I don’t believe every angle of the deal has yet been surfaced. Given the rushed nature of the process, we keep learning new information that substantially changes the dynamic of the decision. For example, the recent mailer that Civico sent to our homes show *that the leaching field from the septic will be approximately 14 acres, all on Farrington land. *This is in addition to the 2 acres that Farrington would give to Civico for housing and Farrington’s own building envelope.
What this means is that, from the town’s standpoint, this is not a good deal. It would involve using taxpayer funds earmarked for preservation to *enable the degradation of 18 acres of dryland, half of Farrington’s total dryland, through a combination of cut-clearing for development and use as a septic leaching field.* Accepting such a compromise, when a better outcome is clearly within reach for both the town and Farrington, would be a failure of responsibility and resolve on our part as voters. Farrington trustees have a fiduciary responsibility to pursue the best possible agreement. If they are willing to accept the current terms, they should be willing to accept a deal that avoids handing over land to Civico for housing and septic infrastructure. I still think we should delineate the wetlands before committing any public money, but I agree that it is unlikely to change the best course of action in this instance, which is to reject the deal. *However, the fact that we even have this uncertainty around wetlands does speak to the inadequacies of how the process has been handled and the problem with keeping the public in the dark.* This is what happens when private entities with significant interests are allowed to operate with the advantages of both public and private processes. A public-private partnership doesn’t mean the “public” part begins only when it’s time to approve the check. Negotiations shouldn’t happen entirely behind closed doors, only for the public to be asked to rubber-stamp decisions that have already been made without meaningful opportunity for input.
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