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Lyman Select Board reviews municipal land study, flags state law limits and longtime club lease
Summary
The town reviewed a multi-year municipal land inventory and heard that recent state law changes limit proceeds from sales of tax-acquired land, complicating plans for development or reuse; board members also raised questions about a no-rent lease to a snowmobile club and agreed to workshop next steps.
At a Select Board meeting, Lyman officials reviewed a multi-year municipal land study that inventories town-owned and tax-acquired parcels and details legal constraints on future use.
Town Manager Lindsay Gagne presented the study and said the inventory identified about 28 tax-acquired parcels and roughly 16 town-owned parcels. Gagne described the legal requirements for retaining or selling tax-acquired land, including establishing fair market value and compensating prior owners for market value less taxes and fees. She warned some parcels lack clear book-and-page records and would require title searches or broker valuations before sale.
Chair (speaker 1) said delays and local controversy slowed the study and that changes in state law have substantially reduced the town’s ability to use proceeds from sales. “The proceeds of the land could have brought in approximately $2,000,000 into the town,” the Chair said, characterizing the change in state law as a major setback for Lyman’s potential capital planning.
Board members pressed Gagne on practical implications: which parcels are genuinely municipal-use candidates (cemeteries, a future police station or other public facilities), whether timber or other revenues may be harvested from tax-acquired parcels, and what constitutes a lawful lease versus a municipal use that would trigger voter approval or other statutory steps.
The meeting focused in particular on a long-standing arrangement with a private snowmobile club that currently occupies a town parcel under a past lease. The Chair said he questioned whether the prior board had legal authority to approve the lease and warned that repeating such arrangements without clear procedure could set a precedent for other private groups. Gagne said records show the club pays property taxes on the building but that she had not found inspection records and suggested the board ask code enforcement to investigate.
Given the legal complexity and gaps in parcel documentation, board members agreed to postpone final decisions and to hold a dedicated workshop to review options (parcel-by-parcel sale, conservation retention, or formal leasing with planning-board review). The board also directed staff to pass materials to Buildings & Grounds and to prepare clearer documentation and labeled photos to inform the next discussion.
The Select Board did not vote on disposals or sales at the meeting; members agreed to revisit the subject at a future workshop once additional title information, inspection records and clearer policy recommendations are assembled.
