Hudson Moves Closer to Bensons Acquisition
by Gina M. Votour
Progress was made last week toward Hudsons possible purchase of the 165 acre parcel of land once known as Bensons Wild Animal Farm.
Owned by the New Hampshire Department of Transportation (NHDOT) since 1989, the town has been attempting to acquire the property for over six years. Numerous stumbling blocks during this time have led the town to question whether or not the state is serious regarding a future sale.
At their July 8 meeting, the Board of Selectmen passed a motion to finalize and submit the Revised Bensons Quit Claim Deed, a document originated by the state in 2003. Before the motion went through, the Selectmen explained to town attorney Jay Hodes that they found several topics within the deed to be excessively vague. One such area concerned the issue of wetland mitigation.
Originally, the state desired that the entire parcel be available for wetland mitigation, regardless of town ownership. With the Revised Quit Claim Deed, the state now has agreed that they will limit their mitigation and not disturb certain areasplanned for use by the town upon its purchase, according to Attorney Hodes. He further added that the state had presently selected five remaining areas for wetland mitigation.
Nevertheless, the deed is incomplete regarding the delineation of future wetland locations. These areas would need to be specifically identified before the town would purchase the land.
The property also contains three easements. Once wetland mitigation is complete, the State Conservation Easement will be lifted according to Section H2 on page 9 of the deed. This section further explains that after a Release of State Conservation Easement, the Town Conservation Easement and Historic Preservation Easement shall forever apply to the Property and take precedence. What remains unclear is a specific time frame for the achievement of state mitigation activities.
Potential good news is that the 2002 purchase price of $188,000 is still contained within the document, appearing in Section F on page 3.
On the other hand, the states repeated promise of a property re-appraisal carries the future threat of a significantly higher purchase price. Nancy Mayville, NHDOTs Municipal Highway Engineer, confirmed earlier this week that the state is currently working on a re-appraisal with completion anticipated by September.
A new price could immediately halt all negotiations. Selectman Ken Massey proclaimed that the state has no right to demand more than the originally agreed upon price if only about 40 acres would be exempt from wetland mitigation.
Attorney Hodes concurred that the land value is indeed limited with this type of restriction. He further referenced that if these restrictions are removed, the monetary value of the property could skyrocket to multimillions.
As negotiations between town and state have bounced back and forth over the years, property structures have continued to deteriorate. As a purchase stipulation for building maintenance, the state originally required the town to use a strict set of historical preservation guidelines set by the Division of Historical Resources. The revised deed contains somewhat different instructions, however. Section E5 on page 14 of the deed reads, The condition of the buildings and property as of the date of the transfer of title to the Town shall be considered the baseline for evaluating the Towns responsibilities herein.
In this sense, the town may not be required to improve upon the buildingsconditions but, at the very least, would need to maintain them in good faith with the goal of preventing further deterioration. This baseline would be applied primarily to three structures in particular&.The Haselton Barn, the B&M Railroad Depot, and the Bensons Office and Kitchen, according to the document. The deed also lists the Elephant House as a protected historic structure. Selectman Massey pointed out that baseline property maintenance itself could involve a continuous spending cycle. This point is referenced in Section G on page 14 of the document, which states, The Town agrees to assume the total costs of continued maintenance, repair, and administration of areas subject to the Historic Preservation Easement. Furthermore, Section B on page 12 states, As repairs and rehabilitation of the historic structures are necessary, the Town will use the Secretary of the Interiors Standards for Rehabilitation&as a guide. Selectman Vice Chairman Richard Maddox pointed out that this sounded like much more than simple building maintenance and later expressed his lack of enthusiasm about maintaining buildings that have no use to the town.
Selectman Shawn Jasper countered by reassuring the group that baseline maintenance would not be as difficult as the other board members feared.
Regarding property use should town ownership be obtained, the deed states on page 15, section D1 that The Property shall be maintained in perpetuity as wildlife habitat, natural area, and open space without there being conducted thereon any residential, industrial, or commercial activities. The deed continues, This restriction does not prevent the Town from using the property for educational, passive recreation, cultural and historic purposes...the Town may establish a museum, museum shop, amphitheater, caretakers residence, kiosks, bandstand&[etc.].
Overall, Attorney Hodes explained that the documents language was intended to be seen as a compromise. Nevertheless, for future purchase possibilities, the attorney clearly stated to the Selectmen that You are making a financial commitment here. You have to be the final judges of whether its worth it. Selectman Jasper strongly urged his colleagues to move forward.
We want to take this to the Governor before they come up with this new number [price]& We want to say we have a valid agreement, were ready to go, were waiting for you,he proclaimed.
Selectman Jasper added that in two cases, the people of Hudson voted yesfor Bensons and that $188,000 would be an outstanding price for 165 acres of land.
This will be a legacy for this town forever,Selectman Jasper avowed.
Selectman Roger Coutu agreed.
Lets give it a shot...Were not signing anything by approving this motion, were calling their bluff& Its time to get something done and now is the time,he declared.
Selectman Massey eventually came around, describing circumstances as a win-win situation.
We either get it for $188,000 and it becomes passive recreation or the state changes its mind and&puts a commercial value on the property and&weve suddenly got about 40, maybe 60, acres of prime real estate for commercial development,he concluded. A motion put forth by Selectman Coutu to instruct Attorney Hodes to finalize the deed and make the state aware that the town is ready to move forward passed 4-1 with Selectman Maddox in opposition.
Nothing has been signed as of yet. At this point, Hudson is anxious for the state to favorably fill in the blanksof the revised deed.
Were not going to spend any money out there unless the voters say yesto it through the budgetary process,concluded Selectman Jasper.
For now, the ball is in the states court.