What is the Source of the Numbers in Article 22?
by Chuck Douglas, Chairman
A hearty thank you to all the voters who weathered the cold and stayed until 11:00 p.m. While we have to come back to finish the job on March 24th at 7:00, it will not be as long a meeting because even the Selectmen recommend killing Articles 5 and 6 (as did the Budget Committee). Hopefully, they might even withdraw those Articles if they want to save time for the folks in the room given that there is no one to support those Articles.
I did want to provide you with background information on Article 22. On several occasions I have spoken to the Selectmen and to Dave Stack about a repair program rather than a build program. Obviously, no one wanted to do that if they thought they could get the $7 million building followed by the $4 million new community center, traffic circle, etc. So a number of us did some research early this year and looked for information on the Town website. If you go to it, there is a report posted by Yeaton & Associates dated October 7, 2013, that has photographs and a detailed analysis of how to fix the electrical problems as per the Fire Marshall’s report.
Also, the Town Manager’s status report as of November 4, 2013, stated that the Town hired Robert Cummings, a licensed professional fire protection engineer, to inspect the facility and prepare a compliance plan. That report also says that the preliminary cost estimate to bring the building into compliance with the current electrical codes ranges from $175,000 to $225,000. We then took the midpoint of that range and figured that if the project went out for $200,000, somebody would want it, given how slow work is.
The range hood which was also brought to the Fire Marshal’s attention when the Fire Chief invited the inspection is an item with a $25,000 fix. The Kittredge Equipment Company on Route 3A in Bow has priced it as a 9 foot hood for $10,998 and then with additional cost for the suppression system, roof curve, wall prep, and electrical work, it comes to $25,058. The unknown costs are engineering and stamped plan, the gas connection and some kind of safety rail or platform. None of this is going to run $50,000 or $75,000, but if the Selectmen truly want to not punish the Town further with the closed kitchen that everyone uses at the community building, they would support Warrant Article 22 and make the range hood the first priority, with the electrical the next.
There will be an Amendment offered to Article 22 to authorize the withdrawal of the money from the $225,000 unreserved fund balance for this purpose. The unreserved fund balance is out of the amount of $3,333,135 that is retained as a checkbook balance for Town needs that might arise. The New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration suggests municipalities retain between 8% and 17% of regular general fund operating expenditures and that range of 8% would be $2,726,922, thus leaving a sufficient cushion to cover these costs without increasing taxes at all. The Municipal Services Division posting from the state dated November 15, 2013, follows as an attachment and was signed off by Dave Stack, our Town Manager.
So I would urge you to support the Article as well as to support the Amendment, but with or without the Amendment this at least gets the ball rolling to take care of the electrical problems in the existing building which is going to be with us for at least another year or two, no matter what happens with future construction plans.
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