To the Editor:
Are there angels or maybe a Santa Claus in Mattapoisett or the Old Rochester School District?
The group of residents who petitioned Mattapoisett to acquire a “wooded island” bordering Route 6 and directly across the highway from Old Rochester Regional Junior High School is now looking for private sources to fund its acquisition.
An attempt to fund the purchase through the Community Preservation Act failed at the November special town meeting by a vote of 59-41.
The island is made up of three parcels between the length of Chapel Road and Route 6. Two parcels at the west end are assessed as unbuildable. The 3.1-acre parcel at the east end is on the market as a buildable lot for $105,000. It can be connected to town sewer.
The original petition contained the names of 265 year-round and summer residents from throughout the town, some of who expressed a willingness to contribute to keep the land as open space.
Now the petitioners need to know if there might be substantial gifts forthcoming to raise the $110,000 needed, especially from anyone wishing to make use of tax advantages available now.
They have approached the Mattapoisett Land Trust as a potential holder of contributions and eventual owner of the property. That matter is under consideration.
The petitioners feel the more than 1,200 feet of woodland bordering both sides of the Route 6 curve in that neighborhood lends to the town’s rural character which is slowly changing along that road. In addition, it serves as a natural barrier between Chapel Road homes and the noisy highway.
Small as it is, the acreage is home to such wildlife as squirrels, gray, red and black fox, turkeys, raccoons, deer (especially during hunting season), box turtles and scores of native birds.
For more information, or if you have any questions, please give me a call at 508-758-3579.
Brad Hathaway
Mattapoisett