'Santa' Chasse to Aldermen: 'I'm in a Giving Mood'

The Board of Aldermen voted to gift the Nashua Soup Kitchen with $100,000 – more than enough to get them to a $150,000 short-term fundraising goal that will result in an additional $100,000 match from two anonymous donors. 

At-Large Alderman David Deane drafted Resolution R-13-153 to transfer $100,000 out of a contingency fund and make it available to the Soup Kitchen.

Deane said he was moved to do so after learning the soup kitchen was still about $60,000 short of the $150,000 mark, which they were hoping to raise by Dec. 31.

Although Mayor Donnalee Lozeau had suggested during a committee meeting the money be taken from a CDGB fund rather than a city contingency fund, the aldermen ultimately rejected that idea, saying they did not want to complicate the process or attach any federal strings to the money.

Initially Deane proposed that the board could decide to make the donation fit the need by adjusting the proposal to fit whatever dollar amount would get them to the goal, which currently would be about $60,000. 

However, At-Large Alderman Lori Wilshire urged the board to give the full $100,000 to help propel the Soup Kitchen that much closer to its overarching $2 million capital campaign goal. 

They are poised to move operations from a small space on Chestnut Street to the former VFW building on Quincy Street, which will triple their capacity.

After some back and forth among board members, Ward 6 Alderman Paul Chasse seemed to have the last word when he said, "It's Christmas time folks; give it to them. I'm in the giving mood."

Ward 9 Alderman Dan Moriarty was the only dissenting vote. He said that although he "likes what the Soup Kitchen does," he felt that in light of a tight budget that has required cutting vital services like summer school, he could not vote in favor of a donation to a non-profit with taxpayer dollars.