Petition sends Belmont bank demo to '27 Town Warrant

BELMONT — Following a tense public hearing Sept. 10, about the proposed demolition of an old bank building on Main Street, residents have spoken. A successful petition demands the demolition or disposal of the building appear on the 2027 Town Warrant.

“When I arrived here at the meeting, we did get the petition to put the demolition of the bank building on the warrant article,” Town Administrator Alicia Jipson said during the selectboard meeting on Wednesday. “I just received it tonight.”

The petition garnered 62 signatures, and was submitted just minutes prior to the 6 p.m. meeting. The Town Clerk’s office verified the signatures on Thursday.

“There were 62 confirmed registered voters by the clerk’s office,” Jipson wrote in a follow-up email. “It is now as simple as it goes on the ballot as a petition warrant article for the voters to vote for, or against, demolition of the building.”

A second public hearing about the demolition, originally scheduled for Sept. 22, is now canceled. Town Hall sent out a press release clarifying the reason for the meeting’s cancellation.

“The cancellation is the result of a voter petition received by the Town on September 16, 2026, requesting that the demolition question be placed on the Town warrant in March 2027. Receipt of this petition stops the public hearing and Board decision process,” reads the Sept. 18 release. “Historical documents and information about the bank building are available on our website at belmontnh.gov under Announcements.”

The petition, which was submitted by Kevin Tash, requests the following:

“We the undersigned registered voters of the Town of Belmont, New Hampshire, hereby submit this written petition to the Belmont Select Board pursuant to RSA 41:14-a and according to the provisions of RSA 39:3.

“The petition concerns the proposed demolition or disposal of the municipally owned Belmont Bank Building, located at 154 Main St. Belmont NH. Upon the written petition of 50 registered voters presented to the Select Board prior to its vote, RSA 41:14-a provides that the proposed demolition or disposal shall be inserted as an article in the warrant for the Town Meeting.”

The hearing was tense at times, with speakers returning to the microphone on more than occasion. Comments were limited to 3 minutes each, timed by Selectboard member Travis O’Hara.

Questions on the possible historic elements of the property at 154 Main St. were discussed at length.

“At this point in time, the Town has not found verifiable information corroborating the claims that the bank building is located in the Belmont Factory Village Historic District but continues to investigate the claims and conduct more research,” Jipson wrote on Sept. 11, in an email. “It is looking as though the Belmont Factory Village Historic District, where the bank building is located, is not officially on the National or State registry but listed as Eligible under criteria A only.”

Criterion A deems a property historic due to “association with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history.”

Additional comments centered on transparency and cost of the demolition, which was relayed to taxpayers at around $36,000. The nearby retaining wall, which has become an eyesore, would cost an additional $2,000 to tear down. An asbestos test would have added to the price tag.

Tash questioned the cost and resources needed to complete the demolition. Previous conversations focused on tearing down the retaining wall and sloping the hill. Drainage and materials were questioned.

“More money spent, taxpayer money, is what you're saying. How much? I mean, you're quoting $30,000 to tear the building down. Now, we have to get engineering plans for drainage. We have to get more sloping. We have to get more material,” he said.

Selectboard member Mark Lewandoski explained the board’s thought process.

“We have a concrete figure from Spear Brothers Demolition of $36,000 for the building itself, and an additional $2,000 for the wall. And that's complete removal of all material. You will never see that price again. There's a short amount of money to take this building down. You're talking probably in the mid-million-and-a-half to fix this building,” Lewandoski said, comparing the cost of demolition versus rehabbing the structure. “It has nothing in it. No HVAC. It needs a roof. There's documentation, from 2019, that it needed to be rehabbed with a new roof. Walls needed to be repaired. The wall was identified back then as being a problem. So, I just want to make it clear. We are hiding nothing from you.”

Other residents, like Barbara Binette, wanted the board to ease taxpayer’s minds.

“I’m a little disappointed we let it run down. We just let it sit there. That’s bad for town. My thing to you is why don’t we get a rough estimate to satisfy people’s minds, how much would it cost to rehab? It’s more than $36,000 obviously. I’m for tearing it down at this point, because I don’t want to put the money in it. It might be better to show people how much it would actually cost. They’re asking questions. What’s the final figure?”

Prior to the Sept. 10 hearing, the selectboard received recommendations from both the conservation commission and planning board to demolish the building. The Belmont Heritage Commission also provided their input, which advocated for demolition.

“Since the bank is located within Belmont’s historic village district, we researched records and read the information presented to the Commission from the members of the Selectboard. There was insufficient documentation characterizing the bank as historical or any heritage tied to it,” wrote Vicki A. Donovan, chair of the Belmont Heritage Commission, in a Sept. 9 letter to the selectboard.

Sharon Ciampi was the sole selectboard member to sign the petition, citing concerns about voter input.

“I signed it way back in August. When the BOS took the vote, I had said I thought we should hold a public hearing to ask the voters. When the voters voted to purchase the building, were they told it was going to be torn down?” Ciampi wrote in a Sept. 18 email to The Sun. “I signed it to get voter input.”

She shared further thoughts about the dilemma.

“Does it need to come down? Maybe ... I do not know that and as we work through this process we can get those answers,” she wrote. “I was so happy to see people at the public hearing and getting to hear what the voters think.”

For more information, visit belmontnh.gov.

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Katlyn Proctor can be reached at katlyn@laconiadailysun.com or by calling 603-524-0150.