Selectpersons approve $82,500 counteroffer, reclamation and five-year extraction ban in Goodwin dispute

The Selectpersons voted unanimously on Jan. 15, 2025, to offer $82,500 and a package of site-restoration requirements to resolve a code-enforcement dispute involving John Goodwin Jr. Construction.

The board met in an emergency executive session at 7:00 p.m. under Title 1 §405(6)(C) to discuss a fine that had been imposed by CEO Don Baker. After exiting the closed session at 7:47 p.m., Selectperson Adam Foster moved — and Bill Birdsall seconded — a motion to make a counteroffer of $82,500 (described in the minutes as one half of the original fine). The motion passed 4-0.

The counteroffer requires reclamation of the property “to include leveling, seeding and brought to grade,” reimbursement of attorney's fees, and a five-year restriction prohibiting mineral extraction on the parcel. The minutes record that Goodwin’s attorney had earlier proposed a settlement amount and that the board had discussed the matter during the meeting before moving into executive session.

Earlier in the meeting, Selectperson Adam Foster reported a boundary inspection involving George Moon, Nick Branca and Scott Dyer; the party walked the boundary between the Tannery property and the Goodwin site and found no new tree cutting but observed blasting debris on the tannery side of the line. That inspection is recorded in the minutes as part of the factual background to the enforcement matter.

The board’s action was recorded as a motion by Adam Foster, seconded by Bill Birdsall, and approved unanimously by the four voting selectpersons present. The meeting adjourned at 7:49 p.m.

No additional details about the original fine amount, the property parcel identification, or a schedule for implementation of the reclamation and restriction were included in the minutes.