Hampton Beach could one day have a pier. What would it look like?

HAMPTON — A bill winding its way through the State House may give the Hampton Beach Area Commission $150,000 for a study on the feasibility and impact of building a handicap-accessible pier south of Boar’s Head off Hampton Beach.

Proposed by Sen. Kevin Avard, R-Nashua, Senate Bill 346 is sponsored by seven other senators from both sides of the aisle, including Seacoast state Sens. Rebecca Perkins Kwoka, D-Portsmouth, and Tom Sherman, D-Rye, as well as three state representatives.

It recently passed the Senate, followed by a favorable report from its first House committee hearing. It’s scheduled for a floor vote on April 21. If the bill gets thumbs up then, it will have a second hearing before the House Finance Committee, before going back to the House floor in hopes of final approval before heading up to the governor’s office for a signature.

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This is the second version of Avard’s bill, according to Sherman and Nancy Stiles, chairwoman of the Hampton Beach Area Commission. Although neither Sherman nor Stiles knew of Avard’s bill beforehand, both believe Avard has a noble motive and the bill calling for a comprehensive study is an interesting idea that should be pursued. And it looks like it has a good chance of passing.

Enhancing the ‘Hampton Beach experience’

Avard filed the bill after a visit last summer to Hampton Beach. Originally, he thought it would be a good idea to have the state undertake a study on building a boardwalk over the jetty.

“Hampton Beach is an amazing jewel on our Seacoast and is considered one of the best beaches in the country,” Avard said. “A pier would not only enhance the Hampton experience, but it would also be fully accessible to handicapped and disabled visitors, which is absolutely the right thing to do.”

During the hearing process, Sherman said, it was learned the state doesn’t have jurisdiction over the jetty, because it's federally owned. A boardwalk over it would hamper the ability to maintain and repair the jetty, he added.

After some discussion, placing the pier south of Boar’s Head was proposed since it’s a more protected spot.

Stiles said the initial version of the bill allocated only $20,000 to conduct the study and put it in the hands of the state Department of Environmental Services, which said it didn’t have time for it. At the hearing Stiles attended, no state agency wanted the job, but it was proposed the Hampton Beach Area Commission do it.

Sherman said the study’s budget was also raised to $150,000, a more realistic amount given the many aspects to be researched.

A deadline of November 2022 was set for the study’s final report, Stiles said, which works well with the Hampton Area Beach Commission’s plan to update its master plan.

However, she said, the quick turnaround makes it vital the bill gets enacted quickly, so the commission has time to solicit bids and proposals from consulting firms.

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A new tourist attraction?

Sherman was skeptical when he first heard about a boardwalk over the jetty, but now that the bill has morphed into its present form, he thinks there could be a number of benefits for a pier, especially if it can link to Ocean Boulevard. It could be an asset to local businesses, fishermen, the physically challenged or anyone who wants to enjoy the sea up close, he said.

Although Hampton Beach has some access points for the handicapped, he said, there isn’t anything that can easily get a person using a wheelchair down to the water.

“My son lives in Santa Monica (California), where there’s a massive pier. You see a lot of people there in wheelchairs,” Sherman said. “We have a graying state, and one of our major attractions is people coming down to the beach.”

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Dwayne “Skip” Windemiller, a former longtime Hampton Beach Village District commissioner who recently retired from running the Oceanside Inn, said he supports adding a dock with attractions to Hampton Beach. He said the Oceanside’s end of the beach, north of the Ashworth by the Sea hotel, has been in need of attractions for some time. He said he has been a proponent of the idea for the last 20 to 25 years.

“I would do it right out here on the south side of Boar’s Head,” Windemiller said. “I hope they’ll do it.”

Who would maintain the pier?

The feasibility study should tackle the physical, environmental and funding challenges to constructing a handicap accessible pier at Hampton Beach, Stiles said, but also its sustainability as well as the party or agency responsible for maintaining it.

According to Stiles, any number of state agencies could assume responsibility: Fish and Game, State Parks, the state Department of Environmental Services, or the Department of Transportation. However, neither Stiles nor Sherman believe short- or long-term costs should fall on the town of Hampton.

Sherman said there is federal funding available for building handicap-accessible public projects, which could fund construction if the study reports favorably on the project.

Sherman stressed this is “just a study,” the results of which are yet to be seen. He added that putting it in the hands of Stiles, a former state senator, and the Hampton Beach Area Commission is appropriate.

“Nancy’s one of the best advocates Hampton has,” Sherman said.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Hampton Beach NH could one day have a pier: NH looks to study idea