Alton town administrator denies wrongdoing after summons for disorderly conduct

Town Administrator Ryan Heath is facing a disorderly conduct violation in Laconia District Court after an Alton property owner accused him of blocking his walking path near Town Hall in June. Heath denies any local ordinances were broken.

The complaint came from Chris Niland, who Heath said has had ongoing issues with the town for years.

Court records show the violation took place on June 3, and the complaint states Heath “knowingly or purposely obstructed pedestrian traffic on a sidewalk, constituting a violation.”

Heath is represented by attorney James Rosenberg of Shaheen & Gordon PA, and on Aug. 17, a plea of not guilty was entered, and the formal reading of charges was waived. Heath filed a motion for a list of charges and to dismiss them, to which the state objected. As of Wednesday, the court had not ruled on the motions.

Niland, a property owner who does not live in Alton, emailed The Laconia Daily Sun on Sept. 24, about the charge. He said Heath came after him on the sidewalk outside Town Hall.

“I can confirm that Belknap County Sheriff’s Department did issue me a hand summons (not an arrest) for a non-criminal violation,” Heath wrote in an email on Sept. 30. “It is alleged that I obstructed the pedestrian travel of Mr. Niland but fails to state how. Even though it is only a summons, my attorney and I are committed to fighting these ridiculous accusations.”

Heath is a former police chief of 13 years, and still an active member of the department to keep his certification. Due to this conflict of interest, the sheriff’s office responded to the call, and also issued the summons on July 27. He said he respects the sheriff’s office, but was disappointed the charge was brought forward.

The Belknap County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Heath confirmed his counsel is being paid for by the town, and the selectboard is aware of the incident, and “have my back.” He said the selectboard and town employees have had issues with Niland for years, and has made some “very uncomfortable.”

Heath vehemently denies wrongdoing and said he has nothing to hide. Selectboard Chair Paul LaRochelle did not respond to a request for comment.

Video

Niland and Heath provided The Daily Sun video of the incident. This includes surveillance footage from the Alton Police Department that shows Heath and Niland in the middle of the road. The video shows Niland standing near Heath’s truck, before meeting Heath in the middle of Depot Street.

There is no audio available, and the video is from a distance. They interacted for less than a minute in the road, before both went separate directions, with Niland walking to a sidewalk, and Heath returning to Town Hall.

The cellphone video taken by Niland is 33 seconds long, and shows Heath with his hands in his pockets to start, saying, “I don’t care if you record me.”

Niland then says, “You’re making me scared, man,” to which Heath said he didn’t care.

Heath said he looked out his office window to see Niland near his truck and went out to talk to him.

Niland denied he was taking photographs of employee vehicles, and said he was actually taking photographs of the roof of Town Hall.

“You are taking pictures of all the employees’ cars, so get out of the area,” Heath said in the video Niland provided.

Niland then immediately walked forward to a crosswalk located behind Heath, and turned left onto a sidewalk on Route 11.

Court documents

Heath is being charged with disorderly conduct, under RSA 644:2. Section “c” says the charge is for someone obstructing vehicular or pedestrian traffic on any public street or sidewalk, or the entrance of any public building. Heath denies impeding on Niland’s travel.

Heath filed a motion for a bill of particulars, or itemized list of claims, and to dismiss, stating, “somehow siding with a disgruntled citizen with a documented history of harassing public employees over the Town Administrator that was protecting them, the Belknap County Sheriff’s Department charged Alton Town Administrator Ryan Heath and Disorderly Conduct, but misapprehended and misapplied the statute when it did so.”

The motion states the complaint “lacks specificity such that it is constitutionally defective.” He calls for it to be either clarified or dismissed.

Heath’s motion says the state charged him with blocking the travel path, but didn’t explain how he did, or in what way it affected the public. It adds the complaint “ignores the facts, which make plan that a single alleged victim walked away from his encounter with Mr. Heath totally unencumbered.” The motion said the court must dismiss the charge, as it was not properly described.

The motion states Niland has pursued numerous right-to-know requests in recent years.

Heath said Wednesday issues started when Alton Police addressed a trespassing concern in 2019, which Heath said involved Niland allegedly siphoning water from a well near a small lot of property he owns on Baxter Place. The well is owned by another resident.

Heath was police chief at the time, and says there have been issues between them since. He alleges Niland harassed town employees on social media, including publishing identifying information about them.

“Multiple town employees describe him as belligerent when they assist him with materials responsive to his right to know requests, making them uncomfortable,” Heath’s motion states.

Heath said Wednesday Niland was at Town Hall on June 3, to address a right-to-know request. The motion states Niland left the town office and walked up Depot, where he started taking photos of parked cars.

The motion describes the encounter, including the audio and video provided by Niland, stating he was standing at the rear of Heath’s vehicle in the travel lane of the public road.

The motion states he was unarmed and wearing civilian clothing, and never touched him. Heath confirmed this Wednesday, saying while he does have a concealed carry permit, he did not have a firearm on him.

In a separate document, the state objected to Heath’s motion, saying Heath has all necessary information. It states this includes an investigative report by Chief Deputy James McIntire, the video recordings, and other materials and documents. The motion states a bill of particulars isn’t designed to force the state to recite all evidence, or resolve factual disputes.

The motion also stated Heath's request to dismiss improperly seeks to litigate facts, and the defendant misinterprets the law.

“The complaint is sufficient on its face,” the state’s motion concluded.

Asked if he took photos of town employees' vehicles, or if he had ever posted personal information about them on Facebook, Niland did not answer.

“Ryan is entitled to have his attorney Shaheen and Gordon conduct any kind of defense they want,” Niland wrote in an email on Oct. 8. “I was on a public way the sidewalk on depot street.”

He reiterated he was taking photos of the Town Hall roof, because there have been plans to replace it, which he believes doesn’t need to be done. He also made accusations about building permits.

Heath said he’s gone through the proper protocols, but Niland believes otherwise, and said Heath threw his career “out the window.” He also called Heath a “tyrant,” who was “out of control.”

“He is so mad I’m into his scheme,” Niland wrote.

Niland’s perspective

Niland told The Laconia Daily Sun, on Sept. 24, that on June 3, Heath came after him on a sidewalk outside Town Hall, after he made a right-to-know request regarding properties Heath is building.

He claims to have photos of more than $20 million in building permits Heath purchased himself, and he currently has a “pecuniary” interest in the Merrymeeting River being drained for a project he is involved in on Route 11 near the traffic circle. He also said there is a project Heath is involved in at 19 Depot.

Niland said, on Oct. 6, he considers himself a reasonable person, and an Alton Right-to-Know advocate, and is “always seeking documents relating to the administrator building selling permit scheme.”

“Ryan Heath has over 20 million dollars of building permits for sale, pending and in progress,” Niland wrote in an email. “He has a self written contract that he thinks makes him above the law…he is involved in pecuniary benefits to himself while on duty.”

Niland said the Depot Street permits, which he said Heath paid for, were signed on Dec. 24, 2025, and involve 13 duplexes with 26 homes. He also said he has a pair of lots on Route 11 in question.

Niland alleges Heath used his authority to move projects forward.

Heath’s view

Heath called Niland a “compulsive liar.” When it comes to the alleged special interests regarding the building permits, Heath said Niland is throwing out arbitrary numbers and situations to make him look bad. He said there is no controversy.

Heath has been building in town since 2004, when Ryan L. Heath LLC was registered with the Secretary of State. His new company, Apex Land Solutions, was formed with a business partner in 2022.

“Him acting like this is a new scandal is ridiculous,” Heath said.

Court defense

While this charge includes only a fine, Heath looks forward to proving his innocence.

“It is unfortunate, but I have had to endure many people like Mr. Niland over my 25-year career with Alton,” Heath wrote. “He will continue to manipulate and abuse the system for personal gain or to simply harass others.”

Heath said Niland made several much more serious false reports to law enforcement, including assault. In an email Sept. 24, Niland refers to the incident as an “assault,” as well.

“These reports were immediately discredited by his own cell phone video, surveillance cameras, and body warn camera audio,” Heath wrote. “This same evidence also shows that Mr. Niland's travel was never obstructed. We look forward to our day in court to expose Mr. Niland for who he really is and what really happened.”

Heath said the first step is dealing with the case at hand, but this might not be the end of it.

“I would say there’s certainly other legal avenues that we will be exploring with regards to Mr. Niland,” Heath said. “This began by him making false reports, and those false reports are not going to be taken lightly.”

Heath has a trial date set for Wednesday, Dec. 9, in Laconia District Court.