Committee reviews report urging options to limit Strafford County role at Riverside Rest Home

Members of a Strafford County committee spent more than two hours on a draft report that examines the condition, costs and future of the county'operated Riverside Rest Home and explores whether the county should continue to operate a skilled nursing facility.

The presenter of the report (S9) told the committee that county ownership imposes large long-term capital obligations and rising operating costs, and argued that "Strafford County should not be in the nursing home business." The presenter cited internal county data and national comparisons showing falling nursing-home occupancy, per-resident cost projections in recent years and available private and nonprofit capacity in the region.

The report outlines three broad families of options: (1) targeted capital work and renovations to keep the facility functioning and possibly repurpose some parts of the campus for assisted-living units; (2) building a new, modern skilled-nursing addition while reusing or repurposing older wings; and (3) a structured phased drawdown and eventual exit from operating a county nursing home. The presenter described a 32-month drawdown with a census cap (for example, capping at 80 licensed beds) and a five-year structured phase-out as alternatives designed to avoid resident displacement while reducing taxpayer exposure.

Committee members and public participants pressed officials on several practical obstacles. S1, who led the opening summary, said Riverside has pervasive asbestos, aging mechanical systems and many shared rooms, and that bringing the building fully up to contemporary federal requirements (single-bed rooms, updated HVAC and structural lift supports) would be difficult without major demolition. S4 and other members described how asbestos in load-bearing interior walls and century-old construction complicates partial renovations and can drive remediation costs.

Members also discussed operating finances. The presenter offered per-resident cost figures rising to roughly $231,000 per resident per year in the report's analysis and said the county budget for Riverside has increased sharply (the presenter cited a proposed 2026 budget near $39.3 million). Committee staff presented bond-amortization examples for 30-year, fixed-rate financing (3.75% illustrative): a $75 million project would add several million dollars a year to the budget, and larger bonds would produce greater multi-decade tax impacts. Staff cautioned that interest rates and revenue-offset assumptions change the models and that the apportionment to individual towns must be modelled separately.

Several speakers argued alternatives for meeting resident needs. S1 and others suggested expanding affordable assisted-living options that accept Choices for Independence vouchers (the state Medicaid program for assisted living) and pursuing public'private or nonprofit partnerships to develop units the county could subsidize. The presenter recommended an admissions freeze for new behavioral-unit placements until individualized clinical assessments are completed, to ensure residents with significant behavioral-health needs receive clinically appropriate placements.

Public participants and several committee members emphasized protection for current residents: the presenter repeatedly said any phase-down must include "no displacement" and preserve resident choice, family or guardian participation and continuity-of-care safeguards. Workforce stability was also highlighted: the presenter recommended staffing reductions, if needed, through attrition and redeployment rather than sudden layoffs.

Next steps: the committee asked staff to run additional financial modelling, including bond-offset scenarios and town-apportionment impacts, and to return with more precise cost assumptions. The committee did not adopt any formal policy change at the meeting; it approved the meeting minutes in a procedural vote at the start of the session and scheduled further work and another meeting to vet proposals and finalize the committee'level report before presentation to the delegation.