Town officials and consultants on Dec. 3 presented survey results and revised design options for Our Island Home, the town'owned skilled nursing facility, and asked the Select Board whether to bring a revised proposal back to voters in 2026.

Rick Sears (Deputy Town Manager) summarized results from a community survey run Sept. 24'Oct. 31 with about 700 respondents: roughly half said they would support relocating to Sherburne Commons without a cost lens, but support decreased when the estimated costs were shown; only 22% supported a much smaller 30-bed design; a majority (61%) said they want the town to take action but did not clearly choose a single option. "People are educated and we're split," Sears said. He added that 85% of respondents understood the state could mandate closure and 81% rated having an on-island long-term care option as important or very important.

Architect Craig Piper (SMRT) and project managers presented a scaled-back option that removes one of three resident wings. The reduced-base bid would save an estimated $11
$12 million for the wing alone and bring the revised estimated project cost to about $117 million versus the $134 million the town took previously to town meeting. Piper noted solar PV and staff housing were also potential alternates or future add-ons; removing PV arrays could save about $1.5 million but would reduce projected sustainability benefits.

Town finance staff presented high-level financing and operating illustrations: a $105 million borrowing at 4% over 30 years produces roughly $182 million in total debt service and would add an estimated $9.60 a year per $3.2M home (presented as an illustration) when combined with the existing operating override. The operating pro forma shows expenses rising faster than Medicare and other revenue sources, and the town would likely need to rely on an override in addition to the debt service to operate a new facility.

Bob Eisenstein (Our Island Home administrator) outlined the regulatory and logistical burden of an involuntary closure, including required notices, a 120-day minimum regulatory schedule, relocation/transfer pacing (no more than five residents transferred per day under Department of Public Health rules), and an estimated $3.2 million cost to close and relocate residents off-island.

Board members debated the human and fiscal trade-offs at length. Several members said the assembled team had produced a sound design and urged presenting a final bid to voters with alternates; others said the town cannot rationally shoulder the capital and long-term operating subsidies while many other large capital projects loom. Select Board voted unanimously to continue the item to the following week for additional public outreach and to add an agenda item that could include a Select Board vote to close Our Island Home if that is the board's determination after further information and public outreach.

The board asked staff to continue procurement steps so that, if the board chooses to proceed, updated bid numbers and alternates will be available before the spring annual town meeting; staff warned the bid/GMP timeline extends into March and that bringing a finalized motion to a May town meeting would be the realistic window for action tied to the existing ballot authorization.