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Belknap Mill seeks $20,000 from city rebate; council hears hours of testimony
Summary
At a public hearing on Resolution 2026-03, the Belknap Mill requested $20,000 from an $86,316 city health-insurance rebate to match a state grant for structural repairs; presenters described corroding sluice pillars and cracked basement beams, while residents debated fiscal priorities, grant timelines and nonprofit funding procedures.
The Laconia City Council opened a public hearing on Resolution 2026-03 to accept an $86,316 health-insurance rebate and to authorize using $20,000 of that sum to help the Belknap Mill pay for structural repairs.
Laura Lemire, chair of the Belknap Mill Society, told the council the 200-year-old mill is an “anchor in the community” for arts, education and civic engagement and that the society holds a $38,000 L‑CHIP grant toward a $76,000 scope of work. She said engineers have identified corroding steel support pillars in the sluiceway and cracked structural beams in the basement and warned that, “If [the pillars] fail, that’s pretty catastrophic for the building.” Kevin Switala, the board secretary, described seepage…
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