by Ed Naile
I was looking at an article in the Goffstown News about a controversy regarding several gifts of land by private citizens to the Town of Goffstown.
What could be the problem?
Trust is the problem when you deal with some municipalities.
And here we go.
The people donating the land want it for “town purposes only” NOT commercial use.
But the town thinks that would tie their hands and they are not moving forward on the donation very fast.
You see, the Town may want to sell the parcels and THEN use them as and appropriation to buy other parcels. Heck, they might even let the voters know what is going on. But it was not that long ago that 20 acres of “conservation land” became a new school, one third of which had to filled in because it was – hold your breath – wetlands.
Remember how important and unique wetlands are until a new school proposal rears its expensive head.
Back in 2005 the Selectmen pulled fast one on the people who donated the “conservation land’ the school filled, dredged, and built the new school.
Here is the court case brought by taxpayers, The Goffstown Residents Association, in an attempt to stop the project: hGoffstown Residents Association v. Town of Goffstown, School District VERIFIED PETITION FOR TEMPORARY, PRELIMINARY AND PERMANENT INJUNCTION
I remember distinctly how at the time how the Goffstown paper editorialized about the conservation bait and switch.
What was it they said?
Here it goes:
“Bid Deal, So What, Who Cares”
And now the donors want the same slippery town, school, and local paper to work with them.
I wouldn’t.