Owners of 277 Broadtown Road urge council to complete $800,000 open-space purchase

Karen Brzezinski, who said she and her husband own 277 Broadtown Road, told the council the parcel has been in her family since the 1960s and that approving the town purchase was necessary to preserve the land and provide access to 34 landlocked town-owned acres. "We were advised in writing that once approved by a vote by the councilman, then the closure would be no later than July 15," Brzezinski said, asking the council to honor the agreement because the family has a pending contract to buy a replacement home tied to the sale.

Councilman Pollock, who spoke during council comments and said he abstained from an earlier vote, told the meeting he pushed for the appraisal and was frustrated that some colleagues voted while not having that information. He noted the property is 3.2 acres with wetlands and a 300-foot wetland buffer, and questioned paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to acquire a house only to demolish it. "We need correct information and actually receive information when voting to spend taxpayer money," Pollock said. Council President Mordecai Bernstein said the mayor's office and town attorneys would follow up; attorney McGuckin and administration later told the council they expected to resolve outstanding legal and appraisal questions imminently.