Blue Hill board grants tax abatement as community group plans donation of Blueberry Barrens

The Town of Blue Hill Select Board voted May 18 to grant a property tax abatement for Map 32, Lot 23, the parcel known as the Blueberry Barrens, after hearing that the owner organization plans to donate the land to the Blue Hill Heritage Trust.

S. Miller, president of Blue Hill Community Development (BHCD), told the board that BHCD hopes to donate the Blueberry Barrens to the Blue Hill Heritage Trust in the coming months and requested an abatement of the 2026 tax bill on the grounds that BHCD is a 501(c)(3). Miller also said BHCD had already paid the 2025 tax bill for the property.

E. Best, who is recorded in the minutes as chair of the Select Board and as counsel for the Blue Hill Heritage Trust, and Miller both recused themselves from deliberation and the vote because of conflicts of interest. With those recusals, the board approved the requested abatement by a 3–0 vote with two abstentions.

The action clears the 2026 tax liability on the parcel while the prospective donation to the Blue Hill Heritage Trust proceeds. The minutes do not identify conditions attached to the abatement, nor do they name a final transfer timeline beyond the board’s note that BHCD hopes to complete a donation in the next few months. The select board did not record any public comment on this item.

Next steps reported in the minutes: the town will proceed consistent with the abatement; BHCD and the Blue Hill Heritage Trust will carry out the donation process outside the open meeting, and the town’s recorded vote will remain part of the public record.