Board debates sale or annexation of former pit acreage; legal status of earlier bid questioned

The Selectboard considered options for roughly 40 acres of town land adjacent to the wastewater-treatment facility—variously described in the meeting as the "pit"—with staff and a surveyor presenting line‑adjustment and annexation options.

A presenter advised that an annexation (lot‑line adjustment) would attach the parcel to an abutter’s lot and avoid some planning-board access requirements, whereas creating a separate lot of record would require access approvals. Board members noted federal grant restrictions on the treatment-plant parcel that may prohibit subdivision. Committee member (S4) said the earlier bidding process may already have produced an apparent winner and asked whether that prior board action remains legally binding: “If that was a legitimate, way to go about it, then then then they've already gone through the process,” S4 said.

Officials discussed protecting the treatment‑plant buffer (one board member recalled a roughly 500‑foot buffer discussed informally) and whether the town wants to preserve working pit acreage or allow a sale that would reduce buffer area. The board asked the survey presenter (S6) to prepare clearer diagrams showing proposed lines, indicated they would consult the town attorney about the earlier process, and planned to meet neighbors and the apparent prior bidder to clarify options before deciding whether to proceed with sale, annexation, or re‑bidding.

The survey discussion covered practical choices—whether to blaze and pin long boundary lines to reduce future disputes, cost tradeoffs for blazed vs. minimal pinning, and whether shifting the line could reduce the acreage under offer below the 40‑acre threshold. Board members said they prefer a simple, well‑documented line that protects town infrastructure and allows a defensible sale if the legal process supports it.