Town
considering Libby Hill purchase Splitting cost of appraisal, first
By Elizabeth Prata
Gray--On May 17 at their regular meeting, the Council
voted to pay half of the cost of an appraisal on a
29-acre parcel atop Libby Hill. The land is currently
owned by Hancock Land Management Company but is between
a parcel that the Town already owns and a parcel that
the SAD 15 owns. Hancock wants to sell and the Town
may be interested in buying.
The Libby Hill Recreation Area consists of over 5
miles of multipurpose recreational trails in an area
just a mile north of Gray Village. The surrounding
area abutting the parcels at the bottom of the Hill
are home to a landfill, transfer station, public works
garage and a gravel pit. Right, Property tax map
from Town of Gray.
Atop the hill it is a different story. Situated behind
the Middle School on Libby Hill Road, the picturesque
hills and recreation area offers the school a place
to train cross country skiers and track teams, the
Town an opportunity to offer free open space to the
general public and a place to host their Annual Winter
Festival, and preserves open space in an area of Maine
that is continually squeezed by development pressures.
The Town of Gray owns 73 acres and the land is managed
by the Gray Parks and Recreation Department. MS Hancock
owns 29 acres, and the SAD 15 owns 36 acres. Other
abutters are the Gray Community Endowment which owns
26 acres, Jean Wilbur Pulsifer, who owns 84 acres,
and Herbert McCallister, owner of 42 acres.
The Endowment, School, Town, McCallister, and Hancock
acreage has been patchworked into a public-private
consortium that has managed to hang together long
enough to see volunteers build five miles of trails
for all-season recreation across the above mentioned
parcels. The Hancock land, though between the Town
and the School's parcels, was improved for recreation
based on a verbal acknowledgement.
When the Hancock Company decided to seek buyers for
their parcel, the Gray Community Endowment Directors
saw that if the middle piece was sold, it would separate
the School's 36 acres from the Town's and Endowment's
combined 99 acres. The Directors brought information
to the Town and asked if the Council would consider
negotiating with the Hancock Company to purchase the
lot.
The Gray Town Council agreed and authorized Councilor
Matthew Sturgis and Town Manager Mitchell A. Berkowitz
to enter into negotiations with the Hancocks. These
discussions have been held in executive session, but
the decision to authorize splitting half the cost
of an appraisal, up to $1,000, was done publicly at
the regular meeting.
As Mr. Sturgis said at the meeting, the Town cannot
negotiate if it does not know what the cost of the
item is that they are negotiating for. Once the appraisal
is completed, the cost of the land and the owner's
resultant asking price may halt the Town from pursuing
the purchase any further.
If the Town remains interested, the negotiations will
continue in executive session and then be presented
to the public for their consideration as a purchase.
