Francestown Select Board approves $10,000 Conservation Fund payment to protect peat bog

The Francestown Select Board on May 18 authorized the Conservation Commission to spend $10,000 from the town’s Conservation Fund to acquire an executory interest in Map 9 Lot 36-3 on Candlewood Hill Road, an action the board said aims to protect a rare peat bog.

Select Board member Scot D Heath moved the measure and Select Board member Charles M Pyle III seconded it; the motion passed. Betsy Hardwick met with the board to request the support, according to the minutes.

The vote was one of several routine actions taken at the meeting. The board also approved the payroll and accounts payable manifest dated May 20, 2026, accepted the Tax Collector’s 2026P01 Tax Warrant (the first tax bill of the year), and approved May 11, 2026 meeting minutes. The board noted the Old County Road North Bridge project is out to bid with responses due June 22, 2026, and that a draft job description for a full-time Highway Department position will be posted in the Town Offices and on the town website for 10 days.

The Conservation Fund expenditure was presented as a straightforward appropriation to secure an executory interest in the Knight property described in the minutes; the minutes state the Commission would use $10,000 from the Conservation Fund toward acquisition. The minutes do not record further conditions attached to the expenditure or additional funding sources.

The meeting record does not include verbatim public testimony beyond the statement that Betsy Hardwick met with the board on the Conservation Commission’s request. The board took the vote during the public portion of the meeting and recorded the motion as passed.

The board later entered a non-public session at 5:50 p.m. to discuss zoning enforcement and subsequently voted to seal the non-public minutes on the grounds that disclosure would likely render the proposed action ineffective. The meeting adjourned at 6:23 p.m.