it's still not going to be the parav lot if you can get it you know um that's free um right down by the the South Mill Pond but if you are coming in a little later uh and you want to make sure that you're staying you know you you probably if you're working in the restaurant you're not getting in there uh always at at 8:30 um but if you're going to be coming in later in the day be able to have that time to make sure and then there's a lot that's going on there we've heard you know about making sure that that feels a part of the city it will be when the construction is done uh for those new buildings that are right next to it and another thing to ask about the parking now on street so those are options for parking in the garages tell us a little bit about the park mobile app and how well that's going yep so um first uh Park Mobile is uh it's an app that you download on your phone um it then allows you to um to take any um uh parking spots that you're in put your credit card information pay by Apple pay um and then um put your plate information and park anywhere uh in the city plug in the code um and then your names in the your your plates in the in the system and so when the uh the parking enforcement comes around they're not they're not seeing your plate as you know they're seeing your Park as uh your Pate your your your plate as paid um and doing so um you know you don't get a ticket you're also given updates like every 15 minutes or so to update uh your parking and to extend your time uh if you so choose great and if you're a resident uh you get about a dollar off uh the parking rates there so uh in order to do this and this is something I haven't done yet and that's why I've been forcing or I've been pushing the issue to try to get it automated uh but you have to take down a proof of uh car registration and proof of residency to the founder garage and they'll update your system to take that do25 off the the the first uh or for the hourwe parking rate so big benefit to a resident using that I want to try to make sure that this is happening upon registration there's some um there's some privacy laws that we're working through with the state of New Hampshire to be able to do that but I would love for every resident to be told to download the the park mobile app and then automatically be enrolled in the uh the reduced parking uh for that but yes that's say it's a great app and you what a convenience yeah but it takes away you know my you previous defense before I was on the Council of I was just going to the meter to pay so like that's that's a problem so um you know it's a but I uh you can you know it's it's pretty easy to do and it gives you a a countdown and timer so um it takes away uh the reasons to forget to pay and it should make it easier uh My Mother Does it so you know um if it's if it's my mom's doing it then it's a it's a you know it's a reasonably well functioning piece of technology well I will say that having having been someone I didn't have the park mobile app and we my husband and I parked at one of the lot that is right before the bridge to KY and the device the punchin device wasn't working that day but I contacted the city and I me I sent the email and they sent me a very nice reply and said you know what we understand these things happen we hope to not hear from you all of the time yeah yeah yeah but it was they did relieve the the immediate fee so there is an option if something does go AR you can reach out to the city have an honest conversation they will they will have honest conversations I think the uh you know the goal is to make sure you know the the whole theory behind parking is to have is to have turnover you know there's certainly um so all just your viewers might be uh interested uh the only money that can go into the general fund meaning used on all different types of services or money collected from the garage state law requires that anything that's collected on the streets go back into uh improving the streets um so it's a just a vestage from the fact that we're only allowed to uh dictate parking through the police Powers uh and so uh making sure that all that money goes into things like go into like wayfinding things like that it has to go into ask about that as well uh public improvements um and has to be related in some way to improving traffic and uh and roadways uh in the city you mentioned the wayfinding system can you explain the way finding sure so those are just signs around the city that direct people um to uh places that um might be of note to to them now um it's a uh it's it's interesting to see like in the in the terms of um you know uh maybe uh Google Maps um everybody knows you know where they're you know they're going and they have a Google map that that tells them where to go um this helps direct people to things that they might want to go to maybe they don't realize that they want to go to or areas where are not on Google Maps like a trail head for the new rail trail that's that's going in so having a plan and directing people um and hopefully taking uh some ownership in the city in terms of how we are going to not just default to what Google tells everybody to do but to have an intentional plan uh around that we have though um limited the amount of wayf finding we've done in recent years mostly because we want to make sure it's it's additive to the experience that exists through Google and Google Maps and you know I'm sure there's other like B all sorts of mapping software but making sure that we're not spending an enor amount of money on things that people aren't taking advantage of but being intentional in terms of you know where you're going to find Strawberry Bank what are areas where you know from a historical perspective that you want to check out where's the albacore you know why is that important things of of of those Natures that you know historically might not make it into you know uh Google's uh you know top test restaurants in the in the city the albore on a side note on a personal note was one of the coolest experiences if you haven't checked out the albacore ladies and gentlemen now and I'm sure that we could joke about this more than once but Dean's quite tall so if you've been through the AL the albore tall people you know where I'm going be aware it is a very small environment but it's absolutely worth checking out it is so it's um we were there uh rainy Saturday a couple of weeks ago and girls love it they fit right into the bed they fit right in me uh less so um but it was uh like a a distant memory when the albacore uh when I was a little kid um I think it was I was two or three when they first kind of moved it into its final resting spot so Joe satel who many know the bridge that goes over into Newcastle uh and then you know he was the guy own the salt pile it was a vision of his to get it into Portsmouth Bill Keefe former counselor worked tirelessly uh on it and you know all of Portsmouth came out to watch it you know not get stuck in the mud but actually move uh into its final resting uh place and I know that they are expanding um their Museum and so some exciting things ahead for the albacore um and it's always fun to to check it out and just realize that I you know for me at least I did not I made the right choice not being a Submariner uh that was that was a tough that was a tough uh tough gig but you know we have the it's a it's an easy way to see uh with all the work that goes on in um at the for naal Shipyard right across uh we are the host City for the USS Cheyenne um and so uh being being able to see all of those things um you know up close and personal the the mechanics have gotten bigger the subs gotten bigger but you know at the end of the day you are in a uh in a very small vessel in the in the middle of the Atlantic or other you know body of water and it's uh it's pretty cool to try to put yourself in that position and imagine what it would be like it definitely gives you a moment of it's a moment of pause sure for sure could I could I have done this should I'm maybe I'm glad I didn't Yeah couple toilets for everybody I don't know but we're absolutely worth seeing yeah and they have plenty of parking plenty of parking yeah plenty of parking so we'll go ahead and uh move on to a new subject we've had it we covered some great stuff here on parking and of course as things are updated we will bring them back to [Music] you so let's speak about housing one of the other major concerns no small one not a small one in no way a small one so as I mentioned earlier I read a little bit of I've quite a bit of reading here and you had a Portsmouth listen study back in 2017 pertaining to housing I know you recently had a a another session what's changed I think the urgency has been the biggest thing that's changed um we've certainly had uh a um a conversation around housing and and when I was first running for city council uh a neighbor um updated or shared some uh uh just old campaign lit of my aunt and it was the same things you know we're being priced out of our neighborhoods so it's not something that is a a new phenomenon I think that it's something that is when we have a limited amount of space next to water and surrounded by Marshland um there's limited areas where we can actually build and so the conversation is always going to be you know how can we accommodate all the people that you know want to be in Portsmith how can we accommodate the people that need to be in Portsmith in terms of making Portsmith work you know teachers you know firefighters restaurant workers you know artist all of the things that we were trying to bring together with a limited amount of space and no real money um from the state in order to do any of this so it's a um but I do think the the intensity around um where uh just the intensity around the conversation has increased because more people are recognizing that they are being um you know they certainly wouldn't be able to afford here if they were you know like myself if we didn't buy what is it now close to 10 years ago would not be able to afford you know the house that's right next to many people say that um I know the south end yeah were very concerned about that um but then it's it's they're seeing that um their kids aren't going to be able to stay here now I still have like a kid or two sometimes in our bed so our goal one is to get them out of our bed um but like then we wouldd like them to stay in Portsmouth just maybe not in in our house so like how do we facilitate things like that and so it's going to be a mix of of zoning you know working with housing authorities and and nonprofit uh Builders and then transportation and figuring out you know because I don't think anybody you know I don't think the push back is on having more people in Portsmith or even bigger buildings uh in Portsmith maybe not in the HDC it's always about more cars um and you know how do we how do we navigate all of that we have a couple of opportunities to do so uh in the coming months how do you see and I'm sure there's been talk about how the housing plan is affected by the climate change plan sure yeah so um well uh vice versa yeah so you know first off um the uh where we're going to be able to build um is going to be taking into account you know larger and larger setbacks from where you know potentially are in flood planes you know where that um climate mitigation strategy is to stop building in some of the areas where are going to be most affected uh by climate change uh that's one two uh when it comes to our um work with the PHA if you look at the Ruth Griffin uh building that's downtown on Court Street that's lead certified making sure that you know not only from a climate you know perspective and that it's good to do I'm always a fan of things that are you know you do good by doing well you know and they're being able to lower the cost to actually heat um that building which is incredibly important because when you're talking lower incomes or Workforce housing you know uh heating requires a huge portion of of that budget and so if you can reduce the amount that you're going to actually have to heat that um it just makes that more affordable in the long run there's a lot of tax credits that are coming into into play there from the federal level and then you know when we're looking at all buildings we don't yet um but in the coming years we're going to start taking into account the total cost of you know um carbon I expect you know this is you know me personally expect there to be a price somewhat on carbon just because Europe is moving on that and you know tends to be you know when International countries move uh the US will follow suit only from an economic standpoint to balance the trade on there and so I expect to start pricing in carbon to you know capital projects in the future and that would housing would be certainly a part of uh uh incorporating that um that price of carbon in as well now is there anything when it comes to housing and I I was about to ask you something in in relationship to the climate I I I immediately meent you we brought up the climate uh plan and I thought about asking you about Prescott Park and how you're you have a plan coming for the road heading down to Prescott Park does this affect any of the housing down there in the South End well I mean let's say uh I think that it's going to affect um a lot of the um the houses there now we're lucky in Fort Smith from um the the big thing that you have to uh I guess try to figure out um is the bathtub model and the storm surge model in terms of water level rises and now uh we're lucky that the the the piscatqua takes a sharp left at KY point you know K Point's less like lucky uh because of that and so getting all of the water up the river is harder um you know on a storm surge basis than it is to you know be inundated like you'll see in Hampton or you know north of us in KY but it's still a big effect and so looking at you know the resiliency in terms of the seaw wall making sure that the we're raising the Water Street to be able to you know remain you know above water um and working on the drainage you know all of that land at one point was it was the water so like it was a lot you know puddle do gets it name not because it was a luscious you know uh green but it because it was you know it's been infill since then and so areas like that are very susceptible um uh and and strawberry bank is is no different so making sure that you know uh we're resilient there and also making sure that we're getting as much money from you know the state as possible on this you know we believe you know that Presa Park is a is the jeel not only of Portsmouth but of the Granite State in general draws a lot of people here and so when it comes to Big capital projects like making sure that it is resilient and stays to be a beautiful place that attracts a lot of people that we're getting that necessary help from the state level as well so that the taxes aren't going to be inratable here to be able to handle that speaking of PR SC Park you are going to be raising that Road 3 feet yeah it's a significant amount of it but not compared to the um the formal Gardens so it's still below the formal Gardens um we'll be able to and that's just the if you're looking at it um it's uh from Marcy Street it's it's on your right um so it's not going to be um it's not going to be uh a huge um visual change um but it will uh allow us to underground the utilities more effectively and have a better plan to keep the water from kind of influ as much and you know your viewers will remember uh just the the amazing Storm surges that occurred over the over the winter uh and late fall of last year of just you know feet of water uh in there and so yes needing to make sure that we have a you know that we you know our climate resiliency plan is you know from a standpoint of making sure that we make better decisions as a municipality uh but also um taking into account that there are going to be some choices and decisions that we have to make in order to uh to protect what is inevitable and some sea level rise is inevitable and so we have to be able to make sure that we're dealing with that I know that that it with it with the uh Prescott Park plan comes that Improvement to the gravel lot that's right thinking of parking ladies and gentlemen yeah so you know I'm looking forward to drive with cars uh for sure or at least self- parking cars um but yes so um there will be uh an improvement on um in uh Pierce island um and then um in the uh we had a master plan for uh Prescott Park um and all of that was funded by the McIntyre and so without the McIntyre moving forward we have to look at the master plan uh again for Prescot Park and then coupled that with a lot of folks were very you know when they found out uh the extent of the the the master plan they moving the formal Gardens moving the Sunken Gardens it was just you know probably take pause and think what is the best way to utilize less money that we have and you know resiliency is one of those things that comes to mind making sure that we can benefit from a um you know preserving and uh preventing the Shaw and Chief Building from falling into the ocean but also how can we have more community space I would love to see um the festival down there uh the Arts Festival have if not a uh a permanent stage and I know that's been th with with controversy make sure that we have a place that we can get the trailers out of the middle of the the the the park there and have more permanent place for the Green Room uh at least if we're going to erect and deconstruct a stage every year I'd like to not have to bring in trailers uh to that and that could be great community space that we could use um and so there's a lot that's still going on but from a capital Improvement plan uh we've only committed to the portion of that that is uh the raising of Water Street uh to allow for better drainage um and the preservation of those buildings um we haven't committed to the full plan as it as it have and and pushed that to out years mostly because it's been a long time since we've had that um uh that that Master Plan be drawn up and we no longer have the funding understandable so to put this little piece to bed how will this affect the traversing that little area through the summertime so um you know I don't um I'm sure people the first thing on people's mind is well that what am I gonna do yeah so and that's a you know uh anytime folks have that um you know there's a it's a good reason we have elected uh you know uh elected form of government you know the your viewer's job isn't to to think about every little detail it's to make sure that we think of every little detail um so um you know Dave defus um and team and I don't know um i' want to check to make sure if this is starting this summer or next summer um but it's worth noting the process for all uh all um projects so they start with informational meetings um that get all the neighbors and those are multiple information meetings because we know that most people are busy and so they have multiple opportunities to either come into city hall or we'll have the meeting uh down there talk about traffic plans I don't think you know from a standpoint of being able to Traverse that there's multiple different entrances uh to that and from a since it's not actually keeping people from going into piure silent it's just on where there's permanent parking uh there the impact to um vehicular traffic is going to be uh limited and it's not going to no no way is going to stop uh pedestrian uh traffic and I'm sure Dave will promise not to do any jackhammering during an actual concert it might happen during a soundcheck and we'll apologize for that uh but making sure that you know um the uh the work is done as seamlessly and as quick as possible um you know for example um there's some work up in my neck of the woods on Bartlet Street and and um and Maplewood so the Maplewood bridge is going to be fixed and repaired over the summer three months um it's going to be closed to vehicular traffic uh still open for pedestrian traffic Bartlet Street which comes down on the other end of my neighborhood is going to be closed for a portion of time now the goal is to make sure that the work is done so that that neighborhood can get out and into downtown another way and coordinate with that even though these are tough projects to do you know we don't have a lot of time with the bridge and this is work that needs to happen you know these pipes are 200 years old and so Dave you know and his team are fantastic Dave you know um works for Peter rice he always trying to hear from the residents and um you know uh I would say our job and the and the city's job is to listen to the feedback that comes and and to always take suggestions knowing that there's a the better the suggestions if they're good or not are always better the earlier in the process so we can incorporate them speaking of suggestions flash vote can you tell us about Flash vote yeah so um this was uh councelor Taber um I believe it was uh I think it was it might have been his idea um so um lots of times folks like why you know let's have a a referendum on this it's just not how a city is um it's not like and I say city as if like you know we're new City or Boston um not but the form of government is that we make decisions on a council level and that we're voted you know you vote the bums in or you vote the bums out like you know that's where uh that's decided we don't get into a town meeting sort of way and and vote every uh uh vote every line item but there's you know always want a better way to uh get feedback than popping into somebody at Market Basket or um you know the amount of emails because you know sometimes it's like restaurant reviews like if you think you have had a you know a good experience you may leave a a positive review and if you've had a negative experience you're definitely going to leave a negative review and so that's the same thing in terms of you know hearing feedback there's a bias towards who reaches out people with you know closeness they feel agency they feel like they can reach out so this was all a way to try to get more feedback on uh how Portsmouth feels about specific topics and you know statistically uh you know we have when we reach a certain amount of respond in a survey we can say that it is at least representative of a larger demographic than response and so uh some of those responses will get to like 40% of a response of the people that have signed it up and that those people that have signed up are representative of Portsmith so allows us to look at okay here are things that are on top of Mind of people in Portsmith here are you know things that we ask you know um of them to try to get you know um what are some of the priorities housing you know was a was a big priority you know that that came up um I'm sure we're going to do a lot as we go into the master plan and you know that's a huge way to to start solving for housing uh related issues is in the master uh plan and um flash vot is definitely going to be a part of getting that because some of the best voices and most important voices you know um you if I didn't you know have this thing wrong with me where I had to uh serve you know Portsmith like I would be busy enough being a dad you know and paying my mortgage and so there's a lot of like young parents out there that need to be involved but just don't have the time and this is an easier way to get their feedback and lastly about flashboot is this something have I didn't haven't checked out the website admittedly but I did read about it going through some research for our time together today is this something that's open at all times or does is Flash vote only accessible in times when you're looking for direct feedback oh yeah so no it's just so we ask a question so that's kind of the thing about Flash vote it's like we put a question out there I think we have a certain amount of questions um that we can do a year and it's really it's more to get a an opinion on a subject um it's less about just getting a uh customer satisfaction score out of the city of Portsmouth um there's um you can always email the council uh when something's going wrong um feel free to do it when something's going right too we're not immune to praise um but just um when it comes to something that is a um a direct issue go on the city website uh email the the city council if there's something if there's something that's broken in the city um download The Click and fix app I should have about to ask you about the click and fix app what a great opportunity for people to again communicate so that's a way like and then you know um it time like we have a lot sometimes of click and fix of people like I want to park here that's for the capital Improvement plan and that that whole process um but if there's uh if a pothole has caused you to have uh a flat tire uh now you need four tires re balanced um you can uh submit a claim um whether or not the the city is going to pay that claim is is is different but we will definitely fix the pothole uh that's associated we want to know about everything that's broken if there's a signal that's out or a sign that's falling down or um you know there's an issue with construction there's always an opportunity to just click and fix and we will see those and somebody will be out uh as quickly as they can to to fix that we'll put that up on the uh you should see that just below as a matter of fact we're going to put that right up on the screen for you don't forget to check out the click and fix [Music] that so dlan I know that we're coming to the end of a fiveyear plan strategic plan for the police um I was about to say the police Center the police station so can you tell us a little bit about more sure yeah I mean the um so the community policing facility and Community you know we're intentional with the words because you know um we're lucky in the city of portzman to have a community- based police force I got to hang out with Mason the Comfort dog uh just a couple of days ago um came in put him in charge uh you know he immediately made all of the parks dog accessible and put a line item in for uh water bowls throughout the city so we're pretty excited about that wonderful the um so we're lucky to have a great uh police force what we don't necessarily have is a modern policing facility um and that's part because um when we first erected City Hall and mov that uh back in the 80s and the police station there as well it was an old hospital and if you're in there it looks like an old hospital um the bottom levels have had some issues with mold those are improving but in order to have a police station with enough space to do the things like um book uh people that are coming in evidence chain of custody we need a bigger uh amount of space and so originally we had looked at other sites one of the sites was the lower lot another one was out on Granite Street we've decided to hear what it would and those costs came in uh we had budgeted I think $42 million uh for this um which is the most expensive Capital project that we'll have without building Aid which we built we had for the middle school or with grants um and an enterpr and has paid back as an Enterprise fund for for Pierce island sewage treatment plan so this is a significant Capital cost and you know if your viewers are um sitting at home looking at how they can get involved this would be one of those ways to come to the meetings to to to voice you know their opinions on this and to hold everyone to account on on what it is we're actually going to build a need there the conversation is focused now instead of looking at other sites how can we expand what we currently have um what is the cost in terms of stranded cost of doing so what um what does that mean for for City Hall what does it mean for the police and right now um I'll be leaving here and going to a work session uh later tonight and to put on a tie for that um but the um it's going to um be extending uh City Hall and the police station kind of as you're coming up um uh as you're coming up um Pleasant Street and and turning left it's going and you see the police station it's going to be extending that out just a a little bit and so about 30,000 extra feet and so the conversation is what can we uh do with that and so that's a um it's part of a capital plan a huge you know undertaking for the next year and a half and it's really a conversation and you know allow us to talk about why is this necessary um and then you know what um what will this allow us to do that we can't currently do and what will this allow us to keep doing um and that's you know always important for Portsmith and right now to date this hasn't been enough kind of public input about that so we're just going to beat the drum and and you know don't want people surprise that we built the police station or expanded our police station it needs to be a part of that public needs to be a part of that conversation and knowing the location of the police station of course this another area where the climate plan comes into play yeah so um you know it was great we had a um we had eighth graders in just a couple of weeks ago they were talking about solar uh the Solar projects and they looked at all the different areas that we own land and buildings that we had and they're like why are there not solar panels on City Hall can we put those on City Hall turns out yeah we could probably do that and it's going to be a part of that conversation that we have how much money can we um invest into that what will that investment look like and when you are the city of Portsmith you get to look at things in 50-year time Horizons um and you know the payback period on solar panels there how would that allow us to reduce our carbon footprint but also you know with the pace of technology and solar panels how can we save the taxpayer more money by decoupling you know electrical use uh you know to to cost for taxpayer investment in solar especially at a time when there's a lot of you know uh inflation reduction act allows a lot of investment for projects like that how can we go get the money um to help make that reality and incorporate that into the to the plan and then say it was the middle schooler's idea get them super involved and engaged with government because they think hey come to one meeting get everything you want you know who would not want to be in government at that point all ages buying sounds like we can take we're you're clearly taking suggestions from not just the homeowners in the area but also the elementary school attendees you know it's a um I always joke about uh that we'll listen to anything the kids do but uh in the council our job is to plan for the future um you know the next you know best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago next best time is today type mentality and when it comes to the Future there's no better proxy than the people that will inherit it and I think that kids have so many things that they have to deal with on a on a day-to-day level um they have you know things that I didn't have like social media growing up and you know just the Doom scrolling without feeling as though there's actually a way to make change and I think when we don't have agency in Our Lives we feel very you know helpless but they do have agency they can come to City Council meetings any one of your viewers can come to a city council meeting with an idea of how to make something better and when you do that I promise you you know you might not get your way but you will feel better about what you're doing um and being able to make a difference in that and the police station is where we want you to enact that agency because we don't want to get to the the one yard line and then people wake up to the fact that we're building this uh new police station it is really you know we are representative democracy and we have to represent the citizens of Portsmith uh and so we need more people at the table for that and what would be the best way for people to communicate their ideas so uh first you can always email us uh you can watch Meetings online you can come to a meeting uh and speak um there will be many more meetings before uh this is decided upon um but you know public comment at any work session uh and then certainly as the public hearings uh start for this once we get a plan um but want to hear from everybody so just you know email mer City Portsmith uh the city website anything uh that you want to do um and the email response might be hey here's what we've done so far um here's how you get up to speed um and here's how you get involved and that's you know uh and if they respond to that like I'm all in then that's music to my ears who knows you may get the the a future mayor at one of year can't wait oh definitely coming out of the eighth grade the uh you know they're um it's a I'm always impressed to how um when it comes to the the kids how engaged uh they are um how Earnest they are um and how um it allows us to um not set aside differences um but everybody wants to see um the Next Generation uh feel as though um they have a voice uh because it means it reaffirms that we all have a voice you know we are the government the government is us we get the government we deserve whether we like it or not um and it's a good reminder we're always you know when it comes to the kids we're always trying to put on our best effort and our best face both uh folks in public comment and and folks on the deas about looking at government as as something that you know is worth working for check out the website for more information ladies and gentlemen don't forget to attend those [Music] meetings and all of this brings us to some fun stuff the cultural plan the arts project so understand that the percent for art program is uh my quick question to you is that a program or an ordinance I've seen it referred to as both yes so it's a program that was established by state law you can adopt it and we've adopted it through ordinance uh in the city of Portsmouth and so it allows any municipality to do any uh large uh Capital project to take 1% up to $150,000 and put it to a capital project for the Arts so around The Foundry garage you'll remember the glass etchings and then that big kind of Foundry Hammer uh thing at the end if you go past and you miss the entrance to the the uh uh the garage um we're uh now that the sewage treatment plant is uh complete uh we're discussing that and that's going to go through uh the public art review uh committee and yes the police station uh will have um a art component to that now that can be all sorts of things it can be a garden it can be you know art is a very subjective thing um and looking at art you know um I still think my my earliest memory and probably happiest you know happiest is my kids obviously but like my happiest time as a kid is jumping off of the whale statue into my dad's arms and everybody remembers the well statue that comes to Portsmouth it's because it's it's cool it looks cool and it's it's interactive and so art has an opportunity to you know to bring us in and we're in the business of trying to Build a Better World in Portsmouth in order to do that you have to imagine a different world and art allows you to imagine a world that's not yet here and so we always trying to expand people's Horizons of what's possible and that's why art is such a a big part of you know any municipality but certainly ports beautifully put in one of the most beautiful cities I've ever lived in between New York City and Wyoming I will take Portsmouth any day I would too a beautiful place I was lucky enough to see some other spots but yeah I'm uh I'm biased towards Portsmouth well and you've been here for a minute so you live across the street from the house that your grandfather built yep um Archie uh I never had the chance uh to meet him he died on his 80th birthday uh which also happens to be my wife's birthday um but he uh yeah nice uh portrait to him uh the day he went out um and uh he's Irish will s worked for the city graduated the third grade um built the the house uh with uh with some of his buddies um and just a um you know served on the city council in the state house um and uh you know all around by all accounts uh great great guy um and um but yeah it's lucky to it's lucky to have that um you know that sense of belonging um and to be able to point that out to to my daughter it feels good you know um when we see the button factory uh that's uh my uh my great-grandfather uh worked there um and they called him the the lawyer because he could read you know and so people would take documents to him and have them read you know and I wonder if that you know we have a couple lawyers in my family and maybe that was because that was seen as an honest profession back in the day because it was uh it was helping uh people and that's something that my brother and my dad and uncle still certainly believe but um but yeah that was uh we've been in uh Portsmith for a bit and very fortunate to be able to still call it home you come from a long line of civil servants it's in your blood yeah I mean I think the um yeah it's a and it's an Affliction I don't know if it's it's a I just feel like you know you have a um you learn from your parents not your mannerisms or at least cuz I see like myself and my daughter and I'm like oh my God she's uh she's just like me or my other or aelia is just like me T and so um you see the mannerisms and then it's just how was that channeled as a parent and I saw from an early age my dad was so involved um in Civic life and political life I just felt like it was um you know he said it was always you know it's how you pay your rent on Earth um you know we've been very fortunate and have the privilege to call Portsmouth home and you know privilege sometimes gets turned into a bad word and I get that but privilege come you know without any responsibility to make lives better then it is a bad word but when you feel as though you have a responsibility to improve you know the lives of of those people you care about and there's no better way to do that than helping out the town that gave you so much you know I'm sitting here thinking of uh my my uh New Franklin uh School principal uh she passed away on uh Friday you know and I remember when constant car walked into a room never called her constants still wouldn't refer to as constants like it was Mrs and she walked in she was like 5'2 a pin would you know drop and you know like you could hear it U when she walked into a classroom but uh she gave me you know all I needed to be successful um as did all the teachers that I was lucky enough to grow up here with um and so there's always a debt that has to be paid and you know you pay that debt and then the the next generation feels as they have to as well well it would seem that pouth is probably as fortunate for you to be here in this position as you seem to feel being here yeah I mean that's up for uh your viewers to decide I certainly I hope they uh feel that way but you know um you know if anybody um you know don't let this you know this lovely interview uh keep anybody from telling people how they they feel about me or the city like I again I don't go to bed as mayor of Portsmouth they go to bed as Dad to Tian and dad to Aurelia a husband to Lori everybody um you know you can always tell uh me how you feel about the ports and how we can improve uh and I'm always you know here to hear that information and that feedback because you know that that's what I signed up for uh and with a name like Delan you don't take anything personally after the third grade so uh very much look forward to anybody's unvarnished opinion on how we can improve and and always love uh getting into the details this was an excellent interview thank you for coming and spend time with us yeah thank you very much oh and we will look forward to I'm going to plant the seed Portsmouth we are looking forward to having Delan back into the studio and hopefully a regular basis we'll iron out a plan and we'll keep you posted don't forget to check out the city of Portsmouth website for upcoming meetings and feeding times and ways that you can communicate directly with the mayor he has office hours as well so find that on the website thank you so much for supporting us we appreciate you being out there thank you mayor for coming in today thank you Alexis we'll see you soon [Music]