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Claremont City Councilor in Trouble After Calling Cops

When a citizen filed a “no trespassing ” order against Claremont City Councilor James Contois, the government official did not take it lying down. Instead, he went to his fellow city official, Claremont Police Chief Brent Wilmot, and tried to get it removed.

Contois did not get his way, and now he is facing calls for his removal for attempting to get special treatment from the city.

“I don’t give up my rights as a citizen,” Contois said. “If I had overstepped my boundaries, you bet your life that [the] chief would have called the city manager or the mayor.”

Contois was served with the order last week to stay off the Route 12 property being developed into a Jeep dealership by Christian Gomes. Gomes said he called the police after Contois refused to leave his property.

“He needs to get out of government because he can’t be impartial,” Gomes said. “He’s trying to be an activist while he’s a city councilor. He can’t do both.”

Gomes owns both the Jeep and Ford dealerships in the city. He recently won approval from the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services to drain and fill a wetlands meadow to move the Jeep dealership to be adjacent to the Ford dealership. Gomes agreed to pay a $146,000 fee to the state for the wetlands and said his plans have been approved by both state and city authorities.

“I’ve done everything that DES has asked,” Gomes said. “We’re breaking ground next week.”

Contois, who also sits on the city’s Conservation Commission, is a vocal opponent of the development. He filed an appeal of the DES approval for the construction. Last week, Contois went to the Route 12 wetlands to get photos for his appeal when he says he was confronted by Gomes.

“(He) was verbally harassing me to get off property and he called police,” Contois said.

Gomes’ version is different, saying the city councilor was on his dealership property being a nuisance before he contacted police.

“(Contois) refused to leave after being asked three times,” Gomes said.

Police told Contois to leave, even though Contois claims he was legally allowed to be at the property based on his reading of city tax maps. Gomes then obtained a no-trespassing order through the department to keep Contois from coming back.

On Monday, Contois called Claremont Police Chief Brent Wilmot to see if the chief could have the order rescinded.

“He told me he was looking to have the order lifted, and I explained that’s not something we did,” Wilmot said.

Police in New Hampshire do not have the legal authority to lift no trespassing orders, Wilmot explained. That is a decision only the property owner can make. Wilmot told the councilor that police essentially act as letter carriers in cases of such orders. Wilmot told NH Journal he tried to educate the councilor about how no trespassing orders work and suggested Contois find another location from which to take photos.

Wilmot chalked up the call from Contois to a misunderstanding about the procedure and did not view it as an attempt to influence law enforcement.

“I did not feel he was pressuring me to have it lifted,” Wilmot said. “I simply told him I was not going to do that.”

Wilmot did pass along Contois’ concerns, and another officer called Gomes to see if he wanted to have the order lifted, which Gomes declined. Gomes, himself a former New York police officer, said if Contois was not trying to pressure police, his call to Wilmot demonstrated a level of incompetence that is itself disqualifying.

“The man is mentally incompetent,” Gomes said.

Gomes cited Contois’ testimony during the July DES public hearing when the councilor spoke in opposition to the development. During his testimony, Contois said he went to the property and listened to the wildlife present.

“I went to the wet meadow last weekend just to observe,” Contois said according to the recorded testimony. “I heard dozens of redwing blackbirds screaming at me, ‘Get out of here! We have nests here. This is our home.’”

Gomes is threatening to tell businesses to stay out of Claremont unless Contois is removed from the board. He said Contois claims to support businesses coming to the city, and yet spends his time trying to hamper the businesses already operating.

“You can’t be for business and then fight a business,” Gomes said.

Mayor Dale Girard said the council will be investigating the matter, and that the city’s attorney is being consulted. Contois is allowed to stand up for his beliefs and be an activist if he does not represent his actions as those of the council, Girard said.

“It’s a case where Mr. Contois was a private citizen and he wasn’t there representing the council,” Girard said. “I can’t speak to what he does on his personal time.”

Girard agreed that council members should not seek special treatment from police, but he is not sure if that is the case here. Girard said he is still gathering information on what happened.

Gomes said that when he was a police officer, if a local government official asked him to fix a ticket or something similar, that would have been out of line.

“That’s an abuse of power,” Gomes said.

Million Air Pushes Back on Critics of Pease Fuel Farm Plan

As Seacoast residents raise the alarm about the proposed 90,000-gallon jet fuel storage being built at Pease International Tradeport by private air company Million Air, the company is pushing back. 

“Million Air is proposing new tanks with state-of-the-art leak detection, prevention, and containment systems designed to meet or exceed current best practices,” said Peter Bragdon, a spokesman for the Houston-based company. “As long as planes are flying in and out of Pease, fuel will be needed for those planes. Doesn’t it make sense to have the most modern, up-to-date systems available?”

Concerned residents and environmental activists held a press conference last week to protest the fuel tanks, which they said will be located too close to wetlands that feed into the local drinking water supply.

“What’s concerning is how all this is being handled. For example, Million Air’s site development plans underestimate the wetlands impact of this project, ignore the previous contamination that still exists, and the plan places fuel storage within feet of these sensitive wetlands,” said Seacoast resident Dania Seiglie.

The fuel tanks that make up Million Air’s proposed fuel farm would be about 100 feet away from the wetlands in question. Million Air COO Chuck Suma said the residents’ concerns about the fuel farm are misplaced.

“We know how to manage a fuel farm and we know how to do this in an environmentally friendly way,” Suma said. “I would never allow or sanction or run my facilities in such a way that would negatively impact the area around it.”

Critics argue that even if the fuel farm isn’t technically in the wetlands area — a claim they dispute — even Million Air admits it wants to build a roadway through it. Worse, the area is still dealing with drinking water contaminated with PFAS chemicals left over from the U.S. Air Force base that used to be located at Pease.

“Much like PFAS and previous water contamination concerns, this is a priority for local residents worried about clean water because it’s all connected,” Seiglie said. “This site mid-Pease connects directly to North Mill Pond by Hodgson’s Brook and from here, contamination can easily reach the Piscataqua.”

PFAS chemicals are linked to certain types of cancer, birth defects, and other serious health issues. The man-made chemicals are found in oils, jet fuels, industrial degreasers, and firefighting foam, among other uses. PFAS contamination has been found in the Seacoast region, as well as in communities like Merrimack, Bedford, and Litchfield stemming from the Saint-Gobain manufacturing plant in Merrimack. There is also a PFAS problem in the communities near the Coakley Landfill in North Hampton.

The chemicals have an unusually long half-life and can stay in the human body for decades after exposure.

Bragdon said the company’s plans are environmentally sound. Plans for the driveway have won the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Safety’s approval.

“The only wetland issue involving the Million Air proposal has to do with a driveway that will be needed so customers can access the site from the public streets – dropping off and picking up clients, for instance,” Bragdon said. “Million Air has worked diligently to minimize wetland issues with the driveway, for instance by moving the driveway as far north as possible to avoid wetland impacts.”

The plans are not safe enough for the concerned residents and activists, however. State Rep. Debra Altschiller (D-Stratham) wants the company to change the plans to move its proposed site farther away from the sensitive area, which she said is doable for the business.

“Everyone here knows there is actually another completely appropriate and equally sized piece of property less than a mile from the proposed project space and that land doesn’t need to have a road built through a wetland to roll trucks over,” Altschiller said. “There is an alternative that doesn’t even need variances to operate next to precious water resources. It is available and ready to be developed.”

Million Air is building a fixed-base operations center at Pease that will include a 12,000-square-foot hangar. Bragdon said the company is working with DES and all the relevant agencies to make sure its project is done correctly and safely.

Suma said the company will employ about 30 people full-time. Million Air’s FBO will attract businesses to the region and bring more money to the Seacoast.

“We’re going to be changing the demographics coming in and out of the airport,” Suma said. “There are opportunities there and we want to be a good partner with the community and the (Pease Development Authority) board.”

Seiglie, however, questioned the company’s push to get the FBO up and running, saying it is moving faster than normal to avoid public scrutiny.

“This company has done this elsewhere, getting permissions without public scrutiny or knowledge – including places like New York where there are major environmental concerns and the project was pitched without proper review. So, we are worried,” Seiglie said.

Million Air is currently involved in a federal lawsuit with Westchester County, N.Y. over the company’s project at the Harrisville, N.Y. airport.

Pease already has an FBO operated by Port City Air, and Port City’s company attorney, Dan Hoefle, is joining the chorus of the opposition. He said Port City was never properly informed about Million Air’s proposal, despite Port City being an abutter to the project. Hoefle said the site Million Air is using is not suitable for the project.

“Port City is well aware of this plot of land in question. We would never develop on this particular parcel of land for the very reasons cited,” Hoefle said.

Bragdon and Suma blame Port City for ginning up the opposition to Million Air’s plans and trying to get the competitor’s plans delayed.

“Port City is self-serving and stirring this up,” Suma said.

Suma accused Port City of trying to hold on to its monopoly at the airfield by delaying Million Air’s plans. Suma said he’d not worried about the competition, likening the two companies to Motel 6 versus the Four Seasons. Right now, the Motel 6 FBO, Port City, is scrambling to hold on to the business, Suma said.

“This is all stuff being thrown in the air by Port City Air. They have a monopoly on the airport, and you have a Motel 6 driving what can be done at the airport,” Suma said.

Port City already has fuel storage tanks close to where Million Air plans to put its tanks, Suma said, and those tanks are old and present a danger to the wetlands. The area around Pease is also dotted with gas stations and heating oil companies, which seem to be escaping the ire of the residents concerned about drinking water, Suma said.

“If the community is concerned, they should be looking at Port City fuel farms and the gas stations and heating oil facilities nearby,” Suma said.

Hoefle said Port City’s fuel farm is safe and meets all current standards. He said the company will continue to work with state and federal regulators to make sure the tanks stay in compliance.

“Port City Air’s tanks are regularly maintained, they are in fine shape,” Hoefle said. “They will continually be maintained and regulated.”

Hoefle said Port City has no problem with Million Air bringing an FBO to Pease, just not in the location they have picked.

“We don’t have any problem with competition, but this isn’t the site for it,” Hoefle said.

Opponents Organizing Against Million Air at Pease

Opponents of a proposed project at Pease International Tradeport air facility are hoping to keep it from getting off the ground.

The new facility, operated by Texas-based private jet company Million Air, has concerned residents gathering to stop the business from putting a fuel storage tank in nearby wetlands. 

“I am against them building it in the wetlands,” said state Rep. Jackie Cali-Pitts (D-Portsmouth). “There is another way around, and they have to use the other way around, that is what the law says.”

Million Air recently won approval from the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services to put a 90,000-gallon jet fuel storage tank in the wetlands that flow into the North Mill Pond and the region’s drinking water supply.

“We have had our problems with contamination of water, and we should know better,” Cali-Pitts said.

Paul Brean, the executive director at Pease, said the approval for the fuel storage facility is one component that Million Air needs to be able to build its planned fixed-base operation center, or FBO, for private jets. The company is currently in the planning and permitting stage of development and intends to build a 12,000-square-foot hangar at Pease, according to Brean. The company is approved for its FBO, so long as it completes the necessary steps, he said.

“They’re in the design and approval process of building a brick-and-mortar facility,” Brean said.

With the go-ahead from DES for the full storage facility, Million Air has reached one milestone needed to complete the project, Brean said.

Cali-Pitts said the state has had enough trouble with contaminated drinking water and adding the fuel storage tanks to a wetland that feeds into the area’s water supply is a terrible idea.

“Water could be a very finite resource,” she said. “We have problems, and we need to take care of our resources and it seems like we don’t care,” Cali-Pitts said.

Representatives for Million Air did not respond to a request for comment.

The state has found that Portsmouth and the surrounding towns have drinking water contaminated with PFAS, the so-called forever chemicals linked to types of cancer and birth defects. Science has shown PFAS can stay in the human body for decades. The source of that contamination has been linked to the operations at the former United States Air Force base located at Pease.

PFAS chemicals have been found in the town of Merrimack’s water supply, and drinking water has also been contaminated by the PFAS from the Coakley landfill in North Hampton. The Merrimack water supply was contaminated by the Saint-Gobain manufacturing plant. The chemicals are man-made and have been used in some cosmetics, oil-resistant products, and firefighting foam. 

Cali-Pitts isn’t the only person concerned about the potential for more contamination of the area’s drinking water supply. Rye resident Dania Seiglie, and former Executive Councilor Dudley Dudley, from Durham, are organizing an effort to stop the project.

“Those who forget their Pease history are doomed to repeat it,” the women wrote in a Union Leader column. “We must protect these wetlands and our local water supply as well as ensure the safety of our lives and the lives of future generations.”

Million Air is currently involved in a lawsuit against Westchester County, N.Y. after officials at the Harrison, N.Y. airport withheld consent for the company to build a new hangar. The company claims the county is in breach of its contract.

If the Million Air FBO project goes through as planned, it would be the second FBO located at Pease. Currently, Port City Air operates service out of Pease. Brean said more air service companies are welcome at the Tradeport as it will help its business model in the long run.

“There are multiple FBOs at most airports,” Brean said. “The FAA likes to see eclectic aviation services at airfields.”