JAY — Selectmen gave permission Monday for the town manager to have a 99-year lease drawn up for about 1.5 acres of town-owned land to be used by the Andy Valley Riders Snowmobile Club.

The parcel, one of 34 acres the town owns behind the Jay Plaza, is next to the town’s access road.

Club members had approached town officials in February looking for a piece of property for the club to build a garage to repair and store grooming equipment. The building would also have a meeting room.

Club President Duane Gross previously said the club would like to garage the 46-foot Piston Bully snow groomer, which town voters bought for the club years ago. The groomer cost the town $47,000, and is currently housed outside.

“We had 70 members in the club last year,” Gross said Monday. “With this location we have the best of both — the power lines on the right and railroad bed on the left. We want to have a building so that we can drive in and drive out.”

A deed would be nice, Gross said, and if anything happened, such as the club disbanding, the property would revert back to the town.

Board of Selectmen Chairman Steve McCourt said he had a concern about whether to sell or lease the property. It’s 34 acres, but the town cannot put a business park on it because of road construction requirements and the wetlands on it.

“I just don’t know if we should sell it and get some taxation out of it,” McCourt said.

Selectman Tom Goding said he liked the idea of leasing it.

The lowest lease possible is $1 a year, Town Manager Ruth Marden said. She was directed to have a lease drawn up that would include a clause that if the club disbands, the property reverts to the town.

Selectmen will vote on the proposal once the lease agreement is ready, Marden said.

In other business, selectmen accepted Jay Summer Recreation Director Amanda Comeau’s resignation at the end of this year’s program, with regret. Her husband has taken a job out of state, Marden said.

Marden said she would explore the possibility of consolidating services with other towns. Livermore Falls summer recreation Director Brenda Bryant is also resigning at the end of that program.

dperry@sunjournal.com