TOPSHAM — During its meeting tonight, the Topsham Board of Selectmen is scheduled to consider action on high conservationvalued town property located in the Cathance River Corridor.
The meeting will start at 7 p.m. at the municipal building, 100 Main St.
Tonight, the Brunswick- Topsham Land Trust will propose that selectmen consider transferring fee ownership rather than conservation easements to the BTLT for five properties along the Cathance River. According to a memo from Assistant Planner Rod Melanson, if selectmen prefer to transfer easements to the BTLT instead of fee transfer of the properties, the land trust would still be interested in moving forward to work with the town to permanently conserve these properties with conservation easements.
Melanson further writes that fee ownership by BTLT is preferable “because the primary conservation value of these properties is the conservation of wildlife habitat and the parcels are so wet that they likely cannot be developed for active recreational use or the access to them is so difficult it would preclude active recreational uses. In addition, the legal costs and ongoing monitoring costs are much higher for easements than they are for fee-acquired properties.”
At tonight’s meeting, selectmen also will consider approving a cooperative agreement with the Maine Department of Transportation’s Office of Freight Transportation to provide all-terrain vehicle patrol of state-owned rail lines through Dec. 31, 2013.
The town has provided this service since 2006. The state reimburses the town for the officers’ time when they conduct patrols and enforce state law regarding trespassing and illegal ATV use in railroad corridors.
Selectmen also will consider action on the bids received for the 2005 police cruiser. Bids were opened April 2 at 1 p.m.
dmoore@timesrecord.com
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