RUAIS ON THE RECORD
by Andrew Sylvia
NEW FEATURE ALERT
Ink Link News Assistant Editor Andrew Sylvia and other members of the local media sat down with Manchester Mayor Jay Ruais for the first of what will be a monthly recap of all things city government. Here are some highlights from the April 29 meeting.
Positive start at new facility for city’s elderly and disabled homeless population
The new facility at 200 Elm St. designated for the city’s elderly and disabled homeless population has seen no arrests or drug overdoses over its first two months of operation according to a letter from the mayor to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen (see below).
While the facility does not completely replace the shelter that was once on Beech Street, it has helped keep some of the city’s most vulnerable individuals from heading back to the streets. Ruais says that there have been 20 medical calls to the facility and without the facility, those calls would have likely gone to encampments or other outdoor areas.
The shelter for the elderly and disabled sits on the second floor of the building, with the engagement center that was located on Beech Street migrating to the first floor of the building. A resource fair is still held on Thursday, with local non-profit organizations providing services such as mental health support setting up throughout the week to prevent the need for the city’s homeless population to travel across multiple places to get items they might need to escape the cycle of homelessness.
Prior to the opening of the 200 Elm St. facility, city officials held a meeting with a group of approximately 90 nearby residents and businesses to hear their concerns and offer points of contact if any problems arose, with the mayor saying none of the individuals at that event have reported any issues so far.
“This is a challenging issue and I’ll be the first to say more work remains but I’m encouraged by the initial progress we’ve made at this shelter and on the veterans issue more broadly,” he later added.
Ruais said that the city hopes to soon announce that the problem of homelessness for the city’s veteran population has been completely solved. The original 47 homeless veterans identified at the launch of the mayor’s campaign to end veterans’ homelessness have been housed and a total of 113 veterans in total have been housed in the city to date.
Excluding any unexpected changes in the finalized Fiscal Year 2026 budget, funding will become available on July 1 for a proposed facility to help provide shelter for homeless families in the city.
Determining when the budget will be passed and what it will look like
During the final Manchester Board of Mayor and Aldermen meeting of April, Ward 8 Alderman Ed Sapienza sought to pass the mayor’s proposed budget immediately, something that could not be done on that date under the rules of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen.
At the board’s meeting on May 5, enough time will have passed from the public hearing on the budget to allow the board to pass the budget under its rules. The question is whether May 5 will be the end of the story on the budget or just another chapter.
Ruais says he has had productive talks with stakeholders, but was unsure whether a budget would pass or be tabled for another night.
“Just like every year, everybody has priorities that they want to see in the budget,” he said.
For Ruais, one of the key priorities is filling vacancies of sworn officers in the Manchester Police Department, which was 27 positions at last check.
While Ruais’ submitted budget needed to be presented at or below the city’s tax cap, he said that he is willing to listen to any proposals to remove proposed cuts to the budget when revenue streams can be identified, noting that the impact of any proposal on the city’s taxpayers must be taken into account.
Ruais says he has met with every Alderman and Board of School Committee member to identify their constituents’ priorities and build a game plan that does not swing too wildly from one side to the other.
“You’re trying to identify where the majority of people are and prioritize from there,” he said. “Everything is finite. 70 percent of our budget comes from property taxes, so our dollars have to come from property taxes. We build a priority list and executive on as many (initiatives) as we can.”
There is plenty of parking downtown
Opponents of the recent change to the flow of traffic on Hanover Street in the Theatre Block expressed concern about the impact on available parking. Supporters of that proposal noted the nearby Victory Garage, and Ruais talked about recent improvements that he hopes will entice people to use the generally 400 empty parking spots within the garage.
In recent weeks, Ruais says that 16 new cameras and lighting upgrades have been installed in the building. He also noted that Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design or CPTED improvements could be explored for future upgrades to the garage to make the facility more welcoming for drivers who may not currently feel comfortable parking there.
Ruais also believed that other garages in the city’s downtown as well as the upcoming garage attached to the Pearl development can successfully meet the downtown’s parking needs.