Ellington Pinney House Lease Agreement To Remain Intact

The residents of the town of Ellington rejected a motion to terminate the Pinney House lease agreement at a town meeting held on Monday, December 11, 2023. The vote was 11 to terminate and 46 against termination. A motion was then passed to appropriate $1500 the the Pinney House Elctricity Account for the fiscal year 23-24. The 99-year lease between the Town of Ellington and Deer Valley LLC was agreed upon in August 0f 2007.

Megan Johnson, a member of the Friends of the Pinney House presented a bit of history on the house that was built between the years 1775 and 1778 by resident Eleazer Pinney, who fought in the Revolutionary War. Ms Johnson then outlined the Friends of the Pinney House plan and a timeline to restore the bottom floor of the house by obtaining state and federal grants. She stated that the purpose of the Pinney House will be to serve as a cultural center for the town of Ellington.

According to a handout distributed by the Friends of the Pinney House, the initial milestone is the reinstatement of the Friends of the Pinney House as a 501c(3) non-profit corporation. Mr. Warren Mcgrath stated that all paperwork had been submitted and it was indicated to him that the 501c(3) would be reinstated.

Selectman John Turner, who moderated the meeting, emphasized the need for the Friends of the Pinney House to keep and submit minutes of all their meetings to the Board of Selectmen to be available for public review. In answering a question from a town resident, Mr. Turner stated that a motion to terminate the lease to the Pinney House can be brought to a town meeting again in the future.