The town of Hollis is considering a first for New Hampshire.
In the middle of town sits Silver Lake State Park, complete with a 34 acre pond and beaches. It’s popular too. About 35 thousand people visit a year.
And Hollis is thinking about either buying it or leasing it from the state.
NHPR Correspondent Sheryl Rich-Kern reports.
Park ambi, kids running into the water
Hi, I’m Marge Madarano from Nashua, NH.
Madarano sits on a beach chair at Silver Lake State Park in Hollis.
She shares sandwiches out of a cooler with her granddaughter.
Madarano is 80 years old, and has been coming to the park most of her life.
Since I was a little girl all the way from Revere. And I’m going back many years. Since I was 10 years old. I’ve been coming here and I’ve loved it.
Recently, the town of Hollis began considering taking over the state park.
Town officials held a public hearing in July and were surprised at the attendance.
At most town meetings, they see around a dozen people.
But that night, more than 80 people came to have their say.
By the end of the evening, residents gave town officials the go-ahead to investigate a proposal with the state.
Laughter, kids
Marge Madarano doesn’t like the idea.
Madarano: I think if the town ran it, it would up the money, it’s kept nice and clean now. It’s a nice place to be. What more could they do for it. Except extend the amount of money for admission, put a concession stand that’s out of reach for many pockets nowadays.
Madarano lives in nearby Nashua, but most of the people who travel to Silver Lake are from Massachusetts.
Very few come from Hollis.
Jim Belanger has lived in the town for 40 years, and is a former selectman and retired police officer.
He sits under the shade of a tree at the park, and says he thinks most people in town wouldn’t come here.
The average Hollis resident lives on a two-acre minimum lot size; many of them have their own pools, they go away for summer places up at the lakes regions. 75 percent of the Hollis residents are not candidates for use of this state park.
Last year, residents complained about the litter and the crowds, especially on weekends.
That’s when Mark LeDoux, a selectman, began thinking about a town takeover.
I caught up with him by phone from his lake home in Wisconsin.
One of the key concerns we have after speaking to our police chief is that you have people that drink too much, and then they’re on the roadways. If we could control it locally, we could pass an ordinance that says no alcohol is permitted here, and maybe improve the facilities and make it something really great for our community and allow other people in other neighboring communities use it on a fee basis.
Some, like resident Jim Belanger, say, yes, the park could look nicer.
Better grooming and weed control. There you go again. It can look better if you can spend more money.
And he believes the state fell down on its job last year
The state park system seemed to have a budget problem. There were no lifeguards here. The maintenance wasn’t up to the same standards we were used to. The parking lot got full of trash.
Troy Brown, the town administrator, says the state has resolved most of those issues.
But he’s glad Hollis is pursuing its options.
There’s enough land on the state park where we think we could expand our recreational facilities, such as different practice fields, playing surfaces for basketball courts, tennis courts, skateboard parks, It could be a win-win situation both for the state and the town of Hollis.
According to state numbers, says Brown, New Hampshire spends between 30 to 35 thousand dollars a year to operate the park.
Revenues run anywhere from 50 to 60 thousand a year.
To date, no other communities in New Hampshire have purchased a state park.
A private company leases Mt. Sunapee, and shares revenue with the state.
Brown says he expects to hold another public hearing – with more facts for taxpayers -- within three to six months.
For NHPR News in Nashua, this is Sheryl Rich Kern.
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