AUBURN — The School Committee voted 5-2 Wednesday night to accept a land swap to settle a dispute over land near the East Auburn Community School.

The School Department will give the East Auburn Community Unit five acres near the school in exchange for a 50-by-500-foot strip near the school.

Bonnie Hayes and City Councilor James Pross voted against the deal.

No money was exchanged, but the dispute cost Auburn taxpayers $25,000 in legal fees.

The strip of land is valued at $15,000, about the same as the five acres, which contains wetlands and cannot be developed.

For years, the school has used the strip of land next to the school for a bus turnaround and parking. The East Auburn Community Unit donated land to the school years ago. It turned out that the strip of land was not included in the original donation and was still owned by the East Auburn Community Unit.

That discovery was made, according to an Aug. 9 Sun Journal report, when East Auburn Community Unit Treasurer Alan Whitman looked up boundary lines during the school’s parking lot renovations. Whitman said the land belongs to its ballfield next door, not the school.

Whitman notified the School Department that it didn’t own the strip. The dispute came to a head in February, when the East Auburn Community Unit told the School Department it would block access to the land.

The School Department stopped East Auburn teachers from parking on the strip and hired a lawyer.

At the meeting Wednesday night, attorney David Sherman went over the settlement. He said he spoke with East Auburn Community Unit lawyer Charlie Gilbert to ensure that group was on board with the settlement.

“He called me and the answer was essentially yes,” Sherman said.

The East Auburn Community Unit will vote on the settlement, Sherman said.

Hayes asked how many members the East Auburn Community Unit has.

Sherman said he believes the board has five members.

“What does the East Auburn Community Unit do as a nonprofit for the community?” Hayes asked.

Sherman said he didn’t know. It does have a softball field, he said.

The community reach “seems pretty limited,” Sherman said. The organization is a registered nonprofit with the state.

Hayes questioned why the School Department should give up five acres for a much smaller strip.

“I don’t understand why they should get this (five acres) for us to get this (500-foot strip). I don’t get it,” Hayes said.

Sherman said he couldn’t answer her questions other than to say it’s a business decision.

No one representing the East Auburn Community Unit attended the meeting.

Hayes said the legal fees “have gotten way out of hand. I think that’s obnoxious on everybody’s part. I’ll put the blame here as well as East Auburn Community Unit.”

School Committee member Heidi Lachapelle asked if the School Department will have an easement to the five acres.

That’s not in the settlement, Sherman said.

The School Department wanted an easement, but the East Auburn Community Unit said no, so the department abandoned the request to get the issue settled, Sherman said.

Copy the Story Link