Meeting report · Selectboard

Creating this report cost real money. Help fund coverage →

Selectboard — February 9, 2026

The meeting carried underlying tension from an urgent environmental crisis, a stark and unanswered public grievance about taxation, a state law stripping local development oversight, recurring audit failures, and multiple significant off-agenda discussions — all against a backdrop of unanimous votes that masked real policy disagreements.

Date Monday, February 9, 2026 Duration 2.4h Speakers 10 Public comments 1 Decisions 11 Lively

▶ Video 📄 Minutes

Questions about this meeting? ⁠Just ask.

Ask MeetingWatch answers from this meeting’s report, transcript, and records — with linked sources.

Summary AI-generated to surface controversy & community impact without bias — always verify against the actual meeting before relying on it.

📋 SUNAPEE SELECTBOARD — February 9, 2026: What you may have missed

Three significant items were discussed or decided at the February 9th Selectboard meeting without appearing on the public agenda. That matters because residents had no way to know these topics would come up — and no opportunity to prepare or show up specifically to weigh in.

First: The board reviewed the town's 2024 audit, which found recurring internal control weaknesses in the finance department — the same issues flagged in prior years. The town manager stated plainly that Sunapee is "not running our business well" for a $25 million organization that has only one person managing its finances. At the same meeting, the board unanimously re-engaged the same auditing firm for 2025 without any public discussion of auditor rotation. None of this was listed on the public agenda.

Second: The board discussed restricting public access to virtual meeting links (Zoom/Teams) due to security disruptions. No formal decision was reached, but the conversation about limiting who can access public meeting links happened without public notice — an irony that shouldn't be lost on anyone concerned about open government.

Third: Senate Bill 661 in Concord could eliminate the NH Health Trust, which covers town employee health insurance. The board briefly acknowledged the risk and identified a backup provider, but the cost implications remain unknown. Again, not on the agenda.

Separately: A resident named Chris Whitehouse used public comment to argue that Sunapee's tax increases have run 4 to 6 times the rate of inflation over recent years, that 30% of residents are seniors and 16.1% live below the poverty line, and that effectively $535 of every $650 Social Security cost-of-living increase is being consumed by local taxes. The board gave no response — not an acknowledgment, not a rebuttal, not a commitment to look into it. That public comment is also absent from the official meeting minutes.

Meanwhile, the town still has no adopted policy to manage development on Class 6 roads after state law SB281 removed planning board and selectboard review authority — even as the board heard a separate, urgent presentation about Perkins Pond losing 35% of its depth and recording its first cyanobacteria blooms in 2025, with potential new development in the watershed cited as a major threat. The two issues were never formally connected in the meeting's deliberations.

Official minutes from this meeting have been published. Residents are encouraged to review them and attend the next Selectboard meeting to ask questions.

Feb 9, 2026 2.4h long 10 speakers 1 public comments 11 decisions Lively

❝ Notable statements ↔ Drag to browse

“I don't see why they can't build on Class 6 road. They just need to make it passable... what's the difference between that and a driveway?”

— Board Member C · Discussion about allowing development on Class 6 roads without restrictive policies ▶ 14:05

“I'm all for developing something, but I don't... I'm not a fan of restricting the development, but more to, you know, manage stormwater and have some sort of a standard”

— Board Member B · Position on balancing development rights with environmental protection for Class 6 roads ▶ 28:20

“I have this feeling that the state of New Hampshire should be paying the town of Sunapee for basically supplementing their marine patrol... it's really wrong”

— Board Member F · Criticism of state reducing marine patrol while towns fill the gap with local resources ▶ 52:45

“We are reaching the point of no return. This is not the natural way that ponds go - yes, that's true in a millennium, not in less than 100 years, and not in less than 15 years.”

— Speaker E (Perkins Pond Association) · Describing urgency of Perkins Pond water quality crisis ▶ 1:06:07

“It's a million dollars an acre to dredge, and we have 175 acres. So not going to happen.”

— Speaker E (Perkins Pond Association) · Explaining why dredging is not a viable solution for the pond ▶ 1:18:49

“Out of the $650 a senior citizen is going to get in their Social Security, the town of Sunapee wants $535 of it for taxation.”

— Speaker G (Public Comment) · Criticizing tax increases that outpace inflation and impact on seniors ▶ 1:40:35

“We should have never been in a place where we're approximately a 25 million dollar company where we only have one person running our finances because it's not good financial management.”

— Speaker A (Town Manager) · Explaining structural issues contributing to audit findings ▶ 1:54:56

“We're not running our business well. We're not following best practices in terms of communication. But my point is we should at least aspire to do a little bit of a better job.”

— Unidentified speaker · Discussing town communication challenges and need for improvement ▶ 2:05:21

“All of these things require sustained effort, and we tend to be like a one and done... because we don't have the staffing capacity and we don't in large part have the budgets to do the things that we need to do.”

— Unidentified speaker · Explaining limitations in town communication and outreach efforts ▶ 2:04:49

“You're putting pressure on me for maintaining my perfect attendance record. It's a lot of pressure.”

— Unidentified speaker · Commenting on Sue's upcoming retirement celebration ▶ 2:17:24

This meeting — choose a section

Public ⁠impact

Issues from this meeting with documented community impact.

What was discussed

State law (SB281) has removed planning board and selectboard review for building permits on Class 6 roads; up to 30 new lots potentially developable without prior local oversight

What was discussed

Pond has lost 35% of its depth since 1939; first cyanobacteria blooms in 2025; potential 100 additional homes could double bloom days to 70/year with no viable remediation option at $175M dredging cost

What was discussed

Recurring audit findings of internal control weaknesses; single-person finance department managing $25M budget; same auditing firm re-engaged without rotation

What was discussed

Tax increases cited as running 4–6 times the rate of inflation over recent years; resident cited $535 in taxes against a $650 Social Security cost-of-living increase

What was discussed

Potential forced transition to alternative health insurance provider if state legislation eliminates the Health Trust; cost impact not yet quantified

Topics ⁠discussed

Each topic expands to quotes and full context.

Speakers: Michael Marquise, Allison, Board members

What was discussed

Town planner Michael Marquise and land use administrator Allison presented changes to state law (SB281) that removed planning board and selectboard review requirements for building permits on Class 6 roads. The town has approximately 30 potential building lots on eight Class 6 roads, with only liability waiver and insurability statement requirements remaining.

Speakers: Steve Marshall

What was discussed

Fire Association Captain Steve Marshall requested acceptance of a $44,802 donation to purchase a Zoll X cardiac monitor to replace a 15-year-old unit that is no longer supported. The new monitor is compatible with New London Ambulance equipment and can handle both adult and pediatric patients.

Speakers: Tim White, John Gosselm

What was discussed

Fire Department Lieutenant Tim White and Safety Officer John Gosselm updated the board on a $6,715 dock extension project fully funded by the Fire Department Association. The extension adds 15 feet to address drought-related grounding issues that prevented emergency boat responses.

Speakers: Suzanne Graves

What was discussed

Perkins Pond Protective Association President Suzanne Graves presented their watershed management plan, showing the pond has deteriorated from mesotrophic to eutrophic status with 51% of pollution coming from stormwater runoff. The pond depth has decreased from 15 feet (1939) to 9.8 feet currently, with first cyanobacteria blooms in 2025.