Ossipee—July 25, 2024—Political incumbents and challengers spent last Saturday morning with members of the Broad-Leavitt Bay Association, Ossipee Lake’s largest property owner group.

The meeting made news when Executive Council member Joe Kenney agreed to host a public hearing on DES’s approval of five docks for nine boat slips on Loon Island in Leavitt Bay.

Conservationists and lake organizations had been pressing Kenney for a hearing to air their claims that DES’s decision was unreasonable and will harm boating, the environment and wildlife. DES said a hearing was unnecessary because the issue was not of major public interest.

Kenney said DES “missed the boat” on the public hearing issue, and said he would convene a hearing “in a few weeks” and invite the Wetlands Bureau to hear lake residents make their case.

But the broader aim of the weekend forum was to give this year’s candidates an opportunity to meet and interact with lake property owners at a time when they are frustrated with the state and looking for new ideas.

Broad-Levitt Bay Association President Kyle Copeland named invasive species, wake boat restrictions, cyanobacteria and overcrowded boating conditions as hot button issues, and gave the candidates two minutes each to say whatever they wanted.

Dr. Bill Marsh and Mark McConkey were at the meeting, and one of them will be elected in November to replace Jeb Bradley as State Senator.

Marsh, a retired physician who served six years as a State Representative in District 8, said lake issues are interconnected.

He said recent legislation requiring a septic system inspection when lake properties change hands is a good start in protecting lakes, but more can be done. He said community health officers should receive training on “the many ways septic systems can fail.”

Marsh said “a measure of local control is going to become important in the future” to balance the rights of lake property owners and boaters.

“The idea of being able to create districts so that towns can work together instead of having conflicting rules and regulations is a wonderful idea,” he offered.

Candidate Mark McConkey said he has served nine terms as State Representative in District 8, and pointed to his experience in transportation and public works issues.

He highlighted his legislative role in the replacement of the Ossipee River Dam, and the change in the legal definition of Ossipee Lake’s water level from 410′ to 407.25′, saying a “reasonable lake elevation” was important to protecting the lake environment and clarifying how much shorefront the state owns.

McConkey, a septic system designer and contractor who lives on the lake, said his business has done “hundreds and hundreds” of septic system designs, replacements and waterfront assessments.

“I can truly say I’m an environmentalist. I care for your lake,” he told the group.

Jonathan Smith is Ossipee’s incumbent State Representative as well as its Select Board Chair and Zoning Enforcement Officer.

Smith said he doesn’t live on the lake and knew little about it until meeting with Association President Copeland and others to discuss the Loon Island docks and parking issues at the state’s public boat ramp on Route 25.

Smith pointed to the town’s new ‘no parking’ signs along the highway at the boat ramp as an example of local responsiveness to the lake community. He said he voted in favor of the wake boat setback bills in the legislature.

“My goal is to assist you to protect that lake,” he told the meeting. “If there is future legislation that is positive for everyone on this lake, then I will support it.”

District 7 Candidates
Bobbi Boudman also attended the meeting. She is a candidate for State Representative in Carroll District 7, which encompasses Wolfeboro, Tuftonboro and part of Ossipee. If she prevails in the primary, she will face incumbent Representative Glen Cordelli.

Boudman said some might remember her from the hearings on the Meena LLC Effingham gas station proposal, a development on Ossipee’s border that is opposed by Broad-Leavitt Bay Association, Ossipee Lake Alliance and Green Mountain Conservation Group.

“When you had a problem up here in Ossipee, I made sure I attended your meetings,” she said, adding that as an environmentalist, she feels “All of our water is connected, and it’s really important for us to stick together on water quality.”

Noting that her potential opponent, Glen Cordelli, was in the room, Boudman pointed out that he voted against environmental bills to regulate PFAS and landfills this year.

In brief remarks, Cordelli said he was running for his seventh term in the House, where he is Vice Chair of the Education Committee.

He said that as a representative, “lakes are very important to me,” adding that “I know there’s some great work being done in terms of fighting cyanobacteria in various places along Winnipesaukee.”

Noting Boudman’s comments about his voting record, he said he “didn’t come to make a political statement,” and wanted to hear what was important to the group.

“I think one thing you can do is track the legislation that’s coming through and contact us,” he concluded, handing out his business card.

Speaking last was Brian Taylor, a first-time candidate who is running in the September primary for State Representative in Carroll County District 8.

Taylor said he was born and raised in Effingham and has seen a lot of changes, especially in the state’s reliance on tourism revenue. He pointed to housing and state regulations as areas of focus for his campaign, which has just started.

Describing himself as a “neophyte” in politics, the retired Berry Bay resident said he saw an opportunity to test the waters when Mark McConkey said he would be leaving the House to run for the Senate.

“I went downtown to the town clerk and paid $2 and here I am,” he said to laughter from the group.