The US Navy Submarine Service is also known as “The Silent Service” due to its stealth capabilities of “running silent,” allowing evasion of detection while underway in the world’s oceans.
A majority of the Grafton County Commissioners seem to have joined the US Navy Submarine Service by “running silent” on the building of another courthouse. Since April 22, 2025, a Blackout of online Zoom Meetings was enacted by Chairwoman McLeod. With only weeks left before the County Delegation is to vote on such an expensive and unaffordable project, no mention as to funding the bond, no mention as to the interest rate, no mention as to the number of years we “Graftonites” will be paying for this boondoggle is forthcoming from Grafton County “Bubbleheads” so we, taxpayers, may apprise the situation thoughtfully, factually, reasonably.
It has been recently noted in area newspapers that the building of another courthouse will cost the residents and taxpayers of Grafton County $47.3 Million. This is just the cost of building another courthouse! No mention is made of the overwhelming cost of paying off the bond over 20 or 30 years. The “McLeod ZOOM Blackout of April 22, 2025” re: vital information leaves the residents and taxpayers confused, bewildered, and dumb-founded as to the encumbering long-term debt we and future generations of “Graftonites” will be facing.
Some scenarios to be considered: assuming we acquire a 5% interest rate on $47.3 million will produce a $2.3 million interest payment every year for 20 years equaling another $47.3 million, thus totaling $94.6 million for the total cost of another courthouse! Again, if we acquire a 6% interest rate on $47.3 million, it will raise our cost to repay the bond to $2.8 million a year, costing us $56.7 million over 20 years, and ultimately costing us $104 million in total costs for another courthouse. As you can easily see, the higher the interest rate and the longer we go out in the number of years, the total cost of another courthouse will be staggeringly more burdensome and even more unaffordable. And, furthermore, we still have 8 years left on the bond to pay off the “new” jail, which, I believe, equals $16 million. Add that to the total cost of another courthouse!
The majority of the Grafton County Commissioners are already negligent in their duties, in the opinion of this writer, due to the “Blackout” of real-time, transparent information to their constituents by eliminating ZOOM online meetings.
“Graftonites” need to make their voices heard to their respective Grafton County NH State Representatives who act as the County Delegation, and vote on this debt-ridden and untimely project.
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