Town Urged to Buy Historic Minton Mill Site

Matt Rittenhouse
Tri-Town Times
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SANDOWN – The Conservation Commission is asking the town to appropriate money for a parcel of land they have had their eyes on for years. The opportunity to buy the 138-acre Minton Property Mill Site is a rare opportunity for the town to preserve open space, according to the commission.

Paul Carey, chairman of the Conservation Commission, presented the plan to secure the property, at 137 Fremont Road, for the town. The three stated goals of the proposed purchase are to fulfill the Master Plan and community profile goals of maintaining the rural character of the town, to protect the Exeter River, and to minimize growth of school and town expenses. The land, if purchased, would be put under a permanent conservation easement.

Though the land was appraised at $2 million, the purchase would cost the town $1.6 million. A savings of 20 percent is being offered to the town by the owner, who approached the Conservation Commission with a desire to maintain the rural character of Sandown. Currently the commission has $670,000 in its Conservation Fund, and is asking the town to appropriate the remaining $1 million.

Figures were presented for a 20-year bond, indicating that for a $400,000 house, a $92 increase in taxes would be seen in the first year.

Carey said that if town residents value preserving open space, the purchase of this land is ideal. “The idea (to preserve a town’s open space) is to try and build a corridor or one vast greenspace,” Carey said. The Minton Property abuts the Sandown Town Forest, and if approved, would create a 225-acre space.

Each year, members of the Conservation Commission make a list of the parcels they’d most like to engage with landowners to purchase, and the Minton Property is always at the top of each member’s list.

Carey emphasized the pressing nature of the purchase. “I hate to sound like you’ve got to buy today, but it’s a fact,” he said. “This lot will be sold, we just have the first chance. Pretty soon there’s not going to be any significant sized parcels to purchase.

“The Conservation Commission is not standing in front of bulldozers, we work with developers, but it’s scary when you wake up one day and see how much land is built on,” he added.

Planning Board member Matt Russell presented numbers on the amount of houses currently approved, or pending approval in town. Currently there are 566 total housing units approved or pending approval in town, with 208 single-family dwellings and 216 over-55 dwellings approved. Another 142 dwellings are still under planning board consideration.

Also presented by the Conservation Commission were figures on the different tax impacts of open space compared with development. They estimated that if the property were sold to developers, 44 houses would be built. The average number of students per house would be .57, working out to 25 new students in town for those 44 houses. Each of those students is estimated to cost the town $12,063 in taxes.

If 44 houses were to be built on the Minton Property, the estimated tax increase in school expenses alone would be $301,575, according to those figures. The tax revenue brought into the town by those houses is assumed to be $219,824. The assumption is that if the land stays open, though the bond would increase taxes, it is only for a specific length of time.

Proponents of open space argue that development increases taxes for services such as police, trash removal, and school tuition, while open land adds little expense to the town after the initial purchase.

Though tax concerns were discussed, a map detailing which areas in Sandown were in what use was also displayed. “I can’t stand here as an expert and tell you it’s going to lower your taxes, but looking at the map, you can see we’re almost built up,” Carey said.

Brian Butler, vice chairman of the Conservation Commission, offered a short history of the Minton Property. It had been managed since 1955 as a tree farm and in 1997 was nominated as an outstanding tree farm. Butler noted the logging roads and hiking trails that already traverse the property.
“This is a beautiful piece of property. I can only hope to convey that to the town,” he said.

Douglas Martin, president of the Sandown Historical Society, noted that two historic mills were located on the property, including one site dating back to 1757, a year after the incorporation of the town. He also commented on the historic opportunity the purchase of the Minton Property would be.

“There are few things we can do now that will have the impact that this will have 100 years down the road,” he said. “Growth is coming no matter what we do because of the Route 93 expansion, and the price per dollar to buy this land is minimal compared to the benefit 40 years down the road when that forest is still forest.”

Though Sandown hasn’t had a bond to purchase conservation land for 15 years, concern was expressed at the hearing that the police are also asking for residents to support building a new station at the March election (see related story page 3). Carey said he didn’t want people to have to choose between the police department and the Minton Property, so the bond put together was to make the tax impact as light as possible.

The selectmen are recommending the purchase of the land. Selectmen Chairman Ted Winglass said the purchase would reflect the town’s master plan in regards to residents’ desire to keep the rural nature of the town intact.

“Whether I’m here in 10 years or not, this is something I can be proud to have helped put together,” Winglass added.