City's insurance company still evaluating Porter's Pub claim, city manager says

City workers and equipment doing excavation work at 13-17 Hanson St. last September. (Courtesy photo)

ROCHESTER - Rochester's City Council will discuss the unsealing of minutes from a nonpublic session in 2021 when councilors voted to lease 13-17 Hanson St. for the development of a green space, a move that led to an adjacent business suffering devastating flood damage, its owner says.

Porter's Pub owner Jim Hanley said he expects to air his grievances with the city regarding the recent flooding at his restaurant at the next Public Works and Buildings Committee meeting, which is scheduled for Thursday at 7 p.m. at City Hall.

The City Council will discuss whether or not to unseal the nonpublic minutes at its next regular meeting on April 5, according to City Manager Blaine Cox.

Hanley told The Rochester Voice earlier this month that City Councilor John Larochelle was going to try to get him on the agenda, but an agenda sent out by the city on Friday did not list Hanley or Porter's Pub as an agenda item.

Larochelle sits on the Public Works Committee along with councilors Jim Gray, Steve Beaudoin and Chris Rice. It is chaired by Don Hamann.

Hanley says the city's elevation of the adjacent lot at 13-17 Hanson St. caused his business to flood on Feb. 10. He said the cleanup has cost him thousands of dollars.
In response to a Right to Know request seeking information on the city's elevation of the lot, City attorney Terence O'Rourke said there were no documents regarding the September site work.

He said all the work was done by city staff with city equipment and materials. He said no outside contractors were used, and there are no work orders or any other documents pertaining to the work or use of equipment.

Right to Know requests apply only to documents, including digital correspondence. O'Rourke claims there are none.
Meanwhile, Cox said the city's insurance company is still evaluating Hanley's claim for damages.

Hanley believes the city is responsible for the damage to his business.
"Flooding had never occurred in the building before the city raised that lot by filling in about six inches," he said.
The work done by the city in September was to prepare 13-17 Hanson St. as a downtown green space beginning this spring.
The acreage is leased by the city from owner Justin Gargiulo of Great North Property Management, Inc., of Exeter.
City Economic Development Director Mike Scala said the lease is a short-term affair while the owner defers development on the .24 acre lot.
Scala said the cost of the lease is a wash because they send Gargiulo a check for his property tax bill, and he sends it back to the city. Breitling Holdings, whose agent of record is Gargiulo, bought the property in 2017 for $135,000.
Hanley doesn't know why the city decided to raise the lot with six inches of fill, or why they didn't identify the flooding potential.
Private contractors would have had to obtain a stormwater management and erosion control permit, but since the city was conducting the work none was necessary, O'Rourke said.
"In this case, the department conducting the work and the department issuing the permit were the same, so the City would not apply for its own permit," he told The Voice.
The permit is required whenever someone "alters land or engages in any activity which causes or contributes to stormwater runoff discharge," according to the Stormwater Management and Erosion control permit application on the city's website. "The owner shall be required to apply to the Department of Public Works and obtain such permit from the Department, prior to undertaking any action," the permit says. "This requirement shall apply to any activity that will disturb or impact a land area greater than 5,000 cumulative square feet unless specifically exempted by the ordinance."
The land at 13-17 Hanson St. comprises .24 acres, or about 10,454 square feet, well over the threshold that would require a permit.
Scala said the idea of filling in the cellar hole of the former Colby's Pub and turning it into a park occurred after two city councilors came to him last year saying it was unsightly.
Hanley said earlier this month that the two councilors were Doug Lachance and Rice.
Lachance told The Voice earlier this month he recalls only having a conversation with Hanley, "about using it for outdoor dining if the city were to lease it."
The city's lease took effect on July 19, 2021, so it is likely the nonpublic meeting that approved the lease was held in June or July.

Neither Larochelle nor Rice have returned calls seeking comment.