Strafford County Commissioners chair to propose pared-down rest home plan

A typical single-occupancy room complete with skylight as proposed for the county's new nursing home (Architect rendering); inset Commissioners Chair George Maglaras (Courtesy photo)

DOVER - The chairman of the Strafford County Commissioners said he'll bring a pared-down plan for a new county nursing to tonight's workshop that he hopes will bring the county delegation onboard.
"We're working with architects to do a number of scale backs," George Maglaras said on Tuesday. "Initially this was to be a 50-year building, so what we've done now is just to replace what we have, but to allow for expansion down the road."
Maglaras estimated the new price tag would be around $140 million instead of the $170 million originally proposed last month.
The Strafford County delegation - made up of the county's state reps - voted 21-13 to approve the initial price tag, but failed to get the two-thirds supermajority for bonding, which sent it back to the drawing board.
Many of those opposed said there were two few details and too many bells and whistles, such as a two-story glass edifice, in house cinema, pub and post office.
Maglaras said he's willing to take out some of the bells and whistles, but is firm on making sure the new facility doesn't "look like an institution."
"That's my father's generation," he said.
Maglaras also conceded that tacking onto the cost is the fact that some 85 percent of the rooms are expected to single occupancy.
He blamed the change on new Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which he said is mandating new occupancy guidelines due to Covid.
The 15 percent of rooms that will be dual occupancy will be set aside for those who need close monitoring by health staff.
Architect renderings put out in a packet last month show a single rooms equipped with a large skylight.
A longtime area commercial builder, Fenton Groen, R-Rochester, District 23, said he voted against the initial proposal last month because it was too rudimentary.
"There was not enough information, and I couldn't in good conscience vote for it. We need good information," he said last week.
He said the current plans and renderings depict a more grandiose nursing home than most of their privately run counterparts, singling out Langdon Place in Dover as one of the more exclusive.
"We don't need a Taj Mahal," he said.
He also said smart buyers looking to build usually utilize "value engineering," a concept wherein an architect might come up with a proposal to build a facility for $3 million.
With value engineering, the person wanting to build then says, "I need it built for $2.5 million, so you might go from all toilet being automatic flushing to non-automatic," Groen said. "At least 15 percent savings is possible by doing this."
Maglaras said he was familiar with the principle and was looking at such scale-backs to move the ball forward.
He said the biggest driver in the cost reduction is that rather than build the home to a 50-year capacity they'll begin with just constructing it to house the 215 rooms, but allow for expansion. Part of that plan will be to install heating, air conditioning and electrical infrastructure to allow for that expansion to move forward smoothly.
Tonight's workshop begins at 7 p.m. in Strafford Superior Courtroom II on the upper floor of the William A. Grimes Justice and Administrative Building, 259 County Farm Road, Dover.
The instructions for the delegation are that they can attend in person or by zoom, something the State rep Cliff Newton, R-Rochester, is opposed to since state government in Concord does not currently allow that.
The public is also invited to attend in person or by zoom.

Information and directions may be obtained in advance of the meeting by contacting the Strafford County Commissioners office at 603-516-7100.