Claremont
The council, with only five of its nine members present, referred the issue to the council’s policy committee, though no timetable was established for bringing a policy proposal back before the council.
Mayor Charlene Lovett, who read a few letters in support of naming the bridge for Santagate, opened the discussion by saying the idea first was mentioned at a retirement dinner given for Santagate on Nov. 19 before he retired on Dec. 31. A few councilors picked up on it and that is why it was placed on the agenda for discussion, she said.
Lovett said she was prompted to suggest a written policy after doing some research and discovering none existed. She also said in her research she found out a street named for one of the three people who donated land for Barnes Park off North Street had later been renamed for someone else.
“Right now we don’t give due consideration to all that has come before,” Lovett said. “There has got to be a process vetted and approved by the council.”
Supporters of naming the bridge for Santagate included David Messier, chairman of the Historic District Commission and husband of former city Councilor Kyle Messier, who also spoke in support of the idea.
The Messiers said it was Santagate’s vision and hard work that not only put the bridge in place but also made possible the multi-million rehabilitation of the Water Street mill buildings that most had given up on and wanted demolished.
In a letter read by Lovett, David Messier said Santagate was a “tireless cheerleader for the city” whose talents brought to fruition long-term goals for the mill district no one else could make happen.
“He turned city goals into reality,” Messier wrote. “Naming the bridge is a fitting way to extend a thank you for making Claremont a better place for all of us.”
Also supporting the idea was Mike Satzow, a lifelong city resident and former owner of North Country Smokehouse, which he sold in 2015 but with the stipulation the company expand in Claremont. He said he also wants the bridge named for Santagate.
“It is an appropriate recognition for a man who has given so much to the city,” Satzow wrote in a letter.
Don and Marina Limoges did not oppose naming the bridge for Santagate but wrote that Satzow was just as deserving for his investment in the mill district in the 1970s and commitment to Claremont as evidenced by the new North Country Smokehouse facility under construction in the Syd Clarke Park.
Kyle Messier told the council that Satzow said to her he was not interested and would decline to accept the honor.
City attorney Jane Taylor said there are no limitations on the council to name city property but when it comes to streets, another set of rules apply because of laws governing the 911 system.
Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com.
