Southport selectmen reviewed an agenda Sept. 7 that included items concerning two island properties.

The first involved the use of a Cameron's Point boathouse owned by Diane Blasco. The boathouse has become the subject of a lawsuit filed against the town in Superior Court on Aug. 29. The matter in question is the town's assertion that Blasco is using the structure as a "dwelling unit" because mattresses have been placed inside. As a result, Code Enforcement Officer Henry Berne issued a notice of violation to Blasco. In the letter, Berne requested the removal of the mattresses to correct the problem.

According to the document filed with the court, Blasco is asking the court to reverse the notice of violation which, it states, was "unsupported by substantial evidence." The town will respond through its attorney.

The second matter was the sale of the town-owned Lepper Gardner property  at Hendricks Head beach. The house and approximately 3 acres of land is listed for $849,000, however, if an interested party wanted to purchase the house and half the land, that list price would be $695,000. Land for Southport's Future (LFSF), a private nonprofit, is seeking to purchase both the land and the house.

 A one-year agreement granting the right of first refusal to LFSF was executed in Nov. 2015. The agreement gave the non-profit the ability to purchase the house for $1 more than any bona fide offer. LFSF received official nonprofit status in Oct. 2015.

The overall agreement contains specific language instructing LFSF on how it may exercise its option. The amount of time LFSF has to purchase the house after the town has received a bona fide offer is determined by this language, which is renegotiated each time it expires.  As an example, the current one-year agreement signed Nov. 18, 2015, gives LFSF four months from the date of an offer in which to exercise its purchase option.

The year-long right of first refusal remains in effect, but that specific language expired March 9. Since then, the parties have renegotiated the “time to exercise” twice. In June, Clayton Pottle, retained by the town to sell the property, met with selectmen to present a request on behalf of LFSF to extend the time period for another four months. After discussion, the time limit was reduced to three months, ending Sept. 7.

At the Sept. 7 meeting, Nancy Prisk, head of Land for Southport's Future, asked the selectmen to renew the one-year agreement. She said the renewal was a matter of "housekeeping." Indicating that he was not prepared to do that, Selectman Smith Climo said he had expected to be renewing the expired 90-day provision. The selectmen questioned why they were being asked to renew the year-long agreement. Prisk explained that under the terms of the original one-year agreement, the town is obligated to vote to renew the annual agreement by Sept. 18 (60 days before the original agreement of Nov. 18 expires). Further complicating the matter for the selectmen is the fact is that, at the Aug. 31 meeting, Pottle presented an offer on the house and half the land; and the town responded with a counter offer.

"I'm not prepared to sign an agreement for a year," Selectman Gerry Gamage said. "You're aware that we have an offer on the property. Quite frankly, if we now have to extend this for a year and three months, that in my mind is jeopardizing our ability to negotiate this with another party."

To summarize, according to information in Southport's 2014 Annual Report, the property was acquired by the town in 2013 for $1.25 million, financed by The First (National) Bank over 10 years. The town retains the beach and parking area and has listed the house with Pottle Realty for $695,000. The next annual payment ($153,594) is due in Oct. To date, the town has repaid $307,000 of the amount borrowed. The sooner the property is sold, the more the town would save in interest on the note. Under the loan terms, costs to the town in interest on the loan during the time the agreement with LFSF has been in place are $3,750 per month in 2015 and $3,405 per month in 2016. Expected tax revenue to the town upon reinstating the property to the tax rolls is approximately $1,500 per year.

Discussion on renewing the annual agreement was postponed until the Sept. 14 meeting, when the selectmen hope to have Pottle provide more information.