CONCORD, N.H. (AP) – The Executive Council postponed a decision on the purchase of 7,200 acres in Berlin for an off-road vehicle park to allow time for a public hearing.

The council will take up the proposed $2.16 million purchase on Nov. 16 but said the public should weigh in before a final decision is made.

The delay triggered some fears from supporters, including Berlin Mayor Robert Danderson.

“We’re on the cusp of being the best destination for ATVs in the country,” he said. The extensive acreage abutting the White Mountain National Forest and Jericho Lake would allow for as many as 350 miles of trails for all-terrain vehicles and trail bikes along with hiking, skiing and other recreational uses, he said. An ATV park of that scope would become a major tourist destination and bring much-needed revenue to the North Country and the state coffers, he said.

“I’d hate to see the deal float down the Androscoggin,” he said. “To delay it could end it.”

Berlin, which owns about 300 acres around Jericho Lake is proposing to give that to the state if the deal goes through. If approved, the combined land would become a new state park.

But the majority of councilors wanted an opportunity for public comment and had questions about some of the terms of the purchase agreement.

It gives the sellers, loggers Tom and Scott Dillon, the right to harvest timber from the land for the next five years and a permanent right to remove gravel from three gravels pits. It also would require the state to repay part of the cost to the sellers at 7 percent interest, a sum deemed steep by several councilors. They argued a bond would be cheaper.

“It seems like this contract is driven by the seller,” Councilor Peter Spaulding said.

Sean O’Kane, commissioner of the Department of Resources and Economic Development, said letting the Dillons keep timber and gravel rights helped reduce the purchase price to $300 an acre.

Otherwise the cost would be more than double, he said.

“I’m upset at your agency and the lack of information,” Councilor Debora Pignatelli told O’Kane.

She said she was inclined to support the purchase, but wanted more information made available to the public. Andrew Walters, who leads a group called ATV Watch, has been pursuing information under the Right-to-Know law and has a case against the department in court.

Among other things, Pignatelli said she was upset that the department had asked the council for money to hire an appraiser – two months after the appraiser had conducted his survey.

O’Kane said the appraiser went up to Berlin without his approval and was gathering information in advance of getting the job.

Spaulding, who said he spoke with the appraiser, didn’t buy that argument. “He had information from (the department) about what the conditions of the appraisal were,” he said.

Sen. John Gallus, R-Berlin, noted that the Legislature had mandated the state create new trails for ATVs when it raised the registration fees.

“I think we have an obligation to the ATV community,” he told the council.