The Westport Island Conservationist - Westport Island, Maine

WESTPORT ISLAND CONS ERVATION C OMMISSION
The Westport Island
Conservationist
Westport Island Coastal Initiative - What is It?
The “Initiative” is a cooperative
undertaking of the town’s Conservation Commission with the Trust
for Public Lands (TPL) and two
area land trusts to provide for the
acquisition and conservation of a
202 acre coastal property on Westport Island by the town.
If successfully acquired, the property will be owned by the Town of
Westport Island, with an easement
held by a local land trust. Grants
and donations will fund 95% of
the cost. The land will be maintained as undeveloped open space
for the enjoyment of residents and
visitors for traditional recreation
such as hiking, biking, hunting,
fishing, boating, snowmobiling,
cross country skiing, skating and
wildlife viewing.
With over 2,400 feet of frontage
on the Sheepscot River, the property will provide public coastal
access, including a carry-in boat
launch and build on ongoing efforts to protect water quality and
critical habitats in the Sheepscot
and Kennebec estuaries.
The property features a significant
wetland and pond complex, surrounded by unfragmented forest.
The catchment is an important
ground water recharge area, protecting drinking water quality and
quantity for many island residents.
V O LUME 11 ISSUE 01
M AY , 20 11
A L S O I N T HI S
ISSUE
What is it?
1
Where is it?
1
Why does the
town want to buy
it now?
2
About our Partners
2
What makes this
property important to us?
3
What commitment 4
has the town
made?
Where would the
money come
from?
4
4
What happens if
the town decides
not to purchase it?
Subject Parcel
Where is It? The 202 acre parcel is in the historic
center of town just across from the Squire Tarbox
Inn, the Old Town Hall and Church.
What happens if
the grants aren’t
approved?
4
The questions for
June 24th vote
4
What would be
the impact to
property taxes?
5
What would the
town do with the
property?
5
Public Hearings
and Walking
Tours
6
Conservation of this property will also protect important waterfowl and wading bird habitat, while also providing permanent
recreational access for current and future generations.
T HE W E ST PORT I S LAND C ONSE RV AT ION IST
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About our Partners:
Trust for Public Lands (TPL) TPL is a national nonprofit that conserves land
for people to enjoy as parks, gardens, historic
sites, rural lands, and other natural places, ensuring livable communities for generations to
come. TPL is the go-to organization for communities seeking to protect special places and
create close-to home parks. As of 2011, TPL
has protected 134,500 acres across 66 projects
in the state of Maine. Nationwide, since 1972,
TPL has completed more than 4,250 park and
conservation projects in communities.
Kennebec Estuary Land Trust
(KELT) - KELT is committed to conserving land and wildlife habitat of the Lower
Kennebec and Sheepscot River estuaries. KELT
is a community based membership organization
serving the towns of Arrowsic, Bath, West
Bath, Georgetown, Westport Island and Woolwich. KELT has been conserving land in the
mid-coast region since 1989 and has helped
protect 18,000 acres over the past 20 years.
KELT currently owns 700 acres and holds 18
conservation easements. Included are Westport
Island’s popular 68 acre Bonyun Preserve and
the Bailey Point easement.
Sheepscot Valley Conservation
Association (SVCA)- Established in
1969, SVCA is a non-profit land trust and advocacy group of 550 member families. The Sheepscot Watershed encompasses 320 square miles
in mid-coast Maine. SVCA currently protects
more than 3,540 acres through purchases and
conservation easements. This includes over 15
miles of Sheepscot River frontage.
Q. Why does the town want to buy this proper- Commission hopes the voters will agree to support this exceptional opportunity to provide for
ty now?
our future.
A. Rarely does an opportunity present itself to
provide a large block of undeveloped land for tra- Last Summer’s Open Space survey of residents
overwhelmingly found that we should protect our
ditional recreation and groundwater protection
benefiting residents for generations to come. The water resources (100%), preserve our forest land
seller has recently reduced the asking price in an for recreation (91%) and protect our scenic areas
effort to keep it undeveloped. The Trust for Pub- (85%).This project meets all those goals. Should
lic Lands, recognizing the high value of the natu- we miss the opportunity, the opportunity will be
likely gone forever. Thru TPL’s energetic project
ral resources offered on the land, signed an 18leadership, the seller has granted an 18-month
month option agreement, to prevent sale for development and allow enough time to secure fund- option, a funding and management plan has been
drafted, two competitive grant applications have
ing. A plan was developed to seek grant funds
and donations to cover 95% of the cost of the pro- been submitted, project endorsements have been
granted from numerous state and local organizaject. With this plan in place, the Conservation
tions - and the next step is your vote.
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Q. What makes this property important to the tunity to preserve the Westport Island our long
term residents remember from their youth. Today
town?
publicly available town owned open space land is
A. Westport Island open space has declined rap- limited to the 7.5 acres at Clough Point and the 2
idly over the last 25 years. As development con- acres at Ferry Landing. In addition, Kennebec
tinues, upon recovery of the real estate market
Estuary Land Trust has 68 acres, the Bonyun Preand retirement of “Baby Boomers”, the surge of serve, available for public access with some limibuilding on Westport Island will resume. This
tations. This acquisition will add 202 acres of
property is the largest undeveloped parcel reland fully accessible by the public for conservamaining on our island, and represents an oppor- tion and traditional recreation purposes.
Parcel
Once the real estate market recovers, will the next 40 years see the growth rate we saw in the last 40?
V O LUME 9 , I SSUE 1
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Q. What commitment has the town made toward this possible purchase?
A. To date the Town’s Conservation Commission has been working with the other partners,
principally the Trust for Public Lands which
holds the purchase option, to apply for grant
funds. Applications for close to $1million in
grant funds have now been submitted to Federal
and State sources. Our Selectmen have agreed
to help submit these applications with the full
understanding that any decision to help fund the
purchase and/or accept this property as Town
owned land for conservation will be subject to
voter approval at Town Meeting on June 24th.
In order for this project to proceed, voters will
also be asked to decide two questions in June by
referendum: (1) if they approve of the Town
taking title to the land if sufficient funds are obtained for its purchase, and (2) if they approve a
bond for the sum of $75,000 as the town’s contribution to the total acquisition cost of $1.35M.
The town’s contribution represents 5%
of the total project cost, with 95%
paid by grants and private donations.
Q. Where would the money come from?
A. 95% of the funding required is planned to
come from grants and private donations. The
balance of 5% will come from the town to
demonstrate its commitment to the project’s
long term success. Below is a funding source
breakdown.
Funding Source
Amount
Coastal Estuarine Land Conservation
Program – a Federal Program
$675,000
Land for Maine’s Future – a State
Program
Maine Natural Resources Conservation Program – a State Program
$300,000
Town of Westport Island
$300,000
$75,000
Total Acquisition
$1,350,000
Stewardship and Project Expenses –
Private Donations
Total Project Cost
$60,000
$1,410,000
Questions for Friday June 24th’s Town Meeting Vote:
Question 1 - Shall the Town of Westport Island accept
title to 200+ acres of coastal land, across from the
Town Hall and Squire Tarbox Inn, (commonly referred
to as the "Barrett/Hopkins property"), Tax Map 4 Lot 9, as
conservation land for public recreation, including
hiking, hunting, fishing and boating and for protection
of natural resources, habitat, wetlands and our ground
water aquifer?
Question 2- Shall the Town of Westport Island allow the
Selectmen to apply for a loan of $75,000 for funds to be
used in support of the acquisition of the conservation
property, Tax Map4 lot-9, with a term of 20 years or
more, at favorable market rates?
Q. What happens if the town decides not to purchase it?
A. The property has been listed for sale. The most
recent asking price was $1.95M. Should a sale for
conservation not occur, the property will most likely be sold to a developer for subdivision into house
lots as the housing market improves. The land just
to the north, McCarty Cove Subdivision was similarly subdivided in the mid 1980s and the land just
to the south, Log Cabin Road subdivision was likewise developed for house lots. As you can see from
the maps on page 5, in 1970, Westport Island had
218 buildings (noted as small black dots). By
2008, the number of buildings swelled to 541,
more than doubling development of the island. Development can double again, risking our limited
ground water resources if unplanned.
Q. What happens if the grants aren't approved?
A. Assuming that the voters approve of the efforts
to acquire the property, the town has no obligation
to continue with the project if the remaining funds
are not raised. We can walk away, and the TPL
option with the sellers will simply expire. The
Conservation Commission plans to continue to
support TPL, with their efforts on the town’s behalf, until grant options are exhausted. In any
event, the town of Westport Island has no obligation beyond what the voters decide on June 24th,
all of which are conditional on raising the remaining funds required to purchase the property through
non-municipal sources.
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Q. What would be the impact on our property
taxes?
A. There are three elements of cost affecting taxes
for the Town to consider; the annual bond payment
impact, the loss of taxable property and the ongoing
improvements and maintenance of the land:
Annual Bond Payment - The town contemplates
borrowing the $75,000 contribution from the Maine
Bond Bank, or other low cost sources, for a 20 year
term. Based on an estimate from the Maine Bond
Bank, the first year payment, due in the second half
of 2012 will be approximately $6700. That amount
will steadily decline each year to around $3900 due
in late 2031 (unless we pay it off earlier).
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vices required for it. The total cost for the first
year is estimated at $16,918. Since closing is
expected in July of 2012, it will be next year’s
tax commitment that will see the first cost. That
cost is expected to increase our property taxes
by 0.64%. To put that into perspective, if you
currently pay $1,000 in property taxes, the cost
will raise to $1,006.40, or a $6.40 increase per
$1000 of tax. That amount will decline as the
loan is paid down and as the value of preserving
this open space is reflected in valuations.
Q. What would the town do with the property if we bought it?
A. The property will provide ample, balanced
public recreation opportunities that benefit the
community. Along with the ecological benefits,
protection of the property will provide residents
and visitors with new, low-impact opportunities
for hiking, cross country skiing, hunting, fishing
and other passive recreational purposes that are
consistent with the grant restrictions on land
and water quality protection. Over the years, the
property has been used informally for hiking,
cross country skiing, snowshoeing, and similar
passive activities by local residents. A number
of informal trails exist today and could be readily upgraded, to provide enhanced public access.
Annual Loss of Tax Revenue – The property currently generates a tax payment of $6,217 to the town.
Of course, the town will not collect taxes on itself, so
that amount has to be considered a cost. This cost
may be largely or completely offset over time. Numerous studies have shown that new buyers of property place value on having public open space and
recreation lands nearby. Results show that, over
time, the loss in taxable value from preserving this
land as public open space for recreation will be offset
by higher market values for land on Westport Island,
benefiting all our property owners.
The wetland/pond complexes offer excellent
wildlife viewing and educational opportunities.
Annual Improvements and Maintenance – An es- Access through the property is via a well estabtimate of $4,000 annually is assumed to provide for lished gravel access road that leads to a primiany needed improvements, parking, trail and road
tive boat launch suitable for personal watercraft
maintenance. Although the Conservation Commisactivities. Our area of the mid-coast is used exsion will manage and perform the annual maintetensively by the Chewonki Foundation, Maine
nance, in conjunction with the selected land trust
Island Trails, private outfitters and the public
holding the conservation easement, some out of
for water based recreational activities. Permapocket expenses are likely. Initial costs will include nent protection of this property will create much
trail construction, signs, a kiosk, a forestry plan and a needed access to the lower Sheepscot River.
parking area. Grants may fund some of this work.
Public coastal access and personal watercraft
Future year costs will include some tree clean-up,
launches remain pressing issues throughout
deadfall removal and modification or dismantling of Maine as private development continues to rethe simple structures on site as the town may choose. strict such uses. Issues to be addressed by the
town before closure will include the use of trails
Most of these costs should decline over time (loan
for ATV and snowmobiles, camping use and the
amount and loss of property tax). With the property options for the cottages and outbuildings.
in conservation mode, there will be no new town ser-
Westport Island Conservation Commission
PRST STD
Bill Hopkins - Chairman
6 Fowles Point Road
Westport Island, ME 04578
Phone: (207) 882-4698
Email: [email protected]
U.S. Postage Paid
Permit #18
Wiscasset, Maine
Commission Members:
Bill Hopkins - Chairman
Dennis Dunbar - Financial Secretary.
Sandy Hopkins - Recording Secretary
Dan Bradford
Kyle DiPietro
Judy Reeves
Ann Springhorn
Associate Members:
Donna Curry, John Nelson,
Richard Tucker, Carol Way
ECR WSS R-2
Postal Patron
Dedicated to the
protection and
preservation of the
natural resources of
Westport Island and its
coastal waters for the
use and enjoyment of
residents and their
families
For more information on how you can help conserve
land on Westport Island, you can contact WICC or:
Kennebec Estuary Land Trust
P.O. Box 1128
Bath, Maine 04530
Phone: (207) 442-8400
http://kennebecestuary.org/
Sheepscot Valley Conservation Association
624 Sheepscot Road
Newcastle, Maine 04553
Phone: (207) 586-5616
Www.sheepscot.org
The Trust for Public Lands
30 Danforth Street, Suite 106
Portland, Maine 04101
Phone: (207) 772-7424
www.tpl.org
Maine Coast Heritage Trust
Bowden Mill, One Main Street
Topsham, Maine 04086
Phone: (207) 729-7366
Www.mcht.org
“We do not inherit the earth
from our ancestors,
we borrow it
from our children”
Navaho Proverb
The Westport Island
Conservationist
The town of Westport Island has a historic opportunity to acquire 202 acres
with 2,495 feet of Sheepscot River frontage for public recreation land.
In this newsletter, you can learn about the proposal and its benefits and costs.
Public Hearings:
Thursday, June 9th at 7:00 pm at Town Hall
Saturday, June 11th at 10:00 am at Town Hall
Join us for Guided Walking Tours:
Saturday, May 28th at 9:00 am
Saturday, June 4th at 9:00 am
Saturday, June 11th after the Public Hearing
Saturday, June 18th at 9:00 am
Meet at Squire Tarbox Inn Parking Lot
Rain day - Reschedule to Sunday
For more information contact Bill Hopkins 882-4698 or Dennis Dunbar 882-8143
See the town website, www.westportisland.us for more information and a copy of this newsletter