Voting on the town warrant and the election of officers is from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 14, at the Newport Opera House.
NEWPORT — Supporters of the proposed $6.5 million recreation center on Meadow Road that will be decided at Town Meeting on Tuesday, say the need for a larger center comes down to space and age.
The existing 10,000-square-foot facility on Belknap Avenue was built in 1939 as an armory and became the recreation center in 1967. It has one basketball court, which is not regulation size, and two other smaller rooms, leaving little opportunity for more than one activity at a time. A new center, at roughly twice the size, would allow for a variety of programs to run simultaneously.
“Space available to us is very limited,” Ricky Hammond, a recreation department employee said on a recent weekday afternoon. “If we have 60 kids in the winter, you have maybe 40 kids down in the gym and maybe a dozen basketballs flying everywhere and kids trying to play a game. It doesn’t really work out too well.”
In winter, when outdoor activities are curtailed, the number of kids piling into the center can number 80. Scheduling practice for basketball teams is a constant challenge, and when adult programs begin around 4:30, it further strains the limited space.
In the winter, with so many basketball teams, there is never enough room to practice even using other gyms in town.
“With a new one, we can play hoops with two or three different programs at a time versus one,” said Ray Shepardson, an after-school staff member. “A lot of it has to do with space. It is just too small.”
The age of the facility is another selling point to community center supporters. Recreation Department Director P.J. Lovely said the center is in desperate need of a new roof that will cost several hundred thousand dollars in addition to other improvements. Over the gym, parts of the ceiling that hold insulation are falling down and have to be taped up regularly.
“If you look at all the tape job and plastic up there, it is all coming down,” Hammond said.
The warrant article asks voters to pass a $3.5 million bond that would be added to donations of $3 million. Town officials repeatedly have stressed that the money will not be borrowed or construction started until the full $3 million is in the bank. Thus far, $1.7 million has been donated, which includes a $1 million anonymous donation. The town is hoping more than $3 million will be donated to cut costs further.
In addition to a 9,000-square-foot gym with seating for 500, the new center would have several multipurpose rooms. Among some of the sports and activities the center could accommodate are dancing, movies, a walking club, birthday parties, club meetings and lectures, as well as basketball, pickle ball, wrestling and indoor soccer.
More information on the proposed community center, including architectural renderings, can be found on the town’s website www.newportnh.com.
Lovely said that in addition to a new community center and reconstructed Little League field, the $6.5 million price tag includes money to demolish the Belknap Avenue facility and build a three-bay garage for the ambulance department.
Asked what he has heard from those who oppose the bond, Lovely said for many it is simply about money.
“They seem to appreciate what we do here, and they know there is a need but it is financial for them,” Lovely said.
He added that Newport has always been strong supporter of the recreation department and Tuesday’s vote is a great opportunity to continue that support.
“Twenty years from now, we will look back on this opportunity to gain a valuable community asset for nearly half the price. Those chances don’t come around often.”
If the bond passes with the required 60 percent majority, and the donations are received in a timely basis, construction could begin later this year and be completed next spring. The tax impact for the first year of payment, 2021, is estimated at 72 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation and would slowly decrease each year over the life of the bond, which has yet to be determined.
Also on the warrant is a $9.7 million budget, which represents a spending reduction of about 3 percent from this year. Most of that reduction is from the elimination of two positions and a third position for a police officer that won’t be filled.
The second big expenditure on the warrant is a $4.5 million bond to make federally mandated improvements to the town’s wastewater treatment plant off North Main Street. The repayment of the bond, which requires a 60 percent approval, would be borne solely by the system’s roughly 1,500 users.
The upgrades were expected to be completed several years ago after voters approved a $5.5 million bond but the work failed to remove phosphorous at standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency. Newport sued the engineer and the company that built the filters for the plant for more than $3 million. The settlement is going into the town’s sewer fund to cover some of the cost of the upgrades and also pay down previous borrowing but another bond is required because the total project cost is $9.9 million.
Voters also will be asked to appropriate money for five separate capital reserve funds including $60,000 toward the purchase of a new ambulance. If all requested appropriations pass, the municipal tax rate would increase an estimated 25 cents to $12.04 and add $37.50 in property taxes to a home assessed at $150,000.
In the only contested race on the ballot, Herbert Tellor and School Board member Linda Wadensten are challenging incumbents Jeff Kessler and John Hooper for two, three-year seats on the selectboard.
Patrick O’Grady can be reached pogclmt@gmail.com.
