Open space crowded out

Thursday, March 18, 2010

AMHERST – A strong majority of voters made it quite clear at the polls last week: They’re just not prepared to spend tax dollars, no matter how few, on conservation land or recreation, at least not this year.

While Article 23, the so-called Open Space Land Bond that called for $2.25 million to acquire future conservation land was defeated by a more than 2-1 margin, it was Article 24, a petition article asking for $625,000 to purchase active recreation land to replace Cemetery Fields, that suffered the most resounding defeat, going down by a count of 2,249-737.

Overall, voters turned down more articles involving expenditures than they passed, but did give the largest bond request, the multi-year, $15 million Road Reconstruction Bond, the thumbs up. They also approved the proposed $9.76 million operating budget, which was only $31,000 higher than last year’s. As for the open space bond, its passage would have added 13 cents per thousand to residents’ property taxes; article 24 would have added 4 cents.While an increase of 17 cents per thousand may seem like peanuts, veteran town officials like selectman chairman George Infanti know that economic anxiety had a deep, far-reaching effect on voters.

“Clearly, it’s the economy,” said Infanti, who voters reelected to a third term last week. “There’s just no money these days.”

Recreation Commission member Kim Parrett agreed, but added that voters may have missed a very good opportunity to secure precious recreational space for the future by defeating the article.

“I think many people saw ‘$2.25 million’ and right away said, ‘No way I’m voting for that,’ ” Parrett said, adding that the recreation space petition article, while requesting significantly less funding, simply followed suit.

“I’m concerned that a lot of (voters) might not have understood the difference between ‘bonding’ money and ‘spending’ money,” she added. “And I’m sure that it would be a lot cheaper to borrow money right now than it will be years from now.”

While selectmen will put the open-space request aside for now and perhaps revisit it in the future, Infanti said, the defeat of the recreation space petition article takes off the table the Recreation Commission’s plan to follow through with the purchase of the Brewster property. Recreation Commission members have been eyeing the 57-acre parcel, the former home of Ben Brewster’s Souhegan Soccer Farm, as the ideal replacement for Cemetery Fields, which cemetery trustees are reclaiming to develop the future Forest View Cemetery. Infanti said selectmen were in favor of the concept of the petition article to purchase recreation space, but “it was (spending) the money we had difficulty with,” he said. Officially, selectmen split, 2-2-1, on recommending its passage, while the Ways and Means Committee favored it 6-1.

Parrett warned that the article’s defeat could very well leave the town without recreational fields after Cemetery Fields is reclaimed, which could be as soon as 2012 and as late as 2014, when the agreement expires.

“There’s no other known property that could be used (for recreation fields),” she said. “If we can’t come up with space, all we’ll have left in town for recreation will be the school programs.”

Before the election, Commission member Dana Redmond called the purchase of the Brewster property “vital,” adding that the article’s failure “would jeopardize the future of town recreation” and potentially leave “approximately 1,600 children with no place to play.” And timing-wise, it’s a tough deal to pass up, Redmond added.

“Fifty-seven acres for that kind of money, that comes with four existing fields, it’s an opportunity that we probably won’t see again.”

Parrett, meanwhile, described recreation as one of the three main components to a community’s quality of life, along with schools and services.

“If all three are strong, your community is a much more attractive place in which to live,” she said. But this year, she added, “we tried, but the community was clear: ‘We don’t want to spend the money.’”

Dean Shalhoup can be reached at 673-3100 Ext. 31 or dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com.