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January 11, 2008

Harpswell says no to $2M land deal

Harpswell officials yesterday rejected a $2 million offer from a local group that wants to protect 118 oceanfront acres from heavy industry.

The Harpswell Coastal Coalition wanted Harpswell residents to decide on the $2 milllon offer to create a conservation easement to protect the Mitchell Field property at the town meeting in March, but Harpswell selectmen said they would not include the offer on the March town warrant because it was too vague and lacked a strict definition for heavy industry, the Portland Press Herald reported. An attorney representing the group at the Thursday selectmen meeting, John Loyd, said it was unfair for selectmen to not give residents the chance to vote on the issue, the paper reported.

A few years ago, a liquefied natural gas company tried to build a controversial terminal on the Mitchell Field property. Selectman James Knight, who had supported the LNG lease agreement, said the easement would prevent other opportunities on the town land forever. "Two million dollars seems like nothing to me," Knight said.

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