With $353,600 hanging in the balance, open space activists, selectmen, town officials, conservation agents and legislators hurried up the Rauscher Farm grant process with frenzied phone calls and e-mails earlier this week. The result: a wait.
Selectmen Chairman Kevin Haley, who last week led his board in voting unanimously to reject the grant if conditions weren’t met by June 11, said Tuesday that he had instructed Town Hall to “extend the deadline of having [Economic Development Director] Donald Lowe send a letter to the state, to complete the conservation restriction.”
At risk is a state grant to help pay for the town’s $2.7 million purchase of the 62-acre farm on Clamshell Road. Although the grant was awarded last year, state officials say they won’t release the funds until Clinton closes on the property — a process being held up by questions about a sewer line and a tenant — and until the town agrees with state officials on a conservation restriction for the Wekepeke reservation, a separate, 564-acre parcel Clinton owns in Sterling.
Negotiations for the Wekepeke restriction have been going on for more than a year, and selectmen voted June 4 to reject the grant because they did not feel talks would come to a conclusion before June 30, the deadline for completing the grant.
“We instructed Donald Lowe to send a letter to the state saying we can not meet the requirements of the self-help grant,” said Selectman Anthony Fiorentino, but “in the last seven days, the citizens have actively engaged their legislators to remove [the Wekepeke restriction] conditions of self-help grant and have the state give us an extension from the June 30 deadline.”
Fiorentino said those lobbying efforts are bearing fruit.
“Congressman [James] McGovern believes that we, the town of Clinton, should be waiting until June 20 before deciding on sending a letter to the state about the self-help grant,” said Fiorentino, citing a letter from McGovern Chief of Staff Christopher Philbin. “The bottom line is, we don’t want to act prematurely, we want to see what Mr. McGovern works out with [state Environmental Affairs Secretary] Ian Bowles and we want to wait for the finalization of the Wekepeke conservation restriction with the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife.”
Fiorentino said McGovern is negotiatiating with Bowles and MassWildlife Land Agent Phil Truesdell.
Jim Webster, writing on behalf of Friends of the Rauscher Farm, sent a letter June 8 to Bowles, McGovern, Truesdell and several state legislators, including state Rep. Harold Naughton and state Sens. Harriette Chandler and Robert Antonioni.
Truesdell responded to Webster in an e-mail Monday, June 9, “Please be assured that we have been in touch with town officials regarding the 5-22-08 correspondence from Attorney [Town Solicitor Robert] Gibbons and will work with them to finalize the language prior to Wednesday [June 11] evening so that selectmen can act accordingly.”
Truesdell was unavailable for further comment before the Times & Courier’s Tuesday evening deadline.
“I’m not planning to hold a meeting tomorrow night,” said Haley said Tuesday. Haley said four requirements must be met for the property to be closed: Town Solicitor Robert Gibbons must review an environmental report on the land; the town must reach an agreement with seller Fred Rauscher to provide his house with a sewer line; the individual renting a home on the Rauscher Farm land has to move; and Town Administrator Michael Ward and Gibbons have to meet with the Department of Conservation and Recreation. This last item did occur June 10, Haley said.
At their June 4 meeting, most selectmen seemed pessimistic about Clinton’s chances of finalizing the grant. Selectmen noted that they had asked for extensions and the removal of the Wekepeke provision before, only to be denied.
“We’re down to the wire now,” said Selectman Mary Rose Dickhaut. “I know a lot of hard work was put into acquiring the grant, but it seems like we’re walking the tightrope on deadlines here.”
Lowe told selectmen if they felt they weren’t going to get the grant, they should let state officials know well before the June 30 end of the fiscal year. Advance warning would allow the state to reallocate the funds to other projects, Lowe said.
“The town has asked several times if there’s any wiggle room to extend past June 30, and the answer is always no,” Lowe said. “The worst solution would be, midnight at June 30 comes and we’re finally telling the state, ‘we can’t get it done.’”
Friends of the Rauscher Farm Chairman Gloria Parkinson expressed concern.
“I am very concerned the voters should not lose this money,” she said. “The farm will go through no matter what, but the idea of people working hard to get this money and then it going away is something I feel strongly about. It’s the taxpayers who are buying Rauscher Farm.”
Parkinson said, however, she is encouraged by the last-minute legislative response.
“We’re all on the same page here and we have a lot of support from our congressman and people in the legislatures,” said Parkinson.
