Orleans Approves Purchase of Sparrow Property; Conservation Trust to Clean Trails

The Cape Codder reports that voters approved ballot Question 8 at the Orleans annual town election of May 20, 2008: “Despite being indefinitely postponed at town meeting to continue negotiations with the land owners, an open space purchase of the Sparrow property in South Orleans passed, even though there was no dollar figure on the ballot.”

Here’s the text of Question 8 as it appeared on the ballot: “Shall the Town of Orleans be allowed to exempt from the provisions of proposition 2½, so-called, the amounts required to pay for the bond issued in order to fund the purchase of all or a portion of the land located at 353 South Orleans Road (Route 28), Orleans, MA consisting of approximately 6.55 acres, shown on the Orleans Assessor’s Map 68 as Parcel 8-1, including all expenses incidental and related thereto?”

Speaking of open space in Orleans, the Orleans Conservation Trust is holding a trail work day at the Icehouse and Rueben’s ponds trails this Friday, May 23, 2008. According to the announcement in The Cape Codder, “These properties, donated to Orleans Conservation Trust by the Hopkins, Moore, Wilbur, Garner-Martin families and others, protect 21.85 acres that wrap around Rueben’s Pond and through the pine-oak woodlands to the west end of Icehouse Pond and connect to Tonset Road by a series of loop trails. The Orleans Conservation Trust also owns a one-acre parcel between Icehouse Pond and Brick Hill Road."

Addendum on Sparrow Property, May 25, 2008:

The aforementioned 6.5-acre Sparrow Property has frontage on Arey's Pond and a tidal river, and is within the Pleasant Bay Area of Critical Environmental Concern. The Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs awarded the Town of Orleans a $500,000 Self-Help grant in November 2007 to help fund the purchase of the parcel. The project has received technical assistance from The Cape Cod Compact of Conservation Trusts.

According to the article “Grants Secure Several Open Space Purchases on Cape,” Cape Cod Times, November 9, 2007, “Orleans received a $500,000 grant to partially reimburse the town's plans to pay $1.27 million for the 6.5-acre Sparrow property on Arey's Pond and Namequoit Road within the Pleasant Bay Area of Critical Environmental Concern. The town is contributing $235,000, and $540,000 is coming from money set aside by the Cape Cod Commission for open space to offset the impact of the Shaw's Market renovation at Skaket Corners in Orleans.”