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Committee gets update on White Cliffs lease; staff negotiating preservation language and option-to-purchase timing
Summary
Town staff told the Financial Planning Committee they are finalizing a lease with a purchase option for the White Cliffs property, adding historic-preservation restrictions and exploring tax and TIF scenarios to offset cleanup costs.
At its Jan. 15 meeting the Financial Planning Committee received an update on the proposed lease and possible option-to-purchase for the White Cliffs property. Steph (staff) said attorneys for the town and the prospective operator continue to negotiate language, and the town has hired preservation counsel to draft historic-restriction language that will be attached to the agreement.
Steph said the option-to-purchase timing is likely to be earlier than the originally-discussed 10-year mark and could fall around year 7 or 8, depending on negotiated terms and cleanup costs. She told the committee the town is evaluating scenarios such as a tax-increment financing (TIF) structure and other incentives to make the project financially viable while protecting the town’s interests.
Why it matters: Committee members addressed revenue and tax implications: lease payments would flow to the general fund while an outright sale would route proceeds to the Community Preservation Act (CPA) fund. Staff said if the prospective operator invests substantially in the property (environmental remediation and preservation), the town could eventually collect property and meals taxes after ownership or control changes.
Next steps: Staff said an executive session with the select board and counsel is scheduled next week to finalize negotiation positions; committee members asked for updated financial scenarios and clarified whether the warrant articles would be written as lease and historic-preservation articles for the April town meeting.
