Cross River Center: A new gateway to the region?
A plain manila envelope marked with the Boothbay Region Land Trust seal sat before the Boothbay selectmen on December 11. Enclosed was a proposal for the town to transfer the Cross River Center property on Route 27 over to the land trust to conserve the land for public access.
The town has had the Cross River property in its possession for more than 15 years. The 19-acre forested parcel, also known as the old Smith property, provides waterfront access to roughly 320 acres of clam flats. In 2002, the townspeople voted to retain the land for public access. Now, BRLT wants to enhance that vision.
Since May, the selectmen have been open to suggestions to put the property to better use. Town Manager Jim Chaousis had estimated the town had lost roughly $3,500 for every year the Cross River property has been left off the tax roll.
While the property would remain off the tax roll under the stewardship of the land trust, BRLT board members said the preserve would reap economic benefits for the region.
Outlined in the proposal were three major components: building trails and a parking facility, maintaining public access to the waterfront, and the intent to construct an educational facility that could be used as a welcome center to visitors in the Boothbay region.
“We feel that there aren’t too many town facilities for hiking and the Land Trust provides that to the peninsula,” said Jim Dun, president of BRLT's board of directors. “We're very anxious to include (the Cross River property) into the properties that we have open to the public.”
Dun, along with BRLT employees and board members, said they had put a lot of effort into crafting the proposal. They enlisted the support of organizations, local clam diggers and enclosed a scientific study conducted by researchers from the University of Maine in Orono.
“We want to make sure that we're putting our best effort forward,” said BRLT Executive Director Nick Ullo. “We were confident that the proposal we were putting forward was going to benefit the entire town and community.”
According to the Economic Impact and Resident Valuation of the Boothbay Region Land Trust study, which compiled 500 hours of field work, researchers estimated there were 63,832 visits to land trust properties between April and November of 2012. A survey of BRLT preserve users indicated the annual economic impact from visitors and seasonal residents brings in an estimated $3.9 million in revenue to the region.
BRLT's proposal guaranteed they would build handicap accessible trails within one year. It also suggested building educational facilities, such as a nature center, that could possibly be used as a “gateway to the region” should the land trust raise enough funds to implement construction. According to Ullo, BRLT has had great success in raising funds with government agencies, foundations and private donors; however, the fundraising varies from year to year, so the prospect of a nature center would still be up in the air.
While only three out of the five selectmen were in attendance, the board gave Chaousis the green light to work out additional details with Ullo and BRLT's board of directors over the holidays, while the rest of the selectmen could consider the proposal. But for the quorum that was present, the land trust's proposal seemed favorable.
“We were looking for a decent proposal, and I think what we just saw was a great proposal,” said selectman Dale Harmon.
If the selectmen choose to back the proposal, the question of transferring the Cross River property to the Boothbay Region Land Trust will come before voters at the annual town meeting on May 5.
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