York Town News
Town Hall takes one giant step closer to finding a new home
York takes ownership of almost six acres of land in York Village
By Jennifer L. Saunders
To quote the sentiment expressed by local officials, York is now the proud owner of what may soon be the home of a new Town Hall. Above, Board of Selectmen Chairman David Marshall describes some of the features of the 5.85 acres the town has purchased behind Coventry Hall in the center of York Village. Behind Marshall, a manmade reflecting pool can be seen just within the town's boundary line, with an outbuilding that belongs to Coventry Hall just on the other side.
Photo by Jennifer L. Saunders
YORK VILLAGE - It's official.
"As of Thursday morning the town of York is the proud owner of a 5.85-acre parcel of land in the center of York Village," Board of Selectmen Chairman David Marshall confirmed Monday afternoon.
Following the voter's approval in May of the expenditure of $750,000 from existing town funds to purchase the parcel behind Coventry Hall and The Ice House on Long Sands Road, the town officials have been at work with the Bemis and Stack families to close the deal.
On Thursday, June 8, that is exactly what happened as the three parties - the Stacks, who agreed to sell the bucolic acres behind their historic Coventry Hall home, the Bemises, who agreed to an in-kind land exchange with the town to provide Long Sands Road property access for the town and assist their own future goals for their property and the town itself - came to a final agreement and signed on the dotted line.
The goal is to locate York's municipal offices on the site in the years to come - a move that is in keeping with one of the key goals of the Comprehensive Plan: keeping Town Hall in the center of York Village.
"The Stacks and the Bemises have been fantastic," Marshall said Monday afternoon. "They have been great to work with. This hasn't been the easiest thing, but they all stayed with us and in the end, I think the Stacks, the Bemises and the town have all won."
Monday evening, during the Board of Selectmen's regular meeting, Marshall made the formal announcement that the town has taken ownership of the land, praising Bonnie and Claude Bemis and Reginald and Lucille Stack for their willingness to make the purchase possible.
Marshall also praised Reginald Stack for his willingness to sell the land at what, in all likelihood, was less than he could have garnered for the parcel.
"I consider him also to be a donor to the town … as I believe he ultimately would have sold this parcel for a higher price," he said, adding developers had expressed interest in the parcel.
Marshall acknowledged that about 1,300 local residents voted against the land purchase, but said he hopes the town will see that, as the planning process moves forward, it will be an asset to the town.
"I hope this summer that we can come up with some type of open house for residents to see first-hand what they purchased," he said.
The rolling parcel includes trees, grasslands, wetlands, a small manmade pond and a few outbuildings, and stretches from Long Sands Road back to the York Heights neighborhood.
"It was an unusual opportunity," Marshall said, with an excellent location in the village center, adjacent to the rear portion of the First Parish Church property where the current Town Hall stands.
Selectmen Vice Chairman Dwight Bardwell praised Marshall for his work over the past year to bring the question to the voters and make the purchase possible.
"Mr. Marshall took the lead on this … and absolutely deserves a tremendous thank-you," Bardwell said, adding, "I can't stress it enough, because I know how much he put into this."
Marshall, meanwhile, thanked Bill Anderson of Anderson-Livingston Engineers for donating his services to survey the property as well as Town Planner Steve Burns, Greater York Region Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Cathy Goodwin, Code Enforcement Officers Mark Badger and Tim DeCoteau, Geographical Information Systems Manager Brett Horr, Public Works Director Bill Bray and the town's real estate attorney, Rebecca Mann, for their work to make the closing possible.
Prior to the meeting, Marshall said the site would now be reviewed for options in terms of a municipal facility, with a zoning overlay in place that protects residential abutters with setbacks and buffers while allowing the town to maximize its use of the land.
"Shortly we're going to set up a workshop to proceed on both Town Hall and police station planning," Marshall said.
That being said, he stressed that does not mean the town is looking at that specific site for a police station, as the majority of the board has indicated it would not be an appropriate placement due to access and other issues.
"We don't want to do any placement of facilities by accident," Marshall said. "It's all done by careful planning."
In other business at Monday's selectmen meeting, the board approved a directional sign for Brickyard Lane and Route 1, accepted the resignation of David Lincoln from the Board of Assessment Review due to his election to the Budget Committee and discussed the re-appointment process for boards and committees.
The board also heard from the public about issues related to Ellis Park and discussed the parking committee's task description and will address both at a future meeting. See next week's edition of The Independent for more on the questions about parking in York Beach.
Associate Editor Jennifer L. Saunders can be reached at jsaunders@yorkindependent.net.
