After all the other impediments facing the $353,600 grant for Rauscher Farm fell to the wayside, a new snag cropped up Wednesday night.

At their June 18 meeting, Clinton selectmen voted to sign a conservation restriction on the 564-acre Wekepeke property the town owns in Sterling, while Town Solicitor Robert Gibbons announced that several conditions of sale that could have held up closing on the Clamshell Road farm had either been met or could be sidestepped.

In preparing for the closing, however, Gibbons said he found that deeds to the land say it comprises approximately 48 acres, far less than the 62 acres suggested by assessors’ maps.

“That’s a big discrepancy,” said Selectmen Chairman Kevin Haley. “We’re talking about 15 acres, a lot of money.”

Clinton voters agreed last year to borrow $2.7 million to buy Rauscher and preserve it as open space. Previously, developer Pulte Homes had offered money to Fred Rauscher to build houses on the land, which is Clinton’s last operating farm.

Selectman Anthony Fiorentino noted that Pulte had seemed to believe it was buying 62 acres, as did appraisers hired by the town before the votes to borrow money. He said he’d be in favor of surveying the land, but would rather see it done after closing on the property.

If the purchase does not close in the next two weeks, Clinton will forfeit state grant funds to offset the purchase price, Gibbons said.

Nonetheless, selectmen voted unanimously to have Gibbons arrange a last-minute survey of the land before closing on it. The solicitor will report the results of the survey to selectmen, who may convene a special meeting Monday, June 23, immediately prior to Town Meeting.

Selectmen implied that the purchase of Rauscher Farm — or at least its purchase within the state grant’s deadline — may be in question, but Gibbons said after the meeting that he hasn’t been asked to slow down preparations for it.

“I have the same direction I had before tonight, which is to proceed toward closing,” Gibbons said.

Meeting ends with no comment

Selectmen adjourned June 18 over the protests of Rauscher Farm activist Gloria Parkinson, who asked to address the board.

“There is no public comment tonight,” said Haley, before leading a 4-1 vote to adjourn. Reached the next day, he said the reason for not allowing citizen comment was to free up space on the agenda for a Town Meeting warrant article proponent to speak.

The vote broke a longstanding tradition in Clinton of allowing members of the audience to address their elected officials before or after the business portions of scheduled meetings. Fiorentino voted against the motion.

“I am in favor of public comment,” Fiorentino explained.

After the meeting, Parkinson said she wanted to offer selectmen some other means to determine the Rauscher Farm’s true acreage without resorting to an expensive and potentially time-consuming land survey.

“I’m feeling very concerned now that we’re not allowed to speak in public comments about the Rauscher closing,” she said. “There is something called a shapefile, which is a GIS [geographic information system] file. It gives the boundaries and the acreage can be calculated by that.”

She also said selectmen should check the town’s tax records, which should have accurate calculations of the acreage.

The June 18 meeting ran under an hour and a quarter, 30 minutes of which was in executive session. The adjournment vote came at 8:14 p.m.

Other conditions met

Haley said June 10 that four requirements had to be met before the town could close on the farm including Gibbons reviewing an environmental report on the land; the town reaching an agreement with Rauscher to provide his house with a sewer line; the individual renting a home on the farm land moving; and Town Administrator Michael Ward and Gibbons meeting with Department of Conservation and Recreation officials, which occurred June 10.

“The environmental report has been reviewed and is complete,” Haley said June 17.  “The sewer is being discussed still and we have been told the tenant will be out by the end of June.”

Haley said he could not offer additional comment about Ward and Gibbons’ meeting with DCR officials. 

Friends of the Rauscher Farm Chairman Gloria Parkinson, who had expressed fears at previous selectmen’s meetings that the grand would fall through, said earlier this week that she was optimistic the deal will be completed in time.

“It is my hope they accept that draft so the town can move forward, I’m optimistic the town will close before the [June 30] timeframe,” said Parkinson. “The town has done its due diligence in the last month or so, they’ve checked the farm property for [Massachusetts General Laws Chapter] 21E hazardous waste regulations and done everything that’s needed to be done.”

Parkinson said she was pleased with town officials' and residents' efforts to lobby state legislators.

Jim Webster, writing on behalf of Friends of Rauscher Farm, sent a letter June 8 to Congressman James McGovern, Environmental Affairs Secretary Ian Bowles, MassWildlife Land Agent Phil Truesdell and several state legislators, including state Rep. Harold Naughton and state Sens. Harriette Chandler and Robert Antonioni.

Fiorentino, citing a letter from McGovern chief of staff Christopher Philbin in the first week of June, said McGovern advised the town of Clinton to wait until June 20 before sending a letter to the state about the self-help grant.

Parkinson credited the town for making a concerted effort to gain the grant.

“The town has come together as a whole, there has been a spirit of unity and cooperation,” said Parkinson. “But it’s not over ’til the fat lady sings.”