West Windsor
The move comes as Dan Purjes — the manager of MFW Associates of Utah, which owns the 105 acres off Coaching Lane — is proposing to build a 13-lot subdivision on his parcel.
Purjes’ company gained control of much of the former Ascutney Mountain Resort ski area, which closed in 2010, and later sold off some assets, including the main chairlift and eventually the ski area.
West Windsor officials have instructed the nonprofit that helps manage the trail system, Sports Trails of Ascutney Basin, to remove all signs and other structures such as kiosks by Jan. 16 to comply with the license termination by MFW Associates and that “all public access must cease.”
“We have about 35 miles of trails in the public system, and we are losing about 5 miles,” STAB president Michael Bell said Thursday.
Though it is less than 15 percent of the total trail network, Bell said they are some of the most-used trails.
“These are popular trails and they make up a large part of our novice trails,” Bell said. “It is gentle terrain. That is a tough segment to lose.”
Purjes, who in 2015 sold about 460 acres of the former ski area to the town with the help of the nonprofit Trust for Public Land wrote a letter to the Selectboard Dec. 16 stating he was terminating the license agreement with the town for the MFW property.
That agreement, signed in June 2014, allowed public access to about 105 acres of MFW property for walking, hiking and biking and other activities. It abuts the town forest, where most of the Ascutney Trails network exists, and other private property, with other trails. A provision of the agreement allows either party to cancel it with a 30-day notice, which Purjes said he was providing.
“Accordingly, following that date (Jan. 16, 2017) MFW’s property in the Town of West Windsor shall not be accessible to the public,” Purjes wrote in his letter last month. “The town should remove all kiosks and all signs that are on MFW’s property and should not permit the public to walk, hike, bike on MFW’s property or to use it in any way.”
Bell said removal of the signs can be done in less than a day but as far as informing the public that the property is off limits, he said that is Purjes’ responsibility.
With his letter, Purjes also told Town Administrator Martha Harrison in an email that he would reconsider his decision and be willing to enter into a new license agreement “provided arrangements were made to effectively negate the property taxes paid by MFW.”
The property, a mix of fields and wood, is assessed at $418,000.
Harrison said Thursday the town is not willing to consider such an arrangement and will allow the agreement to be terminated.
Bell said STAB was formed in 2008 and has about 200 members who have helped build the trail network, including those on Purjes’s property. Since the town bought the former ski area, which is managed by the nonprofit Ascutney Outdoors, some intermediate trails have been constructed on the former resort property and Bell said they plan on building some novice terrain.
Bell said cutting off access to the MFW property will have an immediate impact because it is used for snowshoeing, cross-country skiing and fat tire biking.
Purjes’ termination notice arrived about two weeks after the Development Review Board held a public hearing on his proposal for a 13-lot subdivision on the same 105 acres off Coaching Lane. The lots would range in size from five to 18 acres with 200 to 300 feet between houses, according to the application.The plans state there will be little disturbance of wooded areas, open space will include forest management of woodlands and a 50-foot wetlands buffer will be maintained. The applicant has notified state agencies regarding agricultural soils and wildlife habitat and an Act 250 permit application is in process.
Several concerns were raised by residents at the hearing and additional information was requested from the DRB. The hearing was continued to Dec. 21 and continued again to Jan. 31. According to the minutes of the Nov. 29 meeting, public comments included: Invite Purjes to the next meeting; subdivision doesn’t make sense with so many properties in town for sale; pond construction should be prohibited because it could affect the aquifer; brooks on the plan are not accurate; how many new students can the school anticipate?; noise and light pollution should be considered; is blasting of ledge needed; and how much will traffic increase.
The DRB is also asking for phasing and timing of work, interior lot dimensions and written statement of compliance with the Town Plan.
Attempts to reach Purjes were unsuccessful.
Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com
