10.26.2026 City Council

The Portsmouth City Council meeting was held October 26, 2026. The council approved an up-to-$600,000 bond for fire apparatus, including a replacement emergency-response boat, by an 8–1 vote after discussing unsuccessful FEMA grant funding and the need for a safer vessel. It also accepted two police grants: $1,000,000 for the New Hampshire Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and $1,031,000 for police technology and equipment. Staff clarified that the latter would support communications, IT, and facility-security infrastructure, including dispatch-related improvements. The council approved FY2027 pilot agreements of $3,500 for Friends of Lafayette House and $3,000 for Betty’s Dream Foundation. No vendor selection or contract award was made; a speaker raised the absence of a competitive RFP for the boat purchase.

The council passed a zoning ordinance amendment moving most parking requirements from the zoning ordinance into site plan review, 9–0, and adopted parking-program changes that include a proposed $10 weekday parking option for downtown business employees. It accepted a sidewalk easement for 361 Hanover Street, but deferred decisions on a proposed utility transformer pole license and a 50-year landscaping license for city land; a work session and public hearing were scheduled for November 16, with further information requested on Eversource’s plans and alternatives. Staff discussed approximately $1.2 million in anticipated Borthwick Avenue sewer work, to be funded through existing water and sewer enterprise funds, but the council requested a more detailed report and took no funding vote. A solid-waste ordinance work session and first reading of an updated sewer-use ordinance were also scheduled.