MINUTES
BOARD OF SELECTMEN
December 5, 2007
Present at the meeting that was held at the Hale Middle School Library prior to the Special Town Meeting that evening were Chairman Stephen Dungan and Selectmen Kathleen Farrell, Jason Robart, Thomas Ruggiero, and Ellen Sturgis.
Also present were Town Administrator William Wrigley, Town Counsel Jon Witten, and Administrative Assistant Susan McLaughlin.
Mr. Dungan called the meeting to order at approximately 6:35 p.m.
The purpose of the meeting was to vote on whether to support Article 4, “Purchase Snow Property and Create Recreational Facilities.”
Mr. Ruggiero moved to support Article 4; Ms. Farrell seconded.
Discussion:
Mr. Dungan said he was in favor of Article 4, his reasons being the value of the Snow property topography and ease of development, parcels the Town has lost by not acting, the need for recreation land for fields, and the desire to present a complete package (land purchase and recreational development) to the voters.
Mr. Ruggiero said he was in favor of Article 4, as well. He said that years of work had been done on the project before the two newest members joined the Board and he disagreed with them that the proposal was rushed or lacked due diligence. He noted that the selectmen had submitted a lower-cost article, which helped in reducing the present asking price, and had now voted to move no action on it in order to clarify the question for the voters. Lastly, as difficult as some meetings had been, he did not want the worthwhile project to suffer because of it.
Agricultural Commission Chairman Dwight Sipler said the commission was concerned that agriculture might not be protected under this article, given the wording of the motion. He asked the Board of Selectmen to state to Town Meeting that the land will be leased for agriculture for as long as agriculture is viable there. He noted that the Commission is supporting Article 4 primarily because it is the Commission’s charter to support and preserve agriculture.
Ms. Farrell said she was convinced that the project has merit. Stow has grown over the years, and our standards are higher than what we are providing now. The project has been a good faith effort. It will build good spirit and be good for Stow.
Mr. Robart said he has been persuaded by Recreation’s arguments and he does support the project. But he cannot support a purchase price of $1.2M, a price so significantly above the appraised and assessed values of the property, as documented, and worth even less now.
Ms. Sturgis said the price was a concern for her, also. Her main objections are the extremely poor process as to how this was negotiated and being a poor use of Community Preservation funds. A small group, as opposed to a broad base, is driving the process. She is also concerned with the school project, that this expenditure will hurt the chances of moving forward with the school. There will be large costs for the school project, which is a necessity, and this is more than the town can afford.~
With discussion finished, the Board voted three to two to support Article 4 (with Dungan, Farrell, and Ruggiero in favor and Robart and Sturgis opposed). The motion carried.
At approximately 6:50 p.m., Mr. Dungan recessed the meeting until 6:30 p.m. on Monday, December 10, on the chance that Town Meeting would not finish tonight.
When Town Meeting ended at approximately 10:15 p.m. that evening, Ms. Sturgis moved to adjourn the Selectmen’s meeting; Mr. Robart seconded; and all voted in favor.
Respectfully submitted,
Susan McLaughlin
Administrative Assistant, Board of Selectmen
Approved as amended, December 11, 2007
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