Hartford vs. Wash.Co. lawsuit (Eldridge Lane) settlement

On Friday April 19th, Washington County Board of Supervisors will vote to approve a settlement in Hartford’s lawsuit against the County over the Eldridge Lane landfill property in order to avoid a May 4th Washington County Supreme Court hearing on the matter. The Town already approved this settlement this past Tuesday.

In 2011, when I first looked into it, the County had mysteriously stopped making all payments to the Town and School for the previous 6 years.

Since I raised the issue in 2011, the County has paid $126,000 to the Town and School in back payments for PILOT (Payment In Lieu Of Taxes).

The details of this $126,000 received to date are;
Back PILOT payments to the Town paid 2011 = $15,581
Back PILOT payments to the School paid 2011 = $55,309
2012 January scheduled PILOT payment to Town = $3,116
2012 September scheduled PILOT payment to School = $9,218
2013 January scheduled PILOT payment to Town = $3,116

The proposed settlement of the lawsuit will provide the Town an additional lump sum of $40,000 and insure a $4,000 payment annually in lieu of taxes to the town for as long as the County still owns the land.

The Town will now take over maintenance control of the road. We are doing this because this would be the only dirt road maintained by the county and most likely would be poorly maintained. It is in the best public safety interest of those citizens living on Eldridge Lane to have the town maintain the road. Besides, once the County sells the land, the County will no longer be the largest land owner on the road and it is only natural that the town maintain it.

Now that this lawsuit will be settled, I will shift focus to get the County to sell the 485 acres of land and get it back onto the tax rolls where it belongs.

Regards, Dana