The Wayback Machine, or is it Groundhog Day?

Back in 1996, the voters of Freeport were asked for their opinions on Pay Per Bag trash disposal, whether to hire a single hauler for trash for the town, and this:

ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING ISSUANCE OF BONDS FOR THE PURPOSE OF PURCHASING AND DEVELOPING LAND TO PROVIDE FOR AN OUTDOOR RECREATIONAL FACILITY. THE TOWN OF FREEPORT HEREBY ORDAINS: That a sum not to exceed $450,000.00 is hereby appropriated for the purpose of purchasing and developing land to provide for an outdoor recreational facility. To meet said appropriation, the Chairperson of the Town Council and the Town Treasurer are authorized to issue general obligation securities of the Town of Freeport in a total principal amount not to exceed $450,000.00, and the discretion to fix the dates, maturities, denominations, interest rates, places of payment, forms, and other details of said securities, including execution and delivery on behalf of the Town of Freeport,· and to provide for the sale thereof, is delegated to the Chairperson of the Town Council and the Town Treasurer.

 We voted no on the first two, though like a bad penny pay per bag was back on the Council's agenda this year. We passed the bond authorization.

Back in the day, we had a Recreation Committee appointed by the Town Council whose responsibility it was to develop plans for municipal recreation facilities suitable for both the school system and town residents. Ball fields, tracks, trails, that sort of thing. At the time of the referendum, land on Upper Mast Landing Road was proposed as a potential site that "appear[ed] to satisfy many of the needs identified in the comprehensive plans, including hiking trails, picnic areas, conservation areas, open space for playing fields and could provide an all-season site accessible to a majority of Freeport residents." [emphasis added] In the event that parcel proved unsuitable, the Committee was directed to discover other parcels that might fit the bill.

The site proved unsuitable. The Committee identified another parcel located on the Pownal Road that would fit the bill in 1998. In a series of meetings throughout 1998 here, and here, the Committee explored possible options for this parcel, reporting their work and findings to the Town Council at the August 11, 1998 meeting. On February 11, 1999, the Committee recommended to the Town Council the property be purchased, and at their April 6, 1999 meeting, the Town Council unanimously voted to purchase what was then described as "an outstanding site [that] can be developed to meet the vision placed in front of the voters in '96".

This is the parcel now somewhat contentiously proposed to be delivered to a private enterprise for the construction of soccer fields and an indoor stadium the size of a supermarket.

The 12 years since the initial acquisition of the land saw the dissolution of the Recreation Committee as a committee of the Council. Further discussion of development of the land beyond the fields that were actually built there was carried on not by public committees with formal procedures and public input, but by interested individuals who saw potential in offering private interests a leading role in any future development. What started as clearly a municipal project for the benefit of Freeport residents and schoolchildren evolved into a project whose goal was attracting paying customers and visitors to town. In this evolution, precious little consensus building was done along the way with neighboring residents as to the changed vision for the property, which is located in a rural residential zone not suited to commercial activity. The vision placed in front of the voters in 1996 is unmet in the use of public land for private benefit.