Williamstown Sets November Deadline on Conserved Land Question
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Select Board on Wednesday decided to set a late November deadline for the non-profit seeking to be assigned the town's right of first refusal on a 10-acre parcel of farmland off Oblong Road.
A portion of the Phelps property currently used for grazing by Sweet Brook Farm is under a purchase and sales agreement for $745,000. But because the land previously was conserved under Chapter 61 of Massachusetts General Law and eligible for a lower assessment for local property tax purposes, the town has a right of first refusal to either purchase the land itself (for the agreed-upon price) or allow a qualified non-profit to buy it for purposes of conservation.
If the original agreed-upon sale goes through, proposed buyer's intent is to use the land for residential housing development. Under the town's zoning bylaw, up to four duplexes could be built on a 10-acre parcel, but it was noted at Wednesday's meeting that in the district outside the town's water and sewer services, septic and well-water capacity might limit the amount of development.
No matter how many homes actually get built, the assessed value of the property — and subsequent tax revenue to the town — would go up significantly if the private sale goes through and the acreage is removed from the Chapter 61 program.
"This 10 acres is currently valued at $2,181 because it's in the Chapter 61 program," Select Board Chair Hugh Daley told his colleagues. "So the taxes paid are $38.82.
"Based on the assessor, as residential raw land, it would be valued at $479,200 and generate for the town and fire district $8,529.26 a year in property taxes. If it were developed into a home, the assessor's viewpoint is the home would probably be in the $2 million range and it would generate for the town and fire district $35,963 based on the tax rate per year."
In addition to that potential 900-fold increase in property tax revenue, the town would receive a one-time "claw back" of some of the property taxes it would have received while the land was under Chapter 61 protection. Daley said that number would be about $49,079.97.
To date, one non-profit, the Williamstown Rural Lands Foundation, has expressed an interest in being assigned the town's right of first refusal.
WRLF officials started talking to the Select Board about the possibility this summer, when the property first was subject to a purchase-and-sales agreement. But Town Hall did not receive the formal notice of the potential sale as required under Chapter 61 until Sept. 20, Daley said on Wednesday.
That means Williamstown has 120 days from the date of notification to decide whether to exercise or assign its right of first refusal, which puts the deadline at Jan. 17, 2023.
But rather than wait until early next year, the Select Board decided to determine the issue at its Nov. 28 meeting. Jane Patton said that considering the fact that the question has been on the radar of the town and WRLF since June, it is "more than fair" to expect a firm commitment from the non-profit by late November.
In July, WRLF officials told the board the organization was interested in assignment of the town's rights but was not yet able to say whether it could raise the $745,000 needed to close the deal.
Patton and other members of the board said they had an obligation to make sure that a town asset, the right of first refusal, was used in a way that best benefited all town residents.
She also noted that a municipality or non-profit could exercise the right of first refusal, fail to close on the property in a 90-day window that begins on Jan. 17, and pay only a 10 percent penalty to the seller after the original purchaser has walked away from the deal.
"This has nothing at all to do with Rural Lands as an entity or the people on Rural Lands," Patton said. "But this is New York corporate Jane who is like, '$35,000 and maybe I make the other people go away and I don't have to do anything else.' Right? I'm not saying that's going to happen, but I feel like we've learned some lessons the last few years in assuming everyone is always going to do the right thing.
"We need to, especially in stuff like this where, historically, it would have been, 'Conservation, that's amazing and blah blah,' I want to be really mindful that, as stewards of this — we've now been asked to be a steward of this … That's all I ask. And, again, no offense to anyone on the committees. This is smart business. This is being fiscally responsible and accountable and mindful about what to do with this asset."
Patton said one consideration is the potential benefit to taxpayers of adding the property back on the tax roll, but there are other considerations for the Select Board to take into account, like whether residents will have access to the parcel, whoever ends up holding title.
Andy Hogeland noted that the town could make public access a condition when it assigns the right of first refusal to WRLF or any other non-profit that comes forward.
The board agreed to discuss that or any other conditions it might propose at its meetings between now and Nov. 28, at which time it intends to decide whether to let the private sale go through. No one on the board expressed an interest in pursuing a third scenario: the town buying the land outright, a move that likely would involve a special town meeting to authorize the $745,000 expenditure.
In other business on Wednesday, the Select Board appointed Michael Eagle to the Northern Berkshire Cultural Council and accepted the resignation of longtime Zoning Board of Appeals member Andrew Hoar. It held off on appointing Hoar as alternate to the ZBA, as he offered, or naming current alternate Amy Jeschawitz to the board after Hogeland pointed out the town had not had time to advertise the vacancy created by Hoar's departure and encourage other residents to apply.
After agreeing to post the vacancy on the town website, Daley recommended that a permanent section for current vacancies be created on the page of the town's website where board and committee members are listed.
The Select Board learned from Town Manager Robert Menicocci that he has advertised the position of police chief with a deadline of Nov. 10 for responses. Menicocci said that in addition to listing the position with various regional law enforcement entities, he posted it on submitted it to sites like the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, Massachusetts Association of Minority Law Enforcement Officers, National Asian Peace Officers' Association, Massachusetts Latino Police Officers Association and the Hispanic American Police Command Officers' Association.
The board received an update on the activities of the Strengthening Police and Community Partnerships Council from facilitator Lucy Gerold and took a step toward finalizing a months-long discussion about the purpose of the town's Diversity, Inclusion and Racial Equity Committee.
The board agreed to charge the DIRE Committee with developing a Diversity Strategic Plan, a decision that allows Menicocci to start the process of hiring a DEI consultant to advise the DIRE panel in developing that plan.
Jeffrey Johnson, a former DIRE Committee member who has been part of a working group with the advisory panel, told his colleagues that the two-page "charge" document aligns with a separate revised DIRE Committee charter that the working group also is developing. He did not show the Select Board the new charter because it needs to be considered by the full DIRE Committee before presentation to the Select Board.
On the other hand, Johnson said he felt comfortable advancing the charge because it is a direction from the Select Board, which identified the need for a strategic plan this summer.
"This charge comes from us," Johnson said. "It's what we're asking them to do. It doesn't need consultation."
Randy Fippinger, who fills the Select Board's ex officio seat on the DIRE Committee, said he believes there is buy-in from the committee on the goal of creating a strategic plan.
Johnson also indicated that the strategic plan work need not be DIRE's sole focus, addressing a concern by committee members that they would be asked to stop all other work to focus on the charge. He noted that the process of finding a consultant is going to take time, during which DIRE can continue its current work.
"I've got people in town who need this [work] all the time," Johnson said. "Racism and discrimination are alive and well in Williamstown, Mass., like it is in every place. I'm saying: Don't let them just sit. … To me, I think it can all blend together."
Updated on Nov. 28 to clarify that the town submitted a job listing to some organizations that may or may not have listed it on their websites.
Tags: conserved land, rural lands,
