Metacomet representative urges selectmen to complete 2014 conservation plan as citizen petition proceeds to town meeting

A representative for Metacomet told the Town of Blackstone Board of Selectmen on March 25 that paperwork and a memorandum of understanding tied to land the town accepted in February 2014 remain unsigned and that Metacomet had been designated as the intended conservation restriction holder.

The Metacomet representative said the parcels the town accepted in 2014 — referenced in local reporting and town records — are different from the parcels named in a recently certified citizen's petition that will go on the upcoming town meeting warrant. “Metacomet was a designated party to be that holder of the CR,” the representative said, describing an MOU the Metacomet organization expected the board to sign after town council accepted it in 2014. (Metacomet and the representative are identified in the meeting record as the party that would hold and monitor the conservation restriction.)

The representative asked the town administrator to meet and review paperwork so the new board is apprised of prior arrangements and next steps for creating a conservation restriction for the town-owned tracts. The representative also said survey and access work had been contemplated in 2014 to provide public pathways to otherwise landlocked town parcels.

Selectmen and the town administrator clarified process limits. The board’s legal counsel previously advised the selectmen they “do not have the authority to remove a citizen's petition” once certified; the selectmen explained a certified citizen’s petition will be placed on the town meeting warrant and can only be withdrawn on the town meeting floor by the petition’s signatories. The town administrator said he would follow up with the meeting of staff and the Metacomet representative to bring the board up to date.

Why it matters: The exchange affects whether parcels the town accepted years ago can promptly receive legal protection through a conservation restriction, and it clarifies that a separately certified citizen's petition for other parcels must proceed to town meeting unless the petition’s signers withdraw it on the floor.

Metacomet’s representative pressed the board to ensure a previously drafted conservation restriction and quick-claim deeds are finalized so the town council and the town can complete the intended protection. The representative said prior work included grant funding for surveying and a feasibility study and that the town had contracted or budgeted for certain tasks in 2014.

At the meeting, selectmen recommended scheduling the matter for the April 8 agenda so staff and the representative can meet. The board also advised that town counsel’s prior opinion on petition and petition-withdrawal process remains controlling for how the certified petition will proceed.

Next steps: The Metacomet representative said he planned to contact the town administrator to set a meeting to review the MOU and draft conservation restriction language. The town administrator said staff (including Sherlyn, the assistant town administrator) would follow up and requested the representative provide documentation ahead of that meeting.