Sale of Open Space Property Headed to Referendum

A referendum will be held next month in Middlefield where voters will decide whether or not to sell a 19.67 acre property along Powder Hill Road.

The town-owned parcel was divided from the 225-acre Powder Ridge ski area property last year and not long after the sale of the ski area in September resident Lori Vogel-Brown came forward with a $300,000 offer to buy the remaining land. 

While selectmen agreed in February to sell the property, Vogel-Brown's unsolicited offer has come under heavy scrutiny at times by a handful of residents who've come forward to oppose the sale.

"This is misleading to the average voter in the town of Middlefield," Long Hill Road resident Paul Pizzo said at Tuesday night's board of selectmen meeting.

Pizzo argued that by holding the referendum — scheduled for Tuesday, July 23 from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. —  selectmen were rescinding the April 2007 vote when residents by a 10-to-1 margin voted in favor of purchasing Powder Ridge to preserve the area as ski, recreation and open space land.

Others at the meeting echoed Pizzo's concern that the town was attempting to sell off the last remaining piece of open space property from the ski area, potentially putting future bonding of the town's Powder Ridge debt (the town still owes over $2 million in principle) at risk.

First Selectman Jon Brayshaw said the decision to sell the remaining acreage would be left up to voters and argued that one person's definition of open space may be different from another's.

"Every week we end up having to define open space," Brayshaw said. "Open space comes in different shapes and forms."

As examples, he said Lyman Orchards, Powder Ridge and Peckham Park are all considered open space properties under Middlefield's definition of open space.

Rockfall resident Seb Aresco called the sale "very attractive" for Vogel-Brown, who intends to use the property to pasture her horses, but suggested that the town send residents a survey before bringing the sale to referendum.

"Table it tonight. Go back, talk to people in the town. Make sure they're comfortable with this sale before [you] go any further," Aresco said.

Brayshaw responded by saying that the proposal had been talked about 8 or 10 times at previous meetings.

"I'm offended when you think that we're ramming it through because we've spent six or eight months talking about it," he said. "I've heard no groundswell."

According to the agreement reached between the town and Vogel-Brown, the front of the property would be restricted under a conservation easement, no more than one single family home could be built on the rear of the property and the lot can not be divided.

Although a public hearing on the initial agreement between the two sides was held in April, selectman Dave Burgess argued that enough had been modified that a second public hearing should be held before the referendum to give the public another chance to review and discuss the sale. 

Brayshaw appeared to support the idea however no date for such a meeting was decided.

If the sale is approved by voters, the $300,000 would be used to pay down the town's debt with Powder Ridge.

Information about the sale, including the specific language of the resolution that will be voted on at the July 23 referendum, is available at Middlefield Town Hall.