[0:00] time.

[0:06] » Okay. The chair will call this meeting of border county commissioners to order

[0:10] on September 10th, 2026. First item I Oh, before we move on,

[0:16] Commissioner Feliciano is away on important business. I couldn't be here

[0:22] this morning. Uh she's actually on her way to Florida to be with her

[0:26] grandchildren as they're having a grandchildren's grandparents day at uh

[0:32] somewhere in Florida wherever she's headed and uh she wanted to be with her

[0:36] grandchildren which is a much more important thing but they're going to be

[0:41] here that's for sure. Good. >> So, um, with that said, chair obtain a

[0:47] motion to approve the minutes of August 27th.

[0:50] » Move that. I'll second that. Make any ses?

[0:54] No. Not hearing. All those in favor of adoption to give by saying I oppose. I

[0:59] vote unanimous. Okay. Item two, Mr. B. An update from some department heads.

[1:04] » Who wants to go first? >> Sure.

[1:07] » Go ahead, Keith. Um,

[1:10] » come sit at the table if you don't mind. >> Ah, sure.

[1:15] » Um, so yeah, um, just like say that, you know, I feel like, uh, housekeeping,

[1:20] laundry department, um, we were kind of the the first thing people recognize

[1:25] when coming into a facility, right? So, we kind of set the tone for a lot of

[1:30] these other departments when, you know, new people come in, the work we do. Um,

[1:34] we're the first line of defense against uh preventing

[1:38] uh spread of germs, disinfecting high surfaces. Um,

[1:44] uh, you know, doorork knobs, handrails, and whatnot. Um, and we work closely

[1:49] with uh the infection control coordinator, nursing, uh, and many other

[1:54] departments uh to make sure that that happens. Um, we're we're kind of

[2:03] I don't want to say we go unrecognized, but we're we're kind of on the back

[2:06] burner a little bit uh with some of these other departments. Um but the work

[2:11] we do, it definitely goes um it helps with the residents dignity of life. It

[2:17] helps with their safety and their uh their quality of life. So um we do

[2:24] things such as deep cleaning rooms on a regular basis. Um

[2:30] and uh we uh refinish the floors. Um

[2:35] and uh we have uh Mike Daniels who who does a lot of works with restoring

[2:40] bedrooms and whatnot and facilities. So >> yeah. So, as as um rooms become open, um

[2:50] we try and get Mike in there real quick before we you know, it might postpone,

[2:56] you know, the filling of a room for a day or so, but it's it's an opportunity,

[3:02] you know, the best opportunity comes when when the room's vacant. So, um

[3:09] Mike Mike will go in and and strip everything down, repaint

[3:12] » Yeah. everything we need to do with the walls and and everything else to get it

[3:17] done. >> Yeah.

[3:18] » So, and that that's worked out pretty well.

[3:20] » Yes. Continues to work out too. >> Oh, the department does a great job

[3:24] because you're right. That's the first thing people do when they walk in orders

[3:28] from homeless is they try to judge the environment that

[3:35] » also remember that when we have survey it's unannounced.

[3:40] » Yeah. So it's not like we know survey is coming. We better clean the place. You

[3:44] know the the everything needs to be clean because survey can walk in at at

[3:51] any time. >> You know their normal is 9 to 12 n I'm

[3:55] sorry 9 to 15 months from the last survey.

[3:59] But if they get a complaint, uh, which we could generate the complaint or I've

[4:04] never had a family generate a complaint, interestingly enough, but if we we have

[4:08] a lot of obligations to self-report things. So they could a lot of times

[4:13] they'll just call us to resolve the issues after D

[4:19] does the investigations, but they could just decide to walk in at any time.

[4:25] So, you know, there's >> I um I also do laundry also, which uh

[4:29] you know, the processing of personal clothing, getting it back to them in a

[4:32] timely manner and whatnot. Um >> you know, they also spend a lot of time

[4:36] with the residents, getting to know them firsthand and whatnot. So, a lot of

[4:40] times they hear things and are able to, you know, get that information back to

[4:44] the appropriate departments and whatnot so things can be resolved. So, yeah. And

[4:50] you know that Lynon is done by the jail and um and I think they do a really good

[4:58] job. >> Yeah. Mark Garcia and I we we talk

[5:00] regularly and and Yep. >> I was looking um yesterday when we went

[5:06] for a tour around I was looking at the laundry carts and and

[5:12] um looked really good. I mean, stuff coming from from the I didn't dig

[5:18] through them. Obviously, that's an infection issue, but um from what I can

[5:22] see, things looked really good. >> Okay. Have you got any questions? Sean,

[5:28] all I know is you you guys you guys are doing a great job over there. Super job

[5:33] keeping the facility clean given the nature of what you're

[5:37] you know, >> it's a little more difficult with a

[5:39] building as old as it is. >> As old as it is.

[5:40] » It is. >> Yeah. But I remember old Al Gier over

[5:45] there waxing the floors and every time I go over to the facility, he'd always

[5:51] say, "Look at those floors." Like those floors.

[5:54] » He took great pride in those. So did Brucey Hans.

[5:57] » Yes, he did. Yes, he did. Yeah. Bless his soul. Yeah.

[6:01] » They're both both gone now. >> They were good. They were good people.

[6:06] » Well, thank you, my friend. Of course. Thanks for everything you do.

[6:11] » You're up. up for dietary here. So >> dietary so dietary's been working really

[6:18] hard just to improve the menu. I'm very excited to share that pre as long as I

[6:24] can remember we've had two 3 week cycles and now we're changing it to um three

[6:29] three week cycles. So we're going to have spring, summer and then we just

[6:33] fall by itself and then winter. This actually allows more variety for the

[6:38] residents in which we meet with them at least once a month. We meet with them

[6:43] and

[6:47] » they help us. They guide us on what they'd like to see on the menus,

[6:51] » you know, in that monthly in that monthly meeting. So, it's not just us

[6:55] putting together, you know, what we think they're going to like, you know,

[6:59] they get to help us >> with the

[7:02] » So, every four months it's changing. used to be every six months. Yeah. So,

[7:06] it's kind of exciting for the cooks, too, because they're not getting as

[7:09] bored and they're starting to be really creative and just getting into it. So,

[7:14] » that's cool. How are you making up with food pricing?

[7:18] » The prices is pretty good. We shop around. We meet with the Navigator um

[7:22] purchasing group and he helps guide us the, you know, less prices and stuff.

[7:29] » We buying all our local stuff. Where is it?

[7:32] » Yep. Yep. the fish and bread and all local vendors.

[7:37] » Yeah. >> The other thing is too we you know we do

[7:40] the specialty dinners for birthdays and and anniversaries where you know the

[7:45] residents will get to pick their menus. >> Yeah.

[7:48] » You know for that special day. Um >> there's a wedding this Saturday actually

[7:53] that dietary is doing a cake for and

[7:59] so we get to do those kinds of things. you know, that make things just a little

[8:04] extra special. I I I will say something that and I I have to be careful about

[8:12] how I say it. We had a resident that waited to go

[8:18] um to a place closer to home for him. So, he's been with us for quite some

[8:24] time. And he went to a nursing home somewhere in the Lakes region,

[8:30] not a county. and he waited uh he got in and 3 days he asked to come back. Um and

[8:40] it was a lot of it was related to food. Um in fact it was pretty much all

[8:45] related to food related to safety. So kind of I mean I

[8:51] I never want to feel good about uh something that my resident has gone

[8:56] through uh in in another facility because I

[9:00] think New Hampshire by and large has good really good nursing homes county or

[9:05] private. But, um, I thought it was he talked about variety meals and and

[9:12] really all those things that Jen was has been talking about,

[9:16] um, that we try and offer. So, he's coming back today.

[9:21] » Oh, very nice. >> Yeah. He'll be back this afternoon.

[9:23] We're going We have to go fetch him, but we will. Yes. Awesome.

[9:29] » Yeah. Right. >> So, hopefully he likes the new fall

[9:31] menu. >> Yeah.

[9:33] » That just started Tuesday. I can tell you that

[9:37] years ago, I mean, when the food is not good, that's the first complaint that I

[9:42] hear. >> Yeah.

[9:43] » And I haven't heard any complaints for a long time since you guys have been

[9:47] there. >> Thank you.

[9:48] » Dan before you. You know, I've never got any complaints about food. um outside of

[9:54] my own personal complaint which is that shasta cola. Okay, that's the word.

[9:59] But [laughter] you know the uh so I I can't drink soda

[10:05] anymore anyway, but I for years I did. >> That's awesome. [laughter]

[10:08] » I used to ask Nicole. Anyway, um >> I can't chase her.

[10:13] » Yeah, chase Nicole. Yes. [laughter]

[10:19] » Oh my god, this stuff is horrible. I I feel bad. I always said to myself by the

[10:24] time I leave here, I'm hoping we can have a real Coke in there at some point,

[10:27] but I know it's expensive. Any event, thanks for the thought. You

[10:33] know, the fact that I don't get any complaints about food because

[10:37] » that's something that really gets people upset, you know.

[10:41] » Oh, yeah. And it's all because

[10:45] » we've had some great bakers and food folks working over there in that

[10:49] department for a long time, >> you know, and some of them gone up, you

[10:53] know, moved on. >> Tough job.

[10:57] » I've asked Grace Le Point to come over, you know, Grace being our consultant and

[11:02] and worked for us for a while. You're on, Grace.

[11:06] » Okay. So, um, before I describe a nurse consultant and before I describe what I

[11:12] do at Riverside, I think it makes sense to talk about my history. I was the

[11:17] director of nursing of a nursing home in New Hampshire for 28 years. And when I

[11:22] left there, I started working for the state of New Hampshire doing um,

[11:26] surveys, inspecting nursing homes. I did that for four years. And I will tell you

[11:30] that I inspected Riverside three years in a row. Um, doing that made me aware

[11:37] in going to I've been to every facility in the state and it's made me aware of

[11:42] what is best practice and I've seen worse practice. And when Ry asked me to

[11:48] be a consultant at Riverside because of having knowledge on both sides, the

[11:53] nursing home side and the regulatory side, what I've tried to do is to bring

[11:58] best practice to Riverside. And what happens is that I know as a surveyor

[12:05] when we would go into buildings and if somebody had an issue, we would always

[12:10] talk to them about their systems and that's what we've been trying to work on

[12:14] our systems. In the last couple of years, we've worked on um I can give you

[12:21] a couple of examples. Um, a lot of facilities get cited because a resident

[12:26] after a resident falls, a nurse will go over, get that resident up, put them

[12:30] into bed, and then assess the resident. And that is not a good system. So, what

[12:34] we've put into place is that any resident who falls has to be assessed

[12:39] while still on the floor by two nurses and then they can, you know, to

[12:44] determine if there's an injury. If there is, they get sent 911 to the hospital.

[12:49] Um, they don't even get moved. Um, you know, another best practice is when you

[12:55] have a resident who falls, um, we expect the nurses to come up with an

[13:00] intervention of how to prevent another fall. Because if you have a resident who

[13:05] falls and, um, you do nothing about it and then, you know, 12 hours later they

[13:11] fall again and break their hip, then the ownership is on you. Like, why didn't

[13:15] you put something in place? Why didn't you do something? Um, one of the biggest

[13:20] things too is having um competencies. We um for any procedure that's done in

[13:27] the facility, we have to make sure that we have competent staff and that is in

[13:33] servicing people and also doing annual competencies. As a surveyor, when we

[13:38] would go in and something an incident happened, we would say to the

[13:44] administrative staff, did you educate this person? do they know how to do

[13:48] this? Um, and that would make a different big difference in the

[13:51] citation. So, as a result, we have um started having a skills fair. Um, we

[13:57] have it in October. This year it's going to be October 6th and 7th, I think. Um,

[14:03] and the staff go from 6:00 in the morning to 4:00 in the afternoon, 2

[14:08] days, and we have all of the staff come in and they know which areas they have

[14:13] to go to um to be educated and to have competency.

[14:18] Um, one of the things that we've worked on is um, what's called CMS, the Centers

[14:24] for Medicaid and Medicare have a five-star program and um, every facility

[14:30] in the state is uh, given a star rating. Um, the star rating is based on three

[14:37] areas. One of them is staffing, one of them is quality measures and one of them

[14:42] is um, health inspections. When I first started here, we were a two

[14:47] star. We are now a fivestar and have been for quite a while. Um, so in the

[14:53] star rating, the staffing, Riverside always gets a fivestar for staffing.

[14:59] Quality measures, that's a tough one. And Riverside right now is a three star.

[15:04] And what the quality measures are are there potential negative outcomes for a

[15:09] facility. So if you have a lot of residents who take antiscychotic

[15:13] medication, if you have a lot of bed sores, if you have a lot of weight loss,

[15:17] that all shows up in your quality measures. There's not a lot you can do

[15:22] about the quality measures because we have a lot of people taking

[15:25] antiscychotic medication. We have a behavior unit and we have a dementia

[15:30] unit. There's really not much you can do about that. But I will tell you that

[15:34] some of the areas like bed sores, we never trigger for that. weight loss, we

[15:39] never trigger for that. So, talking about the food, um the one thing and the

[15:45] way that I look at quality measures is that you don't necessarily want to

[15:49] compare yourself to the state and national. You want to compare yourself

[15:54] to yourself. We had this before. Have we gotten any better in such and such an

[15:59] area? The big area that we can work on and we have worked on are our health

[16:06] inspections. um putting systems in place and making

[16:10] sure that people are educated and doing things right has given us we in in um

[16:17] health inspections were a fourstar and the way the fivestar system is set up is

[16:23] that there's a a calculation that they use but um they have to divide it out.

[16:29] So there have to be a certain number of one-star facilities. There have to be a

[16:33] certain number of five-star facilities and then the other numbers in between.

[16:37] So if you work in a state that has bad nursing homes like some of the southern

[16:45] states do, it's very easy to be a fivestar facility. If you work in a

[16:50] state like New Hampshire that has really good facilities,

[16:53] it is very difficult to be a five-star facility. So it it actually it means a

[16:59] lot. The staff have worked very hard. It re it means a lot to be a fivestar. And

[17:04] then to talk about what we're working on right now. Um we're talking about and

[17:11] working on our skilled residents. So the beds at Riverside are what I call duly

[17:19] certified. In other words, they can be paid for the residenc can be paid for by

[17:24] Medicaid or it can be paid for by Medicare.

[17:27] What happens is that some of the facilities um the outside, not the

[17:31] county cones, but some of the other facilities rely on those skilled

[17:36] residents for their for their livelihood because skilled

[17:41] residents, Medicare pays a lot of money for those

[17:44] residents to stay. For us, it's a little bit different because what happens is

[17:49] that if we have a long-term resident, say, who's who is being paid by

[17:54] Medicaid, and they go into the hospital, they have what's called a 3-day

[17:59] qualified hospital stay. When they come back, they are qualified to have

[18:05] Medicare Part A pay for their stay. It actually is a benefit to the facility

[18:11] because the facility gets more money with Medicare Part A than it does with

[18:15] Medicaid. But there is another benefit and I tried to explain this to staff

[18:20] when I was a director of nursing. Um my mother was one of my residents and my

[18:26] mother actually went to the hospital several times. She had a medical issue

[18:30] that she had to go to the hospital. each time she went to the hospital. Um, she

[18:35] was a a teacher and an assistant principal. So, she worked long-term and

[18:39] had a very good retirement. So, what would happen is that when she stayed at

[18:44] the nursing home, her retirement would go toward her stay there and then the

[18:48] state would pay the remaining amount while she was being paid under Medicare

[18:54] Part A. her retirement amount would go into her bank account because the

[18:59] facility was being paid by Medicare Part A. So, they didn't need her amount. And

[19:05] what would happen, I was her power of attorney. So during those times, her her

[19:09] bank account would build up and we had to make sure she didn't go too high. So,

[19:14] we bought her a recliner, we bought her a TV, we bought her a bunch of clothes,

[19:19] and then it got to the point where she didn't need anything. So, we actually

[19:22] started putting her money toward her funeral expenses.

[19:26] A lot of people don't know about that. A lot of people look at the Medicare A

[19:31] benefit and you figure these people work their whole lives. They deserve this

[19:35] benefit. And so, people look at it as, oh, this is nice. You know, the facility

[19:39] is going to get more money. You know, they're paid for by Medicare because

[19:44] you're going to do the services for them. And those services include

[19:47] physical therapy, occupational therapy. So, you're going to do the services. Why

[19:52] not have that benefit too that the resident um you know is able to to get

[19:57] the extra money in their account? Anyway, what we've done is um I've

[20:03] talked to Rey and he has um hired somebody to come as a consultant and

[20:09] what she does, she's going to be doing this independently. She actually works

[20:12] for and has worked for a couple of um companies down in Massachusetts that bas

[20:18] have a lot of skilled or Medicare part A residents and so she knows all of the

[20:24] all of the things that are needed because obviously you don't want to be

[20:29] accused of Medicare fraud. Um, so she knows what things are appropriate, what

[20:34] things are legal, um, as far as having people go skilled and and I'm finding

[20:39] that's the one thing in the facility. The staff have not they have not been

[20:43] really trained on it. And as I said, you know, we're required to have

[20:47] competencies and the staff aren't as familiar with skilled care. So, she's

[20:52] going to be helping during that process. Um, so yeah, it's there's been a lot

[20:58] going on, but >> it's it's a real financial advantage for

[21:03] us >> and and as Grace said, for the resident

[21:06] and the resident's family. Um, if we can keep people on skilled for as long as

[21:14] reasonable the and and it has a lot to do with

[21:18] diagnosises. It had it has a lot to do with documentation by the by the various

[21:24] therapies. Now that we have a a full-time physical therapist back again,

[21:30] um which took us several months to uh that's a I'll tell you that's a um a job

[21:38] where there's not a lot of people. Um, and that's to an extent interferes

[21:46] with your ability to provide skilled care because a lot of skilled care is

[21:51] based on on a lot of physical therapy. We were substituting occupational

[21:55] therapy. we were we did have, you know, periodic physical therapy, but now that

[22:03] we have somebody full-time, it puts us in a better situation

[22:07] uh to meet the demands that uh skilled care puts. And and honestly,

[22:13] you know, it's like anything, you know, you I'm I'm not afraid of an audit, you

[22:18] know, by Medicare. On the other hand, I'm not inviting an audit either, you

[22:23] know, so we want to do things the right way, right? and and the reimbursement

[22:27] is, you know, twice or three times what our Medicaid reimbursement is. So,

[22:33] investing a little bit of money. What we're doing is um

[22:39] » we can we can we're allowing this person access, you know, so she can look in our

[22:45] computer how we've documented what we've done and and uh you know, make some

[22:50] suggestions because this is this is her whole life.

[22:53] » I mean, and and this is what she does. So, we're we're working on that. It's a

[22:57] to me a small investment for a potential um big return.

[23:03] » What made me start thinking about it is as I was in the facility, I would watch

[23:08] and we periodically have a resident, one of our own that would come back skilled.

[23:12] But what when it really hit me was we had a resident who was in the hospital,

[23:17] had a three-day qualifying stay, and then went to another facility for rehab.

[23:23] And I'm not going to name the facility, but it's a facility that I had inspected

[23:28] um several times that was probably one of the worst facilities. And we almost

[23:34] made them survey as one of our focus facilities. And I thought to myself, why

[23:39] would a resident from Riverside go to the hospital and then go to this

[23:45] facility for rehab when there's rehab and so much better care? Every it just

[23:51] didn't make sense to me. So once I saw this, I started thinking about it and

[23:56] and talking to people and asking the questions and then I realized, you know,

[24:00] that that it was just happening that way. But again, in

[24:05] that particular resident's case, they the physician at Riverside did not

[24:11] realize that Riverside does skilled care. So that provider sent this

[24:17] resident to another facility. And and I think that's what we need to I mean why

[24:22] should that facility get the Medicare A coverage for a resident and not give

[24:28] them as good care as as they get at Riverside? Well, you know, that was one

[24:32] of the proposals in the construction of a new nursing was going to need more

[24:37] skilled care, create the physical environments of that.

[24:41] Um, which I don't want to unilaterally defeat it. But, uh, you know, moving in

[24:48] that direction is is something that we're going to have to do. Everybody's

[24:52] going to have to do it because the changes in the health care system are

[24:55] going to demand it. But it's it's better for the resident not to be shuffled

[25:00] around from one facility to the next to the next to the next. It's just,

[25:07] you know, this it's through you folks's effort that all

[25:12] of you combined and other folks over there that we were able to get that

[25:16] fivestar rating. And you know, I I just don't think I know you were in the

[25:18] rating business in the survey. I just don't believe that and it hasn't

[25:24] changed. This is a issue I discussed 20 years ago with the state regarding uh

[25:29] behavioral health. It wasn't recognized by the state through our state plan in

[25:34] terms of reimbursement. Uh and uh it hasn't changed much outside

[25:40] of the fact that we took we took on those behavioral folks in the SBU and

[25:45] then we expanded it. That was a separate deal. But but when you look at it, Ray,

[25:49] they they still haven't done a lot on the behavioral end in terms of

[25:52] reimbursement in in in standard nursing homes. Uh and that's been an ongoing

[25:58] debate. >> And that fivestar program, it's a flawed

[26:00] system. I will tell you because as surveyors, we used to walk into

[26:04] buildings and we tried not to look to see what their you know their star

[26:08] rating was. But when we did now, we would walk into a facility and go, "You

[26:14] have to be kidding me. this is a fivestar or we would walk into other

[26:19] facilities that were maybe a twostar or onear and say

[26:23] » oh my god how come they're only that like they give really good care here so

[26:27] it it's a it's definitely a flawed system

[26:30] » but it's the only system we have so far and eventually

[26:34] you know government slow to respond to things but eventually given the nature

[26:39] of dementia and short of those uh especially here

[26:43] that that have voiced opinions to Mr. Bower and I that tell you what you do

[26:47] need is a bologn sandwich and a shot of whiskey and you can get rid of your

[26:50] dementia. Short of that uh we've been kid multiple times uh until the system

[26:57] will adjust to it because the public publicly held nursing homes are going to

[27:01] have no choice. within five years 100% of our people have dementia as a primary

[27:07] secondary diagnosis and uh that's going to create new

[27:12] challenges and the system's going to have to change that. It's just going to

[27:16] have to do that whether it likes to or not. That's what's going to occur. Uh

[27:22] but maybe maybe the bologn sandwich needs mustard

[27:28] about [laughter] sandwich baloney futures, right? That's no need

[27:32] to go but it's it's true or some of whiskey one or the other. But anyway,

[27:38] thanks guys for all the work you've done. We is reflected in that rating

[27:42] system. Um it's good for the public to hear some of these things uh if they

[27:48] choose to tune in to learn and uh hopefully some point uh the

[27:55] system will shoot the system's under such traumatic change right now anyway

[27:59] that it's hot. It's difficult to figure out what the future will bring, but um

[28:04] I'm proud of the fact that we have you folks working for us.

[28:07] » Thank you. >> Absolutely.

[28:09] » You [clears throat] do a good job of making Ray and Commission look good. I

[28:12] appreciate him. >> And we appreciate you guys' support with

[28:15] us over there. >> All right. Thanks, guys.

[28:19] » Thanks, guys. >> All right. Nice seeing you all.

[28:23] » Nice seeing you. >> Yes.

[28:26] » Okay. Item number three is a proclamation. uh regarding

[28:31] recognizing September 11th which is tomorrow 25th anniversary of the attacks

[28:37] in New York uh commission has a proclamation. I'm going to read uh it

[28:44] and uh it starts off whereas November 11th, 2026 marks the 25th anniversary of

[28:50] the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, a day that forever changed our

[28:56] nation and remains deeply etched in the hearts and memories of the American

[28:59] people. And whereas the events of September 11th demonstrated

[29:04] extraordinary courage and selfishness as firefighters, law enforcement officers,

[29:08] emergency medical personnel, military personnel, public servants, and ordinary

[29:13] citizens risk their lives to help others.

[29:17] And whereas we honor the 343 firefighters and paramedics of the fire

[29:23] department of New York City, the 23 New York police officers, the 37 port

[29:29] authority officers, and all other first responders who made the ultimate

[29:32] sacrifice while serving others and where our nation suffered the loss

[29:38] of over 2,996 innocent lives

[29:42] for attacks that were carried out against the United states and where is

[29:48] the last 25 years since September 11th, 2001, our nation has continued to

[29:52] remember those who were lost, support those who survived, care for those who

[29:56] continue to suffer from physical and emotional consequences of that day, and

[30:00] recognize the sacrifices made by generations of first responders and

[30:04] military personnel. And whereas the 25th anniversary

[30:08] provides an opportunity for the people of Straford County to pause and reflect

[30:11] upon the lives lost, the families forever changed, the heroes who answered

[30:15] the call, and the enduring values of courage, compassion, service, unity, and

[30:20] resilience. And therefore, the Straford County

[30:23] Commissioners encourage all residents to honor the memory September 11, 2001 by

[30:28] remembering those who were lost, recognizing the sacrifices of first

[30:31] responders, members of the armed forces, and reaffirming our commitment to

[30:36] support one another in times of need. Therefore be it hereby be it proclaimed

[30:42] that the Straford County Board of Commissioners hereby recognizes

[30:45] September 11, 2026 is the 25th anniversary of September 11, 2001 and

[30:50] calls upon the residents of Straford County to observe the solemn anniversary

[30:54] with remembrance, reflection, gratitude and respect for all those whose lives

[30:59] were forever changed by the events of that day. The commissioners have affixed

[31:04] the seal of Stratford County onto this document and this will be hung here uh

[31:10] in the courthouse that's been signed by my colleagues and myself. Tomorrow

[31:16] there's going to be a dedication of a of a a memorial in downtown Dober

[31:22] recognizing the 25th anniversary as well opposite the uh well it's actually right

[31:28] in the heart of downtown the courtyard of the mill. I want to

[31:33] thank Commissioner Lever for your donations to the to that project. uh

[31:39] with it and uh I know exor carrier has been leading the show on that as well.

[31:45] Um one of the uh quick things not offline here but I

[31:51] spoke to Mayor Kerati let's start calling him Mr. monument

[31:56] sitting in do um does a good job. He does he does a great job at doing that

[32:01] and uh uh the uh I spoke to him about the World

[32:07] War II monument that was that's placed behind city hall uh on uh at the

[32:12] McConnell Center. Uh folks buy bricks there for loved ones who served during

[32:17] World War II. One of the things I asked him to do was

[32:21] do something to recognize the Merchant Marines. World War II Congress. The

[32:26] 1970s recognized all active members of the Merchant Marines as as World War II

[32:32] veterans. Uh, and the reason for that is we lost more merchant marines during

[32:37] World War II than we did any other branch of the service. So, I've asked

[32:40] him to work with me to get a monument put there for the merchant marines as

[32:44] well since we've lost so many of them during World War II.

[32:50] So, uh, we'll move on another item number four,

[32:55] which is the affordable housing update. Um, really don't have much to report on

[33:00] that. Uh, the, um, I would like to request, Mr. Bows, that

[33:08] you begin the process of developing the RFQ

[33:11] uh for, uh, this publication. Um, I've had a number of nonprofits contact me

[33:20] and and Commissioner 11, all three commissioners actually. Um, Bill Housing

[33:24] Authority has contacted us as well. The community action program has some

[33:28] interest in in what it is we're trying to accomplish. Um, a couple of things

[33:33] I'd like to stress. The uh commissioners got a letter from

[33:37] the a handful of Republican members of the county delegation regarding

[33:43] the uh uh fact that they felt that the county commission did not have the

[33:48] authority to uh uh do what we're doing. Uh which is absolute nonsense.

[33:55] The statute gives clear authority to the county commissioners to pursue any type

[33:59] of project. Uh we have care custody control under the statute of all county

[34:03] real estate. uh and uh they can be upset with the

[34:07] concept but they can't be upset with the fact the county commissioners have the

[34:11] power and the authority to act in this manner because it is a concept.

[34:15] » It's preliminary. >> It is preliminary and also uh I've

[34:19] repeated this multiple times that the county delegation would have to approve

[34:24] any project that we we would come up with. Um uh I recognize uh the the power

[34:32] of the county commission has had some limitation. It needs it needs approval

[34:37] of the county delegation. I don't need some one or two term state

[34:41] representatives telling me my job. I find it insulting. I don't think it's

[34:46] right. Uh it was done for political reasons and it's the worst politics of

[34:51] all because they're lying to the public. They're not. We decided to make this

[34:56] process as open as possible, as transparent as possible. We were accused

[35:01] last time of uh working on these things privately and then rolling out the the

[35:06] finished product. So, we decided to do it the other way.

[35:10] Now, however, being criticized for doing it the other way. So, uh, in either

[35:16] event, uh, and on top of all that, the

[35:21] legislature, the Republican legislature passed a law saying that the counties

[35:26] and municipalities should do something with uh, land that's available for

[35:31] workforce housing and they also funded it.

[35:35] So, they funded it. So the Republican legislature funds

[35:39] funds are ask the municipalities and the counties to make land available for this

[35:45] use. We're going ahead and trying to do what

[35:48] the legislature asked a Republican legisle and I get several legislators

[35:51] who are Republicans turn around and telling me that we shouldn't be doing

[35:53] what we're doing. They'll have their opportunity when the delegation meets to

[35:58] voice their concerns one way or another and maybe we change the plan as a result

[36:02] of what what their input is. But uh I think some of them need a civics lesson.

[36:08] But that's beside the point. Mr. B, >> the one thing that I thought was

[36:13] fascinating uh the statute passed unanimously out of the house, I'm sorry,

[36:20] unanimously out of the committee 16 to nothing. Then it didn't even gender a

[36:26] debate in front of the full house. it was passed on a voice vote

[36:32] um and turned into an RSA which we've I've articulated in in the in the

[36:38] response letter >> and I included a copy of the RSA. So,

[36:45] » uh I have talked to the state agency. I've talked I've emailed back and forth

[36:52] with the state agency through the New New Hampshire Association of Counties.

[36:55] it indicates they are working on the implementation of that law. So um I

[37:03] think it's fascinating when we get a letter that says

[37:08] we don't have any right or authority to do that when this same legislature Yeah.

[37:15] this same group of people passed a law enabling us to do this. Um, so I I'm

[37:24] it's just fascinating. I I don't I in House Bill 2, I'm just going to add

[37:30] for the public's edification who might watch this YouTube

[37:36] video of our meeting, there's a section of the statute that says uh the U

[37:44] legislature shall be given priority to fund this program. Available funding may

[37:49] be made by the Department of Housing and developers whom a municipality or county

[37:55] pursuant to RSA 28C 28 cola a- C transfers ownership of

[38:01] municipality or county-owned property for the purposes of residential

[38:04] development where at least 20% of the housing units to be developed will be

[38:08] affordable for a period of at least 20 years. and the compilation of municipal

[38:14] and county owned property determined to be appropriate for residential

[38:17] development pursuant to RSA 12-0 col 72-A and RSA 674 col1

[38:26] Roman numeral 7. So the law isn't is pretty specific.

[38:32] This is the reason why the county commissioners

[38:35] uh went to look over some of the old plans that we had of four or five years

[38:40] ago uh to see whether whether we could put some form of affordable workforce

[38:44] housing here on the complex. Uh we've taken the opportunity to uh review the

[38:52] uh existing land uh that we have here and we're simply following the will of

[38:57] the legislature and uh uh and they funded it which um

[39:04] we're going to apply for some of that funding. We may not be successful. We

[39:08] may be successful. Again, it's just a concept. However, to think that we

[39:13] wouldn't run that by the county delegation is ludicrous. Well, the other

[39:17] thing, Mr. Chairman, at each one of your meetings, and there was, you know, three

[39:23] previous meetings where this was discussed, you always at some point

[39:27] during that meeting stress the fact that we know we need to go to the delegation

[39:32] for the use of of any land. But I mean, it it it just makes common sense. U Mr.

[39:41] chairman a historically up to a third of our delegation changes

[39:48] over every election. It makes no sense to bring anything in front of this

[39:54] delegation when there a third

[39:59] likely won't will be won't be here, >> right?

[40:02] » When when this plan gets a lot closer to fruition,

[40:08] » right? uh which which right now we're just sharing concepts on a week-by-week

[40:12] basis. >> Yeah.

[40:14] » Um so you know there it's there's a long

[40:18] way to go. It's a way long way to go you know before so there there'd be no point

[40:24] if we brought this to the delegation. we would look foolish because we wouldn't

[40:30] be able to answer the questions that they ultimately the appropriate

[40:35] questions >> that that they would be asking us

[40:38] because we haven't gotten that far in the process.

[40:41] » Right. Yeah. >> And we've spent no county money, you

[40:49] know, to get us to where we're at. >> Just time.

[40:51] » Yeah. >> Just time. Yeah. Mostly mine and yours.

[40:56] uh and Commissioner Felicianos for that matter with their questions regarding

[41:00] architecture and such. So, you know, the uh it's just I just find it fascinating

[41:05] the hypocrisy is just beyond the pale. In any event, u

[41:14] I'd like to have you, Mr. B, proceed in in drafting that RFQ.

[41:20] Uh I did get a call from uh the uh National Association of Counties.

[41:26] There's a number of counties around the country that are doing this at present

[41:30] and they said they willing to offer technical expertise on that in that end.

[41:34] We have regional planning that we could also call upon that's so it doesn't cost

[41:39] us anything but a little bit more of your time um and some staff time but

[41:44] limited especially if we can get the regional

[41:47] planning or or the the national association to actually send us a draft.

[41:52] what you know what I've been working on uh besides you know supervising

[41:57] community corrections besides being the administrator of the nursing home and

[42:01] and the county administrator besides those things um we just

[42:08] as of the due date of September 1st submitted

[42:14] a grant close to $3 million uh for the work to be done at Riverside

[42:21] um which translates to 655 pages

[42:29] uh is the size of the grant. Uh we got acknowledgement you know that they

[42:34] received it in a timely manner. Uh but it took a lot of time to do that and um

[42:43] so I I I will admit to you that I wish I was further ahead on the RFQ, but I'll

[42:49] you know I'll start putting that on the front burner. But I I didn't want to

[42:54] miss the due date on that grant. No, >> you you know that what what happened

[42:58] unfortunately was they had a process on this grant where

[43:03] you had to be pre-qualified to apply and they were supposed to get back to us

[43:09] promptly because we submitted the qualifications.

[43:13] Um, but they were like 3 weeks late at granting us and everybody else the

[43:20] pre-qualification and instead of lengthening the time in

[43:26] which we had to apply, understanding that we lost 3 weeks, they didn't change

[43:32] the due date. So because they were late in in approving us, um it it left us

[43:40] with only 3 weeks to put together that grant, which again turned out to be 655

[43:46] pages long. >> So it it's not it that's a lot of work.

[43:52] » Well, it's a lot of work in in a in a much shortened period of time. Um and

[43:57] but on the other hand, um it's a lot of money and and we'll

[44:03] correct some of the ills at Riverside, >> right?

[44:07] » Um I mean, it doesn't change the fact that we still have four people that use

[44:10] one bathroom or that we have 42 people that use one shower,

[44:15] » but but I'm sorry, we could shut that up. But at the at the very least um

[44:23] you know it'll be warmer, it'll be cooler. Um and you know our boiler will

[44:31] be our second boiler will be replaced and we'll have a roof that

[44:38] doesn't leak >> and it's free money. Why would we want

[44:42] » and there's no match to it? >> Um there's no match to it. Well, the

[44:48] money was made available by the Trump administration for healthcare

[44:51] facilities. The counties were considered to be a priority. Uh,

[44:56] » and it's written right >> right in

[44:58] » it's written right in there that the county nursing homes are are um

[45:03] » given a priority >> priority for 20 million,

[45:06] » right, >> of of the hund00 million. And I know

[45:09] some county nursing homes didn't apply. So, I I don't feel like we're taking up,

[45:15] you know, somebody else's share um you know, by applying for more than

[45:20] our 10%. So, we'll see how that goes.

[45:28] But that that was due um and we just got it in on September 1st,

[45:35] but I did get the acknowledgement that they've received it in a timely manner.

[45:40] So, I'd like to have you get that RFQ back for the commission to review it

[45:43] within 30 days. >> Oh, I I'm two weeks.

[45:47] » I'm thinking two weeks. >> Okay, good.

[45:49] » Yeah. I just I'm going to rely on Nico to help

[45:53] » I'm sure that that >> they've got it in the can.

[45:56] » Yeah, that's that's what I'm thinking, you know, and then we can modify it to

[46:00] » right to fit our >> to fit our particular needs. Yeah. Okay.

[46:06] All righty. Uh they've got uh upcoming hearings,

[46:15] CDBG grants uh on the 24th and 25th of next. That's two weeks from now, right?

[46:21] Yeah.

[46:24] » Okay. Any older new business do you want your general discuss? I got a couple old

[46:29] things. I walked the warming center today, the swing atrocities. It looks

[46:33] like they're flying. They're actually going really well. I I talked to them um

[46:38] last Friday. Of course, Monday was a holiday. I was here, but I didn't expect

[46:42] that they would be working on the holiday. Um and they indicated that they

[46:47] were, you know, they had the equipment there to put the trusses up. They said

[46:52] they were going to start on Wednesday. They hoped to start on Tuesday, but they

[46:56] decided they were going to for sure start on Wednesday when they had the

[46:59] appropriate staff there. So, I have not gone by since I went down and walked.

[47:04] And then on top of that, at the end of the month, they're going to be tight,

[47:07] he's telling me, which is the way they're going at it. It's going to

[47:10] happen. >> So that's huge.

[47:13] » So yeah, a real good situation for us to be in.

[47:18] » I got a question. Right. >> Oh, can I just mention one other thing

[47:22] about that? >> We um sent community corrections and

[47:27] Riverside maintenance and we did clean out pond pond. Okay. How's the tie

[47:33] situation on the track? >> I I honestly, Mr. Chairman, I forgot to

[47:38] ask. Okay. >> Um when we did have it towed down there,

[47:42] um >> the fire chief is supposed to be calling

[47:46] me at some point today to discuss uh >> David K did uh

[47:52] did I'm sorry. U Dwayne K did tell me that he was going to reach out to the

[47:57] tire company and have that fixed. He towed it down there with the um um you

[48:03] know the one tire that he was afraid it was going to cause some a flapping

[48:09] problem, but it turned out to be okay. He he made it. We went the back route

[48:14] » and made it there. So, um >> so community

[48:17] » we did cut the lock off um and the fire department put another lock a different

[48:22] lock on and we all have keys. >> Okay, good. Yeah, the fire department

[48:27] was tremendously helpful. Um, >> do you know how many firemen were there?

[48:31] I'm supposed to talk to Chief today about

[48:33] » I know there was six of us. Uh, I don't know how many I didn't ask Troy how many

[48:39] um other people besides the six. I think Troy kind of took control um you know

[48:45] about how it was going to be done and how they were going to move things out,

[48:48] where they were going to take it apart, you know, all those kinds of things. And

[48:52] I think he said uh I I had arranged so that everybody would meet there at 9 and

[48:58] he had indicated they were done by one. So we have uh the

[49:05] the tractor trailer still sitting there. Remember that was ours. We've had that

[49:09] for years and years and years. >> Um so now we just got to figure out the

[49:14] timing of of moving that. And we did bring extra. We brought our flat

[49:20] trailer. Actually, it's not true. They brought my trailer and my truck um in in

[49:26] case they needed it, you know, because I had that 15,000lb dump trailer. So, um

[49:32] but I don't believe I believe they managed to fit everything into the

[49:36] tractor trailer. >> Okay.

[49:40] uh along the lines of speaking about the city of Dover and their fire department.

[49:44] Uh they had requested a bus to run a 8- in water line down from the corner

[49:51] hydrant behind the arms house down to the training site. Uh, as I had made the

[49:58] commissioners aware, um, about a month and a half ago in administrative

[50:03] session, they um, they finally forwarded to me a c a copy of the plan.

[50:11] » Okay. >> The city of DO was willing to pay for

[50:14] the line. Uh, so all they need is permission for from us to run the line

[50:21] there. So if you want to make a motion to do so, I would preempt and make a

[50:24] motion. Yeah. Okay. I'll second it. Extend the 8 in water line to the

[50:28] training site. It's 655 ft long. Uh city of DO's been out to

[50:36] check cuz that's old infrastructure out there feeding the arms house and the

[50:41] daycare center. They wanted to make sure if they did any work. They did some

[50:45] testing out there of the existing hydrants that run around the facility

[50:48] and they said that it would not interfere with uh the operation of

[50:53] Southeastern or uh the daycare center. They let me

[50:58] know that yesterday. >> That does also, I think, benefit some of

[51:01] community corrections work that they do down there every once in a while when we

[51:05] get a permitted uh >> burn burn we get a burn permit for the

[51:10] » water supply down there fix it. >> It would be nice. We don't have that

[51:14] available. >> Yeah.

[51:16] » And and I'm I'm also when we do obviously we don't do the burn or the

[51:21] snow on the ground because we need to acquire a permit. I'm gonna see if Dover

[51:26] uh is interested in using that also as a training um scenario because that pile's

[51:33] getting kind of big and and I mean right now it's it's Matthew and Troy, you

[51:38] know, and I think it would be uh better if maybe Dover would consider, you know,

[51:44] just having a a truck stand by. Chief uh Chief Driscoll also mentioned to me that

[51:50] and I told him I would bring it up here is that uh uh they're looking to put

[51:56] some form of I don't want to use the term permanent

[52:00] but a classroom on wheels uh you know like you had they had during

[52:06] co the schools had classrooms set up they were looking to put a training uh

[52:12] uh classroom there

[52:14] » modular class >> yeah modular classroom. Thank you. Uh

[52:18] there um and uh I told him I would bring it up. I didn't think we would have any

[52:23] objection to that. >> I think that'll can go right on the

[52:25] right hand side as you look at the train. It could go right on the right

[52:30] hand side. There's plenty of room there. >> Well, they just didn't want it down

[52:32] there. I'm planning on stuff like this. We might want to talk about power

[52:38] » because there is no power. There is no power down there. So,

[52:42] » especially if they're going to be digging anyhow.

[52:44] » Yeah. >> Well, yeah. I don't know if we want to

[52:47] spend have the expense of underground, but we certainly could bring it down to

[52:50] where the hydrant is. >> Um,

[52:52] » well, it'll be up to us. It'll be up to the city.

[52:57] » Yeah, the cities. Yeah, the city's pitching in to do that. I'll I'll

[53:00] discuss that with city manager Joy when the appropriate time comes. I don't

[53:04] know. They like to have it in by the end by the by by the time the snow flies.

[53:09] They got a huge training. They said they were planning on the end of October. I

[53:13] don't know if we can get it in that fast, but uh we'll see. I don't know

[53:17] what uh the city manager has, but yeah, but uh they were looking for

[53:24] an affirmative vote from us, which it looks like an easy run in the sense that

[53:28] it'll just go along >> alongside the road, right? You know,

[53:31] alongside the >> We're not aware of any ledge or anything

[53:34] like that, right? >> No. No. We haven't done a lot of digging

[53:38] in there, but I'm I'm not aware of anything. Worst case scenario, a boss,

[53:43] and I'm positive where there's no ledge, is is on the opposite side of the road.

[53:48] » Yeah, I I know that that that's clear. >> Uh so worst case scenario, they go

[53:53] across the road, but they'd have to go back across the road when they got down

[53:56] at the bottom. But I obviously, >> but I don't think that's necessary. But

[54:00] I I know that that area is clear. >> And if you if you go out and look at the

[54:05] old pump house that's out there on that road, you know, the old

[54:08] » Yeah. up up on the hill >> on the hill.

[54:11] » When they put that in, they didn't see any they didn't come across any

[54:15] boulders. They would have if they have left them there on the side. There's no

[54:17] there's no signs of stone or anything. >> That's all farmland. So they didn't have

[54:21] » No, that was our sewer lagoons. >> That was Oh, it's already been dug out

[54:25] once. >> Oh, there's there's two mass.

[54:28] » Yeah, we got a grant to we got a grant to fill fill it in.

[54:31] » To fill it in, but they're still sitting there. They're just underground. They're

[54:34] under the they're beneath the training center.

[54:36] » Yep. That's what they are.

[54:39] » That was quick. >> I don't even quite

[54:43] » tell you some stories about that. >> Yeah, that place was

[54:46] » we had one maintenance guy. That's all they did was go running and bolt in

[54:49] those sewer and >> I donated.

[54:51] » Keep them running. >> Keep them running. Send a skin diver

[54:54] down. >> Yeah.

[54:56] » Yeah. Check the airlines. It was just >> if an airline broke Yeah.

[55:00] » need you'd have to pay a diver. >> Diver to go down and pick up the

[55:04] airlines. Oh my god. and all. Yeah. Yeah. Then we would

[55:09] inject we would inject the effluid with chlorine that would be it and just dump

[55:13] it in the river. Yeah. I think going that's how we did things years ago.

[55:18] » Fortunately, you know, we tied in with the do sewer system and and that helped

[55:22] us both out. >> It did

[55:23] » because at the time do an adequate flow to support the the pump

[55:31] station, you know, the the processing center. So they needed a bigger flow

[55:36] » and simultaneous with that we we are the largest water user in the city of Dober.

[55:41] So it it it helped us both you know in in uh when when we tied in the sewer

[55:48] line. >> Yeah. So it was all a good thing for

[55:52] everyone all the way around and I had two boats ruined.

[55:57] » My bad. >> Yeah.

[55:58] » Ate them up. I think uh >> between the chlorine and I think the

[56:03] cleaning cavities. >> Yeah. You know the

[56:07] I know that you know Rochester's seriously considering a data center so I

[56:11] know that would use a lot of water. >> Yeah.

[56:14] » That was a joke. [laughter] >> That was that was

[56:18] » back in the chest cuz we just asked something.

[56:21] » That was a joke. I I read it in the paper [clears throat] so I thought I'd

[56:25] throw that out there. >> That's right. I needed that. I was

[56:28] winking at George indicating it was going to be a joke.

[56:31] » You know, I don't know where they're going to put that Dana in the center,

[56:32] but I wish we had a room for it in Do because I'd gladly accept that in the

[56:37] employment. Everybody Everybody loves technology.

[56:40] » The problem is do you know Dober is is really has a lack of water.

[56:44] » Yeah. >> I mean they they pump

[56:47] » if you look at the communities. >> No, if you we don't have the water

[56:53] either. If you look at if you look at the infrastructure,

[56:57] » if if you look at the area properties, uh I'm talking about cities, the first

[57:04] place to put a drought warning is always do.

[57:09] » It's a river empty right now. >> Yeah, it's always it's always do.

[57:13] » You know, maybe they ought to look at doing something at turnkey sections of

[57:16] turnkey are shut down. They can build a data center right on top of it.

[57:19] » They got to do something with it. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Water and electricity.

[57:23] » Water, electricity just pump out of the river and

[57:26] » did we have that little house? I can't talk. You're not supposed

[57:31] to comment. >> Yeah, it's all right. I'll let you talk

[57:33] in a second. >> Yeah.

[57:36] » So, anyway, okay, we got to hold this. Oh, tomorrow uh you're going to be going

[57:40] to the 911 meeting representing commission.

[57:45] » Tomorrow I have to be at conquered um the association of counties meeting.

[57:50] We're going to make a I'm going to work with an outfit called is shield to make

[57:54] a presentation to all counties uh as in my position as president of all the

[57:59] county commissioners to uh bring a new technology to all county nursing homes

[58:05] called uh hopefully that hopefully they'll agree to this. It's called air

[58:09] shield. It's using plasma technology to eliminate disease in all nursing homes.

[58:15] It goes it goes into the uh the heating and cooling systems. It would be a

[58:21] wonderful thing for the jail. This plasma uh system uh is brand new

[58:26] technology. It um eliminates pathogens in the air and on surfaces. Uh and it's

[58:35] been proven. It's a proven model. Uh it would be great for jails and for nursing

[58:40] homes, but I've got to make a presentation regarding it to uh the

[58:45] balance of my colleagues across the state

[58:48] uh and to see if they have any interest in

[58:52] uh joining together and going after a go north uh grant so that all counties

[58:58] could have that use of that technology. So I won't be at the 911 memorial in do

[59:03] tomorrow. appreciate you living like when you when you get there.

[59:09] » Okay. Do we have any of the old and new presidents?

[59:11] » Just Yeah. >> I wanted to, you know, public

[59:14] » Oh, yeah. We want to talk about this. >> We want to publicly introduce

[59:17] » Yeah. >> Kristen. Um who will be eventually um in

[59:22] Dian's position, >> right?

[59:24] » Um as as you know, uh it was an exhaustive search on our part. We think

[59:29] we have a great candidate and um she started this week. Just so happens

[59:34] Diane's on vacation, but there's um so she will be working with Diane over the

[59:40] next >> We should throw you to the walls and not

[59:42] even here to help you. >> It's okay. It's okay.

[59:46] » I have a lot to do. I have a lot. >> We got a lot of knowledgeable people

[59:49] here in the office, including not only Ray, but the others.

[59:53] » So, we got a skeleton crew here. We don't have a lot of help, but

[59:57] » she'll be working with Diane for the next couple few months before Diane

[1:00:01] actually retires. And then Diane will be available to us on call. Um, it's

[1:00:07] probably the most complicated Probably should have told you this before we

[1:00:10] hired. It's it's the most complicated job in the county uh in terms of of

[1:00:16] because it's not like municipal finance, >> but it's it's much more complicated than

[1:00:21] that. Um, >> Sure.

[1:00:24] So anyway, we'll um um it was an exhaustive search and and

[1:00:31] Kristen was by far the uh best candidate for sure.

[1:00:37] » Well, we're going to wish you the best of luck. We look forward to working with

[1:00:39] you. Absolutely. >> Thank you. I'm happy to be here.

[1:00:43] » Okay. Uh yeah, Mr. B, one other item in your business. I want I want uh has been

[1:00:50] customary for you to extend an invitation to all the candidates for

[1:00:53] county commissioner uh uh that are that are running that if

[1:00:58] they want uh tour of the facilities that you extend that.

[1:01:04] » Well, as soon as I know who they are. >> Yeah.

[1:01:07] » I think we I think we kind of know who they are.

[1:01:09] » Well, not necessarily. I mean, we still waiting to see where the Democratic

[1:01:13] nominee is uh against you. We're We're kind of I mean, I looked as

[1:01:19] late as this morning um and Secretary of State's website only has the uh federal

[1:01:27] offices listed. They don't have any of the I mean, they have them down there,

[1:01:32] but there's no no data. >> Yeah.

[1:01:34] » So, I'll keep looking and and um and and then sent out a a letter to everyone.

[1:01:43] » Okay. Yep. Soon as they >> Yeah. as soon as I know who it is.

[1:01:46] » Yeah. >> Which I don't know the way it's looking

[1:01:49] it might not be till the beginning of the week,

[1:01:51] » right? That's fine. Uh

[1:01:56] you want to talk about >> So I have a couple questions. Is this

[1:02:01] this being may I'm not financial sometimes, you know. Um the right to

[1:02:06] [clears throat] know law on the housing project. Do we have a contingency fund

[1:02:10] or something to fund this? >> No, I I have no ability to fund that.

[1:02:14] Well, um, you know, I don't want to talk about

[1:02:18] this like it's the elephant in the room. I mean, it's your submission. Um, it it

[1:02:24] one of the things you asked for is the potential cost of this. So, um, I know

[1:02:29] there's things that can be charged and things that can't be charged. the the

[1:02:32] the issue is not so much necessarily the paper that's

[1:02:37] produced, but it's doing all the background checks to be sure that it I

[1:02:43] mean it the right to know request when you print it out is eight pages long. So

[1:02:48] there's a a variety of things that need to be researched. It's uh and and I

[1:02:54] suspect from looking at it that there's a variety of things that we don't have.

[1:02:59] Um, but I have to but I have preliminary still.

[1:03:03] » Well, it's not preliminary. I mean, he's got a cost. He's he's going to have to

[1:03:06] answer it. >> But what's what's the estimated cost you

[1:03:08] think that? >> I'd say probably 300 hours of work. So,

[1:03:12] probably $30,000.

[1:03:16] » Come back and ask us again for another one where we're halfway down through

[1:03:20] this. >> I don't know. Well,

[1:03:24] I'm going to ask you publicly, uh, Susan. I'm going to ask you uh my humble

[1:03:29] suggestion is is that I read your your right to no request. Uh

[1:03:36] most of it has no answers. Um I'm >> Can I just suggest something?

[1:03:42] » Sure. Sure. Because I'm going to ask you to withdraw it because you're you're

[1:03:45] going to cost this county $30,000 unnecessarily because there's nothing to

[1:03:49] know. >> Can I Sure.

[1:03:51] » Okay. At the last meeting when this was

[1:03:54] brought up, I've given it a lot of serious consideration in the information

[1:04:00] that has since come forward and the discussions that you had. One of my

[1:04:07] things today under public comment was I want you to know that I am reconsidering

[1:04:12] and there's maybe I can pair that down and go through it.

[1:04:18] » Okay. >> Okay,

[1:04:19] » that's great. That'd be great. I appreciate that. So because I

[1:04:22] » because it's

[1:04:29] » I understand that whether you believe me or not.

[1:04:34] I love this county as much as you do. Okay. And want to see the best for it.

[1:04:39] » Okay. >> Okay.

[1:04:43] » I think we can. >> And it's something I think that I can go

[1:04:47] back through. >> Okay.

[1:04:49] and we can work this out. Okay. >> Y'all

[1:04:53] that would be awesome because >> give it a little time too. Let it

[1:04:58] » some of it will percolate itself. >> Absolutely.

[1:05:01] » But yeah, many of our answers >> already percolated itself out.

[1:05:06] » Okay. >> Okay.

[1:05:07] » All right. >> Yeah. Beautiful.

[1:05:08] » Isn't this what it's about? It's working together in give and take and

[1:05:13] communicating. Absolutely. And if anybody knows me, it's

[1:05:19] nine times out of 10 with me, it's process and transparency.

[1:05:24] And you shut me up on that. And you are transparent in the process.

[1:05:32] » Yeah. You're not you're not going to learn anything that we don't already we

[1:05:35] don't know much as it is right now. Right. I mean, we had we had the we had

[1:05:39] the concept. That's it. >> Go back to that very first meeting,

[1:05:43] George. And there was this next morning all the information came out in the

[1:05:48] newspaper. >> Yeah. I I want to address that.

[1:05:52] » If I can. >> Yep.

[1:05:54] » Absolutely. >> On the on the Zoom that day, Karen

[1:05:58] Dander from Fosters was on the Zoom. >> Yep.

[1:06:01] » I understand. >> And but it said Karen

[1:06:04] and I thought it was one of our employees. Okay. I didn't know that it

[1:06:08] was the newspaper. when the newspaper calls called me after

[1:06:13] the fact. It was after the fact. >> It was also something

[1:06:16] » those questions those questions she could have asked me those questions if

[1:06:20] if she'd have opened on public forum on the public forum she could have asked me

[1:06:24] the same questions. So uh she went into she did a little deeper dive into some

[1:06:30] of the details of it but if had she had asked me those questions here you would

[1:06:35] have heard those answers >> right and that's what I

[1:06:38] » and that's not my fault. a lot and that's not subject to right. It was all

[1:06:41] time. It was all time. >> It's communication. It's working with

[1:06:45] each other. It's communicating with each other and I over the last week have

[1:06:52] given it a lot of serious consideration especially after the last meeting

[1:06:57] and hearing this to >> okay

[1:07:00] » to reasonable person. >> Okay. Well, look it over and you know if

[1:07:04] you can narrow that down >> uh so that we can so that we can not

[1:07:09] spend resources but the interesting the interesting part

[1:07:13] about it Susie is I don't know what you're going to learn

[1:07:16] » there's nothing to learn that's that's the thing

[1:07:19] » but the information has a lot of that information out

[1:07:22] » right >> and you explained at one of the meetings

[1:07:25] I don't know if it was the last meeting or the meeting before that we were up

[1:07:29] against a time frame because of technology ology and you didn't

[1:07:33] understand that Karen was there. Okay. So, you know what? We learn and we work

[1:07:38] together. There's nothing wrong with that. There's absolutely nothing wrong.

[1:07:42] » Okay. Good. Great. All right. That's great. Settles that. That settles that.

[1:07:45] Yeah. >> Sweet.

[1:07:47] » I'm available at at whenever you're available.

[1:07:50] » Well, >> or take a look at it. Take a look at it.

[1:07:53] Yeah. We're going to go public comment right now because I'm done with all the

[1:07:55] new business. Yeah. So, we're a public department.

[1:07:57] » So, there there's a couple of things. Okay. Um,

[1:08:03] I want to thank you for the proclamation.

[1:08:08] Um, it's a tough day for my family on 911

[1:08:12] because my family knew the Agonowski family and he was the pilot in one of

[1:08:17] those points >> and my husband lost a fellow firefighter

[1:08:23] friend in New York City. So, it's I can't get him to come to these types of

[1:08:29] things. So, that means an awful lot to me that you have this proclamation. And

[1:08:35] I'm sorry if I'm tearing up a little bit. And

[1:08:40] the second thing is is where do we stand with Haidider House? I know I know that

[1:08:46] there were some issues there with working this out and there was a

[1:08:51] technology issue. I keep bringing it up because that is something that once

[1:08:56] again, maybe you don't think that I care about

[1:08:59] it, but I definitely care about it. >> Well, nothing's changed since I reported

[1:09:03] last time. I haven't I'm still waiting to hear from Mass General. There's the

[1:09:08] last time as I reported, but they we're working on technology. Um, he was

[1:09:13] supposed to have uh he gave them to the end of uh August August. Um, and uh,

[1:09:23] then he went on vacation as I understand it. Uh, so I will probably reach out to

[1:09:28] him today and find out where where it sits and report back on what I learned.

[1:09:33] I'm hoping that they can get this thing up and running. Um,

[1:09:36] » I'm hoping so too because >> seems they put a lot of resources

[1:09:41] from people. >> Yeah, they've had people out here

[1:09:43] looking at it. you know, we've made some maintenance uh adjustments to the

[1:09:49] building that they they requested which were a lot of money. I just think it's

[1:09:53] on their end. I think it's up the higherups.

[1:09:56] They've got a lot of acquisition acquisitions going on. There's a lot of

[1:10:00] changes being made. This health healthcare delivery system in this

[1:10:04] country, >> it's impossible to understand. My last

[1:10:07] question and I might have misunderstood but with the Golden North grant I

[1:10:12] thought we were looking at 2.1 and did you say three today or

[1:10:16] » so so we we did a we did a Zoom call

[1:10:25] what I did is use the power of the association of counties and said listen

[1:10:29] uh $20 million has been set aside for county nursing homes. So, I used the

[1:10:35] power of the Association of Counties and asked them to set up. I didn't think

[1:10:39] they they'd do individual Zoom calls with everybody that might apply, but I

[1:10:44] said, "Hey, this could be for [clears throat] the all the counties."

[1:10:46] Um, so we set that up and what I learned was they encouraged us to put in um a

[1:10:53] 15% contingency and we also put in some extra money in case there's any

[1:10:59] abatement that needs to be done as the windows come out. Um, and the nice part

[1:11:04] is, um, if we can beat the price, we keep the money. We don't have to turn it

[1:11:12] back in. So, >> use it for another project.

[1:11:16] » Well, then the numbers, >> right? And and that really wasn't I

[1:11:21] didn't pursue that. I was just kind of smiling and happy.

[1:11:25] uh you know that they said that and I didn't want to push it because frankly

[1:11:32] technically this is a competitive grant. Uh I'm not going to ask a question that

[1:11:38] might tip off another entity that's applying for this grant money about how

[1:11:43] I'm thinking and how I think would be best for Straford County. So, going back

[1:11:48] to my original question, if you can answer it, was the grant total 3 million

[1:11:55] or 2.9? >> It's about 2.8. 2 between 2.8 and 2.9.

[1:12:01] » Yeah, we're going to try to get as much evidence as we can.

[1:12:03] » Of course, you are. >> Yep.

[1:12:07] We don't have to turn it back. >> We have to turn it back in. Right.

[1:12:10] » Yeah. Contingency in a few. >> And I appreciate I've written grants.

[1:12:16] They can be very difficult in 655 pages. I appreciate that.

[1:12:22] » Well, the the the real problem was too as you know as as we put the grant

[1:12:27] together in writing and then we went to enter it into the system, the system

[1:12:32] asked us more questions that weren't in the original written grant applications.

[1:12:37] So, we had to hurry up and answer those questions uh you know in order to meet

[1:12:42] the time the time that was involved. So that uh was a kind of a last minute

[1:12:47] situation and it but it worked out and we got acknowledgement that they

[1:12:50] received it and and I know poor Kristen's looking at it now to

[1:12:54] familiarize herself with with the grant because of course she wasn't on board

[1:12:58] when we did the grant. >> Okay, one final question for today.

[1:13:05] » There was some money left over um for the solar project when we did

[1:13:13] Remember that Zoom call that was horrible?

[1:13:15] » It's about $10,000. >> About $10,000. Is that still floating

[1:13:19] out there somewhere in La La Land? >> Yeah. I'm just waiting. It's not La La

[1:13:22] Land. We're just waiting to get We're waiting to see if if it can be

[1:13:27] utilized on on the possibly the housing or whatever else might come down.

[1:13:33] » Yeah. We've never heard back from these people that we you know that frankly

[1:13:38] it's a useless they're useless. I'll say it publicly. They're just useless.

[1:13:43] » 11 months. >> I mean, they're not, you know, they're

[1:13:46] asking us what it is we want to do. And I'm saying to them, you're supposed to

[1:13:49] be hired to tell us what we can do. And uh, you know, that's just typical.

[1:13:56] If we'd hired the consultant, we were able if we had been able to hire the

[1:14:00] consultant, we'd have been a lot further along. But we're not. The feds and the

[1:14:05] Trump administration said they wanted to hire their friends. Well, they hired

[1:14:08] their friends and at the end of the day, their friends aren't doing the job.

[1:14:12] That's the bottom line. Okay? And it's irritating me because we should have

[1:14:16] been much further along with this spending a

[1:14:20] million dollars a year on electricity. But with the uh the good news is is with

[1:14:26] Seammens now doing an energy audit of >> of the whole thing

[1:14:29] » of the whole thing, part of that energy audit is going to include alternative

[1:14:34] energy. Uh I've asked them for that. had discussed that before.

[1:14:39] » So, we're just waiting to hear >> if you I've always been a very big

[1:14:43] proponent of alternative energy. >> So, whatever it is, whatever they have,

[1:14:47] whether it's cogen cogen, gas, solar, water, you know, let's build some dams

[1:14:54] in the for some hydrop

[1:14:59] anymore. But anyway, >> all that's included. I've asked seniors

[1:15:03] to do all that. So, we'll probably get a much quicker result from Seammens than

[1:15:07] we will from these folks wherever they're from.

[1:15:10] » I just wasn't I know that it was just out there.

[1:15:12] » Yeah. >> But that can be used if if Seammens can

[1:15:16] blend that in. If we raise the remaining $10,000 in that, right, to say that

[1:15:22] » one more thing. >> Okay.

[1:15:26] » Rochester put in

[1:15:30] a zoning ordinance with regard to data centers and it actually is down in the

[1:15:36] turnkey landfill >> area of the city just to get us going.

[1:15:44] Um, >> well, that's good.

[1:15:45] » And I actually We we had a tour of waste management last night before we had a a

[1:15:52] quick little workshop meeting. Um so that's just where Rochester is is at and

[1:15:58] just to fill you in just an FYI. >> So do you have any idea why the Gaffne

[1:16:02] Homes zoning orders was torn down for that elderly complex they wanted to

[1:16:06] build? I figured you must know that you're on the council.

[1:16:08] » Well um I was at the workshop meeting last night. we had a non-public session

[1:16:16] and by the time I got home that was over and I'm sorry I needed some sleep.

[1:16:22] Um and that's one of the things that I'm going to look at tonight. I will also

[1:16:26] share with you that um I had had a meeting with Betsy Andrews Parker about

[1:16:34] two weeks ago um and I met with her with regard to that proposal. Um and

[1:16:41] I personally absolutely loved it. Um and I will probably now that I know

[1:16:48] you're breaking the news to me. Um, >> I was just wondering why

[1:16:52] » reach out to her and and I will find out. I will go back and

[1:16:55] » Well, I've got a phone call with her today. So, I'm going to I was just going

[1:16:58] to ask her what what happened because I want to know some of the dynamics. I

[1:17:02] realize it's probably in some for commercial zone, but

[1:17:05] » no, we changed we we did some other stuff. I I without me getting my foot in

[1:17:11] the door to research it and to look at it, but we we had sat down. I met with

[1:17:17] her. Um she asked me because I it's in my ward um and they had reduced the

[1:17:23] number um of units that were going to be added on to that. It's going to be a

[1:17:27] separate building out to the back and they had gone through the technical

[1:17:31] review committee and I honestly thought that all of that was okay. I don't know.

[1:17:38] Um in all honesty by the time I got home I had some dinner and I get got up this

[1:17:45] morning and as usual where Susan on the commissioner's meeting. So, um

[1:17:51] I just I will look into it and I will look at

[1:17:56] the video and I will be on the look after the minutes and the notice of

[1:18:00] decisions and I that I should have all of that. Um and I could bring excuse at

[1:18:06] next week's meeting so you're more than happy to do that.

[1:18:10] » Yeah. Well, hopefully Betsy can tell me when I talk to her today about what they

[1:18:14] do, like what their reasons for it. Uh, it just seems that every time they come

[1:18:18] up with an alternative housing situation or an affordability for the elderly and

[1:18:24] the sick, these people in Rochester, they just continue to to to say no to

[1:18:28] these projects. I don't get it. It makes no sense. But

[1:18:33] » I mean, I was familiar with Gaffne because I had

[1:18:38] a family member that was there for a short period of time.

[1:18:41] » So did I years ago. >> And

[1:18:44] when it closed because of whatever happened there. Um, and then they

[1:18:49] decided to redo it and take the little annex and and do the the apartments. I

[1:18:57] was like all all for that. Um, and

[1:19:02] then they purchased next door and they had this plan and I know I think it went

[1:19:08] from 45 or 46 units down to like the mid30s. They they reduced the number of

[1:19:14] units. And the one thing that I I asked Betsy, I go, she said, "We

[1:19:20] have so many studios and so many one-bedrooms." And I kind of looked at

[1:19:24] her funny and I go, "Studios." And she said, "That seems to be the upand

[1:19:29] coming. That's what people want >> because people don't have the

[1:19:32] possessions. >> They don't have the possessions. They

[1:19:34] want the money. They don't want they don't want to take care of stuff."

[1:19:38] » Exactly. and all that. >> And we kind of chuckled because

[1:19:43] we have stuff. Um, and I was like, "Okay, that makes sense." And I'm sorry

[1:19:50] that I wasn't able to go to the ZA meeting.

[1:19:55] » I feel bad now that I go, but I had to. >> Hopefully, it's some legitimate reason

[1:19:59] and not any craziness, which that town up there has a uh a history of

[1:20:05] demonstrating. Also, don't forget there's the appeal process, okay, that

[1:20:11] it can still go through. >> Yeah.

[1:20:13] » And if that doesn't pan out, unfortunately

[1:20:18] or fortunately, depending on how you look at it, there's the court system.

[1:20:23] And I hate to see something like that get dragged through.

[1:20:27] » The courts the courts will just remand it back and force them to have it.

[1:20:31] » Nine times out of 10, that's what happened. And then it's three years down

[1:20:34] the road. Yeah. Yeah, the cost of construction, everything else that goes,

[1:20:38] but I I we won't believe this cuz I know,

[1:20:40] » but I I will look at it and I will Okay, >> see what information I can get to.

[1:20:45] » All right, that' be great. >> Okay.

[1:20:47] » Okay, that sounds good.

[1:20:51] All right, we don't have any more questions for the co from the public,

[1:20:55] I'm assuming. Anybody on Zoom want to ask the commission a question?

[1:21:01] » Not seeative. No, they're on they're on mute. Okay.

[1:21:07] » Uh then uh the chair motion to go into non-public session for the purpose

[1:21:11] discussing personnel and contract negotiation. I got a move I moved by

[1:21:15] commission second by myself. Commissioner Levit myself. Yes. Uh that

[1:21:20] vote is unanimous. The commission will retire and public session.

[1:21:24] Thank you.

2026-09-10 Strafford County Commissioners Meeting

Transcript