By Nicholas Brown
Staff Writer

Allenstown conservation officials are again pushing for a Suncook River boat ramp off Albin Avenue, despite perpetual opposition from selectmen and residents of the neighborhood.

Conservation Commission Secretary Laura Bonk said the commission is intent on drafting a warrant article for 2007 that would turn just over an acre of town-owned property that extends from a cul-de-sac into a town park.

The town already holds a wetlands permit that would allow for some crushed rock and railroad ties to firm up the bank of the river for a boat ramp for nonmotorized boats like kayaks and canoes, said Bonk.

The small-boat ramp is suggested for the Albin Avenue property, which was deeded to the town years ago after a forfeiture, in Allenstown’s Master Plan.

“It’s just a place where people can easily access the river,” said Bonk.

The conservation commission pushed to have the small ramp built last September, but the plan was unanimously opposed by selectmen who cited overwhelming opposition from the neighborhood’s residents.

Selectmen Chairman Sandy McKenney said the opposition was also due to safety concerns about potential traffic congestion. She said those concerns still linger.

“If a fire truck needed to get down there, and there were three or four cars parked, I’m not sure if the truck could get through,” she said.

Bonk, however, said many Allenstown residents may not even be aware that the riverside property is public land, boat ramp or not.

“Summer is here, and I think the more people know about the river and can enjoy it, the more they’ll be interested in preserving it,” said Bonk.

Bonk said she understands the concerns of Albin Avenue residents, but said making the land a town park would establish fixed rules which safety officials could enforce.

“I’m not expecting a kind of teen party hangout,” said Bonk, who annually organizes a cleanup of the Suncook in Allenstown. “It’s intended to be more of a family-friendly environment.”

McKenney, noting the recent flooding which damaged some property in the neighborhood, suggested conversation on the boat ramp issue may be premature.

“I think this would just be bad timing,” she said. “These people are still trying to get their lives together.”

At last September’s conservation commission meeting, Albin Avenue residents filled the town hall chambers in protest of a boat ramp in their neighborhood.

Albin Avenue resident Dorothy Carter said their minds haven’t changed.

“Anybody in this neighborhood will tell you the same thing,” said Carter, who’s lived in the neighborhood for 43 years. “We don’t want it here.”

Albin Avenue resident Linda Chenette said the ramp could bring too many visitors and their cars.

“It’s pretty quiet there right now, and that’s the way we like it,” she said.

But Chenette’s husband, Robert Chenette, a fisherman, takes a different view.

“Bring it on,” he said.