Fairfax Town Land Purchase Meeting Presentation

[Henry]

[Chris Santee]

Thanks to the Fairfax Selectboard for providing this information
and thanks to Henry for posting.

[rod anode]

i dont know is 25 grand an acre good price?

[ohhman]

I have been told so;  what I don't think is fair is there were other option(s) & maybe we taxpayers should have had a choice in possible land purchases.  I know a few long/life time residents were not so happy we were given only the one option. 

[Stand Alone Defense]

Yes it is an awesome price for being in the growth center of town.  I remember when my Dad was doing the carwash they valued an acre where the carwash is at $98,000. Seems retarded to me but even an acre out of the growth center goes for $25,000 or more.  When I was looking to build a house I was looking at 1.75 acre lot for $65,000 and everyone kept saying that was a really good price!! Looks like I need to move out of state if I want to own land cause no way will I ever be able to afford that!!

[rod anode]

i hear that,after spending all your money on land you wont have any for your house .thats crazy

[mkr]

The location of the land makes sense for the town offices and the price is good for the area.  I am in favor of the purchase.

[David Shea]

My understanding about this parcel of land goes back many years. 

During the period of time when the fire station was being planned an agreement was made between the Town of Fairfax Select Board and Larry and Barb Young.  The agreement was that the Young's property would have access to this parcel through Goodall Street.  In the transition from one select board leadership to the next the handshake agreement "disappeared".

The new board determined that Goodall Street was not adequate to handle the traffic of Fire Trucks as well as added traffic that would follow with development of the 10 acre parcel.  A proposal was put before Larry and Barb that the town would have first right of refusal if the land was ever put up for sale.

A heated disagreement followed as the Young's tried to gain access to the land parcel though the entrance adjacent to the Baptist Building where Young's Excavating Business had been housed for years.  An adjacent landowner contested the access, & the parcel has been isolated for development due to the lack of access.

My question is this, how will the use of Goodall Street as connector to the Young Parcel impact the day to day operation of the fire & rescue departments?  The street was not suitable for a private development, so what has changed to make it usable now?

Second Question, once Fairfax purchases the 10 acre parcel what will become of the existing town building?  Will it have to be demolished?  Will the school want to fix it up?  If we demolish it could we not just build an new building on the existing site.  Demolish the old bus garage at the same time & add more parking?  How will these added cost be paid for?  Not only is Fairfax on the hook for the land, but now we have an obligation to fix, maintain or demolish the current town office.

Buying this parcel may be the best thing for Fairfax?  Once the land is purchased, what are the expected cost for the new town hall, road, power, sewer & water?  400,000.00 & 500,000.00?  It is well known that the Fairfax Sewer Department is limited on allocations and that the town water supply is minimal?  Will we also now be faced with addressing the problems of the water and sewer system by adding an additional load on the system? 

This new load will limit water and sewer allocations to private business that wants to build in the village core.  What is the plan?

Who will be able to use the building?  Is this building going to be accessible to the general public for meetings or will it be closed to the public just like the Fire Department Building is?  ( Yes I know the seniors have use of the building & so do the families of the fire department for their fire department functions )

Will additional town equipment be required to maintain ADA compliance for grounds maint and sidewalk clearing?  Will we have to furnish additional town employees or subcontractors to clear sidewalks and streets?

[rod anode]

but you want all day kindergarden go figure?

[ohhman]

NOT ALL want full day k!  Many DO NOT!!!
Good questions David.  I said  from the start: the Young's are good people that have struggled for years with the adjacent landowner fighting them every (or most) step of the way;  will this adjacent landowner fight the town every step of the way if we agree to purchase this land??
Which brings me back to my note earlier, maybe the board should have proposed other possible  properties to choose from......

[David Shea]

Given the land locked nature of this parcel, is it actually worth 25K per acre?

As it currently stands the land can not be used for anything besides a helicopter landing pad because there is not a right of way to access it.  ( Not sure if locally zoning allows for airports )

On another note, Gabe Handy had initially offered a parcel of property to the town at no charge.  This offer was rescinded during the review process for his elderly housing project and the legal battle that followed with regard to water and sewer metering.

An investor in the Page Estates Project, property next to the physical therapy office right off 104, approached the town 2 years ago about selling the property to Fairfax for $245,00.00 +/-.  The developer was in need of selling the property because the town sewer allocations had expired because the ACT 250 process with the state had not been completed.  Fairfax sewer allocations are good for two years, ACT 250 review can take longer.  Since the developer no longer had sewer allocation with the town a need for on site sewer was in order this meant going back to the drawing board and spending more money.

The offer on Page Estates never made it to a vote.  I am not sure why?  The property has now changed hands and a new developer owns it. ( As a side note, I understand that this property has a good water source that may have been able to supplement the current town system.)

[ohhman]

Just to clarify questions asked @ town mtg on the "other possibilities" of land purchase:  When a land owner was approached about selling land to the town; it's NOT that he didn't want to sell, rather he wasn't expecting that question to be asked, so the land owner had to think about it for a bit; something that has been in your family that long needs some serious consideration & not just a quick answer! Also, the land owner asked for input from a realtor, along with discussing it within his family.  He then went back to the town with his proposal: it could be 6 or 7 acres, Yes, the cost was more per acre then what the other land owners were asking, BUT, the TOTAL cost of that land WAS/IS lower than what the town will be paying for the land they are asking to purchase.  I just wanted to clarify that.
So now ask, before you say yes to that purchase, why is the land being offered so much lower than "the going price" right now?  Could it be as Mr. Shea posed that nothing has been able to happen to that land due to much conflict with adjacent land owner?  Will the town now be going against the adjacent land owner- or land owners NEAR the property?  More legal fees?  That piece of land needs LOTS of variances by the way it sounded @ Town mtg.;  will they be able to widen the road to the fire station? will land owners there not want that? The other possible ways out of there are PRIVATE roads & we can NOT count on using them!  I see it as a piece of propert with lots of  "IFS/ POSSIBILITIES/UNKNOWNS. 
Yes, the price is right...but what about hidden costs: permits/variances/roads......
I am not against the town buying land, but am saying no to that purchase; I am not for spending a quarter of a million for MAYBE ! I think there are other possibilities to be explored & some land owners that 1st said no should be revisited as circumstances in their lives have changed.

[al brodeur]

one question Is it legal to sell landlocked land?

[Chris Santee]

Yes, you may sell landlocked land
and no, this will not be landlocked
as the access is included in the purchase
according to the presentation Saturday.
I have not read the agreement.

I do not support, or oppose this Article.
It's up to the folks of Fairfax.

I do have a feeling of "deja vu" all over again,
as Fairfax turned down an opportunity
to purchase land several years back.

[cedarman]

I'm with Josh.  I moved to Fairfax a few years ago, and I continue to be dumbfounded at the cost of land here.  My parents' house in Northern NY (a little over 2 hrs from here) was $35,000 in 2002.  That is 3 acres of land and a 3 bdrm house in move-in condition.

The other house I bought before moving to Fairfax is a 3bdrm home on 2.8 acres, on a main highway, very close to the local school there for $25,000 (additional $20K put into repairs). That house is 90 minutes from here.

I find it amazing that $25K / acre is "reasonable" here, but none of us can change that.  I don't think the board should be given the green light without providing more information on expected future cost for many of the items David already discussed.  I'm sure the additional cost (Goodall st. upgrades, site development, building design/construction, etc. will cost millions more).