Residents to vote on $328K land purchase

Selectman: If plan fails, site may be developed

EAST HADDAM — Residents are set to vote next week on whether to approve more than $300,000 in funding to purchase more than 100 acres on the northeast side of town for open space.

Known as the Mullazi property, town documents show the land is 124 acres located on O’Connell Road Extension, about threequarters of a mile from Lake Hayward. First Selectman Rob Smith said the town has been eyeing the property as something to buy for conservation for 10 or 15 years.

Residents will be voting Oct. 5 on whether to spend $328,000 on the property using general obligation bonds.

Smith said the property could easily be developed into at least a dozen houses, but the town wants to protect it as part of its Plan of Conservation and Development. The document calls for protecting as much of the east side of town as possible, he added.

“We want to keep it for water protection, for the Eightmile River Wild & Scenic Watershed,” he said. “It’s also close to Lake Hayward. It’s also in the Lyme Forest Block wild bird area.”

Smith said the property abuts more than 200 acres of open space the town previously acquired, which will allow for interconnected trails. “It’s just a really great piece of property,” he said.

Factoring in grants, donations and contributions from residents and local conservation groups, Smith said, the property costs approximately $1,600 an acre — noting open space usually costs much more.

The $328,000 Smith is hoping residents will approve covers engineering, surveying and attorney costs, in addition to the price tag. He said the town also received a grant for $96,900 from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection for open space acquisition.

The Eight Mile Wild & Scenic Watershed contributed $15,000, he said, and private donors added another $15,000 to the sum.

Smith said the East Haddam Conservation Commission, which contributed $2,000, would be the caretakers of the land, creating trails and places to park.

The total cost for the town when the deal is done will be less than $200,000. Smith said the town is still waiting on responses for other grants it has applied for, which could further lower the cost.

“It’s a great deal,” the first selectman said. East Haddam has until Nov. 1 to cement the deal. “If it gets voted down, which we’ve never done before, it will be sold for a subdivision — there’s no question.”

Contributed photo A sign welcomes motorists to East Haddam.