HAMPTON — Gov. Chris Sununu will meet with town and state officials to discuss the future of Hampton Beach Tuesday, his spokesman said. The meeting will come about two weeks before a Jan. 31 deadline for the town to file suit against the state over operations at the beach.

Sununu will meet at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Seashell Oceanfront Pavilion at Hampton Beach with Hampton Selectmen Chairman Jim Waddell, whose board members called last year for the state to share more of the costs for services at Hampton Beach on state property. Selectmen voted 4-1 in September to sue the state over those costs, saying state parks officials ignored a request to help fund ambulance services on state property at the beach.

Waddell said Town Manager Fred Welch and Jeff Rose, commissioner of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, will also attend the meeting, which will be held in public and followed by an opportunity for public comment and questions. Benjamin Vihstadt, Sununu's spokesman, said via email the meeting will be to "discuss the recent investments from the state of New Hampshire into the beach and to discuss the future of the beach."

Vihstadt did not respond to an inquiry as to whether court action authorized by selectmen in September will be discussed. Waddell said he is not sure if the legal action will be discussed specifically, but he expects people to voice their concerns over the state park and responsibilities shared by the town and state.

The board's September vote authorized Town Attorney Mark Gearreald to file a declaratory judgement action regarding “any and all aspects that are in dispute” on state property in the town. Selectmen have argued the state is expecting them to cover certain costs for which they are not held responsible under the original 1933 deed establishing the transfer of land east of Ocean Boulevard from the town to the state's ownership. Those responsibilities include ambulance coverage as well maintenance of the town's sidewalks, and Gearreald said at the time of the September vote those issues will be included in the suit. Welch announced the suit filing's Jan. 31 deadline in December.

Selectman Phil Bean, who is also a Republican state representative, is one of the Hampton board's loudest voices in the town's dispute against the state. He called the state's management of Hampton Beach "tyrannical" last year. Bean will not attend the meeting with Sununu this week, expecting to instead attend a Portsmouth City Council meeting for issues related to his work on a task force investigating a Seacoast cancer cluster.

Asked about the meeting with Sununu, Bean said, "It's nice that the capital city is paying some long overdue attention to the Seacoast."

Opponents of the suit have argued the state has not neglected the beach as some selectmen are claiming, having pointed out investments like the recent $14.5 million in improvements to state parks facilities that included the construction of a new Seashell Stage.

Waddell said he is the only member of his board expected to take part in the discussion during the meeting before it opens up for public comment and questions. He was the only selectman to vote against court action in September, but he said he intends to represent the whole board's position on the town's relationship with the state. He has said he hopes for the state and town to reach a compromise on funding operations at Hampton Beach without going to court.

"Hopefully this is a prelude to opening up conversation and negotiations," Waddell said. "I think what needs to be done, number one, is a more open discussion between the town and different departments."