SOUTHAMPTON — A special election on June 25 ended in a majority of registered voters supporting a debt exclusion so the town can buy a 52-acre plot of land located between 117-125 College Hwy., across from the Cumberland Farms convenience store.
According to a tally provided by Town Clerk Luci Dalton, with both precincts reported, 626 people voted in support of the town being exempt from provisions of Proposition 2½ to purchase the plot. Four hundred voters were against the debt exclusion, which is a temporary increase in the tax levy that allows a town to borrow for a specific capital purpose.
Now that the ballot question has passed, the town is now allowed to borrow up to $2.2 million to pay for the property. That amount will be financed across 20 years.
Residents at the Annual Town Meeting in May voted in favor of authorizing the Select Board to purchase the 52 acres.
According to previous reporting from Reminder Publishing, members of both the Public Safety Building Committee and Senior Center Building Committee spent considerable energies looking at every possible piece of land in town that could, by any reasonable criteria, be usable for either project. According to Town Administrator Scott Sczcebak, the property at 117 through 225 College Hwy. checks all the necessary boxes.
“When you build a public safety complex you need to be close to a main road, be able to access the road, have enough space to build,” Sczcebak said. The location should also be centrally located. “You can’t really have your main public responders on the edge of the town [and] there’s not many, if any at all, [other] potential parcels that would fit that criteria.”
The property is being bought from members of the Labrie family, who originally donated four acres for the siting of a new public safety complex. The original gift was landlocked. Town officials first discussed the purchase of a few additional acres to provide direct access onto College Highway.
While the primary use of the Labrie land will be for a public safety complex, the town may also consider the land for their new senior center since the original desired property at 89 Clark St. did not work out.
Other uses have been discussed for the land, including playing fields for soccer and baseball. Prior to the negotiation of the larger land deal there was discussion of erecting a condominium project on the site. But the central location, perc test results and extent of usable footage make the spot, complete with lovely views of Mount Tom, ideal for municipal uses. The proposed greenway bike path runs along the property and will also enhance usability for an aging population.
Sczcebak offered a rough estimate of 10 cents per thousand as the impact on the tax rate for the debt exclusion of $2.2 million. He estimated that an owner of a property with the average assessed value, about $420,000, will see a $42 annual increase in their taxes. A shorter borrowing period would result in a higher annual tax increase.
With the question passed, the next step is planning and design of the land.
Read more about the land from prior Reminder Publishing coverage at thereminder.com/local-news/southampton-land-purchase-goes-to-override-vote/.
