By Nicholas Brown
Staff Writer

Despite submitting a formal agreement to the Hooksett Town Council last month, members of the Amoskeag Rowing Club are concerned they may lose access to the boat ramp behind the district court house on Merrimack Street.

At a Wednesday, Aug. 10, meeting, the council voted to coordinate an effort with the town's fire and police departments to monitor the ramp to establish crowd control and safety standards.

The motion, led by Town Councilor Doug St. Pierre, followed comments from several supporters of the club expressing concern that they may lose ramp access.

The club has used the ramp for more than 20 years, the result of an informal agreement with the town that the club could use the area if they kept it clean. And in 1987, the club built a boat house adjacent to the ramp with the town's permission.

Participation in the club has greatly increased over the years, and now several area schools. crew teams - including Central High School, The Derryfield School, Concord High School and Southern New Hampshire University - use the boat house and launch.

About 150 students participate each school year, said club president June Larkins.

In April, after several informal regattas caused an inordinate number of spectators and parking problems, the town council requested that club members draft an agreement regarding use of the ramp. The council also formed a committee - composed of four town councilors - to address the issue.

"We are grateful to the town and appreciate their support," said Larkins at the recent meeting.

Larkins said club members are perplexed that questions about access still exist since they put controls in place after the issue first arose.

"We feel like we've addressed the access issue," she said, adding, "We are very willing to participate and be cooperative."

Hooksett resident and former four-term state representative Terry Pfaff, whose son was a three-year captain of Manchester Central's crew team, likened the situation to friction he's witnessed firsthand between fishermen and power boaters.

He said, however, that the ramp "is a shared resource," adding, "It can be balanced very easily."

Fifteen-year-old Central crew team member Alexandra Farrell told the council some of the lessons she's learned from participating in crew.

"Crew is one of those things that brings all of us together," she said. "The teamwork is amazing."

St. Pierre said he's not trying to pinpoint any particular group, but rather wants fair and equal access to the ramp for everyone. For example, he said, if a fishing tournament were to be held on the Merrimack River, participants would be subject to the same conditions as the rowing club.

"I think you people are taking it to heart that I don't want you in town," St. Pierre said. "That's not it at all."