Out with the cold, in with the new

The weighty and drafty wooden doors at the Nashua Public Library are being dismantled Monday, according to Carol Luers Eyman, the library’s community services coordinator.

The replacements will be glass doors that are energy-efficient and easier to open. Also, the new doors will be more accessible for patrons who are handicapped, so they can make use of the library, too.

A bonus is the project will reconfigure the library’s foyer, leaving more room for the checkout area and making the doorway more visible from the parking lot.

The six-week project will cost the city around $128,710 in capital improvement money, Luers Eyman said.

Despite having the look of a construction zone, the library will remain open. The temporary entryway will be through the children’s room.

Dissent in the bleachers

The Nashua Pride got the go-ahead from the Board of Aldermen on Tuesday to sign up the team’s new investors.

But some aldermen wanted to hold the baseball team to the standard process of going through aldermanic committees before getting the OK from the full board.

Ward 2 Alderman Richard LaRose opposed the one-night stand on the resolution.

He thought it better to greet the new investors that make up BKK Nashua LLC and give them a chance to meet the city board.

The new group, made up of longtime minor-league owners, replaces Nashua Pride Professional Baseball LLC on the city’s franchise agreement – a change that needed approval from the aldermen.

Aldermen-at-Large Paula Johnson and David Deane, along with Ward 6 Alderman Robert Dion, joined LaRose in opposing the quick move.

But nine other board members favored the resolution, and it was approved.

Paid in full

The city’s baseball team also conveniently cleared up the pesky problem of a quasi-political rally having been held at Holman Stadium without the appropriate city permits.

A letter from Pride attorney Mike Atkins along with a check in the amount of $464.70 arrived on the desk of City Treasurer David Fredette on Monday. That covered the estimated cost of the permits.

Atkins wrote the team’s intent was to cement a relationship with the world champion Boston Red Sox by hosting Sox co-owner Tom Werner, and not circumvent city regulations for holding a political rally at the Amherst Street landmark.

Werner urged a few hundred people in the stadium to support presidential hopeful John Kerry and to root-root-root for the Olde Towne Team. (This was before the Sox took home the World Series trophy.)

Kelley’s square

Former city leader Thomas Kelley has received his own city square.

The Board of Aldermen recently named the intersection of Manchester Street and Henri Burque Highway after Kelley.

Kelley has a pedigree of elected positions that made him a familiar name in city politics. He served as Ward 2 alderman, alderman-at-large, president of the Board of Aldermen, chairman of the Joint Special School Building Committee and as administrative assistant to the mayor. He left the political stage in the late 1990s after a falling out with then-Mayor Don Davidson.

But leave it to gadfly Bob Burgess to spoil the happy mood. At last week’s Board of Aldermen meeting, Burgess pooh-poohed the idea of naming the intersection after a politician instead of one of the residents of the area who really made a mark on the North End.

On the mend

Alderman-at-Large Jim Tollner did not get into a fight.

Tollner, the veep of the Board of Aldermen, is undergoing a medical treatment on his face that gives him a losing-end-of-a-brawl look.

The treatment is a facelift, he joked. Actually, Tollner said the treatment is for sun damage and is minor.

But his camera-ready face should be back in a week’s time.

Budget guidelines

Aldermen tried to establish some rules to avoid irksome discussions during the budget-writing season next year.

Eleven members of the board showed up Monday to establish a checklist of questions that division directors should answer before sitting down with board members.

Alderman-at-Large Steve Bolton, chairman of the Budget Review Committee, decried PowerPoint presentations that are all flash and no substance.

Also, the board discussed hosting sit-down chats with department leaders outside the budget season to get a handle on priorities and programs.

The Monday evening session was part of an effort to develop a strategic outlook for the board instead of looking only as far as the next agenda.

Absent from the discussion were Ward 3 Alderman Kevin Gage, Ward 8 Alderman David MacLaughlin, Tollner and Dion.

On the air

An equipment hiccup disrupted a September presentation about the city’s updated property assessments.

Fred Teeboom, past president of the Nashua Taxpayers Association, spoke at the meeting about changing property assessment values.

TV 13 filmed the presentation and has been able to put together a broadcast, including additional information that could not be shown at the meeting. With tax bills scheduled to go out shortly, the program might be of interest to property owners.

The first broadcast was last week. It is scheduled to air again today at noon and 8 p.m. and Wednesday at 8 p.m.