Freedom—December 2, 2024—Questions about environmental and land use issues at Wabanaki Campground have been simmering in Freedom since the Ossipee Lake business applied to the state in January to convert to a campground cooperative comprised of 77 “units” with individual shareholders.

Those questions reached a new pitch before Thanksgiving as several Freedom boards took up the topic, and neighbors reported that the business cut down a corner boundary tree on the shoreline while they were out of town.

The N.H. Consumer Protection and Antitrust Bureau of the State Attorney General’s Office will ultimately rule on campground owner/manager Mark Salvati’s conversion application, but only after the applicant satisfies all municipal issues and requirements.

Almost a year after the application was filed, however, Freedom officials have not publicly stated what those issues are. Salvati to date has focused on seeking approvals to construct an ancillary septic system and expand five structures called “hutnicks.”

But members of the public, and now town board members, say there is more to discuss before 77 shareholders take possession and inherit unresolved problems that could become town problems since the town has to sign off with the state.

In April the Planning Board toured the campground as part of its “hutnick” site plan review. Meeting minutes show one board member said the property “looked horrible,” while another observed shoreline erosion and sand from runoff entering the lake.

“A lot of the beach area has washed down,” the minutes state.

The board discussed requiring a runoff plan for the entire property, but since the stormwater language in the Site Plan Review Regulations pertains to improvements to the property, the runoff plan was limited to the “hutnicks.”

Frustration with the process was evident at the Conservation Commission’s November 19 meeting as the group reviewed the latest revised site plan and other materials submitted by the campground’s agent, Horizons Engineering.

The Commission limited its Planning Board comments to the revised “hutnick” materials, since that was what the board would be discussing that week. But the consensus was that there are other questions to be answered.

The Commission cited permanent RVs and decks on the shoreline, trailers in the riparian area, and the status of stormwater drainage, including ditches and culverts built years ago.

A family that has lived next to the campground since 1970 said they alerted the Select Board and Zoning Officer about construction work and tree removal on the shoreline this year but did not receive a response.

Dr. Anthony Raynes and his wife Maureen said their once-cordial relationship with Salvati has been strained since he applied to the state for the conversion.

The couple recently returned to the lake to find that the campground had cut down a large corner boundary tree on the shoreline. They said the tree is documented as a monument in the deeds for both properties.

The campground apparently had town approval to remove the tree after obtaining a report that it was diseased. But the couple said they did not receive an abutter notice, and noted that boundary trees are co-owned, per state law, requiring both owners to approve their removal.

Red Flags from Research
Information about the property’s past has been trickling out piecemeal for months, raising red flags.

In the 1970s the town approved a residential subdivision plan for 16 single-family homes that were never built. Instead, the owners, Elmer and Janice Franson, began allowing friends and family to camp there.

By 2000, there were 80 trailers and RVs on the 11-acre property without septic and waste disposal, according to DES, which shut down the operation.

In 2001 the state approved a subdivision plan for up to 69 campsites, an improved water system, and three septic systems. The state subdivision plan was found in town files, but a corresponding town subdivision approval document has not been located.

The state plan authorized the occupancy of 50 campsites to be served by two septic systems. The third septic system was put on hold, which capped occupancy at 50.

Over time, however, the number of campsites grew to 67. Asked this year how the other 17 sites had handled sewage, Salvati said the sites were occupied by transients who used the public bathrooms. He later conceded that some trailers were connected to the septic system without approval.

Zoning violations comprise an additional category of issues. They are believed to be structures, such as decks, that were built and attached to trailers and RVs without building permits.

Salvati acknowledged the violations to the town in June 2023 and said he would provide a list of what had been built since 2001. A Freedom official confirmed the town has not received the list.

Errors and Omissions
Meanwhile, the Planning Board met on November 21 to discuss an independent evaluation of the “hutnick” stormwater management plan. Since the report arrived late, the board focused instead on Horizons Engineering’s site plan revisions.

Errors and omissions were prominent in the review. “Cut-out overlays” of the utilities (water, sewage and electric) requested in July by Select Board representative Les Babb were missing. Tool sheds were unlabeled, and sites were confusingly renumbered, board members found.

The footprint of the trailers and RVs, a key metric, did not include their decks, some of which are larger than the vehicles themselves, a board member said. Another member questioned the calculation of impervious surfaces inside the shorefront district.

Left undiscussed by the board was an August news story that the “hutnicks” were supposed to be removed from the property and replaced with campsites as part of the 2001 legal settlement with the state.

Public comment ensued, and Emma Raynes, daughter of abutters Maureen and Anthony Raynes, informed the board that the campground had removed the shoreline boundary tree.

Freedom resident Susan Hoople asked Salvati about his claim that he obtained a Freedom subdivision approval for the campground in 2001. She said such a document cannot be found in the town’s records or at the Registry. Salvati said the document exists but did not elaborate.

Hoople then asked about the 2001 design for Septic System-1. She said the design for System-1 shows a cesspool that sits on the property inside the Raynes family’s protective well radius was supposed to be bypassed, but the current design plan shows a pipe coming out of the cesspool and entering the septic system.

Salvati said Septic System-1 was built in accordance with the state’s specifications but did not explain the discrepancy with the Horizons document.

After Hoople began asking a follow-up question about the tree cutting, Planning Board Chair Linda Mailhot cut her off, saying “we’re not going to do back and forth question and answer.”

Salvati later commented on the septic system to say it was “over-engineered” and cost him “a fortune.”

“There is no danger,” he concluded.