GRANVILLE — A Special Town Meeting will take place at the Travis Fuller Memorial Gymnasium of the Granville Village School, 409 Main Rd., Granville on Tuesday, Aug. 20 at 7 p.m.
There is only one item on the agenda at the meeting: to see if the town will vote to authorize the Selectboard to acquire “by purchase, auction, gift and/or eminent domain, all or a portion or portions of land located on Reagan Road, containing 235 acres for general municipal purposes, including, without limitation, for the purpose of siting a Department of Public Works facility thereon.”
The article also asks for authorization to raise and appropriate, transfer from available funds, and/or borrow funds for the acquisition, and to further authorize the Selectboard to convey and dispose of such parcels, or portions thereof, that the board determines are not required.
Granville Town Administrator Matthew Streeter said the town currently has a DPW highway garage that was built in the 1940s and is more than 80 years old. He said the town has been looking for a parcel suitable to build a new highway facility, and failed to get a two-third vote for a parcel on Barnard Road in 2022.
Streeter said they only learned a couple of weeks ago that there was a parcel of land on Reagan Road coming up for auction when Bacon Wilson PC, the attorneys for the bank or lender came into the town offices requesting a municipal lien certificate.
He said the matter was then discussed at an executive session on July 29. “We have a short window,” he said, adding that they are also working on a purchase and sale agreement with the homeowner John Stopa, who still lives in the house on one of the parcels that is being auctioned off on Aug. 22 by the mortgage company.
The land consists of one large property of 230 acres that’s vacant, another small property, a buildable lot of 1.4 acres that is too small for the town’s purposes and the house property. Streeter said the town would be interested in using a portion of the larger lot.
Streeter said the town is looking to get authorization to purchase the land either at auction or by direct sale through a purchase and sale agreement from the owner, as well as the authorization to sell off the house property or a subdivided lot. He said the town is looking for 10 to 20 acres all together for other possible municipal uses including a transfer station, salt shed, and/or recreational opportunities. He said any decisions about the use of the property could be made later, and the town would have to go back to a Town Meeting for finances.
Streeter said town officials spoke to auctioneer Aaron Posnik to find out the amount the bank was looking for and they were told the bank needs to be made whole, but the auction house wouldn’t find out until the day before the auction on Aug. 22.
He said he believes the bank is looking for between $250,000 to $500,000, which is under the assessed value for all three properties of approximately $880,000.
According to Streeter, the homeowners were in tax title for the town until 2022, when the bank paid off the lien and subsequently moved to the front of the line. Once the taxes for the town were resolved, the bank began the proceedings for auction.
“The homeowners would like to stay there. The town would like them to stay there. With a purchase and sale agreement, by purchasing a portion of the parcel, the bank might be willing to postpone the auction pending successful resolution,” Streeter said, adding that it could be a win-win for the town and the homeowner.
He said the Selectboard has been actively looking for parcels, but with three municipal water companies owning land in the town, which has extensive flood zone and wetland areas, suitable building lots have not been found.
“Most of the parcel is ledge, and not in the flood zone. The current owner uses it for blueberries and grapes, and a portion of it for motocross racing,” Streeter said, adding there are also areas that are flat. More information on the Special Town Meeting and auction is available at www.townofgranville.net.
Doors will open for the Special Town Meeting on Aug. 20 at the Granville Village School at 6:30 p.m., and babysitting will be provided.
