Brewster Fields article is rushed, overpriced

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

To the Editor:

We are pro-playing fields, pro-Rec department, and recognize the need for the kids of Amherst to get outdoors and have active lifestyles.

We also appreciate the many volunteer hours that the members of the Rec Department Commission put into that organization, and believe them to be well-intentioned.

For several reasons, however, we do not agree with it or its position on Warrant Article 24 which will appear on the March 9 ballot. Our concerns are as follows:

First and foremost, the warrant article should clearly state and identify what land is to be purchased if the bond passes, which will in fact be the land known as Brewster Fields located on Stearns Road.

Second would be the $625,000 price tag on this land, when the town’s own appraisal for this property values it at $342,500. This figure is a matter of public record and is from the town’s last assessment which was in 2006, when the real estate market was much stronger than it is in today’s economy.

Third would be the fact that the majority of the playing fields would be located within the flood plain of Brewster Fields. Our back acreage abuts this property and is on the same flood plain level as these fields, and therefore, we can confidently tell the taxpayers via our firsthand knowledge, that this flood plain is in fact prone to substantial flooding from the Souhegan River all four seasons.

Lastly would be the haste with which placing this warrant article on the ballot has been undertaken, despite the fact the town will not lose any of its current playing fields until the year 2014. In other words, there is no urgency to buy this land right now. The purchase of Brewster Fields to be used as playing fields is not a new concept and has been talked about as far back as the 1990s.

RANDY and WENDY HUNT

Amherst