Despite strong resistance, city's $1.3M share for warming center slithers through

Clockwise from top left, former councilor Chris Rice, state rep Kelley Potenza, state rep Tom Kaczynski, city resident Rick Perreault, councilor-elect Susan Rice and city resident and Realtor Carolyn Stuart (City of Rochester screenshots)

ROCHESTER - The City Council on Tuesday had to endure nearly two and a half hours of public comment berating the board for being hurried, hounded and herded like sheep into a pen to approve $1.3 million for a countywide warming shelter to be built on the county farm in Dover.
More than a dozen Rochester residents took to the podium during a public hearing to urge councilors to take their foot off the gas pedal to do some due diligence before approving the funding.
A basic theme running throughout the comment period was that the Strafford County Commissioners were going behind the Strafford Delegation's back to initiate a plan to build the countywide warming center with just the three cities and not the other 10 towns in the county.
"This is just like the nursing home in 2022," said an irritated Strafford County District 5 state rep Tom Kaczynski, R-Rochester. "The county is trying to do an end around to bypass the county delegation. It's nothing but a scheme. Why the rush? Why do they have to have this approved by Jan. 31."
"This was all dropped on us at an October 14 meeting,' added Strafford 19 state rep Kelley Potenza. R-Rochester. "They want this locked up now, and no one knows about it."
Rochester city councilor-elect and former mayoral candidate Sue Rice asked city councilors if they also felt betrayed by the city.
"Twelve of you were left out of the process," she said looking up at the council. "This was a cleverly hatched plan. The commissioners cherrypicked the three cities."
The countywide project is funded by just Rochester, Somersworth and Dover.
According to state reps in the county delegation, many of the county's town officials have been told little about the county commissioners' plans and how they will all be responsible for the operating costs of a building being paid for by just three cities.
Carolyn Stuart, a Rochester resident, landlord and Realtor, asked why the city didn't look for alternative sites like unused commercial buildings that could be turned into a warming center that would be far less costly than the $3.5 million that Somersworth, Rochester and Dover will put forward.
"You don't have to build that building," she said, "There are plenty of commercial properties out there."
Rochester resident Rick Perreault chided the City Council directly, adding, "This sounds like it's already been decided," he fumed.
"This plan stinks," added former city councilor Chris Rice. "Why are we going 95 mph to get this done? Where's the due diligence."
Only one person showed up at the Public Hearing to defend the city's motion to foot its $1.3 million share of the bill, mayor-elect Chuck Grassie, who said what the county really needs is not a seasonal warming center, but a full-time homeless shelter.
In the end the motion to spend $1.3 million, which needed a two-thirds majority, narrowly passed 8-4, with councilors Debby Thompson, Bryan Karolian, Matt Richardson and Kevin Sullivan voting no. Councilor Les Horne was not in attendance at the meeting.