The Wilton Conservation Commission held an Open Space Budgeting Work Session on Tuesday, June 29th, @ 7:00 PM (to 9:00 PM) at the Town Hall Courtroom.

This was a meeting of the Wilton Conservation Commission/Open Space Team.  Members present were Spencer Brookes, Les Tallarico, Michael Dell’Orto, and Lynne Draper.  Also attending was Jessie Salisbury of Lyndeborough.

The speaker was Dorothy (“Dijit”) Taylor, of the Center for Land Conservation Assistance (CLCA), which is part of the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests.

• Dijit began her presentation by listing some figures for Wilton, including population, expected population growth, percentages of conserved land, current use land, etc.  She discussed how the “Smart Growth” strategy is now being utilized in many communities around the state; Lynne attended a  “Smart Growth” program presented by NRPC last year.  Dijit suggested that if the Planning Board has not seen the “Smart Growth” program, that perhaps our NRPC circuit rider Steve Wagner could arrange for them to see it or have the materials.
• Several ways of funding open space/conservation land/easements include:  Line Items in the Budget, Warrant Articles, drawing from the Town Fund Balance at the end of the year, and Bonding.  All of these have been successful in various towns in the state.
• Dijit then began her discussion of Bonding, which was the main topic as requested by the Conservation Commission.
- Up until about 4 years ago, bonding was not a popular way to fund open space/ conservation land/easements; now it is highly successful all over the state.
- Must work with Budget Committee and Town Counsel to produce a successful bond article.
- Get in touch with the Municipal Bond Bank in Concord, as they will be extremely helpful.
- A bond is essentially “a line of credit”, over “x” amount of years, and does not affect the tax rate until after the money is spent to purchase the land.
- Bonding can be done for specific parcels and/or general land acquisition.
- A bond can be written for either a specific period of time or for a non-specific timeline.  Most towns in the state haven’t established a time end.  Where towns have done so, the specific time periods range from 1 to 5 years.
- Need to look at the impact to taxes, how long you will spread out the bond payments, dollars of bond per dollars of tax, etc.
- Need to do two studies critical to the bonding:  (1) Cost of Community Services, a general look at the whole town for one year, this gives you a summary view of costs of community services; (2) Cost Comparison Study, which compares certain parcels of land, real values of land, numbers of children per household, numbers of children in school, etc.
- Regarding the final authority to spend money/purchase land, the bond article can choose to go back to a Special Town Meeting or a public hearing by the Selectmen and Conservation Commission.
- Create a process that voters will understand and trust.
- Educate your town boards as well as voters on both the process and the specific bond article.
• Other funding sources for open space/conservation land/easements include:
- Possibly LCHIP
- NH Fish & Game Department
- Forest Legacy Program
- Farmland Protection Program
- Land & Water Conservation Fund
- Trust for Public Lands
- Grants/Gifts from charitable foundations
- Public monies raised in connection with specific parcel purchase campaigns
- Work with established land trusts; they can sometimes assist with finding funding
• Dijit provided a lot of materials and contact lists, etc. to assist in the bonding process; these will be very helpful, especially as some are quite specific (the cost studies).  Contact CLCA or SPNHF for assistance.
• A brief question and answer period was held.  Questions included inquiring about funding for historic and cultural preservation (historic homes, historic farms, historic sites, etc.) – talk with Linda Wilson of the NH Department of Historical Resources, the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance, or the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities.

The meeting was adjourned at approximately 9:00 PM.

Submitted by Lynne Draper