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Town and county debate five‑year reversion clause in proposed airport sale
Summary
During discussion of a proposed sale/lease of airport land to the town of Blackstone, the town's representative and county counsel debated a five‑year reversion clause and right-of-first-refusal details; the board authorized the administrator to sign the contract after infrastructure language was clarified.
The board reviewed a proposed transaction to sell or lease airport property to the town of Blackstone and heard the town representative read written guidance from the Department of Aviation that, in the state's view, the department will not participate on leased property and prefers sponsor-owned parcels. The town representative provided suggested lease revisions and recommended clarifications to the reversion and first‑refusal language to protect the county from speculative resale.
County counsel and town counsel discussed the duration and triggers of a reversionary interest; the town and county attorneys said a five‑year period for the county's reversion right was reasonable when tied to defined "permanent" infrastructure improvements. "The 5 year reversionary clause makes sense," the town representative said when explaining the drafting approach. The board asked for clarified definitions of "improvements" and how appraisal or purchase‑price calculations would be handled on reversion. Supervisors gave the county administrator conditional authority to sign the contract once infrastructure language is amended and counsel approves the clarified reversion wording.
