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Finance committee approves amended special act language and recommends easement for Boys & Girls Club project
Summary
After testimony from the city solicitor and club counsel, the committee amended and recommended a special act to permit an easement at Eldon B. Keith Field and approved an order authorizing the mayor to execute the access and utility easement for the Boys & Girls Club of Metro South.
The Brockton finance committee on July 20 approved an amendment to a proposed special act and recommended an easement that would permit the Boys & Girls Club of Metro South to access a proposed building site at Eldon B. Keith Field.
City Solicitor James O'Brien explained that, if approved by the state legislature, the special act would authorize the city to convey an easement "notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary" and would protect the contemplated conveyance from future legal challenges. He said the special act also authorizes the school committee to relinquish control of the easement area under general laws chapter 40, section 15A, referring to the statutory mechanism for surplus property and conveyance.
Councilor Thompson moved an amendment to align the special act language with the parties' intent; the amendment was read into the record, citing plan references and a meets-and-bounds description prepared for the Boys & Girls Club. After discussion, the committee approved the amendment and then voted to recommend the amended special act to the full city council.
Separately, the committee considered an order authorizing an access-and-utility easement over roughly 100,541 square feet at Eldon Keith Field, to allow entry from West Elm Street to the club's proposed building. Councilors voted to authorize the mayor to execute the easement and other actions necessary to carry out the agreement; the order will be recorded at the Plymouth County Registry of Deeds.
The committee also approved routine language authorizing the mayor to execute a related easement; final recording and any state-level action (for the special act) remain outstanding steps.
Quotations from the meeting include the city solicitor's summary that the special act would "substantially protect the contemplated conveyance transaction from any future legal claims alleging statutory or other violations," and Councilor Thompson's description of the package as the culmination of multi-year work to allow access from West Elm Street.
Next steps: The recommended special act and the easement authorization will move to the full city council for final action and (for the special act) potential submission to the state legislature for approval.
