City Council Member Resigns

By Dylan Marsh
EAGLE TIMES STAFF
CLAREMONT- Lucas “Rocky” Beliveau, has issued his letter of resignation as a City Councilor as of August 10, 2022.

Beliveau, who sat on the council for roughly nine months, is the owner of Rocky’s Taqueria at 26 Opera House Square. His letter of resignation was read by Mayor Dale Girard to the City Council during a contentious meeting this past Wednesday. A roll call vote was officially passed at the meeting to accept the resignation.

“I appreciate the time that Rocky spent the last 8 or 9 months on the council. He’s put a lot of hard work in. I’m sorry to see him leave,” said Girard of Beliveau’s departure.

Beliveau has said that he is happy and grateful to have been elected to the position, but that conflicting schedules due to running a business forced him to make a tough decision. Citing price increases and staffing shortage issues as major reasons to reevaluate his time, Beliveau did not believe that he could dedicate the amount of time the city and position deserve to adequately serve his community.

“Staying focused on the business is my priority, and it was a difficult decision. Running for council is something I’m interested in, maybe for the future,” Beliveau said.

Following his resignation, Beliveau spoke of projects that while on city council he was proud to have taken part in, specifically mentioning the Pleasant Street project. Beliveau sees the project as a major improvement to the community and was happy to see that the project moved forward mostly as presented. To commemorate the project, Claremont’s Chamber of Commerce will be holding their block party this Saturday, a party in which Rocky’s Taqueria will be participating.

Alternatively, Beliveau does take note with issues of infighting on the board. He expressed concerns that upcoming projects could potentially take a back seat to issues that aren’t as pertinent to the city and hopes that the councilors can begin to try and work together.

“I want to see the council working cooperatively. That would be the biggest thing I would be upset by now that I’m not a councilor, is everyone arguing,” he stated.

While Beliveau may be referencing issues at previous meetings, the one in which his letter of resignation was read was no different. At the start of Wednesday’s meeting, City Councilor Jon Stone made a motion that would require City Councilor James Contois to sit at the same table as the rest of the council. Contois has for some time sat at a nearby desk, citing concerns of the inability to socially distance himself from other councilors, and concerns for immunocompromised family members.

The motion made by Stone was seconded by City Councilor William Limoges, and a vote was taken in which every member of city council, aside from Contois and City Councilor Matt Mooshian, voted yes. The next meeting that Contois attends he will now be required to sit at the same table as the rest of the city representatives.

“I’m just really shocked as a city council and an elected body that we are having a discussion on where our fellow councilor should be sitting. I don’t think there’s any problem where Mr. Contois sits, and I think it’s really a disservice to the people of Claremont that we are wasting their time tonight with this conversation and I frankly expect more of the nine of us that sit up here,” said Mooshian.

Other topics at the meeting continued with a discussion of how city councilors should present themselves, whether that be in person, transmitting letters or emails, or on social media. Recently, in a letter to the New Hampshire Wetlands Bureau, Contois included in his signature that he was a member of the Conservation Committee and Claremont City Councilor for Ward 2. Members of the City Council took issue with his letter asking the Wetlands Bureau to give citizens the maximum time allotted to submit their testimony in regard to a potential paving project, suggesting that in including that he was a city councilor in his signature he was speaking for the entire city council.

Due to this issue, a discussion regarding a vote for whether or not the city should issue an apology in the form of a clarification letter turned tumultuous. Some councilors, like Limoges, suggested that “you need to clear that up, that he wasn’t speaking for everyone,” while Assistant Mayor Deb Matteau said, “people want to chastise some members because they feel they aren’t appropriate on Facebook, I think it’s the same thing. I think we all have the right to be our own citizens. We heard his testimony and he said he wasn’t there to represent the city council.”

Mooshian has suggested at previous meetings that the city create an ethics code and from there create an ethics committee that would make non-binding recommendations to the city councilors on issues such as these. The ethics committee, Mooshian said, could also be made aware of things councilors say or do over social media or in person. To which Stone responded, “Councilor Mooshian may need to reinvestigate the articles of the first amendment of the United States constitution.”

A vote was made to decide whether or not an apology letter should be issued. Contois announced that he would be refusing to vote, calling the vote a “sham”. City rules state that a councilor must vote yay or nay unless they choose to abstain. Matteau told Contois that if he were to not vote he would be in violation of city rules. The city, however, does not at this time have specific rulings on what should happen if a councilor were to refuse a vote. Suggestions of seeking legal counsel and deferring to Robert’s Rule of Order were made, but no decision was formalized at the meeting.

Due to the tenor of either the meeting or potentially a conversation during the council’s recess, Claremont police officers were asked to attend that latter portion of the meeting. On the meetings recording, Matteau could be heard saying “the cops are here” to which Stone responded, “If (Councilor) Mooshian just went to the police, that’s going to be an issue.” Stone could not be reached for comment regarding the events of the meeting.

The city council voted in favor of sending a letter of apology, with Contois refusing a vote and Mooshian being the only no vote. Interim City Manager John Bohenko will be responsible for issuing the apology letter.

With Beliveau’s at-large city council seat available, the city council will be taking applications for the position, and after a series of interviews at the city council meeting on September 14, 2022, a decision will be made to fill the vacancy.