Opinion: Clarification on Marion Open Spaces Acquisition Committee’s land deal

Oct 22, 2020

This letter to the editor is in response to a previous letter written by Ted North.

Ted,

Let me respond to your concerns that you expressed last week.

Q: “A partnership or joint venture appears to have developed among conservation groups and individuals including The Marion Open Spaces Acquisition Committee and the Sippican Lands Trust along with individuals aligned together to bring 43 acres of open land under conservation protection and controlled by the SLT.”
A: The Buzzards Bay Coalition has also helped us with this project. 33.7 acres will be under the management of the SLT, the remainder will be under private ownership with a conservation restriction. The conservation restriction will be held by the Open Space Acquisition Commission.

Q: “The linchpin is control of 33.7 acres of property that the owner has been trying to sell with a taxed assessed value of $406,000 and annual taxes of approximately $4,000. This property is ideally situated with nearby SLT land adjacent to Route 6 near the wastewater treatment plant.”
A: Yes, this property’s location is one of the more attractive aspects of the opportunity to protect this land. It is also adjacent to the town-owned Goldovitz Bog Conservation Area.

Q: “Although the selling price has not been disclosed, a target selling price of $500,000 is a reasonable assumption based on the assessed tax valuation.”
A: The total purchase price of $300,000 was negotiated by MOSAC.

Q: “MOSAC warrant article five requests Fall Town Meeting to approve the town’s purchase of a conservation recreation easement for $250,000 on this property to be controlled by the SLT.” 
A: Actually, it is “not to exceed” $250,000. SLT is working like mad to raise money for this project, and MOSAC has applied for a $50,000 grant to lower the cost to the town. Because the SLT fund raising effort ends on October 29, we will not have a final ask until Town Meeting.

Q: “MOSAC has made no disclosure how the town’s purchase of such an easement fits into the conservation project structure, its economic substance or public need for this deal. There is no independent appraisal of the easement’s valuation.”
A: The conservation restriction purchase is a legal construct that permits the MOSAC contribution. We cannot, by law, pay more than the appraised value. The conservation restriction was appraised at $257,500.

Q: “The SLT is a special interest private land trust with a public purpose charter to protect land for conservation. There is no reason for the town to buy a conservation easement on land to be controlled by a land trust. The town purchase of the easement leaves a wide-open back door for SLT to purchase the title to control the land for $250,000 using affiliates, deal structures and interrelated party transactions to complete its purchase now or in the future. MOSAC has partnered with the SLT since its inception in 2001.”
A: In our first partnership, the SLT worked with MOSAC to protect watershed protection property worth $300,000 at a cost of $36,000 to the Town. Basically, SLT gave the town money to protect the Main #1 Well Field. Why?  Because both the SLT and MOSAC are trying to protect important open space within the town. When we both agree on a parcel, we don’t fight about final ownership, we work together to protect the parcel.

Q: “The $250,000 the town pays for the conservation easement added to the $250,000 SLT pays for property title control nets the seller’s $500,000 target sales price. Otherwise, neither party would have paid the seller’s target price with an independent stand-alone deal. Substantively, the town’s purchase of the easement is simply using taxpayer money to help finance SLT’s land deal.”
A: First, this is a MOSAC land deal. The SLT is helping us out to reduce the cost to the town. The sellers target sales price is not pertinent (the property was originally listed on MLS at $589,900.) Prior to starting negotiations with the seller, MOSAC commissioned an appraisal of the property which established a value of $310,000. We asked the SLT to be the owner in order to have no future maintenance or management costs incurred by the town.

Q: “This deal is no different from the town contributing to the United Way to fund charitable projects such as the girl scouts.”
A: The town will own a conservation restriction on 33.7 acres which guarantees public access but eliminates the need for future maintenance by the town. This conservation restriction has a dollar value of $257,500.

Q: “With tax audits, the IRS looks for taxpayers using deal structures that look legitimate but lack economic substance. It’s the economic substance of the transaction that’s important not its structure. Follow the money.”
A: Yes, and I think you have focused too much on the structure and tried to fill in the blanks on the finances without asking me. To follow the money: MOSAC is proposing to purchase a conservation restriction valued at $257,500 for no more than $250,000. Funds will come from the Marion Land Bank Fund which is dedicated to expenses related to the acquisition of open space.

Q: “The economic substantive problem for this deal is the Commonwealth’s Constitutional Anti Aid Amendments. Municipalities are prohibited from making charitable contributions to fund special interest private projects.”
A: Agreed, but what is happening here is the “private project” is actually a town project that is receiving a charitable contribution from SLT.

I hope this answers your concerns and fills in some information gaps about our project.

Sincerely,
John Rockwell, Chair
Open Space Acquisition Commission