Two Greenfield residents approached the select board on Tuesday evening regarding the formation of a volunteer committee aimed at possibly purchasing a parcel of land in the center of town.
The 0.55-acre parcel is located near the Harvester Market and the Riverhouse Cafe. The parcel is currently owned by Rymes Propane & Oil.
Paul Renaud, who is on the planning board and was one of the residents who approached the select board on Tuesday evening, said the piece of property is assessed at $153,000. He said the town inquired about the piece of property last spring, and the company said in an email that it would entertain ideas.
But that was more than a year ago now.
During the meeting, Chair Margaret Charig Bliss said it may be presumptuous to assume the company is still in the market to sell.
“It does seem a little premature to form a committee to figure out what we might do with the piece of land that is somebody else’s,” Charig Bliss said.
Select board member Robert Marshall disagreed though, saying he would hate to have the town miss out on an opportunity to have volunteers pursue the idea and bring recommendations back to the board.
“Why wouldn’t you want a committee to investigate these questions?” Marshall said.
In the end, the board agreed to allow the committee to move forward with its research.
Renaud said there are many options for the parcel, which will be explored by the committee.
“I’m not going to sit here and say what the route is that we should take because that’s why we need to form a committee,” he said. “I could lay out what we can do and what we can’t do.”
One idea expressed during the meeting would be to use the open space as a central meeting area where residents could host town events like farmers markets and concerts.
The topic will be discussed at the next select board meeting.
Abby Kessler can be reached at 924-7172, ext. 234 or akessler@ledgertranscript.com.