Some state lawmakers are hoping to breathe new life into the former Laconia State School by converting the 250-acre property into a substance abuse treatment and recovery center amid New Hampshire’s opioid epidemic.
The addiction programs would be run by a private organization. Republican Sen. Jeanie Forrester introduced a proposal Tuesday that would set up a process for the state to solicit such proposals and then lease or sell the state-owned land.
“We have a heroin and opioid crisis facing this state,” said Forrester, of Meredith. “We have heard from experts we have a shortfall in treatment and recovery centers.”
The Senate Finance Committee voted 4-2 in favor of the amendment, which is tacked onto another bill, and the whole package now goes to the floor for a vote.
Sens. Andrew Hosmer of Laconia and John Reagan of Deerfield voted against the proposal. Hosmer, a Democrat, said the amendment doesn’t give the city enough say over what happens to the property, which sits on Lake Winnisquam and overlooks Opechee Bay.
“There’s definitely a need,” Hosmer said. “The city of Laconia has not had enough say in this property for decades.”
The property became state land more than a century ago after a local family donated it. For decades, it hosted the Laconia State School, a home for people with developmental disabilities. When the school was shuttered in 1991, the state recast the property as a minimum/medium security prison for nonviolent offenders. The Lakes Region prison closed in 2009, and since then, the state has largely mothballed the mostly empty property.
“There’s a few lights on, and a little bit of protection, but that’s it,” said Mike Connor, deputy commissioner of the Department of Administrative Services.
Still, it costs the state $300,000 a year to maintain the sprawling campus, with its nearly two dozen buildings. The current state budget calls for the department to sell the property and earn $2 million from a sale. But Connor said the state hasn’t started to actively pursue selling the property yet, and a buyer hasn’t materialized.
The city of Laconia had previously tried to purchase the property. And Mayor Edward Engler said Tuesday the city hasn’t determined whether it’s interested in buying it right now. Residents are worried about the cost of cleaning up the grounds, he said. Many of the old buildings contain asbestos.
Engler is neutral on Forrester’s proposal, but said he wants more information about the state’s plans for the property.
“Are they going to stop the sale now?” he said. “I am confused as to exactly what is going on here.”
Entrepreneur Alex Ray and a spokesman for nonprofit Harbor Homes testified in favor of the plan at a public hearing Tuesday. But neither committed to taking over the property.
“We would applaud anyone taking and operating that facility,” said Harbor Homes’s Scott Slattery. “The property has been sitting for a long time. We can do something with it and address some of the heroin and opioid crisis.”
Ray, who owns the Common Man restaurants, echoed that sentiment. Ray recently helped redevelop a property in Franklin into a substance abuse treatment center.
Ray said he wants to help facilitate the transformation of the Laconia property by getting interested groups talking.
“I am merely a supporter,” he said. “It’s been a long time the state has been sitting on this property that is depreciating every day. Maybe we can find a good use for it.”
(Allie Morris can be reached at 369-3307, amorris@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @amorrisNH.)