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Laconia City Council workshop frames priorities: homelessness, housing and economic growth
Summary
At a recorded council workshop, members identified homelessness, affordable housing, downtown revitalization, workforce training and infrastructure as budget priorities and asked staff to deliver a final priorities document by the first April meeting.
The Laconia City Council met in a recorded workshop to set high-level priorities ahead of the upcoming budget cycle, identifying homelessness, affordable housing, downtown revitalization, workforce training and infrastructure as focal areas for the coming year. The mayor led off the discussion by naming homelessness as a headline topic and urging the council to balance enforcement with longer-term solutions.
“The homelessness situation…we gotta find ways to keep them out of our downtown and the areas, more importantly, keep them off individual's private property,” the mayor said, adding that solutions are “a lot harder than just saying we want them gone.” Councilors repeatedly tied economic strategy to other goals, saying new jobs and stronger local wages are vital to easing housing pressures and expanding the tax base.
Councilor Soussides emphasized supply-side measures for housing and workforce development, urging support for lower-cost construction and vocational training. “We have plumbers, electricians, contractors…we need to expand the VocTech,” Soussides said, pointing to the Hewitt center as an existing asset for training tradespeople.
Speakers recommended a mix of near-term and strategic actions: a push for downtown events and marketing to draw visitors, targeted aesthetic investments such as overhead lighting, and exploring social districts to increase foot traffic. Councilors also urged outreach to landlords and developers, and cited state programs and financing tools under consideration for residential rehabilitation and construction.
Staff committed to assemble the meeting’s talking points and to produce a consolidated priorities document for the council by the first April meeting so departments can factor the items into budget presentations. The council scheduled a public safety committee meeting for Tuesday and asked that progress on downtown/social-district work be a standing update at future council meetings.
The workshop adjourned after the group agreed the list of priorities provided enough direction for staff and department heads to begin preparing budget requests and implementation steps.
