Nonpublic minutes on 13-17 Hanson need to be released on Tuesday

Porters Pub owner Jim Hanley indicates where the floodwaters entered the restaurant's basement. Left, some of the flooding in February that caused the damager. (Hanley photo/Rochester Voice; flood photo/Courtesy)

The Rochester Voice urges the City Council to unseal minutes from four nonpublic sessions in 2021 that led councilors to vote to lease 13-17 Hanson St. for the development of a green space, which ultimately led to February flooding to the adjacent Porter's Pub, the restaurant's owner believes.
The council will discuss the matter on Tuesday at its regularly scheduled meeting.
Porters Pub owner Jim Hanley says the city's six-inch elevation of 13-17 Hanson St. caused his business to flood on Feb. 10. It was the first time the building ever suffered such a catastrophe, costing him thousands of dollars.
Rochester Economic Development Director Mike Scala said the idea of filling in the cellar hole of the former Colby's Pub and turning it into a park occurred after two city councilors came to him last year saying it was unsightly.
Hanley has said he spoke with City Councilors Chris Rice and Doug Lachance in the winter of 2021 about his interest in leasing the land either from the owner or subleasing it from the city to use it for parking.
But the city ended up leasing it from Great Northern Properties of Exeter with a noncommercial clause, effectively blocking Hanley from utilizing the space in any way, whether it be parking or outdoor dining.
He said Rice and Lachance both told him that wasn't their intention.
"They said they didn't want that," Hanley said in March.
The four nonpublic sessions in which the council discussed 13-17 Hanson St. occurred last April 20, June 1, July 6 and Aug. 3, City Manager Blaine Cox told The Rochester Voice last week.
Nonpublic sessions are held for a number of reason including personnel and land issues. The land issues are nonpublic so that possible acquisitions or deals are not jeopardized prior to such agreements being finalized.
The acreage at 13-17 Hanson St. is currently being leased by the city from owner Justin Gargiulo of Great North Property Management, Inc., of Exeter.
Scala said the lease is a short-term affair while the owner defers development on the .24 acre lot.
Scala said the cost of the lease is a wash because they send Gargiulo a check for his property tax bill, and he sends it back to the city. Breitling Holdings, whose agent of record is Gargiulo, bought the property in 2017 for $135,000.
Hanley doesn't know why the city decided to raise the lot with six inches of fill, or why they didn't identify the flooding potential.
Private contractors would have had to obtain a stormwater management and erosion control permit, but since the city was conducting the work none was necessary, City Attorney Terence O'Rourke said.
"In this case, the department conducting the work and the department issuing the permit were the same, so the City would not apply for its own permit," he told The Voice.
There's no reason not to unseal the minutes at this point, and if they are released, we can think of no reason why there would be any redactions.

- HT