Valley News Op-Ed – September 2025
In Nick De Mayo’s recent op-ed (“Running silent,” Aug. 21) on the cost of Grafton County’s new courthouse, I would like to clarify a few of his misstatements regarding transparency and the process in determining whether to renovate and expand, or build a new courthouse.
De Mayo claims there has been a blackout of online commissioner meetings since April 2025. He knows this is simply not true. The commissioners held their August meeting online for anyone to publicly participate and De Mayo, himself, attended that meeting.
Meetings have always been open to the public, minutes are available on the county website and meeting recordings have been made available when requested. The commissioners have instituted virtual meetings and established a public comment period at each meeting for those online or in person. A YouTube channel is being built and when complete, recordings will be posted there.
Regarding the courthouse, De Mayo states the county is only “days away” from the county delegation voting on a new courthouse and that nothing has been “forthcoming from the county to help taxpayers apprise the situation thoughtfully, factually, reasonably.”
There has been a logical process the commissioners have followed in investigating the county’s issues surrounding the existing courthouse that Mr. De Mayo should be fully aware of. It is readily available to the public on the front page of the Grafton County website under “Courthouse Project.”
All the way back in 2020, EHDanson, an architectural and engineering firm, was contracted to assess the current courthouse, validate the issues raised about the structure and determine whether it was more economical to renovate and add to the structure or build a new building for the County. The report found the most beneficial and economical approach was to construct a new courthouse. The EHDanson report also is available on the county website.
The commissioners established a courthouse committee in 2024 to address the concerns of employees and residents. The commissioners selected an architectural firm to conduct a replacement study and provide a concept for a new courthouse. All of these documents can be reviewed by the public on the “Courthouse Project” page of the county website.
The process requires numerous steps further before a decision is ultimately made on the direction the county will take. The majority of commissioners recently voted to recommend to the county delegation (the county’s state representatives) that we move forward with replacing the current courthouse facility. Tours of the current facility will be scheduled for the county delegates, as well as discussions and reviews of information on the study and the concept design. After that there will be one or more public hearings scheduled to hear from county residents.
Only after all this will the full delegation meet to determine if they approve the commissioners recommendation and, if so, they will vote to approve a bond to finance the building. If the delegation votes to approve the new courthouse project, the architectural firm, Lavalle Brensinger, would need 12 months for the full design documents to be completed. It is anticipated, if approved, construction would start in November 2026 with an estimated completion date of May 2028.
The county commissioners and the delegates continue to be very careful about spending and taxing. In fact, over the past five years it has raised county taxes a total of less than 1%, far below overall inflation for that same time period, which exceeded 20% nationally and 18% for New Hampshire.
As we have done in the past with our operations and capital projects, we will strive to do so in the future, which is to make deliberate, well-informed decisions to both protect and deliver long-term professional and cost-effective services to the residents of the county.
Rep. Terry Spahr, D-Hanover, serves on the Grafton County Executive Committee. He represents Grafton District 12.