Southport selectmen welcomed area realtor Clayton Pottle to their meeting June 8 to discuss extending a previous agreement for the purchase of the town-owned Lepper Gardner property.

Pottle presented the request on behalf of Land for Southport’s Future, which was seeking an extension for its right of first refusal to purchase the property.

The property was acquired by the town in 2013 for $1.25 million, with the intention of keeping the beach for use by the public and selling the house and accompanying land. The town has retained the beach portion of the property. The house and remaining land are being sold by the town for $849,000.

Land for Southport’s Future was formed as a corporation in October 2015 and received its official non-profit status from the IRS a few weeks ago.

The initial right of first refusal negotiated between the town and LSF was signed in November 2015 and was subsequently renewed this winter. The agreement and previous extension allowed the nonprofit to exercise its right to purchase for $1 more than other offers within 120 days after a bona fide offer is received.

Speaking on behalf of the newly designated nonprofit, Pottle explained that the group is now requesting another extension of the same agreement. Pottle also mentioned that there had been a showing of the property within the previous ten days.

The selectmen agreed that they would grant the second extension, but wanted a change made to the 120-day timeframe for LSF to purchase the property after another offer is made.

Selectman Smith Climo raised the concern that the four-month wait to allow LSF to exercise its option might discourage prospective buyers. “Buyers don’t want to wait that long,” Climo said. “Ninety days is a reasonable amount of time.” The selectmen voted to change the agreement, shortening the timeframe to 90 days.

In other business before the selectmen, Knickerbocker Group requested approval to create a parking area with gravel at the Boylan property at Cozy Harbor. The section to be used is a “V” shaped area of 4,207 square feet at the intersection of Cozy Harbor and Pratt’s Island roads.

The board was also notified by U.S. Trust that payments dating back to 2004 made to Southport from the Bryant Trust had been inaccurate. As a result, the town was going to receive additional payments of $1,379.42 and $431.98. “We won’t have to worry anymore,” said Selectman Mary Lou Koskela. “There were years when we didn’t have enough money for the Bryant scholarship and the selectmen made up the difference.”