10:02 a.m .
Wednesday, December 7, 2022 10:02 am
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The County Delegation voted down a $150 million 'blank check' bond on Monday which would have given the County Commissioners full control of spending that bond on what was little more than a concept.
Instead, the delegation authorized approximately $6.5 million to move forward with a complete site evaluation and real, full design plans. To get this done could take up to two years to complete. By doing this, there will be good oversight on spending of tax dollars and better input on design options, costs etc. and hopefully no surprises when done. 
The new bond is 1/41st of the $170 million originally proposed and 1/25th of the $150 million dollar bond we were asked to vote on last night. A very small piece of the new nursing home pie to 1. get things started in the direction of a modern County Nursing home, and 2. Not delay the process while sorting out the differences which most of the delegation felt was needed.
The problems we faced were lack of information, no real guaranteed costs, and many of us felt that all options hadn't been considered, such as an addition to the existing home, privatizing the service, considering if we really needed things in the proposal like a $1 million dollar atrium and other 'Taj Mahal' aspects of the current conceptual plan.
Additionally, we were told that the county could get as much as $50 million, then $25 million in state money for the project (go back and read articles about it) along with more than $2 million 'promised' from a U.S. Senator. No Money, either State or Federal, and I repeat, ZERO had materialized when we were asked to vote for $150 million Monday night.
So what does the bonding that passed do? It requires the County Commissioners to come back for additional funding once the full design has been completed for construction. It is hoped that bonding will continue to take place in steps so that the County delegation can do what it should be doing, watching and controlling the County purse strings for our constituents.
Cliff Newton is a state rep representing Strafford 6. He is a lifetime Rochester resident