Councilors to review historical data ahead of decision to make Prescott, Paugus aves at The Weirs public roads

LACONIA — A decades-old debate about intersecting roads — Prescott and Paugus avenues in Weirs Beach — continued in front of city council Monday night, as residents urged councilors to adopt them as public roads.

The discussion was during a public hearing about declaring Paugus and Prescott emergency lanes until July 1, 2027. The roads are currently private.

At a city council meeting July 8, 2024, the roads were declared emergency lanes until June 1, 2025. At a council meeting May 27, 2025, the council extended this declaration until July 1, 2026.

Councilors scheduled a public hearing on the matter for June 22, at a meeting May 26. The recommendation from public works is to extend the emergency lane designation until next year.

Council, under state law, mailed a notice to all individuals with "legal interest” in Prescott and Paugus avenues on June 2.

Claire Bennett, resident of Prescott Avenue, address the council Monday night, at City Hall.

“Certainly, when we arrived 14 years ago, all of our neighbors gave us the impression that the road was a public road. You plow it, you pick up the trash, there’s a public sewer down the road, there’s a pumping station on the road. So we got the impression that it was a public road,” Bennett said.

The City of Laconia has been plowing and maintaining the roads for some time, in order to let emergency vehicles pass through. The June 22 staff report states, “The City Council cannot declare a private road an emergency lane without the permission of the abutting landowners. An emergency lane cannot be declared if permission is denied by one or more abutting property owners. An abutter can request the emergency lane designation be withdrawn at any time.”

Mark Hamel, longtime resident of Paugus Avenue, spoke in support of declaring Paugus and Prescott as emergency lanes for another year.

“This is a vital measure of immediate safety of every resident who relies on these roads. While this temporary declaration is necessary now, it’s a bandaid on an old and recurring issue.”

Hamel reminded the council of the roads' history, going back about 100 years. They were created at a time where “establishment of a private association and short road maintenance were not required as a condition of approval.” Property owners believed the roads to be public due to consistent maintenance and provided city services.

“The city has continuously approved developments abutting these ways and historically maintained Prescott and Paugus Avenues as public ways,” Hamel said. He said in recent years, the city approved a condominium development, with little discussion or consideration of how it would affect the roads.

Sean McGuire, longtime Prescott resident, told councilors he has been dealing with the issue for almost 60 years.

“1986 was the first time we dealt with public works paving the road, so that they would take care of it as they always had,” he said. 

McGuire voiced his frustration on this issue continuously being postponed. He recounted multiple meetings at Weirs Community Parkhouse, meetings on Prescott Avenue with Public Works, and council meetings where he and other residents have consistently pressured the city to permanently declare them public roads.

McGuire recounted a past council meeting when former Mayor Andrew Hosmer and councilors started voting on this issue. Councilor Bob Soucy (Ward 2) “didn’t like the verbiage” so he sent it back for a rewrite, to be voted upon at the following meeting. This never occurred, and progress halted.

Bennett said residents of the intersecting roads have been in communication, attempting to move things forward themselves.

“The thing is, there are 100 units on this road, abutting this road. So it’s actually quite a large group of people. We are in a somewhat larger, more complex situation than many other roads that you’ve been, sort of, considering,” Bennett told the council.

The city is required to receive approval from 100% of abutters in order to move forward with the "betterment process.” If approved by all, abutters would pay the city, over a 10-year period, the cost of bringing the roads up to meet city standards. The staff report from Monday’s meeting reads, “Since ownership of these two roads is known, per City Council guidance, the abutters' only option to become a public road is through the betterment process.”

“This will never happen,” Hamel said. “If your properties abut both Paugus Ave. to Weirs Blvd — a public way — these owners have no financial or practical incentive to pay a betterment fee for Paugus Ave. to become a public way.”

Doreen Richards, Ward 1 resident, said, “This is now the third year in a row we’ve extended this designation. The stated purpose was to give the voters time to form a road association or go through the bettering process. So I’d like to know what progress has actually been made, and what the plan is if it’s still unresolved by July of 2027?”

City Manager Kirk Beattie told councilors he will put together a packet of all the votes and discussions over the years about Paugus and Prescott avenues, ahead of the July 27 council meeting. Councilors will have all the historical information so they can come to a decision.

The two avenues are in Ward 6, represented by Councilor Mike Conant.

“I would like to approve the emergency [lanes], and I do concur we should have that discussion and vote to approve or not approve it,” he said.

Councilor Mark Haynes (Ward 4) noted McGuire has gone to public works staff many times over this issue.

“I sympathize with him. This has gone on way too long.”