Selectboard to set priority for three big projects in Meredith: Main Street, town offices, Prescott Park

MEREDITH — Community volunteer David Thorpe has been working to prioritize town capital improvement projects, and last week, he presented the selectboard with summaries of minimal, moderate, and aggressive plans to be considered.

“With the minimum being almost entirely maintenance,” Thorpe said Sept. 28. “The aggressive one was most everything we’ve talked about that I know of, with schedules that can probable be attained. The mid plan was pretty much just taking, was pushing, some of those more aggressive items out a little bit, to create a little bit of a middle ground.”

Thorpe provided a one-page summary of all three plans, and in a cover letter, he gave a narrative of the differences between them. He said debt was chosen as the funding means for the five largest projects: Prescott Park; town offices; Main Street; water and sewer projects including the Route 3 sewer and Route 25 12-inch water main; and waterfront infrastructure, including Lovejoy and Hesky Park docks.

Thorpe has been working with town staff on the plans for months, and at the Sept. 14 meeting, he told the selectboard that proposed capital projects could lead to a tax rate hike down the road. He reiterated this in the summary.

“It appears inevitable that 2027 and 2028 capital spending will increase to approximately $4.5 million, increasing the tax rate from approximately $0.50 to $1.10 with any of the three plans,” Thorpe’s report stated. “Increases beyond 2028 will be greatly influenced by the schedules for Prescott Park, town offices, Main Street and continual maintenance projects.”

A member of the Capital Improvement Plan Committee, Thorpe has been working with the selectboard, town manager's office and finance department as a volunteer consultant. He and selectboard member Jeanie Forrester agreed they are not trying to undermine the CIP committee, but rather give “high-level guidance” on scheduling and prioritization.

The aggressive plan was laid out Sept. 14, which included three main projects — Main Street rehabilitation, Town Hall, and Prescott Park — that total $34 million, and could be funded by debt and spread out over 20 years. It also included 23 other “large infrastructure projects” amounting to $19 million.

Thorpe told the selectboard, on Sept. 14, the mid-set of 23 projects are mostly water and sewer, and public works projects. They amount to $50 million over eight years in the aggressive plan. In 2026, capital spending was $0.51 of the tax rate, and the plan at $6.3 million per year would create a jump to about $1.58 in the tax rate.

The minimal plan does not include the three big projects — Prescott Park, town offices, and Main Street rehabilitation — as water and sewer projects take priority. He said building maintenance due to new town offices being delayed would also be included. The plan also included work done on culverts and roads.

The moderate plan includes everything except for the Main Street project, with later implementation schedules. Maintenance projects are on the same schedule as in the aggressive plan.

“The mid plan has the town offices pushed out,” Thorpe said. “It is very likely, if you do that, there are going to be more sustaining maintenance requirements.”

Thorpe’s report went over cost drivers, saying the early years show about the same costs because of large maintenance requirements in water and sewer, roads, culverts, and an aggressive expendable trust fund balance recovery. Costs coming in later years are driven by the waterfront infrastructure maintenance and the three big projects. He noted 2026 costs were “abnormally low” due to significant use of expendable trust funds, and the fund balance.

Thorpe included charts showing that spending in the early years doesn’t change much from one plan to another, due to necessary maintenance work. The changes in the plans come in the later years, with the funding of the big three projects. Thorpe said the landscape has changed dramatically in capital spending this year, noting maintenance has been deferred over the years that is now catching up.

“Where CIP was very comfortable, pretty comfortable, working with about $2.4 million last year, it does not appear to me that that level is going to produce the results you want this year,” Thorpe said.

Thorpe asked the selectboard whether they will give the committee a guideline about maximum spending. He said there are opportunities for lower costs. When the group organized all CIP projects, they took what they thought was reasonable spending, pulled out 26 large projects, and set a line item for the rest of the CIP items.

“Hopefully, that’s too high,” Thorpe said. “Hopefully, by pulling those 26 projects out, CIP won’t need as much as we estimated they would.”

Thorpe asked the selectboard to help set a reasonable cost goal for capital improvements for 2027-29. For years, the town ran at $1.8 million in CIP funding, which increased to $2.4 million last year. However, given what is needed, he said that “just won’t cut it.”

“My earlier estimate, from looking at everything you want to do, is up in the $4 to $4.5 million range,” he said. “Aggressive, mid, low, it makes no difference in ‘27, ‘28, ‘29. It just doesn’t alter those at all, because they are all pretty much immediate maintenance items that need to be done. So, the three plans start to show a difference when you get out around ’28, ’29, ’30.”

Thorpe said it would be helpful if the selectboard could agree on the large infrastructure projects. He laid out was Prescott Park first, followed by town offices, and then Main Street.

“The positioning of those three trigger so much other spending that it would really be helpful if you could affirm that you like that arrangement, or whether you want to hold that in abeyance and we work around it for a while,” he said. “They are such big items, and they swing so much spending, so trying to be clear about the priority of those three would be very, very helpful.”

Forrester said she would reverse this, and prioritize Main Street before town offices, and then Prescott Park. She said Main Street has been pushed off so many years, and this is a priority.

“Again, we go back to wants versus needs, and that’s how I would prioritize it,” Forrester said.

Selectboard member Mike Pelczar said, “they’re all big,” and Main Street will be tough to develop. He thinks it will take a longer look to be done properly. He also hears that Main Street is an economic driver, which also goes for the parks.

“They’re all wants, as far as I’m concerned, so I don’t know how to prioritize one over the other, personally,” Pelczar said. “They’re all good projects.”

Thorpe wondered if there is a way to do cosmetic changes on Main Street for lower costs before going underground and tackling utilities, but Forrester said this likely won’t work, because it will ultimately need to be torn up again.

Thorpe said the town offices strike him as more critical due to priority, as it will trigger sustaining maintenance work.

He asked the selectboard where they want the committee to come in with funding recommendations. Forrester said she needed to have a conversation with the committee, rather than speaking for the group.

After hearing from Thorpe, she knew what plan she doesn’t prefer.

“I don’t want aggressive,” Forrester said. “I think this was a good first start for the conversation for the taxpayers to know what we have out there, what we’re looking at. I think that it will be a sticker shock for an aggressive plan, and I wouldn’t support that. That’s just me.”