Select Board weighs closure, renovation or scaled rebuild of Our Island Home after failed town‑meeting vote

Summary

Town staff presented four options for the aging nursing facility — closure, renovate in place, reduced‑scale rebuild at Sherburne Commons, or full redesign — and the Select Board asked staff to explore selling the existing site to the Land Bank and to develop follow‑up analyses before any new vote.

Town administration presented four high‑level pathways for the future of Our Island Home (OIH) after an annual town meeting vote failed to reach the two‑thirds threshold required for project approval, though a subsequent ballot question passed.

Deputy Town Manager Rick Sears summarized options the town has vetted so far: close the facility and relocate residents under Department of Public Health (DPH) rules; renovate the current building at its existing site; pursue a reduced‑scope rebuild at Sherburne Commons with cost‑saving modifications; or return to a full redesign at Sherburne Commons and reframe the project for future consideration.

Sears emphasized the work remains preliminary: "This is very preliminary," he said, noting each option carries significant tradeoffs and that detailed financial analyses remain to be done. He said staff would not recommend closure unless it proved unavoidable, and described closure as an arduous regulatory and logistical process under DPH rules that would require a…

Select Board weighs closure, renovation or scaled rebuild of Our Island Home after failed town‑meeting vote

Summary

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