Northampton staff said the city has an option to buy 76 acres in the Mineral Hills area for $600,000 and is pursuing state and local funding to complete the purchase.

Sarah (last name not specified), a planner in the Office of Planning and Sustainability, told a virtual conservation briefing that the vendor has agreed to the $600,000 price and that the city holds an option on the three parcels that together total roughly 76 acres. "Yes. Yep. That's our agreed on price. So we have an option," Sarah said.

The parcels sit adjacent to the city's Ridge Conservation Area and other protected lands near the East Hampton town line. Laurie Sanders, a presenter who described long-term work surveying local conservation lands, detailed the property's mix of habitats: rocky ridgelines with extensive mountain laurel, sandy outwash plains with vernal pools, headwater streams that feed the Manhan River, and interior forest with oaks, sugar maple and tulip tree.

The presentation cited ecological features that are locally uncommon: dense mountain laurel stands, exposed bedrock, vernal pools that were not shown on state maps, and plants such as round-leaved sundew and deerberry. Sanders said one northwest clearing and an existing trail network make the site potentially suitable for accessible trails as well as more challenging hikes.

Staff described a funding plan that leans on a state Local Acquisitions for Natural Diversity (LAND) grant (the application was due within a week of the presentation), Community Preservation Act funds and private fundraising to cover an anticipated gap. Sarah said the LAND grant will reimburse eligible expenses at a 66% rate and that total acquisition and closing costs are estimated at about $700,000.

Conservation Commission members in the meeting expressed support for connectivity benefits. Chris Stratton, a resident participant, noted an existing woods road on the Crescioni parcel that could link city holdings to the Ridge trails and to neighboring conserved property owned by the New England Forestry Foundation. "It connects to that Bluestone Path," Stratton said, describing a possible missing link in the city's trail network.

Staff said the conservation commission has already expressed enthusiastic support, but the acquisition still requires City Council approvals and additional fundraising steps. Next steps listed by staff were: filing the LAND-grant application, submitting a Community Preservation Act application in the fall, conducting fundraising and, if funding and approvals proceed, closing in 2026. Staff also said a conservation restriction would be held by the Kestrel Mountain Trust.

No formal vote or funding authorization by the City Council was recorded during the meeting. The presentation therefore described an option and a planned acquisition process rather than a completed purchase.

Questions from meeting participants focused on connectivity to adjacent parcels, the location of wetlands and vernal pools that state maps had not captured, the source of the reimbursement rate for the LAND grant, and whether nearby development proposals could affect future access. Staff encouraged people with local knowledge to submit supporting information for grant narratives and said they would post contact details for follow-up and public engagement on later funding steps.