At the Feb. 5 meeting for the Town Council, councilor remained tight lipped on what information they could release to the public while still in negotiations with their lawyer regarding the possible purchase of the 66.9 acres of land on Griffin Road.
At the Monday night, Feb. 12 meeting, residents were disappointed to learn that the public hearing was in fact put off yet again, after negotiations were still in effect. This was ultimately the third time that this possible purchase was put off due to legal reasons.
Members of the Town Council were not at liberty to discuss any details about the issue due to the fact that negotiations are still being held between lawyers. It is also unclear which way the town prefers to go.
At the previous council meeting, there was new information that had been brought to light that may have altered the decision to continue with the purchase or not. Unfortunately, both the public and the Conversation Commission were not privy to this information and what exactly this information is still remains a mystery. The Town Council received a late message late in the day prior to the meeting that their attorney had not yet completed discussions with the developers and the council was unprepared to move forward with this issue until they received additional information. Both the attorney for the developer and the attorney for the town have not yet concluded their negotiations. Instead, the motion was made to continue this topic until their next meeting scheduled for March 5. If there happens to be a matter that arises with urgency then the council has the option to call a special meeting before then. Chairman Tom Dolan expressed hope that this issue will be resolved by their next meeting. The public would be notified if in fact the Town Council chooses to hold a special meeting. A notice would have to be put out ahead of time to alert the public and the only time a meeting would be held without the public’s knowledge is a legal meeting. Residents would be able to see this notice on the town website and social media.
It is still unknown; however, if in fact this land purchase will be resolved by the March 5 meeting and what information has yet to be released to the public and if that information was a key component in the town’s decision to purchase the land or not.