Meredith Selectboard postpones meeting to Feb. 2 due to snowstorm

MEREDITH — The snowstorm spanning Sunday and Monday closed town offices for non-essential employees, and the selectboard meeting is being postponed until next Monday.

The selectboard meeting is rescheduled for Monday, Feb. 2, where members will discuss potential 2026 warrant articles, as well as view a presentation about town office space needs.

The warrant articles will be discussed ahead of the upcoming public hearing on Monday, Feb. 9, where voters will have a chance to weigh in before the Town Meeting vote on Wednesday, March 11. At Town Meeting, voters have the ability to propose amendments to articles, as well.

The largest part of the 2026 warrant will be the operating budget of $22 million, along with several other big-ticket items of note.

The town will be asked to raise and appropriate $900,000 for water plant treatment filter upgrades, and authorize issuing no more than that amount in bonds or notes. This is for a Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Fund, and pertains to four filters at the treatment plant at the end of their useful life. The total project is expected to run through 2027.

Earlier this month, Water & Sewer Superintendent Jason Bordeau met with the selectboard to discuss the filters, which he said have not been properly maintained since the plant opened 40 years ago. He said the filters weren’t doing their jobs, and there were particles, like rust and paint, flaking off.

“It’s going to become a problem here shortly if we don’t take care of it,” Bordeau told the board at the Jan. 12 meeting.

Bordeau told the board filters should be replaced every 15 years.

Other warrant articles expected to come before voters include $535,000 for the fire department expendable trust fund; $337,000 for the public works expendable trust fund; $200,000 for the parks & rec expandable trust fund; $182,000 for the fire department equipment expendable trust fund; $75,000 for the waterfront infrastructure expandable trust fund; and $75,000 for the Main Street expendable trust fund.

One proposed article involves games of chance. State law now requires a municipality opt out of legalizing Keno by June 1, 2027, or it will become automatically permitted in town. Information in the agenda packet states the article would ask if the town should prohibit the operation of games of chance, and a majority vote would be required.

Keno is a lottery game played at casinos, as well as bars and restaurants, across the state. Keno was rejected at Town Meeting multiple times, last in 2019.

House Bill 737 was enacted last year, which permits Keno unless residents vote against it by 2027. Selectboard member Jeanie Forrester previously voiced opposition to the measure, including in 2019, when Meredith was one of 29 towns across the state asking voters to decide, according to an article in The Laconia Daily Sun. It was on the warrant as a petitioned article multiple times, and was handily defeated.

Forrester wrote in The Sun on July 21, 2025, that proponents of the game believe it helps fund education. Those opposing it, she wrote, say gambling addiction leads to increased costs.

There is also a proposed article for a veteran tax credit adjustment, which increases the current credit amount by $500. Town residents would be asked to vote to modify provisions of state law for an optional $4,500 Service-Connected Total and Permanent Disability Tax Credit on residential property. This initially was a tax credit for $4,000, and the article aims to make up for the loss of the Optional Veterans Tax Credit for disabled veterans.

Another proposed article will let residents vote on changing the previously approved amount of $50,000 of the Land Use Change Tax to $100,000, to be deposited into the existing Conservation Fund. The increase helps offset development impacts, and there would be no tax impact if passed. The initial amount was established 40 years ago.

The board is expected to vote on whether to add a warrant article that puts $960,000 of unassigned fund balance into the Community Infrastructure Expendable Trust Fund. The recommendation is to use $360,000 for the final engineering for the Main Street Project, and $600,000 for engineering for the Town Hall Project. Both have been goals identified by the selectboard since 2023.

There is a grant application pending review, which could provide funding for the Main Street portion of the engineering. Putting funds in the Community Infrastructure Expendable Trust will help with financial flexibility, according to information in the meeting packet.

The selectboard will also hear from Jason LaCombe and Anthony Mento of SMP Architecture, who will present conceptual designs and initial findings regarding a space needs analysis of the administrative offices. The firm was hired after town staff requested recommendations about office space.

At the Nov. 6 selectboard meeting, SMP Architecture staff discussed measurements taken of the existing spaces, along with needs, constraints, and potential solutions. Meetings were also held over the past two months to gather input.

The selectboard will meet at 5 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 2, at the Meredith Community Center.