The city manager’s office sent out the City Manager’s Newsletter last Friday. The full newsletter can be found by going to concordnh.gov and clicking the “Newsletter” button. Here are some highlights:
Pitco facility
Pitco Frialator is moving forward with plans to construct a 356,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Concord on Integra Drive after the Concord Planning Board granted major site plan approval during their September meeting.
The 103-year old maker of commercial fryers moved to Bow in 1950 and currently has additional facilities in Concord and Pembroke. The new Concord plant will consolidate all three locations into a single, efficient layout incorporating office, manufacturing, and warehouse space and supporting 400 jobs.
Concord Mayor Jim Bouley noted that he was “thrilled that Pitco has decided to grow its business in Concord. The City has worked closely with the company to make this development a reality. This project is win not only for Concord but also keeps a growing manufacturing business in New Hampshire safeguarding hundreds of local jobs.”
Pitco Vice President & General Manager Karl Searl added that “this new, world-class manufacturing facility will be instrumental in preparing Pitco for its next level of growth and will allow us to increase production capacity to support our global foodservice customers. It will also play a critical role in bolstering our highly skilled and robust workforce.”
Mr. Searl further remarked that “keeping our business based in the state, specifically, Concord, is important to us to maintain our culture of quality workmanship and customer-centric values. We are appreciative for the support from the City of Concord and we look forward to continuing our strong relationship as partners in the upcoming years.”
Construction on the new facility is planned to start in 2022.
City meetings
City meetings will be held in person in Council Chambers at 37 Green St. (unless otherwise specified on the city’s calendar). Upcoming meetings include:
Zoning Board of Adjustment: Nov. 3, 7 p.m.
City Council: Nov. 8, 7 p.m.
Zoning Board of Adjustment: Nov. 10, 7 p.m.
Planning Board: Nov. 17, 7 p.m.
Neighborhood parking forum
A second neighborhood forum regarding Narrow Streets in the Wall Street neighborhood is being held on Oct. 25 at 7 p.m. in Council Chambers. The purpose of the forum is to review the Parking Committee’s final draft recommendations for parking changes on narrow streets in that neighborhood.
Pollinator Garden in Rollins Park
Thank you to Heidi and Brett from Fish and Game and the Kindergarten classes from Abbot-Downing School who helped plant the new pollinator gardens at Rollins Park earlier this week. Look for these plants in bloom next spring and summer as they help support Monarch butterfly habitats.
Meet Ranger Mel!
Melina (Mel) Caron has recently joined the City as the Trails and Open Space Ranger, a part-time position created by City Council to assist with the monitoring of the City’s thousands of acres of conservation land and 85-plus miles of trails. In addition to monitoring and light maintenance duties, Ranger Mel will be working on education and outreach programs. Be sure to say “Hi!” when you see her out on the trails!
10-digit local dialing takes effect
Effective Oct. 24, mandatory 10-digit local dialing is required for all customers in the New Hampshire 603 Area Code.
Why is the local dialing plan changing? On July 16, 2020, the FCC adopted an Order (FCC 20-100) approving 988 as the 3-digit abbreviated dialing code to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, starting July 16, 2022. Customers must continue to dial 1-800-273-TALK (8255) to reach the Lifeline until July 16, 2022. The Order requires all telecommunications carriers, interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) providers, and one-way VoIP providers (covered providers) to make any network changes necessary to ensure that users can dial 988 to reach the existing National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by July 16, 2022.
For 988 to work in the New Hampshire 603 area code, 10-digit local dialing must first be implemented. Implementation of this Order requires all covered providers to make 10-digit dialing mandatory for all local calls in the entire New Hampshire 603 area code.
Why is 10-digit dialing going to be required in this area code? The FCC ordered that any area code that has the 988 prefix and has 7-digit local dialing be transitioned to 10-digit local dialing to ensure everyone is able to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline using the 3-digit 988 code.
Will everyone in the 603 area code have to dial 10 digits for local calls? Yes. Every customer with a number from the 603 area code will change to mandatory 10-digit dialing for local calls. Dialing 7 digits for local calls will be prohibited for all customers in the entire area code.
What will be the new dialing procedure? To complete local calls, the new dialing procedure requires callers to dial the area code plus telephone number. This means that all local calls in the entire 603 area code that are currently dialed with 7 digits will need to be dialed using the area code plus telephone number.
City Council recognizes Timothy Fontaine
City Council passed a resolution Tuesday night in recognition of the services of our late Maintenance Technician, Timothy Fontaine. Tim had been a loyal employee of the City of Concord for over 37 years, beginning his career as a Maintenance Aide in 1982. Tim worked in Concord General Services’ Public Properties Division to keep City buildings and public facilities safe, clean, and in good condition. Over the years, he performed grounds maintenance, maintained the City’s swimming pools, plowed snow at the Concord Municipal Airport, and maintained the mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and HVAC systems for the City. Tim retired in 2019 and passed away just a few months later after an aggressive battle with cancer. Tim was a valued employee and is truly missed by City Council, City Administration, Concord General Services, and the entire Concord community. A plaque was presented in recognition of Tim at the City Council meeting Tuesday night and we thank Tim’s family for being there to accept it in his honor. We extend our gratitude and best wishes to his family. We will continue to remember and honor Tim and all he has done for Concord.
