Gilford to reconsider who can access town beach

GILFORD — When town residents attempt to enjoy a summer day at the beach, they are increasingly likely to encounter a full parking lot, or a crowded beach, preventing them from enjoying an amenity intended for residents only.

That situation, described by town Budget Committee member Angelo Farruggia, is, in his view, exacerbated by a recent policy change that has allowed for commercial hospitality businesses to give their guests access to the beach.

As a result of a discussion at a budget meeting last week, Town Administrator Scott Dunn said the selectboard is expecting to revisit the policy at its meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 11, at 7 p.m. Depending on how the discussion goes, the board could develop a revised policy, which would then be presented to the town in a later public hearing.

Farruggia said the discussion at the Budget Committee was sparked by a proposal to rebuild the bathhouse —– the primary facility at the town beach — which has served beachgoers for at least 50 years.

Farruggia said that in his view, not many townspeople understand that some of the people sharing the beach with them might be guests staying at local hotels, or renting a property through short-term rental arrangements such as Airbnb.

He emphasized that he supports the proposal to modernize the bathhouse, but that he didn’t agree with who should be stuck with the bill.

“Honestly, at this point, if this beach is no longer residents-only, then we should not be using our town’s tax dollars to renovate this beach to make it more attractive for businesses to market it,” Farruggia said.

“If that’s the case, the businesses should be footing a big portion of the bill.”

The town beach, on the southern shore of Lake Winnipesaukee, is the busiest town amenity during the summer, said Director of Parks and Recreation Herb Greene. When it’s busy, the beach attracts more than 400 vehicle visits each day.

The bathhouse, which was constructed sometime between 1960 and 1970 — town records aren’t clear — provides bathroom facilities, storage for lifeguards and a concessions area. In recent years, maintaining the structure has become more problematic and expensive, particularly as plumbing codes of the modern day compare with those used when the building was constructed.

Food service standards have also advanced, and Greene said that the concessions area will be dark this year, because the state will no longer allow public food to be served out of the building due to noncompliance issues. Renovating the structure to meet modern food service standards would be costly, he said, so the more fiscally responsible measure is to build a new bathhouse.

However, something else that has changed in recent years is the cost of construction — a fact town hall officials found when they asked around to come up with an estimate. Basing their forecast on what the city of Keene recently spent on a similar building, they are asking the town to approve an expenditure of $1,025,000.

According to Dunn, hotel and motel operators can purchase day passes to the town beach for $5, then re-sell those to their guests. In 2022, he said, a total of 533 such passes were purchased by hospitality establishments from Town Hall. He didn’t know how many of those passes were ultimately used, though he figured businesses weren’t likely to pay for passes that they didn’t expect to sell.

Homeowners can also get guest passes, which would be how short-term rentals could offer beach access to their guests. A guest pass, which could be transferred from one vehicle to another, can be purchased at Town Hall for $500, Dunn said, and 45 of those were sold in 2022.

A second type of guest pass can be purchased for $250, Dunn said, though this type of pass can only be affixed to one specific vehicle. Dunn said 13 of these passes were sold last year.

The Belknap Point Inn is one of the businesses that makes use of the current policy, said managing director of operations Anthony Zagame.

“I always get a few passes, five to 10 a year. I end up having one or two guests use them, max,” said Zagame. He estimates that about 10 Belknap Point guests, over the years, have bought his beach passes.

Zagame said he makes the passes available to his guests because he can, but he added that he understands if townspeople wanted to reconsider the policy.

“I could see how it could be used the right way or the wrong way,” Zagame said. “If it’s becoming an issue for Gilford, I get it.”