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Otisfield Select Board votes to proceed with land-trust parcel purchase amid debate over town acting as purchaser
Summary
The Select Board voted to proceed with a conservation parcel purchase as presented to voters while members debated whether the town should serve as the purchasing agent; the Land Trust must close by June 30 and expects federal LWCF reimbursement after application review.
The Town of Otisfield Select Board voted March 18 to proceed with the purchase of a conservation parcel as it was presented to town voters, even as members disagreed over whether the town should act as the purchasing agent.
Lee Dassler, representing the Land Trust, asked the board to sign a draft "Waiver of Retroactivity" so federal reviewers know the parcel was acquired and that federal funds will reimburse the purchaser. Dassler said the Land Trust needs to close by June 30 and that the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) application deadline is in late June, though federal review is not expected to begin until September. Under the current arrangement the town would hold a $200,000 lien until the grant is finalized, at which point reimbursement would occur and title would be held by the designated entity.
The central dispute was procedural. Selectman Brendan Bedell said he supported the town acting as purchasing agent because he viewed it as a "safer transaction" for closing. Opposing that change, Vice Chairman Rick Micklon, Chairman Hal Ferguson and Selectman Frank "Buddy" Blauvelt argued it would depart from the method voters approved and risk complicating the public mandate. After discussion the board approved a motion to move forward "with the purchase in the way it was presented to the townspeople" (motion RM/AP; unanimous).
Dassler also told the board the town will retain legal ownership of the McKay parcel but that there is no established right-of-way from Fox Run Lane; she recommended identifying and surveying a right-of-way and including that task in the McKay purchase-and-sale agreement. Rick Micklon noted the map provided requires revision and recommended working with Ross Cudlitz, P.E., and existing survey files to produce an updated map.
The board entered executive session later in the meeting under 1 M.R.S.A. § 405(6)(C) to discuss property acquisition and exited without any additional public votes on the matter. The immediate practical steps are the June 30 closing deadline, inclusion of right-of-way surveying in the McKay sale documents, and proceeding with the acquisition as originally presented to voters.
