Selectmen recommend Hopkins draft boundary agreement to resolve Young’s Hill property dispute

The board reviewed a multi-part review of a property-line dispute adjacent to Young's Hill Road. Property owners (referred to by the board as Hopkins) hired a surveyor after discovering discrepancies between deeded lines and tax maps. Town members and the Hopkins representatives walked the surveyed lines with attorneys and the town’s counsel and found two stone walls and ambiguous deed language that left ownership unclear.

Board members described three options presented by counsel: do nothing (which could lead to protracted and costly litigation), litigate, or accept a negotiated boundary-line agreement. The town’s recommended course, echoed by the board in the meeting, was to have Hopkins draft and pay for a boundary-line agreement and deed exchange that reflects the line walked and the survey pins; that document would then be submitted to the town for acceptance.

One member framed the risk: "We could do nothing and it could end up costing us a lot more on both parties, the town and them." Another recommended the transfer of 1–2 acres to Hopkins in exchange for a boundary agreement to resolve the issue. Board members said they are amenable to accepting such an agreement after counsel reviews the draft and recommended that Hopkins’ counsel prepare the paperwork at Hopkins’ expense.

No formal vote was recorded to transfer the land; the board’s direction was procedural — to accept a properly drafted boundary agreement if it satisfies legal review and to proceed with the administrative approvals once the document is submitted.