Ray Masse: The time is right for Sanbornton building proposal

To The Daily Sun,

This letter is to express my strong support for Warrant Article 1, which will be voted on at Sanbornton’s Town Meeting on Saturday, May 15.

First, I need to recognize the arduous and transparent effort undertaken by our Building Construction Committee (BCC). They could not have done more to inform residents as the process evolved. They created many engagement points including existing facility tours, videos of current facilities, and held multiple open forums seeking resident input. Further, and I think this speaks volumes about the process, on more than one occasion during the nearly two-year long process the BCC listened to the public’s input and revised their direction based on that input. Theirs was a case study in how to have an open process.

The needs addressed by the BCC recommendation in Warrant Article I are many. Their proposal satisfies the needs of our Police Department, whose space today is completely inadequate and unprofessional. More importantly, safety issues repeatedly referenced by our town’s liability insurer are addressed by this plan. To satisfy those needs, first a new and very modest Town Office building of less than 2,700 square feet is being proposed. The existing Town Office building would then be upgraded and repurposed to house our Police Department. Overall, including interest on a 10-year bond, this project will cost well under half of the last building proposal presented to voters in 2019.

Some argue that material costs, having risen rather dramatically in recent months, make this an inopportune time to undertake a building project of this scope. Though it’s true that those costs have increased, I believe that is offset by the historically low municipal bond rates available today (January 2021 = 0.81%). To put the current bond rates in perspective, just three years ago the rates were more than three times higher at 2.57%. In my opinion, there’s little doubt that bond rates will soon be rising. Just by way of example, and taking the two extremes noted (.81% vs 2.57%), that change in interest rates would increase the cost of this project by nearly $214,000 – just to cover the debt. Add to that the historical increase in general construction costs of 4.5–5.0% per annum and, well, I think you get the picture.

With the use of existing fund balances, early pay-down of debt and several other influences all of which are detailed in the BCC’s proposal, they have calculated that the tax impact of this project will be just .11 cents/$1,000 of property value. That’s about $3.00 per month for the average Sanbornton property owner.

There is never a "perfect" time for a municipality to undertake a building project like this, and some would argue that there is never even a "good" time to do so. Occasionally though, there comes the "right" time. I would propose to the voters of Sanbornton that now is in fact the right time. I urge them to approve Warrant Article 1.

Ray Masse

Sanbornton Budget Committee Vice-Chair