On Gilmanton town warrant, infrastructure is priority

GILMANTON — Infrastructure: that’s the name of the game in Gilmanton for Town Meeting this year. 

Town Meeting is set for 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 11, at the Gilmanton Academy Building, 503 Province Road. 

Warrant articles 6, 7 and 8 are all infrastructure-related and amount to roughly $1.15 million in appropriations, much of which town leaders say is overdue. 

“The infrastructure is our main focus,” Town Administrator Heather Carpenter said Thursday afternoon. “The [selectboard] has been leading up to this for the last five years.”

Warrant Article 6 seeks to raise and appropriate $496,430 to be deposited in an infrastructure repair and upgrades “non-capital expendable trust fund” established during Town Meeting in 2022. 

It’s recommended unanimously by both the selectboard and the town’s budget committee, and is meant to support the town’s priority of maintenance on their dirt and paved roads, with paved roads being the focus. 

The fund has a balance of $26,682.

Warrant Article 7, labeled “bridge construction”, seeks an appropriation of $397,000 to address a failed culvert by constructing a bridge in front of 474 Middle Route Road. That amount is conceived from a cost estimate by M.A. Bean Associates.

It’s a special warrant article, a non-lapsing appropriation until either the bridge construction and repairs to the culvert are completed, or until Dec. 31, 2028, whichever comes first. 

A sinkhole apparently opened, causing a hole above the culvert in the fall of 2024. Appropriating monies to this project could allow the town to prevent further deterioration. The culvert wasn’t one included on the town’s “failed culvert list” and the town’s money for road projects was already allocated elsewhere so it couldn’t be fixed last year. 

“We’re trying to mitigate that process,” Carpenter said. 

That item is unanimously recommended by the selectboard and budget committee.

And Warrant Article 8 seeks the raising and appropriation of $257,000 for repairs to culverts and drainage infrastructure that’s either failing or in poor condition throughout the town.

There are about 130 different culverts which need to be addressed, to some extent, according to a municipal culvert assessment study. These monies would be used to replace, repair or flush culverts, and would help prepare dirt roads, when applicable, for future paving projects. 

It’s also a special warrant article, a non-lapsing appropriation until culvert repairs are completed, or by Dec. 31, 2028, whichever comes first. 

Gilmanton has about 70 miles of road, and some of the upkeep has been neglected over the years, Carpenter explained. Taking care of problems in the near-term, while seemingly expensive, would save larger costs down the line. Materials costs increase and the overall expense compounds over time, she said. 

The COVID pandemic also brought outsiders to Gilmanton, some of whom may not be used to the rural dirt roads of the Lakes Region.

“The better your roads, the easier the plowing and the better the mud season,” Carpenter said. 

The proposed total operating budget for the Town of Gilmanton is $5.68 million, a 9.92% increase over last year’s default budget. The estimated municipal tax rate for 2025 — which includes the impact of all warrant articles — is $4.58 per $1,000, an increase of $1.16 over last year. 

To view the town's warrant and voter guide, visit gilmantonnh.org.