Postcard of Deer Neck Bridge

Introduction

The supporting documents of meeting for the Board of Mayor and Aldermen cover the years 1947 to 2010.

Scope and Content

The supporting documents of meeting consist of paperwork submitted to the Office of the City Clerk for inclusion at an upcoming Aldermanic meeting and then distributed to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen for their review and discussion.

Regular meetings of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen are held at least once a month as stipulated by the City Charter. In addition, meetings are convened for Road Hearings, Public Hearings, and Special Meetings on specific topics. Organizational meetings occur during the first week of the new year, after a mayoral/aldermanic election.

The meetings documents cover a wide range of business brought before the Board including health reports, recommendations sent to the President of the United States, morality issues, Sunday licensing, pension requests, petitions from third party candidates, potential name changes for parks and bridges and the granting of historic status for various buildings in the city.

Arrangement

The folders are arranged chronologically.

Administrative Information

The supporting documents of meeting were surveyed and organized by archivists Pam Edwards and Sally Fellows.

Access

The records are open for research without restrictions under the conditions of the Archives' access policy and the State of New Hampshire's "Right to Know" law. Records may be copied for use in individual, scholarly or personal research. Researchers are responsible for obtaining copyright permission to use the material from the archivist.

Citation

Supporting documents of meeting for the Board of Mayor and Alderman, City of Manchester, New Hampshire. Accession 1998.140


Examples

MANCHESTER AIRPORT, 1932

February 4, 1947 – There was a report by the Board of Health about the Isolation Hospital and its treatment of polio patients. The hospital lacked many services.

June 3, 1947 – Letter requesting Mayor Benoit write to President Truman with the recommendation that the President veto the Hartley-Taft Bill which the Mayor did through a Resolution.

November 15, 1949 – There is Slum Area Survey Report submitted to the Manchester Housing Authority. Most of the “blighted” areas had cold water flats and few private baths or toilets.

December 6, 1949 - There is an approval of the application by the Manchester Housing Authority to the Public Housing Administration to build 800 units of low rent housing.

February 21, 1950 – There are many letters against the showing of the film “Stromboli” because it starred Ingrid Bergman and was directed by Roberto Rossellini. Their behavior was considered immoral.

May 2, 1950 - The Grenier Air Force Base was transferred to the City of Manchester to be used as a commercial air field.

June 26, 1950 - The Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (W.W. Brown Camp No. 1) wrote a letter to the Board about the deterioration of a cannon in the yard of the old court house.

June 5, 1951 - There is an interesting pension case in which a woman was given a pension because she became allergic to flour while she was a housekeeper and cook at the Isolation Hospital and had developed asthma.

December 18, 1951 – A letter was written by the Christian Science Church opposing the fluoridation of the public water supply because fluoride is medicine.

November 18, 1952 – There is a communication from Madame X who is running for President.

May 18, 1954 – Included in the records is a letter from the United Mexican Border Veterans, Laredo Patrol, No. 46.

December 7, 1954 – There is a report written by the New Hampshire Division of Employment Security on the employment conditions in Manchester.

February 5, 1957 – An ordinance was issued regulating the presence of minors under the age of 16 on public streets. There was to be a curfew from 10 pm to 6 am unless the minor was accompanied by an adult. Curfew whistles were to be blown at the appointed times and parents could be fined $5.00 or spend 30 days in jail if their youngsters would found in violation.

October 2, 1962 - There are two unusual ordinances issued on this date. The first prohibited the tatooing of any person except by a qualified physician. The second ordinance concerned the regulating the construction of family protective shelters. Individuals were to construct their fallout shelters using the design recommended by the Department of Civil Defense. The ordinance details the exact specifications.

July 11, 1967 - There is correspondence regarding the New Hampshire Sweepstakes which was the first lottery in the United States. The income generated by the sale of tickets was designated for use by the School Department.

December 5, 1967 - A resolution was passed establishing the Model City Agency, one
of the first funded by HUD as part of the War on Poverty.

March 25, 1969 - A letter stating the first professional baseball game in Manchester in 20 years was to be held in Gill Stadium on April 22, 1969 is in this file. This was a double A Baseball team under direct franchise from the New York Yankees.

August 5, 1969 - A request was made from the Office of the Mayor to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen to solicit funds in aid of the Biafran children.

November 18, 1969 - The name of the Amoskeag Bridge was being debated. There are letters of support to retain the name but there is also correspondence promoting the possibility of changing the name either to honor Revolutionary hero, General John Stark or to rename the bridge in honor of the first man from Manchester to die in the Vietnam War.

In 1969, the series of documents in support of meeting was augmented by voicewriter records (45 rpm).

January 20, 1970 - The Chief of Police made a recommendation to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen that the City carry a police professional liability policy in the amount of $250,000 per person so the police would be protected from lawsuits.

December 15, 1970 - Contained in the documents is a complete inventory of City Hall and the City Clerk’s office done in 1969.

March 2, 1971 - There are numerous pieces of correspondence on X-rated movies playing at a local theater. This was evidently a first for the City.

December 16, 1975 - The Shaer Shoe Corporation wrote a letter to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen protesting the possible loss of their manufacturing facility to the Manchester Housing Authority and the Amoskeag Millyard Project who were drafting plans to demolish the building in order to provide additional parking.

January 2, 1979 - The installation of a 911 service is discussed.

June 5, 1979 - There is a committee recommendation that the City of Manchester acquire its own computer center. An ordinance was passed establishing a Manchester Historic District Commission.

January 17, 1980 – Three Thousand Seven Hundred Six Dollars ($3,706) was appropriated to issue school identification cards for students.

February 5, 1980 - The Board of Mayor and Aldermen issued a resolution condemning the naming of the Ayatollah Khomeini as the Man of the Year by Time Magazine.

May 6, 1980 - An ordinance was issued establishing the Amoskeag Corporation Housing District as a Historic District.

March 17, 1981 - The first recycling news release is issued by the New Hampshire Governor's Council on Energy.

June 2, 1981 - The Manchester Airport Authority voted to place PATCO on notice that they would be sued if the union conducted an illegal strike. The strike would damage the revenues of the airport.

July 6, 1982 – A Minority Business Enterprise Policy of the City is written.

December 21, 1982 – The Amoskeag Manufacturing Company Housing complex was entered in the National Register of Historic Places.

November 20, 1984 – There is a revised copy of the Amoskeag Millyard Project Urban Renewal Plan with the first version dated January 1966.

August 6, 1985 - In the file is a letter stating that the Manchester City Library was awarded a grant to create the first library automation center in New Hampshire.

May 20, 1986 - There is an agreement between Amoskeag Industries (successor to the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company) and the City of Manchester, allowing the City to build an elementary school in Rock Rimmon Park. In 1912, the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company deeded the land to the City in order to create a park. If the City did not live up to the agreement, damages could be awarded to the Amoskeag Company.
In 1986, Manchester still needed their permission in order to build a school.

September 2, 1986 - A zoning ordinance was proposed that revised the definition of a “family”. It changed the definition from persons who were related to “One or more persons related by blood, adoption or marriage living together as a single housekeeping unit. Boarders shall be allowed in addition to this family”. There is extensive correspondence on the subject, and the ordinance was eventually passed.

December 22, 1987 - The renovation of the Notre Dame Bridge is discussed, as well as its eligibility for historic status.

February 18, 1988 - A sister-city relationship was established with Taichung City in Taiwan.

May 17, 1988 - There is a communication from the American Fund for Czechoslovak Refugees, Inc. requesting city maps and bus vouchers for entering refugees.

March 2, 1993 - A Manchester Arts Enterprise Zone was established.

November 1, 1994 - Plans are initiated for the Sesquicentennial Celebration commemorating the granting of the 1846 City Charter.

November 19, 1996 - The City embarks on a $6.3 major renovation of City Hall

January 5, 1999 - Acquisition of 820 acres on Hackett Hill from the University of New Hampshire

2000 - The City of Manchester acquires French Hall and eight acres of land from the University of New Hampshire.

2001 - The Verizon Center opens its doors.

2004 - The Board of Mayor and Aldermen approve the expenditure of $3.4 million for the acquisiton of the Jac Pac property.

2006 - The Rimmon Heights Neighborhood Project begins.

2007 - Ash Street School is sold.

2008 - Granite Street Bridge renamed the Senator Judd Gregg bridge.

August 23, 2009 - Dedication of the Manchester WWII Veterans Memorial.

Board of Mayor and Aldermen Meeting Minutes