New Police Station Approved and Resident Meeting Planned (Dec. 9)

Concept Image of New Police Station

Appreciation

I wanted to thank the voters of Ward 7 for re-electing me to a 2nd two-year term on city council. It is truly a privilege to serve in this role. I have learned so much these first two years and hope to use this knowledge to serve our community more effectively. Perhaps our most important issue is housing. I think more housing of all types (market rate, starter homes, affordable housing, supportive housing, etc.) is critical both to serve our residents and to increase our tax base.

I am currently participating in Leadership Greater Concord and now realize how many younger workers, professionals and business owners have a strong commitment to the city even if they don't currently live here. Many would love to live here if there was sufficient housing.

New Police Station

As you may have heard, the $41 million appropriation (after a 10% cost reduction) was approved at the November 24 City Council meeting. Although property tax impact will be delayed a few years, it will still increase taxes. It was a difficult decision for me. I voted for the resolution because it is critical public safety infrastructure with more than 87% of space slated for immediate current need. The design includes many elements that will make it safer and more functional for residents, victims and police department staff. And in my role on the Tax Exemptions Policy Committee I will work to mitigate the property tax impact on our most vulnerable homeowners. My full statement is below.

December 9 Resident Meeting

On December 9, 2025 there will be a Ward 7 resident meeting at the West Street Ward House (41 West St.) from 7:00-8:30 PM. I have invited Deputy Police Chief Barrett Moulton to give us a briefing about increase in fraud and cybercrime. This is an issue that may especially impact older residents. I also hope to discuss ideas about how to make the Master Planning process more inclusive next year. What voices might we miss and how might we reach them? Please bring other questions or issues you may have.

I want to acknowledge the excellent training we received at the last meeting in September from Joel Berman, a Concord resident and co-chair of the NH Braver Angels chapter. He facilitated an engaging session on Skills for Disagreeing Better. If you missed that meeting you can learn more about Braver Angels HERE.

Road Diet

I have a received several complaints about speeding on our neighborhood streets. I have referred each if these complaints to the Traffic Operations Committee. Some of the potential mitigation strategies are included in the Road Diet concept. While our smaller streets are not amenable to this design strategy, some of the repaving of Clinton St. does represent the latest in Road Diet principles (two through lanes with a center left turn lane) which improves safety and reduces speeds while maintaining traffic flow. An explanation of Road Diet is summarized in this short video.

Concord Vision Planning

The Master Planning refresh process will commence next year and the Mayor has already convened a Vision Planning group to begin the work. The more knowledgeable we are about the process (and our own ideas of a preferred and probable future for Concord) the better the outcome will be. To start, the 20/20 Vision for Concord: A City of Villages is well worth a read. The Executive Summary is only 15 pages (and full of pictures and graphics!). For extra credit (!) you could pick a chapter of interest in the current Master Plan (Concord Master Plan 2030) and review what the community ideas were in 2008 as a prelude to voicing what you think should be our plan for the next period.

Volunteer Opportunity

Background:  29 homeless people have been camping on private property near Hall St. in Concord.  Given the damage to the property and potential liability, the property owner has requested that the property be cleared of homeless camps.

With coordination from the Committee for Concord’s Plan to End Homelessness (Homelessness Steering Committee) area homeless service providers (including the Belknap-Merrimack Community Action Program, Riverbend PATH Program, New Season Treatment Center, NH Dept. of Military and Veteran Affairs, Concord Police Social Workers and the Concord Coalition to End Homelessness–CCEH) are coordinating plans and services for the people who have to move.   The move date is scheduled for Dec. 1, the first day of the CCEH Winter Shelter.  Some campers have elected to use the Winter Shelter, some will seek substance use treatment and others have elected to remain outdoors at another location. 

Volunteer Opportunity: There is an opportunity to help us clean up after the campers leave. We invite volunteers to help us clean up the camp on Tuesday Dec. 2 from 10:00am-2:00 PM. If you are interested and able, and for additional details, please contact me directly.

Reminder

As always, I encourage residents to use the Report a Concern page on the city website (or the associated See/Click/Fix app) to report a concern or issue. The link is at the bottom of every city webpage.  It is quick and easy and city staff work hard to respond promptly to these submissions.

Thanks for reading.

Warm regards and Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Jim Schlosser, Ward 7 City Councilor

781-879-2089 jim4concord@gmail.com jim4concord.com

Save the Date:  Ward Resident Meeting December 9, 2025 from 7:00-8:30 PM.

If you wish to unsubscribe to these email notices, please reply and let me know.

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Councilor Schlosser Statement on the Police Station Project November 2025

11/24/25

Thank you Mr. Mayor.  While we have heard much testimony from residents, city employees and police experts, I believe it is important that the people of Concord hear directly from their elected City Council representatives our best assessment of the case for spending $41m of taxpayer money for this new building.  We must make this decision based on our best assessment of what is in the best interest of our community as whole.  

With other city councilors, I want to acknowledge upfront the increasing pressure property taxes are having on Concord residents. This most powerfully impacts residents on fixed incomes and low-income residents, whether property owners or renters.  This is a very important consideration in this decision.

This Police Station decision is one of the most difficult of my two-year tenure as a city councilor.  I have received numerous communications from residents, both opposing and supporting the new station. If we build a station today it must last us 20-50 years.  

I have invested considerable time evaluating the need and the proposed solution.

Very few in the community disagree that the current Police building is inadequate. 35 Green Street is too small, unsafe and terribly inefficient.  

I have researched the probable future of policing to assess whether key future trends align with the design and the costs we have been presented with.  I researched the aging of the New Hampshire population, electrification of cars and transport, the spread of artificial intelligence and climate change.

New Hampshire has the 2nd oldest median age in the nation and is continuing to age rapidly.  In the future, there will be fewer working age adults, crime patterns will shift and ADA/accessibility will become more central.  Recruitment and retention pressures will increase.   Employee training and wellness will become even more important.  Non-criminal welfare calls will increase, necessitating more Social Work space.

The exact timing of electrification of cars and transport is difficult to predict but planning for recharging electrical capacity is important and the danger of battery fires with impounded vehicles will require special fire suppression capabilities.

The expansion of artificial intelligence is already upon us. This impacts the police station design in at least two ways:  a need for increased fraud and cyber-crime capabilities and a need for dramatic increase in computer server storage capacity.

Finally, climate change is already causing an increase in extreme weather events.  Our police department is the first-line for evacuations, traffic safety and emergency management support requiring increased resilience: back-up power and hardened infrastructure and communications.

I have repeatedly questioned city staff and the designers on these issues.  Here is what I learned.

1. Some have questioned the size of the proposed building.  87 ½ percent of the proposed space is for immediate current need.  Residents may not appreciate how undersized the current police station is.  The overwhelming majority of space is for immediate current needs.  13 ½ percent is for future growth.  For a building expected to last 20-50 years that is within the recommended 10-15% growth capacity.  And much of the space in the renovated building is designed for walls to be easily reconfigured to flexibly meet changing future needs (e.g. increase in social work staff or need for more computer servers).

2. The proposed training space includes needed functionality (including virtual reality training) to ensure that our officers have the knowledge and skills to best protect our residents.  And we anticipate cost savings from conducting training on site.  

3. The design includes electrical conduits for future electric police vehicles (when it is feasible for their deployment) and will include specialized fire suppression capability for potential EV car fires.  This is a smart design decision.  

4. The proposed design meets current category 4 ballistic requirements.  Regrettably,  the increase in assaults on safety officers around the country makes this an important requirement and will meet national police standard certification requirements.  The hardened infrastructure will ensure that when (not if) an emergency occurs (flood, tornado, etc.) the Police Department will be able to continue to support our community’s critical emergency management efforts.

I have questioned whether there might be ways to cut 1,000, 5,000, or 10,000 sq.ft. and reap the attendant savings of $647/sq.ft. The answer is it is not feasible and it will not save us much money.  The $647/sq.ft is an average and the first 50% (foundation, infrastructure, etc.) is more expensive than the last 50%.  So cutting space now will save less per square foot.  And because the vast majority of space is configured for immediate current needs, and the design team has worked diligently with police staff to create an efficient, functional space, cutting square footage now will require a complete redesign, increasing costs and substantially delaying the project.  

An important way to understand this decision is that this is a piece of critical infrastructure for our community.  As a homeowner, if my furnace went out or my roof sprung a leak, I would have to find the money to replace them.  This is the decision before us.  As elected community leaders will we make the decision that best serves this community–all of the community–both now and in the future?  Critical public safety infrastructure cannot be delayed.   

People may know my efforts and commitments to address homelessness in our community.  We must and can do better on this issue.   

The press has extensively described the delays in adding urgently needed housing in our city.  These are missed opportunities to increase our tax base.  We must and can do better in that regard.   

I serve on the Tax Exemptions Policy Committee and as we have done the past two years, I will support additional property tax exemptions or credits for elderly low-income, disabled and Veteran residents.  

I am honored to have been reelected to serve another two years representing Ward 7.  I commit to working on these issues–especially homelessness and expanding the tax base with housing in my coming term.  

Tonight, because I think this investment in critical public safety infrastructure, with this design, at this cost to the taxpayers, is, on balance, in the best interests of our community as a whole, I will vote to support the building of the proposed new Police Station.  Thank you.

Jim Schlosser

City Councilor, Ward 7