Board of Selectmen Minutes
Meeting date:
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Board of Selectmen Present: Stanley Wysocki
February 14, 2006 Kenneth F. Troup
Panny Gerken
The Board of Selectmen met at the Town Hall at 7:00 p.m.
Present: Town Counsel Elaine Lucas and Judy Pickett, The Trust for Public Land (TPL) project manager Nellie Aikenhead, Conservation Trust members Ken Swanton, Tom Parker, Advisory Committee members Chris Slade, David Lindsay, Wendy Rogers and Richard Fly, and Conservation Commission Administrator Carol Gumbart.
Attorney Lucas provided a brief history of the Scharnter/Nicewicz APR stating it goes back to 2004 when town meeting approved the APR totaling approximately 181 acres. Attorney Lucas stated that because there were questions regarding the deed language for the Nicewicz property, the State required a survey of the Nicewicz property which revealed the acreage to be 10 acres less than originally presented in the article for the town meeting.
This raised concerns about whether town residents would view the vote at town meeting to have been based on misrepresented facts, and if a survey of the Schartner property should also be done to determine the acreage in light of the 10 acre discrepancies on Nicewicz property.
Town Administrator Jodi Ross stated that Bond Counsel has confirmed that they are not concerned with the decrease in acreage and they are satisfied with the wording of the article and vote.
Board of Selectmen chairman Wysocki stated that the purpose of the meeting and outstanding issue is the accuracy of the Schartner acreage and if the acreage is less, is there is a threshold that would cause concern? Mr. Wysocki expressed his concerns with being challenged by a town citizen if the discrepancy in acreage was found to be in excess of 15-20%. Ms. Gerken stated that she felt it was the responsibility of the Board of Selectmen to spend the funds appropriately and to be fiscally responsible. Ms. Gerken also stated she did not understand the rush because she thought the closing had to be completed by June 30th, 2006.
Ms. Aikenhead stated that TPL must exercise an option to purchase by Wednesday, February 15, 2006 and if the Board of Selectmen requires a survey they may not enter this agreement and will not meet this deadline.
Attorney Lucas stated that she has talked with the Attorney representing Lois Grala and would not see a problem with an extension.
Ms. Aikenhead stated that she has been working with TPL for ten years and in most projects like this surveys are not done. She stated that the boundaries have not changed from the original plan.
Mr. Parker urged the Selectmen to preserve farmland and not let this project fall apart.
Attorney Pickett stated that although the State has not always required surveys in the past they now have a new policy to require a survey if there are questions. Ms. Aikenhead stated that she has not been involved in any challenges except for the Stow situation which is a Chapter 61A issue.
Mr. Troup stated that he did not see any legal issue with the discrepancy and felt it was important to do whatever they could to help the project go forward.
Mr. Slade, Advisory Committee member stated that he contacted an engineer and was informed that if the bounds of a property were available the property could be walked with a GPS unit to confirm the acreage. The Board of Selectmen agreed that this would help to address their concerns.
Ms. Aikenhead stated that she would be willing to contact the landowners for an extension to the February 15th deadline but that her major concern is the delay of the closing slated for March 9th, 2006 which would impose a loss of $15,000 to TPL if not met.
Attorney Pickett stated that the State can take up to June 30, 2006 to close and that the TPL agreement is driving the March 9th, 2006 deadline that was set up without the State being aware of it.
Advisory Committee members Mr. Lindsay and Mr. Fly were both favorable to the Board of Selectmen moving forward with this project stating that this was a good deal for the town and it was important for the town to preserve farms.
On a motion made by Troup and seconded by Gerken, the Board of Selectmen voted to continue with the plan to close on this project March 9, 2006 and in parallel request a GPS survey be done of the Schartner property with results to be reported back to the Board of Selectmen. If the results show a significant decrease in acreage the Board of Selectmen might reconsider whether or not a new town meeting vote is needed.
Attorney Lucas will check to see if it is appropriate for the Board of Selectmen to move forward with executing the State documents prior to receiving the acreage information.
Ms. Aikenhead stated that she will request a two week extension from the landowners to allow time to get the GPS information and sign the Purchase and Sale agreement.
The Board of Selectmen agreed to be the custodian of the APR.
Meeting adjourned at 8:25 p.m.