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CIP committee delivers $13.16M needs report; committee and town staff clash at Selectmen meeting
Summary
Members of Gilmanton’s Capital Improvement Plan committee submitted a report showing $13,157,000 in six-year capital needs and $2,131,000 priority items for 2027; the committee and Town Administrator Heather Carpenter clashed over the report’s tone and process during public comment.
Members of the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) committee submitted a multi-year report and urged the Selectmen to review it; the report identifies $13,157,000 in capital needs over six years and $2,131,000 in 2027 priority-one needs. Cathy Bowler, former CIP chair, said the report was prepared after 'a year of difficult, unbiased, independent review' and that 489 residents supported the committee’s work.
Town Administrator Heather Carpenter, speaking as a private citizen, disputed the committee’s tone and treatment of staff in the packet and told the board she was offended by how the committee characterized department heads: 'they came in with an agenda and then decided that the Town was the problem.' CIP Vice Chair Colleen Harkey and other committee members defended the compilation process and urged the Selectmen to let residents see the packet and decide for themselves. The board noted the packet had not been board-approved and said staff would review it.
