Land trust proposal survives criticism
By Michael Marciano – Editor
July, 23, 2010
WINSTED — A Winchester Land Trust plan to seek a $500,000 conservation grant received support from the seven-member Board of Selectmen Monday night, with one selectman dissenting.
The approved plan is a scaled-down version of a proposal offered by the Winchester Land Trust at the July 5 Board of Selectmen’s meeting, in which group President Shelley Harms presented a more ambitious proposal, totaling more than $1 million and including more than 1,000 acres, which the land trust intended to purchase with a grant from the state’s Long Island License Plate Fund.
“In order to apply for the grant, we need a letter stating that the town supports the Winchester Land Trust in its grant application and is willing to work with us to protect this land,” Harms noted at a previous meeting, on July 5. “Of course, the actual sale of the interest in the land would only happen if the grant is awarded and if the citizens of the town approve it.”
Concerns regarding funding and land ownership came up at the meeting, followed by fierce criticism from Winsted residents James Roberts and his wife, Marsha Sterling, who claimed the land trust is financially insolvent, mismanaged and neglectful of the properties it currently owns.
Harms responded directly to the criticisms of Roberts and Sterling in a written statement to the Board of Selectmen, noting that they had failed to disclose the fact that Sterling has formed her own new conservation organization. “Perhaps the disparaging comments of Ms. Sterling and her husband James Roberts at the last Board of Selectmen’s meeting were motivated by a desire to divert support, and even this project, from the Winchester Land Trust to the new group,” Harms said.
The land trust added that claims of insolvency are “simply not true,” noting that the trust maintains a loan it took out for the purchase of Hurlbut Field. “That’s like calling a homeowner bankrupt because he has a mortgage on his home,” Harms said.
Harms presented a revised plan, in which the Winchester Land Trust would purchase conservation restrictions on two properties near Crystal Lake and another 19 small parcels near Highland Lake — totaling 360 acres. The land trust would apply for a grant of $500,000 and pay the town $450,000 for the conservation restrictions. Expenses to the town, including legal, surveying and stewardship fees, would amount to $87,000, leaving a net gain of $363,000 for the town.
“The town retains ownership of all of the land, with the Winchester Land Trust buying the conservation restriction only,” Harms said, noting that both the town and the land trust would have rights to the land.
Harms also noted that the plan cannot be implemented until after a grant is obtained. The deadline for the grant application is July 29. If the application is successful, the plan must be approved by voters at a special town meeting.
Town Manager Wayne Dove called the proposal “a fabulous idea.”
While Roberts and Sterling did not speak at the July 19 meeting, Selectman Ken Fracasso raised opposition, saying he believed the town could make more money if it sold small parcels of land to abutting residential property owners.
Mayor Candy Perez noted that the parcels by themselves don’t add enough property value to existing properties to significantly increase tax collections, while grouping the parcels together as land trust property raises money for the town while protecting the land from unwanted development.
In a final show of opposition, Fracasso produced several photographs he said he had taken of litter at a Preston Road property owned by the Winchester Land Trust, to support claims that the land trust is not properly maintaining its current parcels. Images included plastic bottles, barrels and a broken television.
Harms said a massive cleanup had been done in June, in which land trust members worked together to gather debris, but that people have continued to leave trash in certain areas. “Unfortunately people still do dump there,” she said. “We probably need to recruit more volunteers to tell us when these things are out there.”
Harms noted that the Winchester Land Trust has been a partner with the town of Winchester for the past 22 years and that the organization has more than 200 members and partnerships with several local and state organizations.
Selectman Michael Renzullo made the motion to send a letter of support for the Winchester Land Trust’s grant application, with George Closson seconding. The motion passed 6 to 1, with Fracasso voting no.
Pending the approval of the Winchester Land Trust’s grant application, the issue must come back to Town Hall for approval by residents at a special town meeting, which would be scheduled by the Board of Selectmen.
© Copyright 2010 by TCExtra.com
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