Lakeport Landing business
 

From an article in today's Laconia Citizen, it sounds like the City of Laconia will be taking possession of the one-acre lot, and the Lakeport Landing's primary showroom/repair/office building in November, 2015 which has been home to www.lakeportlanding.com for the last 29-years for the very low price of zero dollars as per their 30-year lease agreement.

Considering all the real jobs and people involved, it is a super-duper catastrophe that an agreement which continues the business cannot be worked out.....seems like a major disaster for the business, owners, and employees...if they .... the City of Laconia and the business ...... cannot re-do the lease agreement to keep a very viable business going strong???? Twenty-nine years of selling boats, running a successful marina biz.....and employing many people ....and it sounds like they are not getting the treatment they deserve from the City of Laconia.

The boy who cried wolf.
 

Hey FLL

Someone needs to say it so it might as well be me. Don't you think your words might carry more weight if ANY of your other 4426 posts were sincere????? You may or may not have a valid point in this case but I don't think most on this forum that have read and put up with your nonsense over the years put a lot of faith in what you have to say.

"Don't ya know"

My opinion only, everyone else's mileage may vary.

Charlie T

Some more info about the lease expiration:

http://www.laconiadailysun.com/index...keport-landing

It would be nice to see this handled "peacefully" and practically. Give Lakeport Landing a fair shot at outright acquiring the property instead of getting into some kind of a bidding war with Irwin/etc. However, given the way Laconia seems to handle most of its business, I doubt this process will end resembling anything at all dignified.

You are correct, the current council act like a bunch of bumbling idiots. With the David Gammon case, the Hathaway House, building a new high school, building the new athletic field, etc. etc. they are crying for money. Good thing Straight Arrow Party in the 80's put a cap on annual spending. This cap even make the county be careful with spending.

So with the cap, they consider the strip mall as income, and the one lot as money to burn!

The council has already been told to be careful with the Lakeport Landing fiasco. Losing the business will be disastrous to the city's coffin. Problem is the council don't care about the future, just what they can do now. Let the future worry about the future.

Your comment is un-called for and down right nasty!

Not to get off topic, but I disagree. 99% of what FLL posts is non-constructive gibberish. I have him blocked for exactly that reason, I got tired of reading his 'contributions'.

Do you think that what FLL said in this thread is "gibberish"?

If you do, please point out what part that you don't like.

IMO FLL contributes more to this forum then 99% of you regulars.

I agree with FLL on this one. Laconia is notorious for throwing roadblocks up to business. Too bad because there was a group wanting to restore the Hathaway house until it was realized that the bureaucratic red tape would not allow for a workable budget.
Lakeport Landing is long established business that has contributed much to the lakes region......shameful that the city is not willing to help them.

To a degree, yes. He's previously used a fair amount of hyperbole in his posts, and he posts without citing any sources, references, or other information. Given some of his previous posts I'd say someone would have to be a bit "generous" to take any of his posts at face value. So, in a way, his post is indeed gibberish since you can't really trust any of the information provided in it.

If you take the time to read some of the other news articles circulating on this issue, it sounds as if what to do with the property is still in question/in the process of being decided by the city. They may take possession of the property, yes, but they are also in process of seeking public input on the matter.

It's a semi-serious matter as far as the overall business is concerned and the tax base and such for the city. If he wanted to foster a genuine discussion on the matter, his post was a less than ideal way to go about doing that.

I disagree
 

I disagree Rusty. There was nothing "nasty" about my post. FLL has admitted his main reason for being here is to stir the pot. My post was to point out to him that "The boy who cried wolf too much wasn't believed when the wolf actually appeared". If you always act as the court jester don't expect to be taken seriously on that rare occasion that you don't act like a fool.

I stand by my post. It was not meant to be nasty or offensive, it was simply a truthful statement.

So what!! Why do you care what FLL posts, the Admin is the one who will make a decision as to when it gets to be too much.

Don't read his posts if you dislike them so much.

I enjoy his comments and think it would be a shame if he ever decided to stop posting or the Admin took action against him.

I agree.....
 

others have blocked him, so you do it if you don't like his posts....personally, I think he is funny, witty and one of the very reasons that I come here everyday!!

Why waste time with bashing FLL, he can't help himself. Thanksgiving is coming, we all have that special relative.

Back to the topic. In my opinion, assuming the city does not need the lot for city purposes, it should sell or lease to the highest bidder. Anything else would smell of corruption.

90 More Days Until it Comes Up Again
 

Laconia Daily Sun

http://www.laconiadailysun.com/index...keport-landing

So lets think about this some. What has Lakeport Landing gotten out of this deal....

1. Free use of public property
2. extra room to help them run their business.

What has the City of Laconia gotten from this:

1. A successful business with in the Town.

What would seem reasonable at this point?

1. For Lakeport Landing be given the chance to buy the lot at market value
2. For Lakeport Landing to get the first right of refusal
3. For Lakeport Landing to create a new lease for the land with the Town, that incorporates a market value rent for the Town.

At the end of the day the Town will do what it wants.....I suggest that those of you that Live in Laconia, and have an opinion on this to get involved and give your opinion to the City Council....

I also think that Ms. Blizzard needs to be careful and more truthful about what she says. Loosing the use of the property will have a negative effect on the business, however I don't believe it will be detrimental to the business. I do believe it will have an effect on the operating costs of the business but certainly nothing that will impair the ability of the business to be profitable.

Why should Lakeport Landing get a concession like the use of the land for free? For the first 30 years the rent was the cost of putting up a building, and developing it, while cultivating their business... I am actually ok with that. Now the building is up, the land developed to their needs..... So now it is time to pay the piper and buy the land from the Town.

As Irwin would undoubtedly want to buy the lot, the Town seems to be doing what the should be doing and acting in their own best interest. I am sure Lakeport Landing, is acting in their best interest as well....Unfortunately it has to play out in a way that will make everyone comfortable... Because the town can't simply put a new lease into place or directly sell the lot to Lakeport.... There is red tape involved.....

My Hope is the following:

The town puts the lot and building up for Sale, with Lakeport Landing having the first right of refusal. Why you may ask, because it allows their to be no argument between the two parties on the value of the land. Then as the sale price also includes the building, Lakeport should get credit towards the purchase price for sum of money they invested into the building that they previously put up.

Unfortunately I don't live or own property in Laconia, so I have no ability to influence the outcome of this issue. But As I stated earlier those of you that are residents should speak to the Town council, and help influence the outcome.

Don't really see a problem here. Lakeport "leased" the property for the last 30 years at $0 dollars.
So what if they did do improvements to the area.
The City charter, according to this last article, demands the city to put it out for bid to ALL interested parties.
Sounds more to me like someone got a sweetheart deal 30 years ago.
Wish I could get that kind of lease to run my business. I could use 30 years of making a profit with no lease.

So what??
 

I didn't see where Lakeport Landing leased the property for $0... but who cares if they did? I doubt there $0 dollar lease only because it would smack of the very favoritism that Irwin Marine sued the city over when the city originally sold the contested property to Lakeport Landing. I think a $0 lease would have been cause for another lawsuit. Though back then I suppose anything was possible.

Anyway, Lakeport Landing has 30 years of paying the taxes on the property, 30 years of maintaining and improving the property and they have 30 years of being a good business in the city. They employ a lot of people and this will negatively affect them one way or another.

As a Laconia resident I would like to see what is best for the City, and Lakeport Landing within the constraints of the law... I do not need to see my tax dollars being spent defending a silly lawsuit brought by Irwin Marine or Lakeport Landing.

That being said, I think the only real course of action is to declare the property surplus, then sell the property.. Unfortunately for Lakeport, I don't think there is an easy way out other than buying the property. I don't think the City can legally give Lakeport the first right of refusal. But if they can, they should. If not, then let the bidding process begin and be open and transparent.

Woodsy

That is exactly what the city did with the D. Gammon case. Dave contested the $538 that was owed to him in challenging a case the city lost. Instead the city balked and the city lost again spending 10 times that in Superior Court. This is one of many. When it comes to the Lakeport Landing case, well history will repeats itself. No wonder the lawyers in town are living well. And on our dime!

As for FLL
 

I did have serious contention during the SL debate. But it is to the proponent advantage when he was making accusations that was false.

I do admire his wits and every forum has a 'character'. Normally I ignore his remarks and others can either take it at face value or do your homework and the truth will speak.

Well Woodsy, the good news is we agree....

The question is can they legally give first right of refusal.... I don't know why they couldn't, but I also don't know if the could.

The other possibility is that it be Auction off to have the same effect... Once again if it is allowable within the governing laws....

And that is what this is really about, what legally can be done...... I am sure the Town could release the land to Lakeport as well... But what does that do... it just puts the same situation in play again sometime in the future.

Aren't many of the buildings at the Weirs and some other locations on leased land? What happens when those leases expire?

It is a tricky situation....
 

The way most laws governing the disposal of public property are written, I think the city has a fiduciary and legal duty to the citizens of Laconia to sell the property for fair market value.

I don't think the public property disposal laws allow for the City to be able to legally "gift" the property to a "For Profit" business.

The City can show any favoritism towards Lakeport Landing, and I think the right of first refusal might be considered favoritism by Irwin Marine and result in another lawsuit. But I have not seen the lease agreement either.

How the City goes about the sale of the property will mostly be semantics. In the end a sale will occur, and the property will belong to someone other than the City of Laconia. I personally would like to see Lakeport Landing retain the property. IMHO I think it would be extremely detrimental to their business to lose that location.

Woodsy

Woodsy

Railroad right of way
 

I believe the land between the railroad track and the lake are considered leased land. Gov Hassan, in order to raise revenue, passed a law back in 2007 that anyone using that land must pay lease to the state. Not sure if it is really happening, but I do know they are looking into a development of land between the lake and track off Paugus Bay. The state is determining whether the developer/association must pay a lease fee.

Can you imagine what would become of LB/SD, Channel and Thurston Marine? How about Irwin Gardens? Hassan open Pandora's box!

Hassan wasn't Governor in 2007.

Happy...

The State of NH has been leasing the waterfront (mostly on property that the railroad originally owned) to property owners for decades... It used to be be for pretty short $$. During the last building boom, developers were taking advantage. As a result, the State looked at getting more $$$ for those leases.

For example... Southdown is a property with LOTS of leased waterfront. They could be very negatively affected if the State decided not to renew their lease.


Woodsy

You are correct Woodsy
 

http://laconiadailysun.com/index.php...orefront-lease

After reading this article, the state was leasing the land, however the state is reviewing all properties as there are those who have not been paying a lease. As the last paragraph states, its all about revenue.

lakeport landing
 

Is anyone sure taxes were paid by LL. If I lease property from someone, they generally are responsible for taxes. Since a municipal entity does not incur taxes, moot dollars abound.

No idea, but it wouldn't be at all surprising if they didn't pay *property* taxes. They would have likely paid other taxes to the city though.

What other taxes are there? No sales or income taxes in NH.

R2B

You're right, I was thinking of the state taxes that businesses pay. Not sure what other taxes, if any, would have gone to the city of Laconia.

State business profits and enterprise taxes. But those are not Laconia taxes of course.

"The way most laws governing the disposal of public property are written, I think the city has a fiduciary and legal duty to the citizens of Laconia to sell the property for fair market value."


Woodsy, I can't say it better than that

I don't really follow the part about LL getting a credit for the building.
From the Laconia Sun: The lease expires on November 1, 2015 and the tenant has no right to extend it further. At the termination of the lease all buildings and improvements on the lot become the property of the city.
To me that would seem that the improvements made (the building) were instead of rent and should belong to the city or the city should gain from the improvements. I wouldn't think that LL would get a credit if they or anyone else buys it.

They built no mansion over there. 29 years later, any storage building turned showroom/ office has had a good life!

Not good news for Lakeport Landing
 

Lakeport Landing has had a rough go of it over the last few years. They lost their Formula franchise and now they might lose their high visibility show room too. Those are a couple of tough hurdles to over come.

The Breeze
Wave 'cuz i'll be wavin' back

I don't disagree... My reasoning is the following LL could have made no improvements to the land, and just used it as a storage yard.... Why make them pay for the building twice, that is all....LL new what they where doing and involved in... so they caused this situation all on their own.... from that regard I have now sympathy for them.... I expect the city to be fair, but do what is best for them city, and allowable in the confines of the laws that govern them..

While I don't disagree that these hurdles are tough on a business, I think that they put themselves in this position.....Certainly Erica's high profile legal troubles didn't help either... Why a successful Marina was aligned only with one boat MFG, is mind boggling... They should have had a better portfolio of products... but that was their choice.... The chose to build upon land they didn't own, and which had a lease with a definite end point, and conditions. Once again the marina entered into this by choice...Therefore they caused this situation...

Now that isn't to say that I think the city should simply screw the company... I think they need to understand what is allowable within the laws that govern the town and try to come to a mutually beneficial solution, that would help LL keep using the land, and building....

Time will tell...

Does anybody know how much they paid to Laconia to lease this land? Some posts make it sound like they used the property for 30 years for nothing. This whole situation is not a "first". I'd be surprised if there are not procedures in place to deal with this situation that is fair to all parties.

I agree.....actions have consequences. I wonder if Irwin's has been approached by the city of Laconia? They being the closest abutter.

The Breeze
wave 'cuz I'll be wavin' back

It could be that the City of Laconia is seeing a big big purchase price if they sell off the very hi-visibility Lakeport Landing marina home building to the next door neighbor, Irwin Marine, plus to sub-divide the one acre lot and keep one half-acre for the city for either a small park, or a parking lot, or for the Lakeport fire station, or some city use. U-know......split the property in half......keep half the land for the city....and sell the marina building on a half-acre for some big big bucks to Irwin. After thirty years, that chain link fence topped with three lines of barbed wire, that seperates Irwins and Lakeport will be a-coming down?

With three locations; in Hudson, Alton, and Laconia, and being New England's one and only five-star Sea Ray dealer..... Irwin ... www.irwinmarine.com ...definately has the big money to pay the big-bucks, and seems like an automatic, made-to-order BUYER ....with no broker needed!

As for creating more local Laconia jobs with the addition of the Lakeport Landing property over to Irwin Marine......it ain't necessarily so. About two or three months ago, an article in the LaDaSun mentioned that Irwin's had cut their number of employees from about 78 down to 49 ......something to do with having fewer than 50 employees.....and health insurance.....and the Affordable Health Care Act of 2010....and...oh well.....November 1, 2015 is about 49-weeks from now.....which is when this 30-year lease agreement expires.....so who knows what will happen?......maybe Carnac the Magnificent could foresee how this scenario will unwind? ......yes, I see a lot of money.....mucho mucho mucho mega green-stuff.....some very big money for the city here?

Irwin's could be using the Lakeport Landing building for selling and servicing jetskis and snowmobiles; items that have been sold from Alton but not from Laconia, and finance the building purchase with a low-interest, 30-year loan, or something? That seems like a good, strong Irwin use for that huge two-story marina designed, service building with its huge visibility from Union Ave; jetskis and snowmobiles; sales and service ..... certainly MUCHO more major MOJO for their retail biz than kayaks, and Sunfish sailboats!

The City has the land and building assessed for something like $375,000, so if Irwin pays double that at $750,000 for half the land, a one-half acre, and the very nice marina service building; over a 30-year loan, that works out to $750,000 divided by 30 years = $25,000/year plus the interest. Now, is it worth $25,000/year+interest to Irwin to have ownership of the hi-visibility two-story marina building for selling and servicing jetskis and snowmobiles which are two items not currently sold from Irwin's-Laconia? Only Irwin's know's what Irwin's wants to do ..... but it seems like a good business move to me for them to purchase the building.... IF they can beat out Lakeport Landing's price offer....

If Carnac the Magnificent was still on tv ... he'd be riding a new snowmobile... that he bought at Irwin's on Union Ave .... come the winter of 2016!!! ..... go....Carnac.....go.....definately magnificent!

.....say-hey....how's about the City using that new money to build on city land somewhere a $750,000, Laconia community tennis center with six courts inside an inflatable structure ... www.arizonstructures.com ; all air-conditioned and heated.....that's what Laconia really wants ..... plus maybe the City could name it the Stephanie Beaudoin memorial tennis courts as a way to remember her! Unlike football, basketball, and baseball; tennis is a sport that one can play till you are 99!