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Conservation Commission reports phase‑1 clean bill and bond plan for $225,000 land purchase
Summary
Brentwood Conservation Commission reported a Phase I environmental review with no further action recommended, a unanimous April 9 recommendation to use a $225,000 bond for a parcel purchase, a pending public hearing and a grant application to offset transaction costs.
Becky Dunham, chair of the Brentwood Conservation Commission, updated the Select Board April 15 on a pending land purchase the town signed under a purchase-and-sale agreement on March 25.
Dunham told the board the Conservation Commission voted unanimously at its April 9 meeting to recommend the purchase using a $225,000 bond. The commission also hired a consultant for a Phase I environmental assessment; the report (received April 20) concluded that “further environmental assessment of the subject property to complete all appropriate inquiries is not warranted or recommended,” and staff found no evidence of refuse, dumping or burial on site after a site walk.
Dunham said aerial imagery showed a barn present in approximately 1960 on a corner near Old Haig Road and South Road but that current field inspection found no remaining structures or dumping. Bond counsel (noted as "Divine Milamet" in the discussion) has been contacted and an agreement letter is in process.
The Conservation Commission scheduled a public hearing on the proposed conservation purchase for April 23 at 5 p.m.; notices were posted to the town website, the bulletin board and the Union Leader, Dunham said. The commission also submitted a grant application to the Great Bay Stewardship Resources Grant Program on May 11 seeking reimbursement for transaction costs; the program can reimburse transaction costs even if the project is not complete, according to Dunham.
Dunham reported that CELT returned approximately $8,140–$8,143 from a prior transaction; she said those funds currently reside in the general fund and could either be applied to reduce the $225,000 bond amount or used toward anticipated conservation-project expenses. The conservation fund itself is near its $75,000 cap; Dunham said the town has historically used the general fund or budgeted amounts to reimburse the conservation fund when projects incur costs.
Dunham and board members discussed waiting for grant and bond-bank decisions before formally reducing the bond principal; Ambrose (the town’s bond advisor) and town staff recommended closing on the current warrant amount and, if grant or reimbursement funds arrive later, paying down the bond principal at closing or via later lump-sum payment. Dunham said the grant decision is expected around May 25; closing is expected in October.
No further select-board vote was recorded in the public transcript on the purchase amount at this meeting; the board had previously voted to pursue the purchase pursuant to the warrant.
