Littleton Select Board Advances Nagog Hill Orchard Sale With Public-Engagement Plan

LITTLETON — April 22, 2024 — Littleton Select Board advances Nagog Hill Orchard sale plan and approves $423,803 sidewalk contract. At its April 22 meeting, the board reached consensus to have members Karen Morrison and Matthew Donahue draft a memorandum of understanding with the Nagog Hill Orchard Ad Hoc Working Group before the May 7 Annual Town Meeting, committing to at least two MAPC-facilitated public forums on buyer criteria, a two-envelope RFP process, and a public presentation of the working group's recommendation before any final vote — a response to community concerns that the sale process lacked adequate transparency. Working Group member Amy Tarlolewis warned that the property, subject to a state Agricultural Preservation Restriction, risks state intervention if not actively farmed, saying "there are simpler places to go to get land" and the clock is ticking on interested buyers. The board also unanimously awarded a $423,803.80 sidewalk contract on Taylor Street to JW Harding Construction Company Inc. of West Bridgewater, funded largely by Amazon as a condition of its prior development approvals, and voted to add Lakeview Road near Long Lake Beach to the town's list of enforceable no-parking streets ahead of the summer season.