THETFORD — A hayfield along Route 244 in Post Mills where town officials initially hoped to build up to 16 units of workforce housing is going back on the market after the Selectboard did not receive any bids for it last week.
The town initially sought sealed bids for the 8-acre parcel near Lake Fairlee, with a minimum bid of $134,000, but none were received by the deadline last Friday, Selectboard Chairman Nick Clark said at a meeting of the board on Monday night.
Rather than advertising locally for sealed bids, the town now is listing the property online, with no set deadline for offers, according to Clark.
The Selectboard is also considering a proposal from an abutter, Clark acknowledged at the meeting.
Brian Ricker, who lives next to the field in a house that has been in his family for generations, said in October that he was willing to buy the property for what the town paid for it. Ricker could not be reached for comment this week.
Clark on Wednesday said, “The one proposal we have received so far is more involved than a simple dollar number. As we said in the public meeting, the proposal will need to be reviewed.”
Bryan Gazda, Thetford’s new town manager, rejected a request for the proposal from the Valley News, asserting that an exemption to the state’s Public Records Law related to the negotiation of contracts applied.
Thetford bought the hayfield last year for $120,000, using $100,000 from the Poore Family Farm Trust, a fund that assists Thetford residents. Per the Selectboard’s agreement with the trust, if Thetford did not use the land to build affordable housing it would have to pay the trust back.
After facing opposition from Post Mills residents who wanted to see the land preserved for agricultural use, the Selectboard sought bids for the land.
Joseph Tofel, a representative from the trust, said it would consider the proposal from the abutter within the week, and Gazda said town staff would do their best to consider it in the same time frame. If the proposal from the abutter is not accepted by the Selectboard and the trust, there is a chance a group of Post Mills residents will submit a proposal to purchase the land. They have been in touch with an area land trust to figure out how to proceed, said Alissa Southworth, a Post Mills resident who attended the meeting and has become the unofficial spokeswoman for residents looking to preserve the land. They are in support of the abutter’s proposal.
“We do think we would be able to achieve funding it, you know, but I certainly don’t want to get in the way of an abutter that wants to buy it as well,” she said. “Everyone wants the land protected, essentially. Whether that’s through the way that you sell it the next time, the abutter coming up with a clever solution or us as a community banding together to purchase it. We just want to work with you guys in a way that’s beneficial in a way for everyone.”
Clark expressed caution about taking too long to sell the property and repay money the town received from the trust.
“I’m operating under the idea that our obligation right now, first and foremost, is to repay the trust,” Clark said. “In that sense we have a context, we have a reason to keep trying to sell it. We have to solicit proposals until we can repay the trust.”
Multiple attendees at Monday’s meeting, which was conducted virtually, voiced support for putting a listing of the parcel on hold and giving residents a chance to come up with a proposal to purchase the land.
Others expressed concern that if it was listed for sale again, it would be purchased by someone outside the community and be subdivided for housing.
“I’m not prepared to talk for the trust yet, but I would suggest we are not willing to wait on this forever,” Tofel said. “We will give you whatever time helps to make this thing happen quick… but I’m not sure we want to wait for any length of time that would be probably be in excess of two months.”
The Selectboard has scheduled a meeting on Friday, Feb. 26, to discuss the abutter’s proposal and review any other offers that may have come in by then.
Liz Sauchelli can be reached at esauchelli@vnews.com or 603-727-3221.
