Open Space Purchase Approved

By a 47 to 6 vote, town residents Wednesday night approved the purchase of some 35 acres on Case Street for open space.

The land, known as the Carpenter Property, abuts the Canton Land Conservation Trust’s Yellin property off of Ridge Road as well as portions of McLean Game Refuge.

The purchase would provide public access to the Yellin property and the land trust would help blaze trails on both parcels, Open Space Preservation and Acquisition Commission Chairman William Spatcher, Jr. said.

And although some, including First Selectman Richard Barlow, expressed disappointment that McLean Game Refuge does not have plans to allow people on its property in the vicinity of the Carpenter land, others said it still provides a good balance of recreational opportunities as well as a contiguous wildlife corridor.

“It’s a large open-space corridor for animals as well as people to enjoy,” said Jay Kaplan, a member of the Open Space commission and a director for the land trust.

Spatcher said the commission became aware of the property about three years ago and works with willing owners on parcels that are feasible for purchase.

Half of the property’s $195,00 purchase price will come from a state Department of Environmental Protection grant.

For the town’s portion, $57,214 will come from a restricted open space account, Barlow said. The $40,286 balance would be paid for through an open space and acquisition fund in the Capital Improvements Project budget.

Some residents, including a couple selectmen, said they supported open space but opposed the purchase since the $40,000 could be transferred and used for other purposes, most specifically roadwork.

Resident Lowell Humphrey reiterated the fact that a recent study suggested the town’s roads are in need of more than $17 million in repairs.

Selectman David Gilchrist said he’s always supported open space but had similar thoughts in regards to the $40,000 and said the town needs a shift in focus.

“We now have a professional study that clearly demonstrates we have seriously neglected our infrastructure for too many years,” he said.

Other residents argued that the $40,000 was well spent on open space. Some even responded to Humphrey’s use of Dyer Road as an example of how bad the town’s road have gotten. He said as bad as the road is there are ones that are considered much worse.

Dyer Avenue resident Carrie Sinish said she would live with that “giant hole” in front of the family’s home and support the purchase. 

Resident Marianne Burbank said the benefits outweighed the costs, especially considering the town would likely pay much more in educational and other services if the property were developed.

“Forty thousand seems like a drop in the bucket considering the benefit that the open space brings the town,” she said.

Sarah Faulkner agreed, saying it is a beautiful piece of property with scenic and recreational value.

“It’s a bargain price,” she said. “It’s a no brainer, honestly.”

Selectman Stephen Roberto argued that $40,000 is significant. He mentioned a neighborhood that floods twice a year and said $35,000 would fix the problem.

“These are people in danger – in their own homes,” he said.

In the end, however, residents felt the benefits did outweigh the other issues and voted 47 to 6 to purchase the land.

Residents also approved a part-time recreation program specialist to continue working eight hours a week in youth programming for the rest of the fiscal year.  It would be paid for through the department’s special revenue fund that comes from program fees. The programs are run in conjunction with the Youth Services Bureau and include a twice-a-week after-school program at the community center and the Cave teen center on Friday nights. The position, in a slightly expanded form, is also proposed in the 2010-2011 budget proposal.