A new youth recreation facility will be attached to the Portsmouth Middle School building on Parrott Avenue. The Portsmouth City Council approved more than $2 million in funding for construction of the gym during a meeting on April 18.

The new facility will serve as a replacement for the aging Connie Bean Community Center on Daniel Street, which the city may sell. It will be attached to the Middle School, which will soon break ground on a major renovation project. 

In two separate 7-1 votes, the Council adopted a resolution to appropriate $512,700 in bond premiums toward the project, as well as $1.65 million from the city’s undesignated fund balance. Councilor Esther Kennedy cast the sole votes against both expenditures.

The Council also voted to approve a 25-cent hike in the downtown parking rate, increasing the metered rate to $1 per hour. The measure passed by a vote of 6-2, with Kennedy and Assistant Mayor Nancy Novelline Clayburgh opposing it.

The Council advanced several other resolutions related to parking. A measure to charge for parking on Sundays will have a third and final reading on May 2, as will a separate measure to create special parking districts with individual rates. A resolution to appropriate up to $12 million for the construction of a new parking garage in the Worth Lot will have a second reading and public hearing on the same date. 

The Council tabled a resolution to install parking meters at the Parrott Avenue Parking Lot until October.