Selectmen approve placing $15,000 easement sale on special town meeting; debate National Grid sewer tie‑in and easement need

Selectmen voted to create a warrant article for the Dec. 10 special town meeting to authorize sale of a sewer easement under Donovan Road to National Grid for $15,000, with the proceeds expected to become free cash in the following fiscal year. The board recorded that the easement had originally cost the town roughly $300 in 1887 (adjusted in the discussion to an inflation-equivalent amount) and that National Grid will also pay for the sewer tie‑in.

Board members and staff spent substantial time clarifying whether National Grid requires a permanent easement or whether the standard sewer-permit and tie‑in process — which grants the utility permanent access to maintain a new connection — would suffice. Staff described an existing manhole adjacent to the salt shed and an old 12‑inch line; National Grid’s engineer had proposed running new pipe across town property to tie into that manhole rather than routing to the street connection. Several speakers cautioned that granting a permanent easement could impose long-term restrictions on the town’s use of the land (for example, limiting plantings or future structures) and recommended supplying the town’s rules and regulations to National Grid’s legal team for review first.

Town staff agreed to send the rules and regulations to National Grid’s attorneys and to draft a brief response acknowledging receipt and that the town was reviewing the proposed connection. The board also agreed to put the $15,000 easement sale on the Dec. 10 special town meeting warrant so National Grid representatives would know to attend. The transcript records the board’s direction but does not include a finalized easement deed or sale agreement; those documents will be prepared if the town meeting approves the article.