Ward 7 Resident Meeting—with a Special Guest!

Ward 7 Resident Meeting—with a Special Guest!

Tuesday September 23, 2025, from 7:00-8:30 PM at the West St. Ward House

City Council and community issues often spark heated, and sometimes polarizing, debate—the middle school location, property taxes, homelessness solutions, Beaver Meadow clubhouse, pay-as-you-throw garbage collection, speeding on city streets…you have heard many of the concerns.  In this challenging time for our country, our state and our city, it is imperative that we learn to disagree more constructively.  Sustainable solutions to the difficult challenges facing us as a community must be grounded in the needs and values of everyone.  To arrive at these shared values, we must be able to share our needs clearly and to listen openly to the needs of others. 

In partnership with NH Braver Angels there will be a Ward 7 Resident Meeting (open to all) September 23, 2025, from 7:00-8:30 PM at the West St. Ward House.  Concord resident (and NH Braver Angels chair) Joel Berman will facilitate our conversation and an exercise on Skills for Disagreeing Better.  We will use the Beaver Meadow Golf Clubhouse renovation issue as a prompt for us to reflect on how we disagree!  It is designed to be an engaging evening and residents from both sides of the “Clubhouse” issue are encouraged to attend.

Skills for Disagreeing Better: A Braver Angels Workshop designed for Ward 7 and the Concord Community

When: September 23, 2025 | 7:00-8:30 PM

Where: West Street Ward House, 41 West St, Concord, NH 03301

Host: Ward 7 Councilor Jim Schlosser

Moderator: Braver Angels NH co-chair Joel Berman

Summary The Skills for Disagreeing Better workshop helps participants understand the values and concerns of those who differ from them politically and teaches essential skills for communicating across differences and finding common ground.

Goals

●     Grow understanding of the values and concerns of people who differ from you politically

●     Learn skills for listening in a way the other person feels heard

●     Learn skills for sharing viewpoints in a way the other person might hear even if they disagree

Who Can Attend This workshop is open to all Ward 7 and Concord residents.

What to Expect You will learn about the values and concerns of the other political side and practice skills for communicating more effectively in the presence of disagreement. We'll use local issues like the Beaver Meadow Golf Course clubhouse proposal as practice examples.

Registration: Let us know you are coming so we can prepare enough handouts. RSVP to jim4concord@gmail.com.

Other News

Bike Park Update (from the June 16 Recreation and Parks Advisory Committee (RPAC) meeting minutes): 

Andrew Gould and Craig Tufts spoke to the RPAC about their continued effort to find an appropriate spot for a bike park. After the meeting last year at the West Street Ward House they have looked at several other sites and determined that Martin Park makes the most sense. They even met with the Cities Trails Committee as several of the city trails allow mountain bikes; however the committee did not have any recommendations for a bike park as most of the trails are on conservation land. Councilor Michele Horne asked about how much space they are looking for, they said about 1/2 acre including parking. Althea Barton asked about the terrain needed and they responded anything works if it is flat; they will build features. Staff recommendation is to hold a community meeting for the neighborhood around Martin Park with the hope of moving the process forward. David Gill indicated that if the bike park was built at Martin Park it would not affect current park users. Councilor Horne asked about incorporating it into the skateboard park but there isn’t any space available there. The budget would be roughly $150 K. Next steps will be to schedule a public meeting in early September. (Note: Brian Santorelli is the Ward 7 resident on RPAC.)

Community Concordia

Community Concordia continues to build interest and engagement. Ward 7 resident Renee West is leading the effort to build a more connected and vibrant community through friendly conversation and shared activities.

Renee says "This group is holding monthly in-person gatherings where we read/watch a non-political, human-interest item, discuss it over snacks, and then break up into interest/skill-based groups to work on local projects or identify how we can help a neighbor in need."

Their next meeting is Tuesday Sept. 2 at 6 PM at the West Street Ward House. Please give this effort a look. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Renee at communityconcordiahub@gmail.com. Further information about this neighborhood organization may also be found at www.facebook.com/communityconcordia.

Window Dressers

The NH Lions Clubs and the Unitarian Universalist Church of Concord are teaming up to build window inserts to save on heating costs. Margaret Fletcher, a Ward 7 resident, is helping to lead the effort. Check it out!

To learn more: www.windowdressers.org or call 207-596-3073

Local Contacts:

Sarah Keniston, 617-413-3685, NHLionsGreenTeam@gmail.com

Margaret Fletcher, 603-759-4290, mfletcher.wellaware@gmail.com

Warm regards,

Jim Schlosser, Ward 7 City Councilor

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

Save the Date:  Ward Resident Meeting September 23, 2025 from 7:00-8:30 PM.

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