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Resident board member asks Strafford County to check emergency CDBG funds after insurer warns Fieldstone Village could lose coverage
Summary
Fieldstone Village Cooperative, a resident-owned manufactured-home community, told Strafford County commissioners on June 4 that insurer warning and road deterioration require about $60,000 to repair the main entrance; commissioners said they will investigate emergency CDBG options but noted entitlement rules may limit county use of CDBG funds.
On June 4, 2026, Strafford County commissioners heard a request from Fieldstone Village Cooperative for emergency county assistance to repair entrance infrastructure after the community’s insurer said it would stop covering the park unless repairs were made.
Laura, a board member of Fieldstone Village Cooperative who joined the meeting by Zoom, told commissioners the park’s roads have deteriorated and “they will no longer cover us as of July” unless the roads are fixed or repaved. She said the cooperative’s first quote for repairing the main entrance was about $60,000 and that most homeowners are low- or fixed-income residents who could not absorb a large special assessment.
The request matters because losing property-insurance coverage could expose individual homeowners and the park to financial and safety risks, Laura said. Fieldstone Village is a resident-owned manufactured-home community of about 100 homes; Laura said the park includes many retirees and households with limited incomes.
A commissioner explained that Rochester is an "entitlement community" under the federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program and that the county generally cannot spend CDBG funds inside entitlement jurisdictions. "Normally the feds won't allow us to use CDBG funds of our own in an entitlement community," the commissioner said, but staff noted there is an emergency public facilities fund that might be available depending on eligibility and ownership status.
Laura said she had applied previously for CDBG assistance and was told the park was not eligible, likely because it is privately owned rather than a nonprofit. Commissioners acknowledged ownership status affects eligibility; Commissioner Feliciano said she supported pursuing any emergency funding option that is allowable and asked staff to investigate.
Commissioners directed staff to double-check whether the county’s emergency fund could be used, and to follow up with Laura and county contacts (staff had already made an initial outreach to a staff member named Elaine). No formal county commitment or vote on funding was recorded; the board said it would report back after determining eligibility and options.
The commission’s agenda also included a public hearing on CDBG grants set for June 11 at 3:00 p.m., where related funding discussions may continue. For now, the community’s request is under staff review and no disbursement was authorized at the June 4 meeting.
