Ashburnham Select Board Unanimously Opposes $1 Transfer of Town Open Space

ASHBURNHAM — July 13, 2026 — Ashburnham Select Board opposes citizens petition to transfer 10-acre open space parcel for $1, sends question to August 4 special town meeting. The board — Chair Abby Arpano, Vice Chair Leo Janssens II, and Clerk Phil Papoojian — voted unanimously Monday to formally oppose the petition, which would return a parcel acquired from Crocker Pond Properties, Inc. for $1 in 2005 as part of a broader $1.2 million land package intended to support road construction and ball fields that were never built. Former board member Lorraine Everson told the board she had told the grantor, Robert T. Francis, the road would be built within two years, saying "I don't feel like the town has lived up to their part of the bargain." Resident John Lutz countered that town counsel refused to include that two-year commitment in the final signed agreement and asked whether the parcel — which has roughly 800 feet of railroad frontage — had ever been independently appraised. The Crocker Pond Recreation Committee, which voted against the transfer in 2023, confirmed the parcel is not buildable, hosts a pump track and trail network, and sits within an area affected by active PFAS concerns. The board separately voted to post the warrant for the August 4 vote at Westminster Elementary School, and the town administrator said postcards with the full article language and a QR code linking to supporting documents will be mailed to all residents.