By PAULA TRACY, InDepthNH.org
CONCORD – Associate Attorney General Anne M. Edwards Parker was confirmed as a Superior Court Justice and the state approved a previously tabled contract for software needs at the Executive Council meeting Wednesday.
New Judge
The state’s Executive Council voted 4-1 to approve Anne Edwards Parker. Executive Councilor Joe Kenney, a Republican from Wakefield, cast a “no” vote on the nomination. Kenney didn’t say why and didn’t respond to an email after the meeting asking for his reason.
The term for Edwards begins upon this confirmation and will extend until she is 70 years old. The vote came following a lengthy public hearing two weeks ago.
There was no discussion at the council table on her nomination Wednesday.
While she was widely praised for her years of experience in the law, she also faced opponents concerned about the actions she took during the 2021 Windham voting audit following the November 2020 General Election.
Auditors found no fraud, but Trump supporters used the matter in their effort to find evidence of widespread voter fraud, which was never found. Edwards Parker was in authority for the attorney general in the audit, which was mandated by the legislature.
She was noted by members of the legal community for her strong skills and others said she would be an excellent judge.
$31M CONTRACT APPROVED
A formerly tabled contract for software services was approved with Infor U.S. LLC of New York for $31 million. It’s an upgrade of an existing system rather than implementing a whole new system.
Councilor Cinde Warmington, D-Concord, said she would go with it because it would be less time-consuming on state staff to go this route when there are so many vacancies, but she said she had a problem with the way it came to the table.
“You made a decision to do a sole source contract a year and a half ago,” and did not tell the council until recently, Warmington said. “We are boxed in and I don’t like for us to be boxed in.”
Charlie Arlinghaus, commissioner of the Department of Administrative Services, said: “I think that is fair and I apologize.”
About half the funding will come from federal ARPA sources. The rest comes from the general funds.
The amount is to not exceed $31,662,920 for software as a service for the Infor Cloudsuite enterprise resource planning system implementation and maintenance with the option to extend for an additional 10 years through June 30, 2032.
Gov. Chris Sununu said the risk of a price tag going up drastically is really high if the state goes out to bid.
Executive Councilor Ted Gatsas of Manchester, a Republican, said it is just not right for there to be no competition and said he is sick of sole-source contracts.
“I’ll be watching this one with a fine-toot comb, Charlie, and when I am finished there will be no need for more haircuts,” Gatsas said.
NOYES, WEAVER RESIGN
The resignation of Nathan Noyes of New Boston as director of the Division of State Police was accepted.
Noyes has served more than 21 years in the uniform of a trooper and said it was “with a sense of unique sadness and great accomplishment” that he tendered his resignation.
“I have witnessed great successes, heroic acts in the face of extreme adversity, silent sacrifices, and devastating loss. Most impressively, I have witnessed a resiliency demonstrated by your Troopers that is unmatched in any area of law enforcement around the globe,” he wrote.
The Noyes family has provided 60 years of service to the state, said Executive Councilor Janet Stevens, R-Rye. His last day on the job will be June 16. His father, New Hampshire State Police Sgt. James Noyes was killed in the line of duty in Gilford in October 1994.
Mark Weaver of Greenland also resigned his post as Justice of the Circuit Court effective June 29, though he said he is electing to continue to serve in senior active status.
PELLETIER HONORED
Rene Pelletier was honored for 50 years of service to the state Department of Environmental Services.
From proposals for refineries off the Isles of Shoals to today’s issues on the water, he said he has seen a lot of issues.
“I’ve been through 10 governors,” Pelletier said – and is still at it. He is now the director of the DES Water Division.
Pelletier said when he began in 1973, “You could practically walk across the Merrimack River.”
He said a great staff and good laws have made New Hampshire the great state that it is.
LACK OF STAFF AT VETERANS HOME
There are 135 veterans living at the New Hampshire Veterans Home in Tilton but about 90 beds are closed because of a lack of staffing and there are about 60 on the waiting list.
Warmington asked how that problem can be solved with a nursing vacancy rate there at about 40 percent.
A contract is coming forward to get new staffing through three companies and they are looking to make permanent salary enhancements.
The hope is, Sununu said, that with the license reciprocity he is seeking and a finalized labor contract expected as part of the biennial budget, the vacancy rate will go down and the bed census will go up.
The council also honored Sarah Stanley who is in charge of communications at the Veterans Home for going above and beyond her work to help keep veterans and their families and the public aware of activities and issues there during the pandemic.
HOOKSETT WELCOME CENTERS
The council tabled the first of two, five-year contract renewal options for Granite State Hospitality, doing business as Common Man Hooksett, Meredith from 2048 to 2053, though Executive Council David Wheeler, R-Milford asked what the benefits are to the state.
The group currently has a 35-year lease contract with the state which began in 2015.
He was told it would benefit from the improvements and this extension would allow for more favorable financing terms.
There are planned improvements and expansions in both the north and southbound welcome centers in the dining areas, each costing about $2.9 million. It will not impact the size of the liquor store or the gas station.
“Let’s get some data and figure it out,” Sununu said.
FIVE STAFF INJURIES AT NH HOSPITAL
The state Department of Health and Human Services announced that there have been five injuries sustained by staff at the New Hampshire Hospital, the state’s psychiatric hospital, but most have been able to return to work. Included in the injuries were two registered nurses, two mental health workers, and a training and development therapist.
Thirty-one beds are closed at the hospital but depending on the construction timeline and recruiting, Lori Weaver, commissioner of HHS, said there could be 185 as opposed to 154 beds now occupied.
There are currently 33 people waiting in hospital emergency rooms, Weaver said.
ARMING TEACHERS IN SCHOOLS
Warmington asked Sununu if his recent comments about arming teachers in schools were in any way related to a request from his office to do emergency alerting for Windham Schools.
The grant request seeks $8,550 for school security. It passed. Sununu said there was no connection with his statements and a state education official said this was simply an add-on to an existing federal program.
Warmington asked if the department was prepared to talk about arming teachers in schools and the official said she was unprepared for that conversation at this time.
