City lays out terms for homeless quarantine at State School

LACONIA — The city has sent a letter to the state outlining the provisions it wants adhered to if the state houses COVID-positive homeless people at a building on the old State School grounds.

The letter, signed by Mayor Andrew Hosmer with the concurrence of the City Council, “memorialize the assurances made to our residents in terms of how the shelter will operate if it’s deemed essential and necessary in combating the COVID-19 pandemic.

The letter enumerates 13 terms, including:

• The Dube Building would be used only as a flex facility and house only patients who have a medical referral, and then only when there is no other shelter available.

• The building will be continuously staffed by mental health and substance-abuse professionals. The outside of the building will be patrolled “to ensure occupants are kept from leaving on their own.” Those patrols will be carried out by the Laconia Police Department. The city will be reimbursed for the cost of the patrols. In addition, the city is asking for a “visible presence” of State Police patrolling Ahern State Park, the entrance to which is adjacent to the Dube Building.

• The state will be responsible for the transportation of all those placed in the quarantine facility. And those people will be returned to where they came from as soon as it is safe to do so.

• All food for patients will be purchased from local businesses.

• The city will have ready access to those staffing the facility.

• If the number of people in quarantine exceeds 50, the city must be notified immediately.

“We have heard (from LRGHealthcare), which operates Lakes Region General Hospital and Franklin Regional Hospital, with its concerns about whether they'll have the capacity to treat an additional 25-50 COVID-19 patients,” the letter states, citing one of the reasons the city believes the quarantine facility could become an undue burden.

The letter is addressed to Assistant Safety Commission Perry Plummer.

On Monday Plummer, who is also state Homeland Security Director, told The Daily Sun that the facility could be used to quarantine up to 20 people, but hoped that would not be necessary. He said the Laconia location would be used only if other accommodations cannot be made.

In his letter, Homer acknowledged the present “difficult times,” and the “need for sacrifice.” But, he stressed, “We trust that you understand the anxieties of our community in this unprecedented environment and appreciate that our first priority must be the health and safety of our constituents.”

Plummer said the state had been working with city officials regarding the use of the Dube Building.

Immediately after reading the text of the letter at Monday’s City Council meeting, Hosmer added, “We’ve been assured that the state intends to abide by these terms, but it is in the best interest to get these assurances in writing. Good government depends on good communication.”