County may use COVID stimulus money for State School redevelopment

LACONIA — Belknap County could play a pivotal role in an effort to launch the redevelopment the long-dormant Laconia State School property.

County Commissioners are looking at the possibility of using $1 million of the $5.8 million the county recently received from the American Rescue Plan to provide the matching funds for a $1 million federal grant that was awarded last year to pay for infrastructure improvements at the former State School.

“We are looking at using $1 million for the grant match consistent with federal restrictions and guidelines” that spell out the acceptable uses for the money in the latest COVID stimulus bill, Peter Spanos told the Lakeshore Redevelopment Planning Commission at its meeting Monday.

Spanos is the Belknap County Commission chairman and also serves on the seven-member commission, which for four years has been laying the groundwork for eventual purchase by one or more private developers who would turn the 250-acre property into multi-use development.

Assuming the guidelines allow the American Rescue Plan money to be used for such a purpose, the county commissioners plan to present the $1 million proposal, along with other appropriations requests, to the County Legislative Delegation sometime next month, Spanos said after the commission’s meeting adjourned.

The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan includes funds that can be used for infrastructure improvements. But Spanos said the federal guidelines on exactly how the money can be used is “changing.”

“We need to make sure that we have certainty that we can use the funds in a way that is allowed under the guidelines,” he said.

Spanos said the delegation, which alone has the authority to set aside any county money for a specific purpose, is expected to meet sometime next month, but that the meeting had not yet been scheduled.

Last August the commission was awarded $1 million to use for the initial phases of the State School redevelopment project. But the funds were conditioned upon the commission obtaining another $1 million to match the grant from the Northern Borders Commission. The Lakeshore Commission must come up with the matching grant by Sept. 30 in order to keep the federal grant.

The commission has so far targeted between five and six acres adjacent to Route 106 (North Main Street) as the first area for redevelopment — a mix of office and retail space and agriculture-based ventures. Installing water and sewer lines in that area is seen as an important step in attracting developers to invest in the project

Earlier in the meeting commission Vice Chairman Robert Cheney said there was no money in the state’s capital budget that could be used for the match. But he said he believed that the commission could use money in its operating budget for the matching grant.

The state operating budget contains $350,000 for each of the following two years to pay for the commission’s work. In addition, the commission will be allowed to carry forward $150,000 in unspent money in its budget for the fiscal year that ends on Wednesday.

Cheney and Commission Chairman George Bald said it is still unclear what effect language in the trailer bill – which gives the Governor and Executive Council the authority to dispose of State School property – will have on the commission’s work in the months ahead.

In other business:

The commission approved retaining the services of an architectural historian to assess the historic importance of each of the 29 buildings on the State School land. Commission member Rusty McLear asked that the consultant not only rank the historical importance of each building, but also estimate the cost to restore the buildings. Many of the buildings have deteriorated significantly since the State School shut down in the 1980s. Access to the insides of the buildings is prohibited except for people wearing protective clothing. Bald said some of the buildings have had holes in the roofs for as long as 10 years.

The commission also approved a contract to perform a detailed survey of the 250-acre property. The survey, which Cheney estimated will cost about $58,000, will include delineating the property’s perimeter, ground contours, geological features, location and overall dimensions of all buildings, as well as the location of wetlands and seasonal ponds on the property.