Augusta to take Howard Hill property despite concerns about potential future financial obligation

This 2014 aerial view shows Howard Hill, 164 wooded acres that serve as the scenic forested backdrop for the Maine's State House in Augusta. The City Council voted Thursday to accept the land from the Kennebec Land Trust. Staff file photo by Joe Phelan

AUGUSTA — City councilors voted unanimously Thursday to reaffirm their desire for the city to acquire Howard Hill, despite concerns that accepting it from Kennebec Land Trust could commit the city to spending an undetermined amount money to comply with state regulations.

The city’s acquisition of the 164-acre Howard Hill property requires city and land trust officials to sign a project agreement, required by the state agency which provided some of the money used to buy the largely undeveloped land, to close on the deal. An attorney reviewing the agreement for the city warned part of it could commit the city to spend money to stay in compliance with all current and future Land for Maine’s Future regulations, rules and policies. Those rules would be administered by the state Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife.

Councilors voted to close the deal anyway. They authorized City Manager William Bridgeo to sign the agreement, confirming their previous affirmative vote taken before the details of the agreement were known.

“This reaffirmation is to authorize the city manager to move forward, after we took time to look at language that was brought to our attention about, maybe, a little exposure we could have due to language stating the state” could require work to be done, at city cost, at the property, Mayor David Rollins said before Thursday’s 7-0 vote.

Read more: http://www.centralmaine.com/2017/03/16/augusta-to-take-howard-hill-property-despite-concerns-about-potential-future-financial-obligation/