State Wants Dismissal of Hampton Beach Lawsuit

HAMPTON, N.H. - The state's Attorney General this week asked a judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the town of Hampton which would require the state to pay more towards the maintentance of Hampton Beach. According to the Union Leader, Attorney General Gordon MacDonald filed the motion in filed last week in Rockingham County Superior Court last week.

The suit raised several issues related to maintaining Ocean Boulevard, parking revenue, the town’s costs for fire, police and public works and the amount the state gives the town through meals and rooms taxes.

Among other things, the town wants the state to properly maintain and repair sidewalks on both sides of Ocean Boulevard, provide more revenue from the state’s meals and rooms taxes, accept responsibility for the crosswalks on Ocean Boulevard, and fix the drainage system that causes water to run off the roadway and onto sidewalks and private properties.

“The various types of relief the town seeks through this lawsuit are, of course, quintessential policy determinations that are best left to the Legislature, not the province of the judiciary. Nevertheless, rather than seeking these policy changes through elected representatives in the Legislature, the town has filed this lawsuit in superior court,” MacDonald wrote in his motion to dismiss.

To read the full story, visit the Union Leader.