Conservation commission raises environmental and process concerns after jet-ski races cleared for Lake Opechee

At the May 27 Laconia City Council meeting, the Laconia Conservation Commission urged the council to revisit approvals for an upcoming multi-day jet-ski race on Lake Opechee, saying commission members and the Opechee Preservation Association were not consulted and expressing concern about environmental impacts and precedent-setting use of a public beach.

The commission’s chairman, Dean Hanson, told the council that event planners estimated large numbers of jet skis, including craft coming from out of state and Canada, and warned that introducing additional watercraft risks bringing invasive species into the lake. Hanson said the city and private partners have already spent thousands of dollars managing invasive species on Opechee and that “when you introduce boats and other watercraft jet skis into our lakes, they bring other invasive species.”

The conservation group also pressed officials on where the craft would launch. Hanson said event organizers proposed launching from the beach behind the middle school rather than the Messer Street boat ramp, and warned that launching from the beach would cause shoreline erosion and create expectations that others could launch there in the future. He added that New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NH DES) took a baseline water sample and could be asked to take a follow-up sample after the event for comparison.

Deb Williams, vice chair of the conservation commission and a longtime lake host, asked how the applicant’s pre-launch inspections would be carried out and whether the city’s trained lake hosts would be used. Williams said she had served as a lake host and questioned the qualifications of the private inspectors proposed by the event organizer.

City Manager Kirk Biotti said the application “has gone through its special events. It’s had its approvals with those conditions,” and offered to circulate to the council the special-events checklist and what the organizer has submitted. He said staff would provide an update to the council the following day detailing what items in the special-events notice of action have been satisfied.

Several councilors and other speakers urged process changes. Councilor Susi (spelled in the packet) suggested notifying the ward councilor when an event affects a ward so the councilor can be represented at the Technical Review Committee (TRC). Councilors also suggested the TRC and Parks & Recreation share their agendas with the council so members are better informed about events affecting public spaces.

No formal council vote was taken on the event during the meeting. The city manager said the event had been reviewed by the city’s special-events process and that staff would circulate details of the conditions placed on the permit and what the applicant has provided.

The council will receive the requested follow-up information; the event as described in public comment is scheduled to begin the coming weekend. Residents and councilors asked staff to confirm whether NH DES sampling will occur after the event, whether trained city lake hosts will perform inspections, whether marine patrol will be present, and whether camping and launch arrangements at Opechee Park conform to the special-events conditions.