It was a simple request, at least on the surface. But it’s unlikely to happen anytime soon — at least not for any official use.

As is often the case, it’s complicated.

At the last board meeting, Alderman Kelly Thomas asked to make a motion to have female board members referred to as alderwomen rather than aldermen.

Alderman Pat Long said he would second the motion, but it’s “a question for the voters.”

“It’s a charter issue,” Long correctly pointed out.

City Clerk Matt Normand confirmed such a change, if done through official channels, would require putting a question to voters on the ballot.

The City Charter refers to elected officials as “aldermen” and “alderman” but makes no reference to “alderwomen.”

“I don’t think that they (voters) would say no, but it is in our charter that we refer to each other as ‘alderman’ or by our ward number,” Long said.

“I didn’t know that it was a big, big change to do,” Thomas said.

“Nobody said you have to call her alderman,” offered Alderman Joe Kelly Levasseur.

The board has two other women in addition to Thomas — Ward 4’s Christine Fajardo and Ward 6’s Crissy Kantor. Both weighed in on the topic last week.

“My personal opinion, I like alderman, so I think it’s a personal preference,” Kantor said.

“I get this question a lot, how does it feel to be called an alderman?” Fajardo said. “Often I say, informally or unofficially maybe, people will refer to me as alderwoman, which I certainly welcome and appreciate.

But as I’ve come to learn, it requires some overhead to get it onto the ballot to have our titles officially and formally changed. Again, I would welcome anybody who wants to informally refer to me as alderwoman.”

Mayor Jay Ruais suggested the city do some research on the topic.

FY’25 budget presentation

Mayor Ruais is scheduled to present his Fiscal Year 2025 municipal budget to city aldermen on Thursday, March 28, at 6 p.m. Following the presentation, a public hearing on the budget will be scheduled in April.

First responder radios

City aldermen have approved a request from Fire Chief Ryan Cashin to apply for this year’s Congressionally Directed Spending funds — earmarks that allow members of Congress to request federal funds be set aside for specific projects in their states — to replace the entire city’s radio system and Mobile Data Terminals (MDTs).

The current radios were purchased in 2015, and the system went online in 2016, Cashin said. The radios went out of production in 2017, and manufacturing of replacement parts was halted in 2021.

“Our communications division does a fantastic job in keeping the radios well-maintained in order to get the maximum life expectancy out of them, but even aftermarket parts are becoming difficult to find,” Cashin wrote in a memo to aldermen. “To put the age of the radios into perspective, Motorola has released two radio models since the city purchased the radios we currently employ.”

The radios are used by all city departments. The mobile data terminals used by police and fire personnel were purchased between 2018 and 2021. Each has a life expectancy of 3 to 8 years.

“I would like to capitalize on the opportunity this Congressionally Directed Spending could potentially offer the city and replace as much of the outdated technology used by the city departments as possible,” Cashin said.

The replacements and upgrades carry a potential price tag of $10 million.

If awarded, the funds require a 25% match by the city.

Hallsville plan price

The city has officially issued a Request for Proposals for the former Hallsville School, which includes language that the building facade be preserved.

The elementary school served the neighborhood from its construction in 1891 to its closing in June 2021.

Aldermen hit the reset button on discussions about the future of the former school last year after plans to convert the vacant building into a mixed-use community center were scrapped.

A proposal from Southern New Hampshire Services and Granite State Children’s Alliance was withdrawn because of inadequate funding.

The structure has been vacant for three years.

Over the summer, the Aldermanic Committee on Lands and Buildings requested the Parks and Recreation Department provide information on the viability and associated costs of reusing Hallsville School as a community center, with space potentially occupied by Parks and Rec, the city’s Office of Youth Services and community partners.

Mark Gomez, the city’s chief of Parks, Recreation and Cemetery, was given $5,000 to pay for the services of a licensed professional architect, Fred Matuszewski of Matuszewski Architects in Bedford.

Matuszewski estimates the plan would require more than $4.5 million in upgrades and $100,000 in annual maintenance costs.

Matuszewski estimates repurposing the building for a community center would require $3,529,000 in construction costs, including:

• $1,075,000 in upgrades to the building’s envelope, including replacing the roof, masonry cleaning, window replacement and exterior painting.

• $1,495,000 in building system upgrades.

• $959,000 in total building interior finish costs.

Add $722,000 for construction manager costs and $353,000 for architectural fees, and the total estimated cost for the project comes in at $4,604,000.

Earlier this month, aldermen voted 14-0 to send a Request for Proposals out for the vacant site.

According to the RFP, the property comprises three lots, totaling approximately 55,000 square feet, and includes a historic, three-story school building of approximately 57,000 square feet.

The RFP contains a section stating “the preservation of the building façade is an essential requirement for the Board and will be a necessary part of any proposal.”

Proposals will be evaluated by members of a committee of representatives from the Planning and Community Development Department, the Office of the Assessor, the Manchester Economic Development Office, the Department of Public Works, and a representative of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen.

The Board of Mayor and Aldermen ultimately will make the final decision.

Aldermen have the discretion to review proposals based on their determination of what is in the best interests of the city, including such criteria as compatibility with the surrounding neighborhood and the projected valuation of the property upon completion of any building renovation or site work.

Proposals are due by 3 p.m. on July 1. Questions should be e-mailed to Jeffrey Belanger, Director of Planning and Community Development, at jbelanger@manchesternh.gov and Pamela Goucher, Deputy Director for Planning and Zoning, at pgoucher@manchesternh.gov