NORWAY – Selectmen were given a presentation on the newly renamed Roberts Farm property at their meeting Thursday.

The Western Foothills Land Trust signed a purchase agreement for the 150-acre parcel of Pike’s Hill land in July, and may close the deal in September. The property was part of a 161-acre parcel that the Growth Council of Oxford Hills originally purchased for development of a technology park.

“This one we threw in just for the Norway selectmen,” joked Lee Dassler, the trust’s program coordinator. She was showing a slide arguing that protected land was more beneficial to the town, as it does not incur the costs associated with town services, such as water and sewer lines.

Dassler also shared several slides detailing the history of the property, which had been in the Pike and Roberts families from 1787 to 2000. The Roberts Farm property gets its name from John A. Roberts, who married Carrie Pike in 1881. Roberts served as both a state representative and senator, as well as the state commissioner of agriculture.

The trust hopes to protect scenic views from the area around Lake Pennesseewassee by keeping the land undeveloped. Dassler cited development of ridges around lakes that had affected views of the land surrounding the water.

The trust plans to support the local timber industry by having a forest management plan and to install recreational trails, including wheelchair-accessible ones. The trust also aims to protect local wildlife and habitats and improve the quality of the water in the lake.

“I’m all for it,” Selectman Bruce Cook said.

“I’m very happy to see that it’s not in the hands of a developer,” Selectman Leslie Flanders said.

President Robert Van Nest of the trust said the organization is open to development on the land, but in such a way that views of the hillside property would not be affected. He cited cluster housing as an example.

The selectmen recommended that the trust continue to allow snowmobiles to operate on existing trails, and the trust members said they intended to do so.

In addition, the board approved amendments to the town’s sewer ordinance. Under the amendments, selectmen determine sewer service charge rates on a year-to-year basis, and the sewer charge will be calculated and billed at regular intervals throughout the year.

The amendments also state that businesses that produce 9,759 cubic feet per year or less will be considered as single-family dwelling units. The unit rate will be adjusted by this usage rate to determine how many units a business consists of.

The town may also require a business to pay the cost of handling and treating effluent discharge with high biochemical oxygen and suspended solids.

The selectmen tabled a decision on whether to renew a lease agreement between the town and Community Concepts for the Norway Children’s Center. The agreement expires at the end of September.

The board also tabled a decision on proposed parking amendments to impose 15-minute parking limits on spaces near Pikes Hill Road.

“I’m not sure that the select board should be solving parking issues for private businesses,” Selectman William Damon said.

Selectmen approved writing off loans to seven individuals and transferring loans to nine other individuals to Community Concepts. Town Manager David Holt said it was time to “turn our focus elsewhere and get out of the banking business.”

The board also discussed the need to allow credit card payments to take place at the town office by the end of the year. In addition, the board hopes to update the town’s Web site and begin accepting credit card payments online.