By Jason Starr
The Essex Reporter

Essex residents authorized the $186,700 purchase of the Tree Farm Recreation Facility last Thursday during a special town meeting at Essex High School.

Essex Assistant Town Manager Trevor Lashua said the State of Vermont, which owns the property, will now formalize a purchase-and-sale agreement to execute the sale. Management of the 100-acre soccer field complex on Old Colchester Road will be overseen by both the Town of Essex and Village of Essex Junction, governed by a memorandum of understanding both entities have agreed to.

The town and village will seek to continue through at least 2022 the current arrangement whereby management and upkeep of the property is handled by the non-profit Tree Farm Management Group.

Use of the property is restricted to recreation. Essex High School has expressed interest in using a portion of the property for cross-country running and skiing trails. Any new use would have to be approved by the Essex Selectboard and the Village Board of Trustees.

Of the 120 residents who voted Thursday, 114 voted in favor of the purchase.

The Vermont Legislature authorized the sale of the Tree Farm last year, and in November, the Department of Buildings and General Services notified the town it was prepared to sell the property. Lashua said the $186,700 sale price is less than half the market value of the property.

The town is using funds from the sale of two residential-area properties completed last year, as well as $27,000 in a capital fund, to purchase the Tree Farm.

The memorandum of understanding allows both the town and village an opportunity to subdivide their portion of the property at any time. The village line bisects the property.