October 31. 2007 12:00AM
Voters approve buying 168 acres
Cost per month for each taxpayer is $2
By Mark E. Ellis TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
mellis@telegram.com
PRINCETON— Voters agreed last night that $2 a month is not too much to
pay to preserve, in perpetuity, most of a 168-acre parcel at Gates and Old
Colony roads, to be used for recreational and agricultural purposes.
But the margin of victory was a slim one with the final tally at 355-149. If just
20 who voted in favor of the purchase had voted no, the count would have
fallen short of the required two-thirds majority.
Discussion on the article, one of four on a special town meeting warrant,
lasted nearly 90 minutes. The casting and counting of ballots took another
hour.
The meeting got under way 20 minutes late because of a long line of voters
that stretched from the Thomas Prince School lobby out into the parking lot.
A standing-room-only crowd crammed the school cafetorium; those who
couldn’t squeeze in had to settle for a seat in the school library. Speakers
and a microphone enabled them to hear and participate in the meeting.
Several people spoke against the article, which sought $450,000 in town
funds toward the land’s $2.85 million purchase price. Officials said the town’
s share had been reduced from $500,000 just before the meeting because
there was a reduction in the land’s price from $2.9 million. Officials plan to
borrow $350,000 of the $450,000 and transfer the rest from several
conservation funds and other accounts.
Among those objecting was Edwin B. Carlson, chairman of the Parks and
Recreation Commission and a leader of a successful effort a few years ago
to buy land for town soccer fields. Mr. Carlson pointed out that the soccer
fields cost the town just $20,000, with the remainder of the price coming
from donations and grants. By approving the Four Corners purchase, he
said, “we’ll use up our land conservation funds and mortgage our future.”
He added that it would not be fair to residents to spend so much money for
the land; the town’s cost alone equals 238 years of Parks and Recreation
Commission budgets.
Other reasons voters gave for objecting to the purchase included: that there
is already enough preserved land in town; the town should not be in the real
estate market; a cost analysis that compared buying the property to having
it developed was flawed; and that the current owner, Fox Hill Builders of
Rutland, would be getting nearly a 100 percent return on its investment of
$1.5 million after owning the land for just two years. That, they said, is too
much.
But David Stromberg of Wheeler Road spoke for the majority when he said,
“I just think it’s our duty to save these special sections of land that we have
in the town.” The land, he said, is part of a wildlife corridor and has been in
agricultural use for decades. For those reasons and others, it is important to
preserve. “I’m just all for it, and $2 a month is OK with me,” he added.
In a PowerPoint presentation, Craig MacDonnell of the Trust For Public
Land, explained the details of the purchase plan. The town’s share of the
cost is 15.5 percent, he said. Several other entities will provide the rest of
the funding. Pledges for private donations have already reached $450,000.
A state Self-Help grant of $500,000 is being sought, as well as another
$500,000 from the state Department of Conservation and Recreation’s
Wachusett Mountain Fund. Bovenzi Inc. of Leominster has agreed to pay
$925,000 for two parcels, on which the company would build eight houses.
Besides the town’s acreage, the state would control about 80 acres and the
Princeton Land Trust would own about seven.
Selectman Alan M. Sentkowski said the deadline to close on the property is
Jan. 16. If the closing does not happen, the town will not spend the money.
Voters approve buying 168 acres
Cost per month for each taxpayer is $2
By Mark E. Ellis TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
mellis@telegram.com
PRINCETON— Voters agreed last night that $2 a month is not too much to
pay to preserve, in perpetuity, most of a 168-acre parcel at Gates and Old
Colony roads, to be used for recreational and agricultural purposes.
But the margin of victory was a slim one with the final tally at 355-149. If just
20 who voted in favor of the purchase had voted no, the count would have
fallen short of the required two-thirds majority.
Discussion on the article, one of four on a special town meeting warrant,
lasted nearly 90 minutes. The casting and counting of ballots took another
hour.
The meeting got under way 20 minutes late because of a long line of voters
that stretched from the Thomas Prince School lobby out into the parking lot.
A standing-room-only crowd crammed the school cafetorium; those who
couldn’t squeeze in had to settle for a seat in the school library. Speakers
and a microphone enabled them to hear and participate in the meeting.
Several people spoke against the article, which sought $450,000 in town
funds toward the land’s $2.85 million purchase price. Officials said the town’
s share had been reduced from $500,000 just before the meeting because
there was a reduction in the land’s price from $2.9 million. Officials plan to
borrow $350,000 of the $450,000 and transfer the rest from several
conservation funds and other accounts.
Among those objecting was Edwin B. Carlson, chairman of the Parks and
Recreation Commission and a leader of a successful effort a few years ago
to buy land for town soccer fields. Mr. Carlson pointed out that the soccer
fields cost the town just $20,000, with the remainder of the price coming
from donations and grants. By approving the Four Corners purchase, he
said, “we’ll use up our land conservation funds and mortgage our future.”
He added that it would not be fair to residents to spend so much money for
the land; the town’s cost alone equals 238 years of Parks and Recreation
Commission budgets.
Other reasons voters gave for objecting to the purchase included: that there
is already enough preserved land in town; the town should not be in the real
estate market; a cost analysis that compared buying the property to having
it developed was flawed; and that the current owner, Fox Hill Builders of
Rutland, would be getting nearly a 100 percent return on its investment of
$1.5 million after owning the land for just two years. That, they said, is too
much.
But David Stromberg of Wheeler Road spoke for the majority when he said,
“I just think it’s our duty to save these special sections of land that we have
in the town.” The land, he said, is part of a wildlife corridor and has been in
agricultural use for decades. For those reasons and others, it is important to
preserve. “I’m just all for it, and $2 a month is OK with me,” he added.
In a PowerPoint presentation, Craig MacDonnell of the Trust For Public
Land, explained the details of the purchase plan. The town’s share of the
cost is 15.5 percent, he said. Several other entities will provide the rest of
the funding. Pledges for private donations have already reached $450,000.
A state Self-Help grant of $500,000 is being sought, as well as another
$500,000 from the state Department of Conservation and Recreation’s
Wachusett Mountain Fund. Bovenzi Inc. of Leominster has agreed to pay
$925,000 for two parcels, on which the company would build eight houses.
Besides the town’s acreage, the state would control about 80 acres and the
Princeton Land Trust would own about seven.
Selectman Alan M. Sentkowski said the deadline to close on the property is
Jan. 16. If the closing does not happen, the town will not spend the money.
