FREEPORT – The Freeport Town Council has rejected a proposal to transfer ownership of town-owned recreational playing fields to Regional School Unit 5.

At a meeting on July 10, councilors voted 6-1 (Councilor Kate Arno opposed) against the proposed transfer, instead electing to hold onto the property for future town use.

The town had considered transferring the 7-acre parcel, used as a playground and the football field for Freeport High School, to avoid triggering a review from the state Department of Environmental Protection of the development at the Hunter Road fields, which are connected to the Pownal Road property.

Council Chairman Jim Cassida explained that the state requires a DEP permit for projects that exceed 20 acres in size, adding that as it has been developed, the Hunter Road facility is 19.98 acres.

Cassida said that the state review was triggered after the council rejected a proposed project from Seacoast United Maine to create an indoor soccer facility. The soccer club had sought to acquire a land from the town between the Pownal and Hunter road fields to create a complex with both outdoor and indoor soccer fields. Cassida said that public sentiment was overwhelming against the indoor soccer facility, leading the council to turn down the proposal.

When the town decided to hold onto the land that Seacoast had eyed for its project, it meant that the state considered the Pownal and Hunter road facilities as one, which Cassida said pushed the size above 20 acres, triggering the state review. If the Seacoast project had gone through as planned, Cassida said, a state permit would have still been required, but it would have been the soccer club’s responsibility to secure.

The town was given two choices by the state, Cassida said. The first was to submit to state review, or to divest itself of some of the land, bringing the project back under the 20-acre threshold.

While the school district is already maintaining the fields, councilors were hesitant to give away land, even if that meant having to submit to state review. The Hunter Road fields, a town project that opened earlier this month, are slated to be developed further, with plans including a structure for bathrooms and concessions as well as other amenities. Additionally, Cassida said there is room for a “couple additional ball fields” at Hunter Road and the possibility exists of connecting and expanding some of the trails at adjacent Hedgehog Mountain to trails at Hunter and Pownal roads.

The project has already been granted a permit by the town, which, Cassida said, is the same process that would be used by the state.

“There’s a lot of criteria (involved in the permitting process) and it’s almost identical to the review we do with our Planning Board,” he said.

The state has given the town 90 days to either transfer the property or apply for an environmental review, a process that could cost between $20,000 and $40,000.

In an effort to keep options open for future development, Councilor Kristina Egan proposed that the town seek an extension from the state to come up with a comprehensive plan for the site, and at the same time have the town apply to become an environmental protection delegate, which was the proposal accepted by the 6-1 council vote.

Cassida explained that under state law, towns such as Freeport that have ordinances consistent with state standards can seek such delegation from the state. When that happens, Cassida said, a project goes through the local permitting process and does not have to go through an additional state review.

“When town standards are deemed to be the same, the state accepts town review,” Cassida said.

Since Freeport’s permitting standards are virtually identical to the state’s, Cassida said, there was “strong sentiment” from the board to seek delegation, since it would allow the town to reduce its costs in applying for the permit for the Hunter and Pownal road fields, as the town would be handling the permitting process itself.

But beyond the benefit to this particular project, Cassida said, he believed seeking delegation would benefit future projects, as the process would be streamlined and applicants would not have to go through a separate permitting process for both the town and the state.

In other news, the council approved a $25,000 request from Fire Chief Darrel Fournier to replace the engine on one of the department’s rescue vehicles.

Fournier explained to the council that the vehicle has had a history of problems with the engine, but he believed the new engine, which would be a factory-reconditioned motor with a two-year warranty, would solve the problems.

“I think the vehicle will be a good, sound vehicle,” he said, adding that the work could be done locally and the vehicle should be back on the road within two weeks.