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Officials to meet in secret on Conomo Point
Published: September 5, 2007
ESSEX - A key meeting on the future of Conomo Point - which was cancelled in July to the dismay of many residents of the summer enclave on Essex Bay - has been rescheduled for tonight, but most of the meeting will be behind closed doors.
The Conomo Point Planning Committee and selectmen will meet with town counsel to discuss the legal ramifications of selling the town-owned property on Conomo Point, said Rolf Madsen, chairman of the Conomo Point Planning Committee. The group also will discuss how to decide what to do about Conomo Point when residents' leases expire in 2011.
"Probably 95 percent of (the meeting) will be in executive session," Madsen said, "and it has to do with the fact that we're talking about the potential sale of real property, which is covered under executive session."
The state's Open Meeting Law generally requires public bodies to discuss the public's business in open session. However, the law lists some circumstances under which a meeting may be held in executive session, secret from the public. One such circumstance is when the discussion involves the purchase, sale or lease of real property.
In 1998, the town voted not to extend the leases of Conomo Point residents, who own their homes but are living on land leased from the town. Since then, a townwide debate on what to do with the land has simmered, as residents try to decide how many, if any, of the town-owned parcels should be sold and how much land should be retained by the town.
The decision has been complicated by the state Department of Environmental Protection's ruling that the town must find a way to reduce septic system wastewater from the properties, which the agency says is polluting the Essex River.
While the majority of the parcels passed Title 5 testing on their septic systems, the state sees Conomo Point as one parcel of land, Madsen said. As such, it cannot produce more than 10,000 gallons of wastewater per day. Conomo Point exceeds that level, and the town has decided the least expensive option for correcting the problem is to shrink the population of Conomo Point.
Town Meeting in Ma rejected two plans for handling the Conomo Point land. Both plans had the town selling off a portion of the property and retaining a portion for public use, though they differed on the split. Two plans were offered to the town because the Conomo Point Planning Committee could not each a consensus, and a minority group split off.
The Conomo Point Planning Committee and selectmen will meet with town counsel to discuss the legal ramifications of selling the town-owned property on Conomo Point, said Rolf Madsen, chairman of the Conomo Point Planning Committee. The group also will discuss how to decide what to do about Conomo Point when residents' leases expire in 2011.
"Probably 95 percent of (the meeting) will be in executive session," Madsen said, "and it has to do with the fact that we're talking about the potential sale of real property, which is covered under executive session."
The state's Open Meeting Law generally requires public bodies to discuss the public's business in open session. However, the law lists some circumstances under which a meeting may be held in executive session, secret from the public. One such circumstance is when the discussion involves the purchase, sale or lease of real property.
In 1998, the town voted not to extend the leases of Conomo Point residents, who own their homes but are living on land leased from the town. Since then, a townwide debate on what to do with the land has simmered, as residents try to decide how many, if any, of the town-owned parcels should be sold and how much land should be retained by the town.
The decision has been complicated by the state Department of Environmental Protection's ruling that the town must find a way to reduce septic system wastewater from the properties, which the agency says is polluting the Essex River.
While the majority of the parcels passed Title 5 testing on their septic systems, the state sees Conomo Point as one parcel of land, Madsen said. As such, it cannot produce more than 10,000 gallons of wastewater per day. Conomo Point exceeds that level, and the town has decided the least expensive option for correcting the problem is to shrink the population of Conomo Point.
Town Meeting in Ma rejected two plans for handling the Conomo Point land. Both plans had the town selling off a portion of the property and retaining a portion for public use, though they differed on the split. Two plans were offered to the town because the Conomo Point Planning Committee could not each a consensus, and a minority group split off.
On July 30, the town sent a revised Conomo Point plan to the Department of Environmental Protection, saying the area's sewage disposal systems will be taken out of service Dec. 31, 2011. Should any lots be sold or leased after that time, their sewage systems would be brought up to code, according to the plan. The town also promised not to lease parcels of land without a permit from the state agency if wastewater from Conomo Point would exceed 10,000 gallons per day.
Conomo Point residents have complained that decisions about their future are being made without their involvement - there are no Conomo Point residents on the planning committee, whose members Madsen said were chosen by Town Meeting voters.
Conomo Point resident John Amirault said he will attend the meeting with the objective of persuading the town to add some residents to the committee so they will be represented in future executive sessions.
"We need to make something happen, and we need to get some Conomo Point people on the Conomo Point Planning Committee," said Amirault, a 20-year Conomo Point resident. "The problem, as far as we can make out, is that we are not represented in any way. And we have to be represented. They're dealing with our properties, our homes and our lives."
Madsen said he does not expect any resolution to come out of tonight's meeting.
"It's really just bringing everybody up to speed with the legal issues," Madsen said.
Because of the laws governing executive session, neither Madsen nor Town Administrator Brendhan Zubricki could elaborate on the discussions planned for tonight.
The Open Meeting Law requires that minutes from any executive session be released to the public as soon as "the need for secrecy ends," but neither Madsen nor Zubricki could say when the minutes might be made public.
