POLAND — A public hearing on creating a conservation easement to prohibit development of 95 acres of town land in the “Heart of Poland” drew mixed reviews Tuesday night.
The land is part of a larger parcel that includes the Town Office, the Town Hall, the library, the McConaghy house, the old schoolhouse used by the historical society and the transfer station. The municipal complex fronts on Route 26.
The Conservation Commission, co-chaired by Fred Huntress and Don Stover, proposed the easement, which will be decided by voters at the annual town meeting in April.
Huntress detailed the history of how the town acquired the various parcels that make up what he called the “Heart of Poland.”
Resident Deborah Perkins said the town land is virtually across Route 26 from the Poland Community School, which means educational field trips can be done without busing.
“It isn’t about taking something away from our citizens, it’s about giving to our citizens, a gift to our grandchildren and great-grandchildren,” Stover said of placing an easement on the 95 acres.
Selectmen were asked why they chose to exclude about an acre that had a few hundred feet of frontage on Route 26.
Huntress and Stover said the easement would have included the piece and they saw the change as an 11th hour move by selectmen.
Perkins said it was a small wetland in a hollow about 15 feet lower than the road and couldn’t be developed under existing regulations.
Selectman Walter Gallagher, affirming his strong support for the easement, said the piece might prove helpful by providing required open space to someone developing an adjacent parcel.
Selectman Steve Robinson said excluding the small parcel could help future economic development along Route 26, providing balance and enabling efforts to secure the conservation easement.
Addressing another item for the April town meeting, resident Arthur Berry pointed out that three years ago the town spent $174,000 to acquire the McConaghy house and lost three years worth of property taxes, amounting to another$7,000-plus, without achieving much of anything to date.
Berry said Town Manager Bradley Plante got an estimate of over $100,000 to make the building fit for use. He asked if selectmen had any idea what they were going to do with the property.
Robinson said he was as frustrated as anyone over inaction, but it’s up to voters to decide what they want. He said there is an article on the April warrant asking to approve money to fix the house or demolish it.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
