GLENMONT — The effort to place the Town’s proposed $3 million purchase of 307 acres of farmland is that much closer as a petition including nearly 1,000 signatures was certified by the Town Clerk’s office on Thursday, July 21.
A petition with 972 signatures was delivered and certified by the Town Clerk’s office last week, which sends the referendum before voters in a special election to be held within 90 days. The window of time takes it just four days shy of Election Day.
Board members voted 5-0 to move $2.2 million from the town’s Farms & Forest Fund to purchase nine parcels of land — including three of the four corners along the intersection of Wemple Road and Route 9W — from Milltowne Plaza on Wednesday, June 22. The immediate benefit, VanLuven explained, would be to place agricultural easements on it, preventing development and preserving the area’s agricultural character.
It will be part of a total $3 million dollar purchase of 307 acres Town Supervisor David VanLuven proposed last month. The land purchase would come from various municipal funds, avoiding a municipal bond or any additional taxes. The aggregate value of the land was appraised at $4,032,500 in February by Schecter Valuation Services, LLC, a company commissioned by the Town.
To read the first story written about this issue from the July 13 Delmar Spotlight click HERE!
