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Politics & Government

Mansfield Resident Wants Selectmen to Honor 1998 Sale

Selectmen wrestle with decision to follow up on an agreement to purchase land. Decision put off until August.

Long time Mansfield resident and businesswoman Nancy Eames wants the town to make good on an agreement reached at the 1998 Town Meeting, and purchase five acres of land her family has owned and paid taxes on.

The article put before voters 13 years ago proposed acquiring the land, adjacent to protected town-owned woodland around the Witch Pond water resource area, for $6,000, and voters agreed. Since then, the land has risen in value, and is now assessed at $18,400.

At this spring's Town Meeting, voters turned down a second article re-authorizing the purchase for the higher price, after both selectmen and the finance committee recommended against it. The land, opponents said, was landlocked and without access and essentially useless to the town.

In a bad economy, they said, it would be unwise to buy land that no one could get to.

Now, Eames has appeared before the board for another try, and stating her family would be willing to sell the property at the original 1998 value.

In the years after the positive vote, she said, she tried to get the sale completed.

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"I contacted [former Town Manager] John D'Agostino, and [former Town Counsel] Bob Mangiaratti to push it forward, but then John started having all his troubles, then the economy went bad," Eames explained to the board on June 22.

Selectmen were clearly torn between honoring an agreement made in good faith, and honoring the most recent Town Meeting vote essentially negating the 1998 decision.

"We have two conflicting Town Meeting votes," said board member Olivier Kozlowski. "I'm not inclined to put it back before the voters again. If we turn around and go buy it for $6,000, it would leave a bad taste."

Member Kevin Moran was not comfortable with any move to go back on a deal. "Town Meeting authorized us," he said. "I don't like it that we can just ignore it. She's paid $3,800 in taxes (since 1998.)"

Doug Annino noted, "They are paying taxes on a piece of worthless property. We originally agreed - we have a moral obligation to stick to that."

George Dentino was of two minds on the subject. "I can't come to any logical reason for purchasing this land," he said. But he later added, "The townspeople agreed, but was that the right decision to make? We could put it back on the floor - I would not be against letting people vote on it."

At last week's meeting, the board had scheduled to make a decision on what to do with Eames' request, but postponed any further deliberations until a full board is present in early August.

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