Essex officials are asking residents for more money to continue looking into the future of Conomo Point.

This time, some of the money will be used to look into plans for the northern part of Conomo Point near the waterfront.

Residents are being asked by selectmen at Special Town Meeting on Monday to approve hiring a consultant to start looking into future uses for the land north of Robbins Island Road.

Another article asks for additional dollars to cover the consultants' costs of attending further meetings over the subdividing of land south of Robbins Island Road.

The town owns Conomo Point and has been leasing roughly 100 lots on the north and south sections for decades.

But those leases will expire in 2011 and Town Meeting in 1999 decided not to renew them. Since then, the fate of Conomo Point has remained uncertain.

In 2008, the town voted to spend about $90,000 to hire Horsley Witten Inc. to draw up lot lines for a subdivision plan on Conomo Point south of Robbins Island Road, with an eye toward maximizing its value for a potential sale when the leases end. Since then, the company has finished its consulting work and has presented several subdivision plans for the land during a meeting open to the public.

A vote to actually sell the properties will have to go before a future Town Meeting, according to Selectman Ray Randall.

Although the town voted to go forth with the consulting for southern Conomo Point last year, no plans have been determined for the land north of Robbins Island Road.

An article on Monday's warrant, approved and supported by selectmen on Oct. 19, however, asks for $25,000 to study both recreational and residential uses of the northern land.

"This is to determine from a high level what can be done (with the land) and what the cost associated with it will be," said Randall. "It will give residents options to look at."

Selectman Mark Lynch, who is also chairman of the Conomo Point Planning Committee, said the planners would facilitate talks with residents as to what the town would like to see done with the land. He said the consultants will not be creating a plan for a possible sale such as that for southern Conomo Point.

In 1999, Town Meeting opted to retain the land north of Robbins Island Road, Lynch said.

"There has never been a vote to ask what the town wants to do with the land north of Robbins Island Road," said Lynch. "This process will help put a plan in place."

Lynch said professional consultants hired to do other work regarding zoning for the town did some work at the northern part of Conomo Point, and estimated that $25,000 would be needed for the planning.

Lynch said the planners will look at multiple options, including:

Leaving all of the homes in place.

Leaving some of the homes there and using some of the land for recreation.

Clearing all of the homes on the northern point and using the entire area for public use. There have been talks about turning the whole area into a park.

Articles have been brought up at past town meetings about future land use north of Robbins Island Road.

"There was criticism when we brought it to Town Meeting before, because there isn't a plan," said Lynch. "We need a substantial plan of what we want to see done north of Robbins Island Road."

Ed Neal of Western Avenue, however, said residential options should not be looked into for the property, and the town should look into options for a park that all residents can enjoy.

"The leasing has prevented the whole town from enjoying the waterfront," Neal said. "The town has spoken clearly about wanting the waterfront back for everyone."

Lynch pointed out the town is in a different economic landscape then it was in 1999.

"This will let the town know the implications of this and the cost 10 years after the vote," he said.

Selectmen are also asking for an additional $3,000 for Horsley Witten Inc. to meet with the Conomo Point Planning Committee and give a possible presentation about the subdivision plans for southern Conomo Point at the annual Town Meeting in May. That money is not for further consulting, Lynch said.

People like John Amirault, 78, who have been living on Conomo Point year-round for decades, have really been affected by the potential sale of the land. He moved with his wife from Melrose to Conomo Point in 1988. Then, he was paying $75 per year in rent; today, he pays $2,200 in annual rent, while also paying taxes on the property.

"I keep running into people who live in this town and never have been to Conomo Point and don't know our situation," Amirault said. "They think we are getting away free."

Amirault said people living on Conomo Point will have an opportunity to purchase their lots, but say many people living there are retired and on fixed income won't be able to.

"If it gets to the point where they take the land away, I don't know what I'll do," said Amirault. "This is my only home.

"They've been studying this for years and years," he said, "and they still don't have a plan."

Jonathan Phelps can be reached at 978-283-7000, x3447, or via e-mail at gt_reporter@gloucestertimes.com

c_