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Residents press Chincoteague Town Council for due diligence and disclosure on proposed land purchase
Summary
At the Dec. 1 Chincoteague Town Council meeting, residents asked the council to publish due diligence and cost estimates before completing a proposed land purchase, citing concerns that the acquisition could divert funds from infrastructure projects such as failing culverts.
Arthur Leonard, a resident at 6220 Leonard Lane, told the Chincoteague Town Council during public comment that many citizens are worried a recent or proposed town land purchase could affect other town infrastructure projects. “They wonder if this purchase is going to affect any of the other town infrastructure that’s gonna be needed, like the culvert there on Maddox,” Leonard said.
Stewart Baker, another resident, asked whether the council would present the results of due diligence to the public before committing to a purchase. Baker told the council he hoped officials would "come back at a future council meeting and share all that" information with residents so they can understand total costs beyond the purchase price, including downstream infrastructure needs and maintenance.
No formal vote on the property purchase was taken at the meeting. A committee member who spoke later during council comments said the town’s recent economic development had produced surpluses and that, in their view, the acquisition should not impact planned infrastructure projects. The committee member said the council planned for pumps and positive shut-off measures to manage stormwater and that the purchase would not “affect those projects.”
Why it matters: Town land acquisitions can affect budget priorities for repairs and capital projects. Residents asked for transparency about the purchase’s total financial impact and asked that due diligence findings be shared with the public before a final commitment.
What’s next: The council did not vote on the purchase at this meeting. Residents asked the council to present due diligence findings at a future meeting; no date was announced.
