Council approves CDBG application for Laconia Senior Center kitchen, adopts anti‑displacement plan

Laconia City Council on July 14 voted to submit a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) application to add a commercial kitchen at the Laconia Senior Center and approved a project‑specific anti‑displacement and relocation assistance plan.

The action authorizes the city manager to sign and submit the application to the New Hampshire Community Development Finance Authority and, if approved, to execute the CDBG contract and any amendments. Councilor Susie moved the application approval; Councilor Bogart seconded. The motion passed on a 6‑0 voice vote.

Why it matters: City staff said the kitchen expansion would let the center prepare congregate meals on site and substantially expand the Meals on Wheels program so food can be prepared and distributed locally rather than transported from Concord. That change would let the program increase from serving congregate meals twice weekly to operating five days per week.

City staff and local program representatives described the project and the related planning study during the council’s multiple public hearings before the vote. Donna, a city staff member who presented the CDBG notices and project summary, said the city’s application would request up to $500,000 in public‑facility CDBG funds, that “up to $35,000 will be retained by the city for administrative compliance costs,” and that “up to $465,000 of the funds will be subgranted to the Community Action Program Belknap Merrimack.” Donna also said the planning study estimates the kitchen expansion and associated improvements at about $1,300,000.

Karen Pryor, a consultant for Community Action Program Belknap Merrimack, told the council the current space functions primarily to receive and hold food brought in from Concord and that the proposed work would create an on‑site commercial kitchen. “Right now, there really is no displacement at all,” Pryor said during the hearing, describing the current operation as a staging area rather than a cooking facility.

Suzanne Demers, who said she was the center director a year ago, described daily usage and meal counts for the congregate program: “We serve two times a week for the congregate right now, and those numbers can be anywhere from 25 to … 75, 80,” she said, adding that the commercial kitchen would support a transition to five‑day meal service.

The council also adopted the project’s residential anti‑displacement and relocation assistance plan, required under CDBG rules and the Uniform Relocation Act, by a 6‑0 vote. The city and program representatives told the council the project does not anticipate displacing residents or businesses; the plan establishes procedures that would apply only if displacement occurred.

Councilors reviewed related CDBG items during the same hearing series. Staff also presented updates on other CDBG‑funded projects in the city — including playground improvements at the Boys & Girls Club of Central New Hampshire Lakes Region Early Learning Center, accessibility and safety upgrades for Partnership for Public Health at 11 Academy Square, and housing improvements at Millview Apartments managed by Lakes Region Community Developers — and on the city’s updated housing and community development plan, which is required to maintain CDBG eligibility.

During the public presentations, staff said the Boys & Girls Club playground construction is expected August–October and that the playground grant amount was described by a presenter as “almost $500,000.” Staff reported the Millview Apartments work — roofing, siding and some door replacements — is largely complete, and that Partnership for Public Health project bidding had closed and construction would start soon.

What the council decided: • Approve submittal of the CDBG application for the Laconia Senior Center kitchen expansion and authorize the city manager to sign and execute the application and related documents (motion by Councilor Susie; second Councilor Bogart; vote 6‑0). • Adopt the residential anti‑displacement and relocation assistance plan for the project (motion by Councilor Susie; second Councilor Hoffman; vote 6‑0).

Next steps: Staff will submit the application to the New Hampshire Community Development Finance Authority and, if it is awarded, return with required contract documents and any additional approvals.

Details and context: CDBG projects must primarily benefit low‑ and moderate‑income persons (a 51% threshold was cited in presentation materials). The planning study funded earlier by a smaller CDBG planning grant produced preliminary designs and a cost estimate used to support the larger application.

Speakers quoted in this article spoke during the public hearings and are listed in the meeting record; public comments and staff presentations were presented during agenda item 13 and again during unfinished business as agenda item 22.