Commissioners clarify warming shelter funding: construction grants not awarded, county received operating aid

County officials clarified April 23 that Strafford County had not received construction grants for the planned warming shelter, contradicting comments reported at a recent city council meeting. The board said the county did receive $100,000 in state operating funds and a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) allocation that produced a Strafford share of roughly $144,000 applied with CAP toward operating costs.

A member of the public (Susan) asked the county to put on the record a mayoral statement that a construction grant had already been awarded. A county official replied, "We didn't get the construction grants," and explained that the county had applied for construction funding through a rural health transition program and via a Senate office request but had not received those awards. The official said the county did receive $100,000 from the state for operating expenses and that a CDBG allocation — split with CAP — yielded an approximately $144,000 county share to help offset welfare and operating costs.

Officials said the operating grant money must be used for operating expenses and, after reconciling accounts, any surplus will be identified to support operations while construction timelines remain uncertain. The county said municipalities had not yet provided construction payments and that the reimbursement process and municipal shares will be discussed at an upcoming administrative meeting with city managers.

Board members described a hoped-for building-completion window around Nov. 15 (with a possible slip to Dec. 1) but cautioned timelines depend on subcontractor availability and permitting schedules. Commissioners said they will convene with municipal leaders to finalize how municipal contributions and reimbursements will be handled.

The discussion also touched on where services would be located during any construction or gap period and noted ongoing negotiations and legal review for related agreements. The board did not adopt a new funding decision at the meeting; the remarks clarified the current award status and the next administrative steps.