ORANGE — The Orange Community Boathouse has a new operator, but the same hand on the tiller.
Community Development Director Kevin Kennedy said Peak Expeditions had a three-year lease to operate the riverside building, but pulled out of the final year, prompting a call for interest to run the facility as the boating season gets under way.
Sean Ashcraft, who formerly managed the facility for Peak Expeditions, was the sole respondent. Doing business as Peak North America, he proposes to carry on as before, renting canoes and kayaks from the 25 East River St. facility with an expanded focus on free youth access and handicapped accessibility. The boathouse sits near downtown on the southern bank of the Millers River.
Kennedy said the Orange boathouses’ floating dock and an accessibility grant received by neighboring Athol could turn the seven-mile “blue trail” between the two neighboring towns into one of the most accessible in the Northeast, offering people with mobility problems a genuine river experience rather than an out-and-back loop.
In contrast to the $1-a-year lease initially offered, Ashcraft expects to pay $1,400 in the first year, $4,800 over the three years of the lease, and $3,750 in accessibility upgrades.
Selectmen voted unanimously to award the lease to Ashcraft, with the contract to be signed at a later date.
At the request of resident Rhonda Bartlett, the contract is to go before assessors to determine whether the lease constitutes “care and custody” of the property and is therefore subject to real estate tax.
Ashcraft said he expects to have it open in time for the April 9 River Rat Race, which ends at the boathouse.
You can reach Chris Curtis at:
ccurtis@recorder.com