THETFORD —The Selectboard has extended the bid period for a nearly 8-acre town-owned hayfield on Route 244 near Lake Fairlee that had been eyed for workforce housing after getting two offers.
The decision to keep the process open until March 15 came after the board exited executive session that lasted around an hour during a special Selectboard meeting Friday evening. In the motion, Selectboard member Sharon Harkay said the board decided to extend the period “due to the fact that both proposals we got in are identical in terms of amounts.”
The town had originally purchased the land in Post Mills for $120,000 last spring to build up to 16 units of workforce housing, using a grant and borrowing $100,000 from the Poore Family Farm Trust, a fund that assists Thetford residents. The property is on the market for $134,400.
After opposition from Post Mills residents, the town abandoned the housing proposal. Per an agreement with the trust, if the town did not use the land to build workforce housing it would sell it to repay the trust. At least one abutter has said he is interested in buying the property.
