Residents Look to Stop Sale of Open Space Property

At their June 3 meeting, Middlefield selectmen tabled a discussion over the sale of the 19.67 acre town owned property along Powder Hill Road.

The sale of the property to local resident Lori Vogel-Brown, whose unsolicited $300,000 offer was the topic of a public hearing in April, will ultimately be decided by residents at a referendum, according to First Selectmen Jon Brayshaw.

While the absence of selectman Edward Bailey at the meeting prompted Brayshaw to remove the item from the board's agenda, the move did not prevent two residents in attendance from commenting on the proposed deal during public comment.

"We should not sell that almost 20 acres," Marianne Corona said. "It's much more valuable to keep this 20 acre parcel there than to sell it for $300,000. Period."

If the town were to sell the property, Corona argued, there would be no open space left within the former Powder Ridge ski area property, which was divided last year.

"Part of [the 2007 referendum] was to have open space," she said. "You're missing the ingredient of open space."

As he has done in the past, Brayshaw said the definition of open space is open to interpretation. He added that he considers the entire 246-acre ski area to be open space.

"In a way by preserving skiing, by preserving the sport, by preserving the slopes and all that go along with it, we're preserving open space," he said.

Brayshaw called Vogel-Brown's offer on the property for activity she has previously said would amount to horse pasture, "reasonable."

"I think the board owes it to the public, to the citizens, to bring the deal to the table," he said. "If we end up keeping it, fine with me. If we end up selling it, it's fine with me. Either way. Whatever the public wants to do."

To further argue her point, Corona brought to the meeting with her a copy of a complaint she said was filed with the town's planning and zoning commission that accused Vogel-Brown and her husband of operating an illegal construction company at their current property which is adjacent to the 19.67 acre parcel.

Cheryl Pizzo, a member of Middlefield's economic development commission, brought to the meeting copies of correspondence between Brayshaw and town attorney Kenneth Antin.

Pizzo said the records indicate that Brayshaw, Antin and Middlefield's bond counsel, Joe Fasi, were moving cautiously with the offer due to questions over whether or not the sale would prevent the town from satisfying the open space requirements set forth in the bond referendum overwhelmingly supported by voters.

"I say that perhaps we're putting the cart before the horse," Pizzo said.

Middlefield will soon face a deadline to bond the property and must meet the language of the bond referendum which allowed the town to buy the ski area for $2.85 million. 

"It's almost like a breach of the public trust because, personally, I would have voted against this if I'd known we weren't going to get any open space," said Pizzo.

Pizzo and Corona both felt the property should be put out to bid.

"If there's things that we have to discover we need to do that," Brayshaw said. "We're not at the end yet."