NEWPORT — As voters prepare to decide the fate of a $8.65 million appropriation for a new community center, town officials feel confident they will raise enough in donations, grants and other sources needed to fully fund the project should the article pass.
The proposal combines a $4 million bond with an estimated $4.6 million in other sources, of which $2.7 million has been raised.
At the deliberative session last month, the appropriation was amended from $7 million to account for anticipated increases in construction costs. But the requested bonded amount did not change.
At Monday’s Selectboard meeting, Chairman Jeff Kessler said there may be some opportunities for a federal earmark for the project, but he emphasized that nothing is certain.
“There is that possibility, but we can’t count on it until it happens,” Kessler said Tuesday.
The fact the town has raised so much money privately will work in the town’s favor, Kessler said, adding that those efforts will continue. He also said at the board meeting that Town Manager Hunter Reiseberg has heard from some potential donors who are waiting to see if the article passes.
“We are certainly going to raise as much money as we can to reduce the bonding,” Kessler said.
Resident Bert Spaulding, a member of the Newport School Board, expressed his support for the new recreation center at the Selectboard meeting. Spaulding pointed out that the estimate by the architect to renovate the existing center on Belknap Avenue is close to $4 million and would require all indoor recreational activities to be suspended for a long period of time. The town would also have to proceed with the purchase of some land around the center to provide parking. That land is now rented by the town.
The new center, more than double the size of the existing, will solve issues such as handicap access, seating and parking, Spaulding said.
“A no vote (on the article) is indefensible. We, as a community, have to find a way to do it,” Spaulding said.
The new recreation center would be built on Meadow Road and would be close to 20,000 square feet including a 9,000-square-foot gymnasium with seating for 500. The rest of the area would be mostly divided into multipurpose rooms that could host different activities for children, families and seniors, such as birthday parties, club meetings and dancing. The baseball field at the park would be redesigned as well.
In 2019, a similar article failed to get the required 60% approval and, when the pandemic struck, the town decided against bringing back another bond request in 2020 and 2021. The bond would also pay for demolition of the current recreation building, built as an armory in 1939, and construction of a three-bay garage that will be used by the ambulance department.
The first-year debt repayment on the bond would not occur until 2024 and would be 72 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation, with decreases each year after that.
Also on the warrant are a $10.2 million budget and a four-year collective bargaining agreement with the Newport Police Department, with the second-year value of $41,865 for salary and benefit increases.
The budget reflects a decrease in overall spending of $786,000, or about 7% less than this year. Most of the decrease is in capital outlay, which is down $869,000 which went toward the Sand Hill Bridge project. Debt service is increasing while most other department line items are the same as this year. The default budget us about $64,000 more than the proposed budget.
Seven articles seek money for capital reserve funds or non-profits, including Sullivan County Transportation and West Central Behavioral Health.
The fire department has placed an $85,000 appropriation on the warrant by petition. The money , according to the article’s wording, would allow for two career firefighters per shift and “would allow the department to increase day-to-day staffing without having to hire new personnel.”
If all articles pass, including two by petition that are not supported by the Selectboard, the town tax rate is projected to increase 46 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation, which translates into $69 in additional taxes on a home assessed at $150,000.
In the only contested race on the ballot, Kessler, former Newport Police Chief Jim Burroughs and Doug Ring are candidates for two three-year seats on the Selectboard.
Voting by Australian ballot on the Newport Town Meeting warrant is Tuesday, May 10, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the Newport High School gymnasium.
Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com.
