The city manager’s office sent out the City Manager’s Newsletter last Friday. The full newsletter can be found by going to concordnh.gov and clicking the “Newsletter” button. Here are some highlights:
Outdoor dining
During the March City Council meeting, the City established a permanent outdoor dining policy in the City of Concord. This new program is an effort by the City to establish a uniform application and standards, as well as have a vibrant outdoor dining presence for local restaurants for the future. The 2022 season will run from April 15 through Nov. 15.
The outdoor dining program provides for the issuance of permits for restaurants in the downtown to use areas of the public sidewalk, squares, City properties, and public parking spaces near their businesses to accommodate customers’ tables and chairs.
Restaurants interested in participating should apply for an outdoor dining permit available at concordnh.gov/outdoordining.
For questions related to this program, contact Health & Licensing Officer Gwen Williams in the Code Administration Office at (603) 225-8580 or at gwilliams@concordnh.gov.
City meetings
City meetings are held in person in Council Chambers at 37 Green St. (unless otherwise specified on the City’s calendar).
Upcoming meetings include:
City Council: April 11, 7 p.m.
Planning Board: April 20, 7 p.m.
Fire Department retirees
We would like to wish all the retirees within the department all the best in their new chapters, including Fire Chief Sean Brown, Captain Derek Martel, and Firefighter/EMT David Currier, who retired recently. We are thankful for their service to the Concord Fire Department and the City of Concord.
Neighborhood paving program
The City’s Neighborhood Street Paving Program started last week with Continental Paving, Inc. as the City’s paving contractor for this year. Work started on on Foster Street, Granite Avenue, Curtice Avenue, and Prospect Street. All catch basin and manhole covers were lowered, and streets were reclaimed and grading was completed. Monday will include base pavement for all the streets and then curb will be reset at the end of the week with sidewalks to follow.
Work is weather permitting. Streets may be reduced to one lane or closed to through traffic. Parking will be prohibited on these streets between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. Residents will have road access to their homes.
Street sweeping continues
The City’s contracted sweeping company, BDM Sweeping, started spring street sweeping last week. Sweeping is performed to clean up the City’s streets, with a focus on the City’s enclosed drainage system to keep drains clear of debris. Work has started at the Bow town line and will continue north towards the center of the city. Residents are advised to refrain from street parking in this area between 6:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Work will continue for the next couple of weeks and continue to move north towards the high school and Blossom Hill Cemetery. Sweeping will also take place from Manchester Street north towards I-393 next week as well. Cooperation is appreciated to allow the street sweeper to reach the curb and more thoroughly complete sweeping.
City accepting outdoor sculptures for exhibit
The City of Concord and the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce invite sculptors to submit entries for Art on Main, a public art exhibit in the city’s historic downtown. Accepted entries will be on display from June 2022 through May 2023, and enhance the city’s award-winning Main Street.
Concord’s Fifth Annual Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition is open to professional sculptors 18 years or older, preferably from New England. This initiative is a partnership between the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce’s Creative Concord Committee and the City of Concord. The Creative Concord Committee is made up of dedicated volunteers who work to enhance the creative economy in the Capital Region. New Hampshire’s state capital features a destination downtown full of local shops, restaurants and cultural venues that attract a high volume of visitors throughout the year. Art on Main enhances these attractions by creating an open-air gallery that is free for all to enjoy.
Artists may submit up to two works for consideration; each must be the property of the artist. All accepted artists will receive a $500 stipend. Accepted artworks must be properly secured upon installation for the safety of visitors and the artwork itself. The City of Concord takes a 30% commission for any sculptures sold to promote the visual arts. The deadline for entries is April 29.
For more information about the City of Concord’s Fifth Annual Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition or to submit work for consideration, please visit concordnhchamber.com/creativeconcord. Additional questions should be directed to Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce President Tim Sink at (603) 224-2508 or tsink@concordnhchamber.com.
Dog Licenses
State of New Hampshire RSA 466:1 requires that every owner or keeper of a dog four months of age or older license said dog in the municipal clerk’s office in the city or town in which the dog is kept. Licenses are effective from May 1 through April 30 of the subsequent year.
In accordance with RSA 466:1, the annual dog licensing season has begun. Historically, the annual dog license renewal process begins April 1 with residents sitting outside City Hall prior to 8 a.m. when municipal offices open in the hopes of getting tag #1. In honor of that tradition, staff has reserved tag numbers 1 through 299 and will begin issuing those tag numbers on April 1. In the meantime, residents not vying for those low numbers can either renew said license(s) online, mail payments to the City Clerk’s Office and/or in renew licenses in person at the City Clerk’s Office.
Licenses may only be issued if we have current rabies information on file. Feel free to contact the City Clerk’s Office by email at cityclerk@concordnh.gov or by phone at (603) 225-8500 to verify that current rabies information is on file.
Fees: Non-spayed or non-neutered, $10; spayed or neutered, $7.50; dogs under 8 months old, $7.50; five or more dogs of same owner $20; first dog for owner 65-plus, $2 (regular rate for any other dogs).
Owners who license a dog after May 31 are subject to additional fees. If you are no longer required to license a dog with the City of Concord, because you relocated outside of Concord or Penacook or you no longer have your pet, please give us a call at (603) 225-8500 or email us at cityclerk@concordnh.gov and we will update our records. The City Clerk’s Office is located at 41 Green St., Concord. Office hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, with extended hours until 6 p.m. on Thursdays.
Personal exemption deadline
City of Concord/Penacook property owners are reminded that the applications for the elderly, blind, and solar exemptions and veteran credits are due April 15. Information may be found in the Assessing Office, on the City website at concordnh.gov/assessing, or you may call (603) 225-8550 or email assessing@concordnh.gov and request that the application/s be emailed or mailed to you. The most important issue at this time is getting the application in the mail with an April 15 postmark or submitted in person by April 15. We encourage you to provide any and all documentation on or before the deadline; if you haven’t received a specific document, it can be provided after the deadline. If we need additional information; we will reach out to you via a letter.
On March 14, City Council met and approved changes to the elderly exemption for the 2022 tax year.
Changes are as follows:
The net income for single applicants of not more than $37,300.
The net income for married applicants of not more than $53,300.
The asset limit, not including your residential home if it is a single family, of not more than $98,000 for both single and married applicants.
Increase to the elderly exemption amounts: ages 65-74, $80,000; ages 75-79, $131,000; ages 80 and older, $223,000.
