Let It Rest
 

I agree with others, that until we have more information, there isnt much else to say on this topic from an evidence standpoint. However, it does affect many boaters, slip renters, etc. in the fact that the Marina may change hands. It would be difficult renting a slip at West Alton right now, as you have a prime spot with a lot of amenities but a very questionable/unstable ownership situation.

By pure speculation, I imagine the asking price for the marina would be in the $40-$70M range. 162 Acres, with 440 slips at an average of $4500-$5000 annual rent, dockside market, fuel, commercial operations, location.. location... location. It is a high interest rate market, with a tenuous legal situation, crazy high demand with no supply, and how often does a marina actually go up for sale on the lake? When a one of one situation comes up (unique), the sky is the limit on price.

Marina sales on the lake are not all that uncommon.

Channel Marine, Thurston's, Shep Brown's, and the Pier all sold within the last four years. None of the sale prices exceeded $3.5 million and some were much less. However, none had the number of slips that West Alton has.

If the buyer pays a price on the high end, arriving at that price based upon cash flow, that could be a problem if the economy continues to slow down. The economy is cyclical and when it slows down the income may not be enough to satisfy the debt. Empty slips don't generate any income.

:rolleye1::rolleye1::rolleye1: I really don't think so. I realize you are just speculating, so who knows, but while it is a very valuable property I don't believe it is anywhere near that range.

Go condo young man. 440 slips at~$100 K is $44,000,000, plus valet and other assets. Slips at MVYC are going for $175K.

I guess in this crazy market anything can happen! Will be curious to see the result.

Small difference is, WAM has the stigma of employing pedos. I wouldn't exactly file that under "value add" but that's just me.

Liens and perhaps complicated purchase parameters may affect value, but not so sure the legal situation will. New owner gets to clear the slate, enact proper, proactive, modern employment training and policies and get a fresh new start.

If I bought WAM I'd hire a well qualified HR/employment person right away to make sure practices were correct and send the message of zero tolerance from day 1.

Ten days, no, make that 5 days, after the sale, nobody will remember their names. Certainly not the proud new owners of 440 slips, and/or valet services. Ya gotta believe that all the boat owners posting looking for slips are sharpening their pencils and salivating at the thought that WAM will be a condo by next spring. Right behind them are all the investors who want passive income.

West Alton Marina is quite the property and definitely has more land value than the others.

Fifth lawsuit filed, by a female

As with the four suits filed earlier, the plaintiff is alleging that she suffered physical harm and continues to suffer from emotional distress which has required therapy and counseling.

https://www.laconiadailysun.com/news...0ffd42959.html

All of this is following a not unknown pattern. As a former customer I wish I had been more tuned into the illegal behavior towards youth there. I will say that one of the fellows on trial actually tried to pick me up while there for boat service. His remarks were way off base and looking back I should have done something other than telling him I did not "go that direction".

If guilty, they will both be out of commission for long time. The marina will be sold and the rich heritage of the Colby family will be stained because of these two sick individuals.

In the new filing, lawyers for West Alton Marina, Fortier and Murray are asking a judge to move at least two of the lawsuits from state to federal court.

https://www.wmur.com/article/west-al...court/40278166

From the newscast, I think they are arguing that the cases fall under federal law , but not State law.

I would think that NH RSA 354-A:7 Section V (5) should cover that.

''V. Harassment on the basis of sex constitutes unlawful sex discrimination. Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal, non-verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitutes sexual harassment when:
(a) Submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual's employment;
(b) Submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting such individual; or
(c) Such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual's work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment."

I suggest checking with the former chief of police in Gilford if anyone wants more information on the situation at WAM. He appears to have intimate knowledge and some time on his hands.


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The Chief wouldn't know anymore about the NH statute than the statute itself.

It is really a matter of whether the plaintiff's lawyers can convince a judge that the case has standing in NH.

Chief will not be charged
 

The investigation concluded there was “insufficient evidence to meet the State’s burden to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Chief Burpee committed a crime."

https://www.laconiadailysun.com/news...748baf96d.html

Aka not easily found guilty but also not innocent. Not the kind of person I’d choose to enforce the law in my neighborhood.


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Drove through WAM for the first time the other day. I have to say it looks like a shanty town with all those gazebos. Quite disgusting and depressing if you ask me. Do people camp in those things? Skid Row is great description for it. Just my opinion.

Yes
 

Do they, yes. But I believe they are not supposed to be for “sleeping” in.

That is absolutely disgusting.

Not necessarily
 

I docked at WAM for several years. Most of the dock areas that had cabana space behind the docks were home to cruisers for the most part. The cabanas were used for some storage, but mainly for sitting off the boat to eat and entertain.

The one thing I can say is that the areas were not like a shanty town. The areas around them were always neat. On more than one occasion, i did visit with friends at the marina who had a cabana and found it nice to get away from the bugs or out of the rain.

Obviously, your opinion is far different from mine. I don't think you will find many people who would spend $200 per linear foot to dock their boat, ie, 35' boat = $7000.

Dave

Well, you know what they say, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.
If I had a cruiser boat all my entertaining would be on the boat. Not in some shanty makeshift poor man’s vacation home! And as far as $200 a linear foot, that means nothing. There are plenty of folks with more money than brains on the lake. This whole fiasco is gonna make a great movie. I can only hope they film it in the shanty town. That would be amazing.

My comment about sleeping in the cabanas was that I believe they are not supposed to per the town of Alton. Much like some of the campgrounds can’t have anyone year round.

I have one of the Cabana slips at WAM and I personally think it's the absolute best setup of any marina on the lake. I have a 16 x 12 deck right behind my slip with a 12 x 12 Cabana on it, place to grill and parking spot immediately behind it, nice furnishings, cable TV, WiFi, full sized fridge, all with views of the channel and My Major. We absolutely love it.

It's just a gorgeous spot to relax and watch the boats go by when my family isn't out on the water. It's also really nice to have when a quick shower comes through. Go hang out in the Cabana and wait for it to pass, then head back out. All of our Cabana neighbors are wonderful families, always people milling about, having drinks and sharing laughs.

So if people don't do their lake experience exactly like you, what they are doing is disgusting? Strange outlook, kind of narrow view of things IMO.

That looks like a really great setup.

Interesting to see the Gilford Chief of Police referenced multiple times in this lawsuit but not being named personally. If the allegations are true then it's a bit more than disconcerting that he was on paid administrative leave for 4 months https://dockets.justia.com/docket/ne...2cv00240/59373


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I havent been in a couple of years, but in the past we were regulars there, used the launch ramp for day trips.

The gazebos you reference were very inconsistent, some were kept very neat and the people appeared very quiet and friendly, while others kinda fit your description and had loud and rowdy characters hanging out.

But then its the same at the sand bars and any town dock and any waterfront restaurant. Winnipesaukee attracts the whole spectrum.

In the last 20 years I would not keep a boat on wet slip, too many problems with the bottom getting nasty, and the boat always dirty from being out in the open so we trailered.

The last couple of years we have been at Paugas Bay Marina in the valet program and its so much better than a wet slip. Their location is great and they have been outstanding to work with.

I still miss having the boat at home to clean and do maintenance, but dont miss having to drive extra miles to find a ramp and deal with the ramp traffic and parking challenges.

And as far as WAM, I would find it hard to go back knowing what was going on there. Sorry but it would bother me to support such a place until EVERYONE associated with that happened is gone and its under new ownership and management.

Looks GREAT, but I dont recall the "tents" down by the ramp looking that nice. Maybe things have changed quite a bit since the pandemic???

Couldn’t agree more with this statement!

Dan

Agree completely.

From WMUR today
https://www.wmur.com/article/west-al...arges/40644868

These scams need to be put away for years!! I hope the victims get all they need for support and therapy and can heal. Coming soon Irwin of west alton.... I hope these two pedophiles pay with everything they have and then some!

Hiding in plain sight
 

I had reason to go there once.. Got a tour the whole shooting match. Teenagers were around. Talk about how much "fun' everyone was having. A forum member posted that he knew there was a problem from a summer camp 35 years ago. Hundreds of people around every day all summer and no one thought any the worse of anything? Sometimes we don't see what we don't want to.

In these touchy times I knew I wouldn't return when I drove out. To express thoughts on your perceptions without any specific tales puts you on the wrong side of being"correct". These days no matter what you say someone is offended, so I tend to say little or I'm always carefully choosing my words. I wonder how much goes unmentioned or unnoticed in these politically correct times. I didn't mention anything about it until now.

Much different than my childhood when we were still coming off WWII and getting into Vietnam. As kids we used all the incorrect words all the time and called our best friends the worst ones when we were mad...then we either fought it out or got over it.

Who would think a summer job at an established business in the lakes region could be so impactful?

As a child, if I used ''incorrect words'', regardless of the situation, I got the strap and sent to my room without dinner.

Seems my grandparents were not so willing to put up with me being ill-mannered.

The hood
 

My mistake respect for elders at home and school.....but running around the neighborhood was a different story.

Think about how incorrect the culture was...."Hop Sing" on Bonanza..... McHale's Navy, Combat, Rat Patrol, Hogan's Heroes.....the norm.

Not sure what point you're trying to make.

IMO the good news about it being now, not 40 or 50 years ago, is that the kids will be believed and supported, the criminals will be tried and will go to jail, and no local bigwig or rich uncle or politician will step in to save these hideous piles of you-know-what.

On point
 

I agree. Hopefully the truth will be known. Point is you have to be careful what you say and how you say it all the time. Unfortunately whatever may have happened... went on in plain sight with nothing said by anyone for a long time.

Never happen, Irwin’s has ZERO interest in West Alton.

God, that horrifying,,,

But its also very telling.

That is not a "teaching moment" thats unquestionable abuse.

Sorry, no child should suffer such inhuman treatment, weather you realize it or not, it scars you for life.

I heard of worse, but not much.

Hopefully such is no longer tolerated in most places. No wonder we have so mange damaged people in our society.

Horrifying,,,