All members of the Portsmouth City Council have a job that adds hundreds of hours of unpaid work. They serve with other citizens on a wide variety of committees in the everyday process of making our community the best it can be.
Four years ago, for my most recent term on the Council, I was sent to one of those − the Economic Development Commission (EDC). Councilor Cliff Lazenby was also so assigned, and offered valuable comment throughout his term. Meetings are usually 7:30 a.m. at city hall, but the group also tours business sites and other locations.
Throughout my local and state government involvement, I haven’t been a favorite among the business and development communities. During my years in the N.H. House and Senate I received mostly “zero” ratings among business and industry lobbying groups.
I always voted for minimum wage increases, for business tax hikes to cut property taxes, against so-called right-to-work laws, for right-to-know requirements for chemical dangers in the workplace, and supported bills for union organizing and employee safety requirements.
So on my first day in January of 2020 going into a meeting of the Economic Development Commission, I was quite reluctant. It reminded me of previous assignments as City Council representative on the Port Authority, the Chamber Collaborative, and Pease Redevelopment Commission (precursor to the PDA). Not my best of times.
City Manager Karen Conard was just getting used to her new role, this being her first month on the job. As we walked into the room I said that I wasn’t looking forward to the meeting. She said, “We’ll be okay. We’ll do it together.”
We got through that meeting, and for me it was the beginning of a good new experience, from which I have fond memories. Especially of three visits to the old YMCA building of the “before,” “during,” and “after” the conversion and excellent restoration of the Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues Club by Michael and Peter Labrie. And the fascinating rooftop view.
During my two years on the Commission, I gained a fresh understanding of what entrepreneurs do, and the creative and inventive approaches they take to find solutions to virtually any problem. The group has a “can-do” mindset and obviously their investment in Portsmouth is solid.
Currently, Assistant Mayor Joanna Kelley and Councilor Vince Lombardi are liaisons for the Council. Longtime Commission member Tom Watson is chair, and meetings are efficiently run with serious and positive discussion and very little politics.
Local news and social media don’t often cover EDC meetings, although infrequently a topic may arise that gets public attention. In recent months there have been stories as well as social media comments about possibilities of cruise ships visiting our dock.
Another recent matter generating controversy was when they were asked by the City Council to offer advice and policy suggestions for outside dining and other retail use of sidewalk and street areas. They spent hours listening to public comments and studying the issue, then passing their thoughts on to the City Council.
A Challenge: Could the Economic Development Commission look at affordable housing? REALLY “affordable housing?” Our economy depends on our businesses, their employees, and housing for those employees.
Portsmouth has a housing committee, and many others have worked on the issue for years, but for really affordable housing, there’s a missing ingredient. Can the EDC use the assembled creativity and business mindset of their members to discover a model solution to that dilemma?
Many employees, as well as residents of all ages, need affordable places to live. Is it at all possible to provide housing that would cost, at market rate and in today’s dollars, no more than $200 a week? What would it look like? Can it be done? Why not?
Consider all options: one-room studios, rooming houses, dormitory shared- kitchen/bath housing, congregate living facilities, “tiny” houses, ADUs, micro-apartments, employer leasing, etc. Maybe a combination of several of those. Lots of cities have examples. And how can developers engage in a partnership that includes our business community so that they will be encouraged to build that kind of housing?
Is it really just a “Field of Dreams?”
“Discovering” is just the function of finding something that no one has found yet. Perhaps really affordable housing is just waiting to be discovered. I’m betting that the Portsmouth EDC can find it.
Want to join the Commission? The Portsmouth Economic Commission work is usually broadcasted live and on the City of Portsmouth website. Residents interested in voicing concerns can write to members, or attend a meeting and participate. If interested in becoming a member, talk with any City Councilor.
Next time: Just One Word: “Plastics.”
Variously since 1969, Jim Splaine has been New Hampshire state senator for six years, state representative for 24 years, Police Commission and School Board member, Portsmouth Assistant Mayor for 12 years and City Councilor for 18 years. He can be reached at jimsplaineportsmouth@gmail.com
