NEWPORT — The Sullivan County delegation of state representatives appears ready to unanimously approve a bond toward the long-awaited renovation and expansion of the county nursing home, now estimated to cost between $57 million and $63 million.
A motion by state Rep. Judy Aron, R-Acworth, to bond for $26 million was tabled Tuesday night in an 8-5 vote but only because a majority of members worried the wording would not satisfy the legal requirements of a bond vote.
“We need to carefully craft the motion,” said Brian Sullivan, D-Grantham, who told Aron he agreed with her sentiment that it is time to move forward with the project after years of discussion and debate.
The delegation agreed to meet Monday to vote on the bond but has postponed it because state law requires a seven-day public notice.
Sullivan County Manager Derek Ferland said Thursday he is not sure when the vote will be scheduled. Ferland said he expects to finalize the wording of a motion with the county’s bond attorney in time for the delegation’s Executive Finance Committee meeting on Friday morning.
At Tuesday’s public hearing, with no one from the public in attendance, Sullivan, who is a member of the working group formed to study the nursing home renovation project, explained the current cost estimates and presented the other funding sources. The county expects to receive $25 million, or up to 40% of the overall cost, from the Governor’s Office for Emergency Relief and Recovery (GOFERR). The money would come from a $50 million fund approved by the Joint Fiscal Committee using American Relief Plan Act money that is specifically for capital improvements to county nursing homes.
“We have good vibes from GOFERR and the governor that money is coming through,” Sullivan told the delegation.
Sullivan said, and the delegation and commissioners have agreed, the project would also use a $2 million federal earmark obtained by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., the $7 million the county has remaining in ARPA funds and $3 million from the county’s $5 million capital reserve fund.
The $57 million estimate for the project is from January and Sullivan said the architect suggested adding 5% to 10% as an “inflationary escalator” to arrive at $63 million.
“This number will be pinned down with bids,” Sullivan said. “What we need is a commitment from the delegation to do the project with a bond approval.”
Ferland told the delegation the county expects to receive the application for the GOFERR money by the end of the month and when it is completed it will take about eight weeks for a final decision. It is also about a two-month process to complete the bond package, Ferland said.
State Rep. Gary Merchant, D-Claremont, suggested a bond approval might be premature if the GOFERR funds have not been guaranteed but county commissioner Ben Nelson said bond approval demonstrates a commitment from the county that the project will move forward. Nelson also warned that if the GOFERR money is declined then the project, as now designed, will not happen.
Plans for the aging facility include gutting the nursing home’s Stearns building, making improvements to the MacConnell building and demolishing the Sanders building to clear space for an 82,000-square-foot addition.
The project has been under consideration since 2019. Initially proposed at $35 million, the first bids in 2020 came in at close to $50 million. The delegation rejected that price tag and later formed the working group in the summer of 2021 to look closer at the cost and scope of the work. The group’s conclusion was the project could not be scaled back and a redesign would cost more, as would relocating the nursing home.
Other options discussed at one time before being rejected included getting out of health care or building a new facility, estimated to cost $60 million in 2020.
Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com.
