Ossipee—July 13, 2012—By Aug. 1, Lakefront Landing Condominiums must prove to the state of New Hampshire that the boat slips it’s been selling are grandfathered, or else the slips must be removed from Ossipee Lake. Lakefront Landing Condominiums’ property includes 12 campsites and 44 boat slips at 85 Pewquaket Trail.
Kevin Price, owner of Ossipee Lake Marina in Freedom, believes the boat slips shouldn’t be sold until the permit issue is cleared up. He has complained to the state of New Hampshire and will be bringing the issue to Ossipee selectmen on Monday night.
“I would stop selling them, but that’s me,” said Price, adding he couldn’t sell unpermitted docks in good conscience.
On May 11, New Hampshire’s Department of Environmental Services sent Lakefront Landing’s Wayne Killam a letter stating he had until July 1 to prove the slips have existed since 1980. Later, that deadline was extended to Aug. 1.
“DES records indicate that no permits were issued for the current number of docking structures,” states the May 11 memo by Collis Adams, DES administrator of the wetlands bureau. “Please provide documentation of the number and location of docking structures on the property in existence before 1980. Documentation should include, but not be limited to dated plans and or photographs.”
DES Water Bureau Assistant Director Rene Pelletier said unless proven otherwise, the boat slips in question are legal. Ossipee selectman and state Rep. Harry Merrow, said DES is responsible for sorting things out.
Meanwhile, about half of Lakefront Landing’s boat slips have been sold, according to a sales brochure that’s available at the Lakefront Landing property. According to the brochure, the boat slips range in price between $19,900 and $34,900. What happens to the slips that have been sold if they are deemed illegal?
“The order we’d send is to get the slips out of the water,” said Pelletier, adding refunding the money to customers would probably be Killam’s problem.
Lakefront Landing’s lawyer, Greg Smith, of McLane, Graf, Raulerson and Middleton, of Concord, is confident that all the boat slips are old enough to be grandfathered. Smith says there’s ample evidence that some of the docks have been there even since the 1960s.
“The docks have been there a long while,” said Smith.
According to Smith, rumors to the contrary are being spread by Price who sees himself as a competitor. Price disagrees.
“There’s more than enough business on the lake,” said Price. “I just want a fair playing field.”
Lakefront Landing may be forced to take legal action against Price because of his “false and defamatory statements,” said Smith.
Freedom selectman Les Babb, who has been a long-time boating enthusiast on Ossipee Lake, said the slips in the lake’s channel weren’t there when he kept his boat at Lakefront Landing’s marina in the 1990s. Babb says the grandfathered status is lost if the docks aren’t maintained for a number of years. Further, Babb said the docks in the channel are a navigation hazard. “The usable waterway isn’t that big,” said Babb.
In addition to inquiring about the docks, DES wanted a response regarding other alleged violations. DES asked for statements clarifying whether a particular fuel dispenser is functional or used only for display purposes, and it also wants documentation for when a deck was installed adjacent to the boat basin and bath house.
Further, DES gave Killam 60 days to complete a wetlands application for the 70 feet of riprap already installed along the bank and bed of the lake without a permit.
As for the other alleged violations, Smith said they were much less significant and Lakefront Landing is preparing its response to them. Smith said the fuel dispenser is merely decorative and the deck is also grandfathered. As for the riprap, Smith said Lakefront Landing was reacting to an “urgent” situation in which a building would have washed into the lake if the erosion wasn’t fixed.
Smith also represented Chet Lucy, a Conway man, who along with his contractor, faced $150,000 in fines for failing to get a permit before putting nearly 600 feet of riprap on his property beside the Saco River. Lucy had lost 70 feet of property due to erosion.
Lucy and the contractor, A. Eastman & Son. Inc., were fined $29,000, which they split. The contractor was also required to perform $15,000 worth of environmental improvement projects within the next two years. More fine money was suspended. Lucy applied for a permit for the riprap, which would also include extending the riprap to better protect the property. Smith said Lucy’s case and Lakefront Landing’s case are “completely different.”
Smith is gathering historical information about the docks at Lakefront Landing. Anyone with information that could be helpful is welcome to contact Smith at www.mclane.com.
Sounds like spoiled brats are getting back what they deserve and the politician is getting something for his support . Kevin Price , are you kidding me … Pot calling the kettle black. Where does it end? What about the navigation issue at Ossipee Lake Marina ? I guess those people can’t see the kids on the beach fishing when they tried to extend their slips without permits. O, excuse me that was ok. What did Les Babb have to say about that? Give me a break. Good luck to all of you and I hope the Attorneys( They deserve it) get all your money as they resolve this issue. Boy its hot out, I think, I’ll go jump in the lake and cool off…..
Regardless of the political bickering, I will say the docks that extend past the marina are clearly an imposition for passing boaters…not to mention an eye sore upon exiting the channel. I’ve seen countless boaters nearly strike the docks when water levels and currents are at their peak. Add to that several pontoon boats docked along side and you have to “thread the needle” to pass by during prime boating hours.
I have been on the lake since 1984 and do recall boats at the marina but not all these docks that are there now. It is a congested area and I question whether permits should be issued to allow as many to extend into the narrow waterway.
Not sure why the Alliance would let someone else use my screen name. However I do agree with the comments. Time for Leslie Babb to mind his own business. He owns a used car lot. He never should have used his Selectman’s title in that article. I think the Freedom Select Board should make a comment on their next meeting telling Leslie to clarify when his comments are his own and to never use that title unless his comments are specific to a Freedom issue in which he is directly involved. Keep the taxpayers of Freedom out of this issue.
Sorry about the screen name thing, but maybe they take it as just another resident comment. I don’t think they let someone just use your name . I guess you could call and ask, but in the meantime I’m just another Freedom resident getting concerned about shady deals in a small town and now we get associated with dealings in a neighboring town because of a marina owner in Freedom who has played games for years and has done the same things and more without permits. It makes you wonder what lies underneath all this nonsense. A little greed, and some political help can go a long way and then the _ _ _ _ hits the fan, I can’t wait. Taxpayers Wake Up.
It has become very congested going through the channel at that section. It becomes a real bottleneck when boats are tied up on the docks in question. There are people enjoying the water on both sides of the channel and it becomes a zig-zag squeeze play when boats are passing in both directions while there is a current running in the channel. That said, if it is legal then we deal with it, if it is not legal my opinion would be to not permit the docks out in the channel as they do pose a safety issue. Everyone with a V shaped hull knows that “no wake” speed means diminished handling and I see less experienced boaters or renters playing bumper cars – rolling into the gas dock! Wayne Killam is a nice guy and should be able to do whatever is allowed him by the laws in place so let’s not attack the man for doing what he feels is within his rights. The DES should move quickly to sort this out and prevent this from becoming a bloodbath.
No problem with the same name. Funny thing is we think alike. You keep Freedom Resident, I’ll change to Freedom Resident 1. Keep Posting People. You would be amazed at who reads these.
I love it how everyone tries to blame ossipee lake marina. Lets get our facts straight. Kevin has all required permits. If you don’t think he does go and talk with him and he will show you them all. So stop spreading lies. If you think that area of the lake is hard to go through look at the beach across the way and how the point keeps moving out into the water because of all the sand that has been brought in. Lets look at the whole picture. Looking at Lake front if they have the permits for everything great if not then they should be removed. end of story.
Wow! I guess you haven’t been around to long or haven’t attended many town meetings in the past. No lies my friend, just check the minutes and there also has been no sand or other matter put on that beach in the last 25 years and that is a fact. The passage got narrowed when the marina added a little width to the dock fingers. If you can do basic math you will be able to figure out so many inches times so many dock spaces equals longer docks .Why do you think the state made them come out. Facts are there in the minutes of town meetings and maybe you should check them out.. You got to go back a few years to get them all including all the violations and I’ll bet Mr. Price has copies of those to show you also. Sorry ,but those are the facts. Check them out.
Double wow, anyone with simple knowledge of rivers and channels knows that the moving water erodes the outer bank and deposits on the inner bank (beach side!!). Therefore the point IS growing into the channel. The docks are in place now therefore he IS in compliance with the state!
The question here seems to be permits. All docks were replaced at the marina in 2009 prior to the conversion from renting lots to purchasing lots. At that time, docks were extended in the channel and widened, Can you extend the docks or were they grandfathered and should have been replaced to footprint? Rock walls were built, trees were cut down and stumps painted to appear as old trees and the shoreline was dug out to widen the area. It seems permits should have been issued for these improvements. His reacation to an urgent situation of a building washing into the lake could have been delayed and proper permits applied for since the building had a deck which would have been the first section to be affected by the erosion not the house. Anyone from DES should have seen this upon inspection and it is surprising that he is allowed to apply for the permit after the fact. There were sewerage problems in the past and hopefully an inspection of the system was done prior to approval of permits for sale of lots.In conclusion people who are allowed to perform modifications without required permits sets a precedence for others to go ahead and do work on the shoreline without permits, therefore jeoprodiazing the environment.