Executive Council delays State School sale vote to smooth city concerns

CONCORD — The New Hampshire Executive Council on Wednesday put off a vote to approve the purchase agreement for the Laconia State School property until its next meeting, in order to address concerns raised by the city about usage agreements and worries about the proposed buyer. 

A letter to the council sent Tuesday afternoon from Laconia Mayor Andrew Hosmer and City Manager Kirk Beattie asked the council for “due diligence” that the prospective buyer had the experience and financial means to see the project through. The proposed sale price is $21.5 million and the potential buyer has stated they are prepared to spend as much as $500 million on development. The letter also asked the city to ensure that licenses allowing the city to use parts of the property for overflow parking and water access for Robbie Mills Field would be included in the sale agreement.

State Department of Administrative Services Commissioner Charlie Arlinghaus emphasized that a lengthy process had gone into reviewing the potential buyer and their proposal. 

The department’s technical review committee, with representatives from the state, the Laconia city planner, and field experts, reviewed proposals and recommended one from Legacy Laconia, LLC. 

“This financially was the best proposal,” Arlinghaus said. But, he continued, the committee also considered which proposal would be the best had all prices been equal. “This was far and away the preferred one as well,” Arlinghaus said.

Neither the lawsuit against the developer’s Manchester project nor its substantial delays are of concern to the state. 

“In developments, there are often lawsuits,” Arlinghaus said. 

He continued that substantial construction delays after the disruptions of the pandemic and its economic aftershocks are both understandable and common. 

“That project is behind three years. The state has a lot of projects that are further behind than that,” he said. “So we just aren’t concerned about that piece of it.”

Regarding the city’s concerns about licenses on the land, Arlinghaus confirmed that they were not included in the purchase and sale agreement. Though it is unlikely those licenses will be added to the agreement as the city requested, Arlinghaus emphasized that the developer had long been aware and remained committed to honoring them. The temporary winter shelter for people experiencing homelessness would not be affected, he added, because the sale will not close before April, when the shelter will be closed.

Gov. Chris Sununu, who said he had a brief discussion with Hosmer Wednesday morning, expressed frustration that the city had raised its concerns so close to the vote.

“The city of Laconia has been involved in the choice of this developer all the way through,” Sununu asserted. “Why are we getting a letter like this literally the morning of the vote, knowing that this huge transaction has literally been in the works for 10 years?”

Not only did the city’s input play a strong role in the selection of this proposal, Arlinghaus added, but it would have even more power over the project after the sale.

“The city of Laconia wanted this particular proposal, and it happened to be that everybody on the committee agreed,” Arlinghaus said.

“Once we sell the property, it really is in [the city's] hands. Because of that, what we’re trying to do is sell it as best we can to people that we feel confident in,” Arlinghaus said. “But if we’re honest with ourselves, the city holds an awful lot of cards.”

The vote to table was proposed by District 2 Councilor Cinde Warmington, whose district currently includes Belmont, Gilmanton and Northfield. 

Warmington said she understood why the concerns had arisen as late as they did: the city had only recently been able to see the purchase and sale agreement — and therefore to note that the licenses were not included in its text — and only recently became aware of questions about the developer’s track record.

She emphasized that she is excited about the proposal but believes that tabling the measure until the next meeting would be fair.

“This has been going on for many, many years and two more weeks makes sense to address the concerns that are coming up at the last minute — both in the media and by the city,” Warmington said. “I would not feel comfortable voting right now without speaking to the city and hearing what their concerns are.” 

Mayor Andrew Hosmer, who is traveling, was not at the meeting. 

District 1 Councilor Joe Kenney had no objection to tabling the vote as long as it was decided at the next council meeting.

“I don't want this to be a stalling factor,” Kenney said, whose district includes Laconia and most of the Lakes Region. He described his enthusiasm for the proposal and emphasized that he believed the citizens of Laconia were anxious for the project to move forward.

“The technical review committee — which was the city of Laconia [and] experts in the field — looked at this development team and said ‘they can do it,’” he continued. “I have all the faith and confidence that they made the right decision to move forward.”