Community invited to give feedback about Meadows renovations at open house Saturday

GILFORD — An open house regarding the proposed renovation project at The Meadows will be held on Saturday morning, right before the first home game of the season for the state champion Gilford High School football team.

The open house will take place at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 12, and the game against Bishop Brady will follow at noon. The Meadows, which was donated by the Carye Family in 2001, includes the athletic field, and the onsite building which has been the subject of proposed renovations for years.

The plan is to convert the existing garage bays into a functional center for the school and community to include a concession stand, storage closet, and three bathrooms, including a state-mandated family bathroom. The scoreboard is also expected to be relocated.

According to information provided by Gilford School District, the improvements are intended to enhance the gameday experience for fans and players alike.

Superintendent Kirk Beitler said the open house is designed to gather opinions and thoughts which the school board will take to their next meeting for consideration.

He said school board members asked the community, through a warrant article, to put away money for capital improvement projects. At the 2026 deliberative session, the school board heard questions that caused them to pause and set up the open house, and evaluate further.

During the deliberative session, there was confusion about the origin of funds for the project at The Meadows. An amendment was proposed to Article 2 of the district warrant — the operating budget — to remove $700,000 earmarked for the project. Doug Lambert proposed the change, and said there wasn’t enough information available about the project. He suggested the town treat the project as a separate warrant article to be voted on by the district.

Beitler and Business Administrator Amie Leigh told voters that night the funds weren’t included in the operating budget, and were instead from the capital surplus account. The amendment was ultimately voted down with a card vote, after board member Nicole Hogan warned removing $700,000 from the budget wouldn’t affect the capital accounts, and instead would lead to cutting programs, facilities, and services.

Beitler noted the renovation project has been discussed for at least the last 10 years.

“There’s been a lot of conversation about bathrooms down at The Meadows and not using porta-potties,” Beitler said. “I’m excited about the opportunity for the community and the players, as well.”

Beitler said information and feedback from the open house will be considered, and a public hearing will take place at the Monday, Oct. 5, school board meeting. That will be followed by a vote on which direction the project will take. Beitler said the vote could happen that night.

If approved, the project then needs to go out for bid, and there would be a period of at least a month before a company was engaged for the work. Being mostly inside work, the hope is it can be done during the winter, but that is not certain until the bidding process is complete, and a contractor is hired.

About a year ago, a contractor told the district the project would cost about $625,000. Beitler said with costs constantly increasing, he expects that number to be higher, the longer the wait.

“The community has to support it, and the school board needs to support it to move forward,” Beitler said. “If this is what they want to move forward with, it would be a good project.”

If approved at the school board meeting Oct. 5, Beitler said the earliest work could start would be late winter, or early spring 2027.