PLYMPTON – On Monday evening, Selectmen could hardly contain their excitement that the 113-acre Two Brooks Preserve (formerly known as the Atwood Property) had finally been officially purchased. The process has been arduous.
Selectman Mark Russo offered everyone chocolate cigars, popped a bottle of non-alcohol Champagne and offered plastic glasses to the other board members and to everyone in the room.
“My wife would kill me for using plastic,” he joked.
On a serious note, he acknowledged all of the hard work that had gone into the purchase.
On Thursday, Sept. 20, 2018, Plympton voters turned out in large numbers to support a Special Town Meeting article that authorized the selectmen to finalize the purchase of 113 acres of land, including a pond, streams, marsh, bogs and high land on Prospect Road for $800,000. The town will keep the property as conservation land and it will be known as Two Brooks Preserve.
The article was the only one on the warrant and it passed with near-unanimity.
The property, which had been enrolled in the Chapter 61A tax relief program, came before the Plympton Selectmen when it was going to be sold. Under Chapter 61A, the town has a right-of-first-refusal on the sale, which the selectmen voted unanimously to exercise last July.
Funding for the project came from Community Preservation Funds, short-term municipal bonds, private fundraising and the sale of up to three buildable lots with frontage on Prospect Road.
There is currently no public access to the site, said Russo, and fundraising continues to make improvements on the site.
• The Board discussed with the Treasurer, Colleen Morin, about disposing of approximately 24 unwanted, land-of-low-value lots owned by the town. The process is complicated because of previous miscommunications between departments and a lack of documentation proving ownership of these properties.
• The Animal Control Officer will bring forward his findings and investigation regarding a dog that attacked another dog on private property several weeks ago. A dog hearing has been scheduled for the next meeting.
• The Board sent a letter to the FCC, opposing changes in the funding system for local cable access. Russo noted that the changes “would devastate the system as it is.”
• The Board allowed the Building Department to raise its fees to bring them into line with other towns in the area for certain building permits. “We’re striving to get our fees in line with other communities,” said Selectman Christine Joy.
• The town continues to have problems with its alarm and phone service, especially during rain. Town officials are working with Verizon but exploring other options if they cannot fix the issues.
• Plympton COA will host a Veteran’s Day breakfast beginning at 10 a.m. at Town House Monday, Nov. 12, followed by a flag ceremony.
• The Board will next meet Monday, Nov. 19, at 6 p.m. in the large meeting room at Town House.