Turner selectmen object to land sale
TURNER — SAD 52 directors hosted selectmen from district towns Tuesday night to discuss the sale of a 73-acre parcel to Greene, a move Turner selectmen oppose because of the price.
The land was purchased by SAD 52 for a new school that was never built because the existing school was renovated.
The school board voted Feb. 25 to offer the land to Greene.
Turner Town Manager Kurt Schaub handed out an information sheet, prepared by the Turner selectmen and read by board Chairman Kurt Youland.
According to the handout, “The $40,000 sale price is not reasonable” since the property was obtained in 1991 for around $83,000, and is currently assessed by the town of Greene at $73,000.
“Turner’s Board of Selectmen respectfully requests that the MSAD 52 board of directors rescind its vote to sell the Greene property for $40,000. The property should be offered to Greene for $100,000, or sold at fair market value,” according to the statement.
School Board Chairwoman Elizabeth Bullard opened the discussion up to the school board members and when no one chose to comment, she opened the floor to selectmen.
“This is not good for the three towns, though I do see where you’re coming from,” Leeds Selectman Dwight Buckley said.
“We view the three towns as partners,” Youland said.
"We’re just looking out for the taxpayers of Turner,” Turner Selectman Angelo Terreri said.
“How did you come up with the price?” Turner Selectman Ralph Caldwell asked.
Bullard pointed out the long history of partnering with the three towns, in support of the towns, while at the same time balancing the needs of the district.
"I didn’t think we should just give it to them,” school board member Peter Ricker of Turner said, but he felt good about giving Greene a good deal because of what the land would be used for.
According to Anthony Reny, chairman of the Greene Board of Selectmen, the town will use the land for recreational fields.
Turner officials also objected to not having much time to respond to the proposal.
"The vote was on Feb. 25. We had 30 days in which to object,” Schaub said. It seemed like everything was done in executive session, he said.
Ricker insisted that the vote was discussed publicly for three or four months. "We were not trying to slide this under the table,” he said.
“I was not saying anyone was trying to hide anything," Terreri said. “I was just saying we did not find out until the day before” the 30 days were up.
Leeds Selectman Jan Wiegman said, “We do not want to get into the middle of this, but we would like to know about how the price was arrived at.”
Bullard didn't explain how the board arrived at a price. She ended the discussion by saying, “Now that we’ve heard from all of you, we will discuss this at our next regular meeting.”
The next school board meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 12, at Greene Central School.