Town Meeting Rejects Proposed Land Gift

(Lamoine) — After an outcry from nearby property owners, voters at the annual town meeting turned down an offer from a West Virginia woman who wanted to donate a piece of shore property to the town. The land, at the corner of Meadow Point, Bay and Cove Roads is located in a flood zone and is apparently unable to support a residential structure. The owner apparently had not succeeded in selling the property, and her attorney wrote to the Selectmen in January asking whether the town wished to accept it.
Voters overwhelmingly turned down the offer. Nearby land owners were concerned that because the town would own the lot, their private road would be open to the general public. Others felt that the owner might gain some sort of tax advantage by donating the property that would not be gained if she didn’t pay the property taxes and the town took it by automatic foreclosure.
At the town meeting, Selectmen stressed that there was absolutely no plan to utilize the land in any way.