The Dive, city agree to sever Weirs Dock lease

LACONIA — The Dive, the floating bar and restaurant which operated at the Weirs Docks last summer, will not return after the business and the city mutually agreed to terminate their lease.

City Manager Scott Myers notified Mayor Andrew Hosmer and the City Council of the development on Tuesday. The matter will be placed on the agenda for next Monday’s council meeting.

“After several good faith discussions, the parties have mutually decided that that agreement did not achieve the intentions or best serve the interests of either party. The parties have therefore agreed to terminate that agreement,” a statement released by Myers reads.

The Dive and the city signed a three-year lease on June 29, six days after the council approved the agreement. Some city councilors voiced misgivings about the proposal prior to its eventual approval. Myers told the council in October that the arrangement was proving troublesome.

“I am not going to sugar-coat it. There have been some bumps,” Myers told the council on Oct. 13, referring to concerns the city had with some aspects of The Dive’s operation.

Calls to Dive owner Jamison Merriam for comment on this story were not returned.

The Dive — a two-story establishment constructed on a self-propelled barge — initially sought a 10-year lease, but after further discussions with the city reduced the term to three years during which time it would pay no rent. However, under the terms of the lease the Dive was required to build a 1,376-foot expansion of the Weirs Docks at its expense and obtain any state permits necessary for the construction.

The Dive received site plan approval from the city on July 22 for the construction of the dock expansion, which was to be built off the last finger docks at the south end of city-owned Weirs Docks. However, it did not apply to the state Department of Environmental Services for a permit to build the dock, according to the agency.

The construction of The Dive’s dock was to be done in conjunction with a plan to expand the Public Docks to accommodate 56 boats, compared to the current capacity of 24 vessels. In addition to the greater capacity, the piers would be spaced further apart so boats would have more room to maneuver.

Myers told the council in October that there were several issues regarding The Dive’s operations, including the placing of a no-trespassing sign on the city-owned dock, concerns that unattended and untethered propane gas cylinders posed a potential safety hazard, and that trash was being left on a tender for extended periods and not being brought ashore immediately for disposal.

He said the city had just received a lengthy letter from The Dive’s attorney, responding to the city’s concerns, but that he had not had a chance to look at the letter carefully. He told councilors he would “work with our team to see what the next steps might be.”

When the plans for bringing The Dive to the Weirs Docks were presented to the City Council last spring, Hosmer said he hoped the arrangement would afford the city an opportunity to forge the kind of public-private partnership that would give Weirs Beach an economic shot in the arm.

But some councilors, particularly Bruce Cheney, voiced concerns in light of noise complaints that Weirs Beach residents raised in 2019 when The Dive was docked at the Winnipesaukee Pier.

Even after the council gave its initial approval for the lease the city had to amend the City Code to allow the dock space to be leased, and to permit consumption of alcoholic beverages on the piers.