Royalton Residents Vote Down Request for Clause Removal

At a special town meeting held Tuesday, July 26, citizens of Royalton voted down their selectboards request to remove a clause requiring a brown-field study from the purchase conditions on the Chandler Westwood property.

After an hour and a half of back-and-forth between the selectboard, officials from two rivers Ottauquechee Regional Commission, the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, and 60 townspeople, selectboard chairman Lewis suggested that the assembled citizens vote down the article. Lewis has made it clear all along that he believes this property would be a valuable asset to the town and he has been working hard for over a year to make the purchase a reality.

However, Lewis explained that this special town meeting was organized back in the end of June when it seemed the only way for the town to get the property would be to waive the brown field study clause. Since that time, several things have happened, including much more help from the State of Vermont.

The results of phase 1 of the brown field study, completed this week, indicate the potential for pollutants on the property. This, in turn, requires the property owner to complete the much more in-depth phase 2 of the brown field study. There is not sufficient time to complete phase 2 before the scheduled Aug. 12 foreclosure auction. The selectboard hopes to negotiate with the mortgage company, Beneficial Finance, to find some way the town can purchase the property after the completion of phase 2 of the brown field study.

If pollutants are found on the property that require cleanup, there are grant monies available for municipalities for just this purpose. If an individual purchases the property, the cleanup will still be required and the cost will have to be covered by that individual.

By Randy Leavitt