The Island Rover project has won yet another reprieve.

After an hour-long executive session, town councilors reconvened at 12:34 a.m. Wednesday to unanimously approve a six-month extension for Harold Arndt to finish and launch his prospective research vessel.

Details of the extension are identical to the previous consent agreement, which now gives the Lower Flying Point Road resident until Aug. 26 to finish and remove the 113-foot steel-hulled boat from his property, where it is in violation of town zoning.

The council’s order also requires Arndt to allow town codes enforcement officer Fred Reeder “to conduct a site inspection and enforce any existing junkyard violations, as soon as weather permits.”

In earlier business at Tuesday’s marathon meeting, councilors dismissed a motion to offer the Pownal Road athletic field to Regional School Unit 5 — deciding instead to keep the field under municipal ownership.

The motion failed by a 5-1 vote, with only District 3 councilor Kristina Egan in favor of the offer.

The town had considered giving operation of the land away to the school district — while still making three years’ worth of payments remaining on the bond floated to purchase it — in an effort to avoid spending even more money to meet state water management regulations.

However, 45 minutes later, councilors unanimously voted to obtain a series of permits needed to overhaul the field’s runoff and drainage issues to state Department of Environmental Protection specifications.

Acquiring the permits and doing the field work will cost between $150,000 and $200,000, depending on which projects the town ultimately decides to undertake. One variation would increase parking at the field by 35 spaces, while simultaneously restoring a buffer area to mitigate stormwater runoff from the parking lot.

Another would increase the number of walking, hiking, biking and skiing trails in the wooded area between the Pownal and Hunter roads areas. Yet a third would place a connector road between the adjacent parcels.

Permits for all of the variations will be obtained, but the town would not be required to use them all for full build-out, said council Chairman Jim Hendricks.

Also Tuesday, councilors voted to table a $23,000 funding request to hire a consultant to shepherd the town’s Active Living Plan.

The item instead will be put into the municipal budget process for further consideration.

jtleonard@timesrecord.com

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