During liaison reports at the most recent Hudson Board of Selectmen meeting, Chair Dillon Dumont updated the Board on ongoing discussions with the Conservation Commission about the future of the Town’s Conservation Fund and how much money should remain available for land purchases. Dumont said the Commission has made several significant acquisitions in recent years, noting that the fund took decades to build and has now begun to decline as new opportunities arise.
He explained that it took “about three decades to build up a little over $1 million in a fund to purchase land for conservation,” a level that allowed the Commission to act quickly when desirable parcels became available. Over the past five to ten years, he said, the Commission has used the fund for “some significant land purchases,” reducing the balance to roughly $700,000.
Dumont told the Board that the Commission is currently pursuing an LCHIP grant and considering the purchase of a parcel off Wason Road, a project the Selectmen previously recommended. If the grant is awarded, the Town would receive a 50 percent match. “If they are able to get the grant then it would be fantastic,” Dumont said. Without the grant, the Town would be responsible for the full cost, estimated at about $400,000. He noted that final numbers are still being worked out, but if the purchase moves forward without grant assistance, the fund could drop to approximately $300,000.
Dumont said the Conservation Commission is also exploring additional land opportunities, and that recommendations for purchases ultimately come through the Board of Selectmen. With multiple projects under consideration, he said the Commission has begun discussing how low the fund should be allowed to fall. “There was some conversation over what that number may look like,” Dumont said. “Some Conservation members could see it going to zero, and just using that up.”
Dumont told the Board he favors a more cautious approach. “I prefer to think that you might want to leave a balance in there,” he said, adding that as one member of the Board, he wanted input from the rest of the Selectmen, including Selectman Heidi Jakoby, before providing direction back to the Commission. He emphasized that his goal was simply to make sure the matter was on the Board’s radar. “There was some significant discussion, so I figured I’d bring it forward here,” he said.