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"It made everybody jump because the letter makes it seem like the utility is on the verge of divesting, but I spoke to Mr. [Raul] DeBrigard [of NU] and he said the company is not ready to divest, but that this is a forward looking exercise and a way to find a workable mechanism for identifying parcels to preserve: Mr. Cavallaro said.
The maps of the town provided with the letter were opened and examined at the meeting, and the most prominent parcels on the maps were colored in pink: Candlewood Mountain and Vaughn's Neck on Candlewood Lake and the utility properties that run along the shores of the Housatonic River.
The properties highlighted in that color have already been identified by the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for conservation, Mr. Cavallaro said.
"We're supposed to fill out a wish list in 60 days," he explained, showing the group the form to fill out at the end of the letter.
In a recent interview, Mr. Cavallaro said most of the important properties in New Milford that should be considered for conservation have already been identified by the DEP, but Elaine LaBella of the Housatonic Valley Association indicated that the DEP's interest in those properties does not necessarily mean they are already bound for perpetual preservation.
"The more interest a town can show in these properties the better," Ms. LaBella said. "The state doesn't have any open space money, but we are advocating for the bond money to continue. So if a town or land trust is interested in a property, there is nothing prohibiting them from working on it."
The letter from NU is addressed to Mayor Patricia Murphy, dated Dec. 5 and written by Salvatore Giuliano, the manager of NU's Real Estate and Land Planning division.
"A portion of [the utility's] undeveloped lands are managed as open space," Mr. Giuliano writes, "and while it does not intend to sell these properties in the foreseeable future, there may be occasions when specific parcels may become available for sale. With that in mind, we are seeking your cooperation in identifying parcels which may be of interest to your municipality, if and when these parcels become available."
State statutes require that the utility must offer any land for sale to the municipality and the state before it is sold to a private party. In an effort to plan ahead for such instances, the DEP entered into an agreement with NU in April 2000 that governs the sale of vacant utility-owned land, the utility official explains. This agreement establishes a process through which parcels with "open space potential" are identified and put on a "Conservation List."
If those properties become available for sale, the towns and the state have 270 days to negotiate a purchase. Price must be based on fair market value, he noted.
"This gives the parties a realistic framework for arriving at a mutually satisfactory transaction," Mr. Giuliano writes. He notes that, "as a gesture of good will," the same privilege has been extended to land trusts and includes properties owned by Rocky River Realty, NU's real estate division.
While each municipality's Conservation Commission received a copy of the letter, ultimately the town's list must be sent out with the mayor's signature on it.
At the New Milford commission's Dec. 17 meeting, Mr. Cavallaro urged the commission to review the request, noting that he determined in a discussion with the mayor that she is "moving cautiously."
The mayor said in a phone interview that she needs to get a lot of questions answered and needs input from the various town departments and commissions before she can move forward with this request.
"I want to know if any of it carries liabilities," Ms. Murphy said of the NU properties. "Are they designated in our plan [as open space]? What properties does it affect? What does it do to enhance our community? Just because it's an NU property doesn't mean we want to own it. I looked at the map and I think some properties, maybe, but at what cost?"
Ms. LaBella of the Cornwall-based HVA hailed the letter from NU as a long-awaited step and a "great opportunity" for the towns to start planning for acquiring open space in the future.
"Now we all have the opportunity to protect what DEP hasn't earmarked," she said. "There is a lot of land in a lot of towns that everybody might have considered permanently protected, but they are not. At a time of changing marketplaces-even though the company has made no indication of selling anything, which we are delighted to know-we all have to take steps to make sure we are prepared."
