Mayor denounces rumors that councilors are opposed to event

By JOHN KOZIOL
Staff Writer

LACONIA — Weirs business owners may have intended to pour oil on the troubled waters of Bike Week at Monday’s City Council meeting, but instead may have fanned the flames of controversy with their accusations that some councilors are against the event.

After the council meeting ended, Ward 1 Councilor Paul Bordeau had to intervene during an exchange between Ward 6 Councilor Armand Bolduc and Weirs Beach Lobster Pound co-owner Lou Gaynor outside the council chamber.

Moments earlier, during the public comment portion of the meeting, Gaynor said Bike Week has developed into a two-part happening, the first being the fun and entertainment portion, the second an industrial show featuring some of the country’s biggest companies and manufacturers.

Gaynor said that although the councilor "hates Bike Week," he could attest to its industrial show component.

"That’s another rumor" Bolduc interjected about the reference to his feelings about Bike Week.

The first rumor to which Bolduc was referring came when Jose F. DeMatos Jr., owner of Channel Waterfront Cottages in The Weirs, said he had heard that Mayor Mark Fraser has two votes on the council in favor of efforts to clamp down on Bike Week.

DeMatos said the votes came from "either side" of the Weirs Bridge, referring to Bolduc, whose ward includes portions of The Weirs on the east side of the bridge, and Bordeau whose ward includes the western part.

"That’s the first I heard of it," said Bolduc, in response to DeMatos’ comments.

Gaynor initially told the council that "we would like to help you" in solving Bike Week problems, but that neither he nor other Weirs business people had yet been approached.

Continuing to press Bolduc, Gaynor asked him to "look a little deep into your heart" to support Bike Week.

Gaynor’s comments capped a council session that began with Fraser telling the audience, most of whom were from The Weirs, that councilors had heard a rumor about what was supposed to be discussed and, although he did not elaborate, the implication was clear that it was related to Bike Week.

The meeting also featured a suggestion that The Weirs should have its own ward.

During discussion on redrawing the lines of the city’s six wards to reflect population changes in the 2000 census, Foster Avenue resident Brenda Dearborn suggested that maybe The Weirs, because it has "unlike problems" compared to the rest of the city, should have its own ward.

Ward 3 Councilor Fred Toll said the problem with having a Weirs-only ward was that it had to have 2,735 residents, or failing that, the City Charter had to be changed.

The item was eventually referred back to the Government Operations and Ordinances Committee for further review.

Also during the meeting, DeMatos asked for a "straw poll" of the council on Bike Week. He prefaced his request by cautioning the council that "should you in any manner, shape or form try to alter Bike Week," there could be dire consequences for the city.

DeMatos alluded to rumors that the council was going to shorten the length of what is now a nine-day event and reminded the members that he and other property owners in The Weirs "all pay dearly" in municipal property taxes that would be significantly decreased should Bike Week be tampered with and the value of their properties plummet.

Fraser responded to DeMatos indirectly, saying that he had sent a letter recently to Charlie St. Clair, executive director of the Laconia Motorcycle Rally and Race Week Association, asking to meet to clear up some of the issues surrounding Bike Week.

The mayor then expressed his disappointment that "the rumor mill in The Weirs has gotten so out of hand," a development he traced back to the state Liquor Commission’s denial, and then reversal, on granting Bike Week beer tent licenses to several businesses in The Weirs, including the Lobster Pound.

Each of the councilors had publicly stated in a newspaper article last week that they supported Bike Week, said Fraser, and had no intentions to change it, but for fine-tuning. "Yet still the rumors continue."

Prior to the June 8-16 Bike Week, the council met three times to talk about public safety issues at the event, specifically concerns over possible violence between rival motorcycle clubs, he said, but to date has not discussed any other facet of Bike Week.

"I’m tired of it," Fraser said.

Harvey Chernin, also a co-owner of the Weirs Beach Lobster Pound said he didn’t know where the rumors started, but noted that in speaking with a Belknap County Commissioner, he learned that the commissioner had "talked to you people," about the possibility of cutting Bike Week back to four days.

St. Clair confirmed that Fraser’s letter to him was about how to work on Bike Week 2003 and Bordeau added that all along his intent in raising questions about the operation of Bike Week was to "get as much input" as possible from anyone involved in the Bike Week planning process, especially Gaynor and Chernin.