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House Finance panel presses agencies on Philbrook sale, subdivision and staff relocation
Summary
At a Feb. 9 work session, House Finance Division 3 examined HB 15‑69, questioning whether the Anna Filbrick/Philbrook Center property in Concord can be subdivided, whether the $5 million sale estimate is defensible and how staff and 16 transitional beds would be relocated if the property sells. Committee members requested DAS valuation and follow‑ups.
Representative Maureen Mooney, chair of House Finance Division 3, opened a Feb. 9 work session by introducing House Bill 15‑69, which would repeal a directive that the state sell the Anna Filbrick/Philbrook Center property in Concord. The committee focused on two practical questions: whether the parcel can be legally subdivided from the larger hospital campus and whether a $5 million sale price assumed in the budget is a reasonable estimate.
“[T]he surplus statement … did assume $5,000,000 in the budget for the sale in state fiscal year ’27,” Nathan White, chief financial officer at the Department of Health and Human Services, told the committee, but he said valuation and subdivision are technical questions better handled by the Department of Administrative Services. Mooney also flagged Senate Bill 572, which passed the Senate and would affect subdivision authority.
Members pressed agency witnesses about operational impacts if the state sells the building. DHHS and New Hampshire Hospital staff said roughly 54 positions are housed there (about 46 currently filled) and that the facility hosts transitional housing under a separate contract. Brett Mason, chief financial officer for New Hampshire Hospital, said the hospital does not have a current market valuation of the site. Ellen Lapointe, CEO at New Hampshire Hospital, and DHHS representatives said DAS would assist with relocation plans if necessary.
Advocates warned of service impacts. Susan Stearns of NAMI New Hampshire said the planned sale could remove 16 contracted transitional‑housing beds from the state inventory. DHHS officials noted those 16 beds are part of a broader set of contracted transitional beds (often described in the record as 92 contracted transitional beds among roughly 190 Level‑5 beds statewide) and said community placements are being pursued for people in those beds.
On budget effects, committee members and staff reviewed the fiscal assumption that preparing the building for sale both creates costs and avoids some ongoing expenses; Mooney summarized that the fiscal worksheet showed potential savings of roughly $75,000–$90,000 tied to preparing the building for sale but that a full evaluation depends on DAS’s valuation and any required capital work. The committee did not take a vote.
The committee asked staff to follow up with DAS and Commissioner Arlinghaus for valuation and subdivision guidance and said it would revisit the matter at a future work session once that information is available.
