PORTSMOUTH — In what will be its final meeting as an elected body, the City Council tonight will try to solve an ongoing dispute between the Brewster Street Rooming House and residents of the Islington Creek Neighborhood Association.

PORTSMOUTH — In what will be its final meeting as an elected body, the City Council tonight will try to solve an ongoing dispute between the Brewster Street Rooming House and residents of the Islington Creek Neighborhood Association.



The controversy, which has been mounting for more than a year, surrounds the property management of the boarding house.



Neighbors have argued over the last several months that the current property manager, a retired police officer, doesn't satisfy a requirement that the building owner hire a "full-time professional management" company to conduct oversight of the alternative housing facility.



The council on Nov. 18 voted to extend the operating permit for the rooming house for a month in order to allow the city's Legal Department to try to work with building owner Brian Hogan and neighbors to come up with a solution.



However, according to a memorandum from City Attorney Robert Sullivan, negotiations with neighbors and Hogan have proved unsuccessful.



And, with the rooming house's permit set to expire, Sullivan said the council is now faced with the question of whether to extend the permit, or potentially face litigation.



The council can either vote to extend the permit for a year or for a specific amount of time to allow for further negotiations with neighbors and Hogan, according to Sullivan.



It could also vote to deny the permit, he said.



"If the permit is denied, then litigation will be a certainty due to the fact that the boarding house will be operating in violation of city ordinance," according to Sullivan's memorandum.



Sullivan, in turn, has recommended that if the council does deny the permit, it meet with legal counsel to further discuss litigation goals and options.



Meanwhile, residents living in the neighborhood that surrounds the boarding house have submitted a letter to the council stating their opposition to the current management situation.



"The current management is not a professional firm, nor is it full time," according to the group's letter.



Neighbors are recommending that the council accept their job description of the ideal professional management firm, as well as a "code of conduct" that rooming house residents must follow.



The neighborhood group is also asking the council to continue renewing the operating permit in three-month intervals to ensure that the building owner follows through with the professional management stipulation.



Tonight's meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the Eileen Dondero Foley Council Chambers at City Hall.