Winnipesaukee Forum - View Single Post

Cal-to-NH · 07-02-2020, 08:32 PM

I have watched this for some years. Hopefully I can be balanced on this....

Yes, the Lions club has inadequate bathrooms/septic, roof, windows and kitchen. The building is (obviously) not ADA compliant. The parking lot is not near large enough. At the same time, they serve over 30,000 much needed meals per year, host numerous town events, etc... I think the big issue is why the $1.5M Lions club renovation and $3.5M rec center at the Taylor property turned into a nearly $7M all-in-one site.

As far as the kids, it's a red herring according to the Recreaion Dept head herself.. The Rec Director herself was at town meeting and said that you wouldn't build a rec center for the kids. They have a Gym at the Middle school and High School. The biggest Rec activities for kids are outdoor sports like Soccer and Baseball.Softball, etc....

That's not to say there won't be kids activities - there undoubtedly will, but I think the building would be used mostly for more mature residents during school hours.

The issue is the same every time we look at this. Since we don't have adequate facilities in the first place, usage information, etc... we have no idea what the use of such a facility might be. We simply don't have a baseline to go from. Let's face it, like most places on the Lake our average resident age grows with each census - we are a retirement resort community up here. Would it be highly used or a red-herring? THAT is the question that is very very hard to answer (nobody knows). Because of that, both sides have to admit one thing. We can't demonstrate need for such a facility using any available information. That leaves it up to the resident to decide - would I use it or not? And what about my neighbor, would they? People have their own ideas. There will always be the "people of no" on anything that increases their taxes, and that's fine. I would like to think that most people are prepared to fund it if it will be used. But simply put, nobody can know this.

Most people are nervous about such an expense without some idea of how much it will be used... And that I can respect.

One thing that's true. For each year we wait the construction costs will increase. Some estimate that since year 2000 construction costs have gone up an average of 3% per year. So that means next year the same project will cost $150,000 more. The only thing that fluctuates is interest rates, and they likely will never be lower than now. So in the end, if we DO decide to do this thing, then we should do it sooner than later. I don't like spending money, but I REALLY don't like spending money when I could have spent it 3 years ago for the same thing and saved hundreds of thousands of dollars....

I have no issue with either side on this Rec Center - it's a hard one. I do agree in the end that the Lions Club is kind of a slam-dunk. We know what it does and we know its importance to the people here. Its impact is great. It's impact is also quantifiable (unlike the Rec Center). And the cost of fixing it is FAR lower. The more that it is coupled to the Rec Center as the same project, the more it suffers.

07-02-2020, 08:32 PM	#59
Cal-to-NH Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Moultonborough Posts: 114 Thanks: 17 Thanked 56 Times in 27 Posts	The need I have watched this for some years. Hopefully I can be balanced on this.... Yes, the Lions club has inadequate bathrooms/septic, roof, windows and kitchen. The building is (obviously) not ADA compliant. The parking lot is not near large enough. At the same time, they serve over 30,000 much needed meals per year, host numerous town events, etc... I think the big issue is why the $1.5M Lions club renovation and $3.5M rec center at the Taylor property turned into a nearly $7M all-in-one site. As far as the kids, it's a red herring according to the Recreaion Dept head herself.. The Rec Director herself was at town meeting and said that you wouldn't build a rec center for the kids. They have a Gym at the Middle school and High School. The biggest Rec activities for kids are outdoor sports like Soccer and Baseball.Softball, etc.... That's not to say there won't be kids activities - there undoubtedly will, but I think the building would be used mostly for more mature residents during school hours. The issue is the same every time we look at this. Since we don't have adequate facilities in the first place, usage information, etc... we have no idea what the use of such a facility might be. We simply don't have a baseline to go from. Let's face it, like most places on the Lake our average resident age grows with each census - we are a retirement resort community up here. Would it be highly used or a red-herring? THAT is the question that is very very hard to answer (nobody knows). Because of that, both sides have to admit one thing. We can't demonstrate need for such a facility using any available information. That leaves it up to the resident to decide - would I use it or not? And what about my neighbor, would they? People have their own ideas. There will always be the "people of no" on anything that increases their taxes, and that's fine. I would like to think that most people are prepared to fund it if it will be used. But simply put, nobody can know this. Most people are nervous about such an expense without some idea of how much it will be used... And that I can respect. One thing that's true. For each year we wait the construction costs will increase. Some estimate that since year 2000 construction costs have gone up an average of 3% per year. So that means next year the same project will cost $150,000 more. The only thing that fluctuates is interest rates, and they likely will never be lower than now. So in the end, if we DO decide to do this thing, then we should do it sooner than later. I don't like spending money, but I REALLY don't like spending money when I could have spent it 3 years ago for the same thing and saved hundreds of thousands of dollars.... I have no issue with either side on this Rec Center - it's a hard one. I do agree in the end that the Lions Club is kind of a slam-dunk. We know what it does and we know its importance to the people here. Its impact is great. It's impact is also quantifiable (unlike the Rec Center). And the cost of fixing it is FAR lower. The more that it is coupled to the Rec Center as the same project, the more it suffers.

The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Cal-to-NH For This Useful Post: