Canney Farm problem… and thus 1476 Mammoth Road?

Is Dracut running into a problem with regard to the purchase of the 1476 Mammoth Road property?

This 3-way deal between the town, Dracut Housing, and the state is supposed to add the apartments in this property to the town affordable housing stock.. with the town buying the property and leasing it to DHA to maintain and operate.

But, I seem to remember us buying that property for more than the assessment, which has been shown to be a problem as concerning the use of Community Preservation funds. Checking with town administrators, it looks like there is a problem.

A problem was brought to the floor during Town Meeting by Selectman Jim O’Loughlin regarding the purchase of the Canney Farm property. As had been determined so far, the assessments of the property were $200,000.00 less than what the Community Preservation Committee (CPC)  was planning to pay for the property. This is not legal according to the Mass General Laws, and he wanted us to defer the issue until the next town meeting to deal with that problem (either change the properties associated in the deal, or see if the assessments are valid).

The Town meeting decided to let the process continue and have the town deal with the legal issues. It looks like, for now, that deal has been withdrawn.

The bigger issue remains, however, as the Selectman has now brought this issue to light and people are looking at other CPC projects.

I include here some excepts from Mass General Laws Chapter 44b regarding Community Preservation:

CHAPTER 44B. COMMUNITY PRESERVATION

(b)(1) The community preservation committee shall study the needs, possibilities and resources of the city or town regarding community preservation. The committee shall consult with existing municipal boards, including the conservation commission, the historical commission, the planning board, the board of park commissioners and the housing authority, or persons acting in those capacities or performing like duties, in conducting such studies. As part of its study, the committee shall hold one or more public informational hearings on the needs, possibilities and resources of the city or town regarding community preservation possibilities and resources, notice of which shall be posted publicly and published for each of two weeks preceding a hearing in a newspaper of general circulation in the city or town.

(f) Section 16 of chapter 30B shall not apply to the acquisition by a city or town, of real property or an interest therein, as authorized by this chapter for the purposes of community preservation and upon recommendation of the community preservation committee and, notwithstanding section 14 of chapter 40, for purposes of this chapter, no such real property, or interest therein, shall be acquired by any city or town for a price exceeding the value of the property as determined by such city or town through procedures customarily accepted by the appraising profession as valid.