Citizen Response Task Force 2020

Background

Citizen's Task Force

In May 2020, to help Portsmouth quickly and safely respond to the Governor's guidelines for reopening, Assistant Mayor Jim Splaine and Councilor Deaglan McEachern proposed the formation of the Portsmouth Citizen Response Task Force. The Citizen Task Force was selected and their first meeting was June 9, 2020.

The Task Force of nineteen members selected by the Mayor included representatives of the business community, restaurants, non-profit organizations from the arts community and health services, citizens, members of the Economic Development Commission, health care professionals, and city staff members including the City Manager and Health Officer. After reviewing the Task Force guidelines and a draft framework, the group selected co-chairs and formed three subcommittees:

Streets
Foundry/Bridge St. Popup
Health

City Hall closed to the public on March 16, but City services continued online while all of the municipal departments kept tabs on the health of every local sector of residents and businesses, streamlining the process for restaurants to establish outdoor dining (and facilitate pickup for takeout orders). In total more than 180 permits for dining and expanded use of public spaces were approved. In the 7 weeks since the CRTF was formed, the City Planning and permitting process, DPW (who secured concrete barriers at no charge from Severino Trucking Co.) and the committee worked with 21 restaurant owners to convert parking spaces into dining spaces.

The Task Force formed two subcommittees to look at 1) how Downtown Streets might be used for dining and 2) whether the idea of using the roof of the Foundry Place Garage as a performance/restaurant space would work. The Foundry Place subcommittee worked with City departments including DPW engineers and determined a better location for the PopUp venue was the Bridge Street parking lot. Once the design and operations plans meet all permitting requirements from the City’s Health, Building Inspection, Fire and Legal Departments, the new PopUp NH venue will open under strict physical-distancing and other health precautions.

Of the $100,000 approved by the City Council to implement Task Force recommendations, the City paid about $45,000 directly to the suppliers of the generators, fencing, porta-potties (including a cleaning and maintenance plan for the duration of the rentals) and to create the water/sewer/wastewater infrastructure to serve the Bridge Street Lot popup. No City monies have gone, or can go, to any of the project collaborators. The plan is that the City will use Federal CARES Act funds for the expenses, so spending is strictly limited in accordance with what FEMA will reimburse under the CARES Act. The balance of the funds remain in reserve for future City projects related to sustaining Portsmouth businesses as the impact of the pandemic is felt.