Strafford County administrator disputes state reps' statement on nursing home

To the editor:

Dear Representatives Burnham, Newton, Potenza, and Turcotte:

Thank you for the time you all have spent in preparing this document.

Unfortunately, it is riddled with inaccuracies and misrepresentations. We have been discussing a replacement nursing home since 2021. It was actually partially based on a suggestion of Rep. Newton at an Executive Committee on August 6, 2021.

We have had many meetings since the discussions began. We have repeatedly asked the Delegation for questions so we could provide information to answer them. The "Taj Mahal" phrase is your words and we feel was never an accurate description of the design of the facility.

In our opinion, either design was functional and designed to provide dignified care for the frail elderly we have as residents. There is no standing water on the area first proposed for the facility. Rep. Turcotte knows this as this was a question he raised and was answered by Warrenstreet Architects. The wetlands are below the surface and were found by test borings. Every dollar spent on the furtherance of the project has been approved by the Delegation. It is funded by the $6,261,184 approved by the Delegation on December 5, 2022. The second design meeting was advertised in Foster's Daily Democrat as is required by law. They printed a story based on a right-to-know request two days before the scheduled subcommittee meeting. This is open transparency to the public we all serve.

Warrenstreet is employed by the County. By law it is the Commissioners who contract for services. It is common courtesy to ask the contract holder for guidance in who should answer questions. Warrenstreet was selected through a competitive bid process. We received six bids and they were selected after appropriate vetting of all bids was completed. Thank you for the chart showing costs per square foot. You will note that our project fits in well with the numbers you provided, especially considering the earliest construction could begin is in 2024. We provided information regarding power sources for heating and cooling as members of the Delegation asked for this information.

The final determination from our perspective is to stay with natural gas. We have no plans to change our target population for the new building. We just do not want to move our residents to other facilities for services because we do not have the physical design to support keeping them here. It's insulting to imply that the "indigent population" should be provided something less because their illnesses consumed their resources.

- Raymond F. Bower,

- Strafford County Commissioners Administrator

Editor's note: To read the letter Raymond Bower is referring to click here