Winnipesaukee Forum - View Single Post - Seaplane Base and runway 19 Mile Bay Proposed

CowTimes · 06-04-2021, 09:20 PM

It is unfortunate that there can only be speculation because neither of the proponents are forthcoming to the town or its residents.

My theory has always been that Epic is looking to see if a seaplane tour business would have enough demand to turn into a full-time business (at least for part of the year). He already has the plane, so the main infrastructure need is a commercial base. And if you’re trying to start a business and save money, cheap or free is always best (recall he said this business was a “plan B” for his day job). So the town dock was the perfect target. He can’t run a commercial operation from his place on Mirror Lake because that is zoned residential, and, of course, he would upset his own neighbors coming in and out all the time (curious how that is itself a “NIMBY”). And since this is just the beginning of a business plan of testing for demand, he can say that he still has his day job, this would only be intermittent, and all the other ambiguous statements instead of providing actual details.

My assumption is that the store owners serve three purposes. First, there needs to be an “operator” to call for the runway that (for some reason I don’t understand) appears to be needed for the commercial operation. This presumably needs to be someone that owns property by the runway, so Epic needed the store for the runway. Second, this needs to be run at a commercially zoned area, and the store seemed to check that box (except that isn’t the case, since the store is in a residential area, and the variance/planning board approval doesn’t include a seaplane base / tour business). And third, the store has plenty of parking that isn’t used.

While I am sure the store would like traffic, I doubt anyone thinks seaplanes literally flying in from all over to get an ice cream cone are going to be a real driver of revenue for the store. But a cut of the ticket price (tickets are probably a hundred or more bucks a head?) for not needing to do any work seems to be a no-brainer for the store, particularly when the store has already alienated its neighbors and the boat slip owners.

06-04-2021, 09:20 PM	#344
CowTimes Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2019 Posts: 140 Thanks: 9 Thanked 124 Times in 66 Posts	It is unfortunate that there can only be speculation because neither of the proponents are forthcoming to the town or its residents. My theory has always been that Epic is looking to see if a seaplane tour business would have enough demand to turn into a full-time business (at least for part of the year). He already has the plane, so the main infrastructure need is a commercial base. And if you’re trying to start a business and save money, cheap or free is always best (recall he said this business was a “plan B” for his day job). So the town dock was the perfect target. He can’t run a commercial operation from his place on Mirror Lake because that is zoned residential, and, of course, he would upset his own neighbors coming in and out all the time (curious how that is itself a “NIMBY”). And since this is just the beginning of a business plan of testing for demand, he can say that he still has his day job, this would only be intermittent, and all the other ambiguous statements instead of providing actual details. My assumption is that the store owners serve three purposes. First, there needs to be an “operator” to call for the runway that (for some reason I don’t understand) appears to be needed for the commercial operation. This presumably needs to be someone that owns property by the runway, so Epic needed the store for the runway. Second, this needs to be run at a commercially zoned area, and the store seemed to check that box (except that isn’t the case, since the store is in a residential area, and the variance/planning board approval doesn’t include a seaplane base / tour business). And third, the store has plenty of parking that isn’t used. While I am sure the store would like traffic, I doubt anyone thinks seaplanes literally flying in from all over to get an ice cream cone are going to be a real driver of revenue for the store. But a cut of the ticket price (tickets are probably a hundred or more bucks a head?) for not needing to do any work seems to be a no-brainer for the store, particularly when the store has already alienated its neighbors and the boat slip owners.