The possible town purchase of the LeSage property, a plot of land the town currently leases for school field use, is moving forward to town meeting on Thursday, Oct. 13 at Walter C. Polson Middle School after the Board of Selectman (BOS) negotiated a final price of $800,000. The property is located at 351 Copse Road and which abuts the current Green Hill Road school campus.

The town has leased 4.7 acres of the property for the past 12 years for use as fields, and the Board of Education (BOE) has now requested the town move forward and purchase the land entirely.

First Selectman Tom Banisch said moving forward with the purchase is the right move for the town in the long run.

“The Plan of Conservation and Development calls for us to consider purchasing adjacent properties when they become available,” he said. “That is the strategy involved with the BOE on this particular property. I think we can always sell it later on, but if we don’t get it when we have the opportunity to, we could be passing up an opportunity for maybe more tennis courts, more parking, or whatever improvements we might not be aware of at this time.”

The final price of $800,000 was negotiated with the current property owners by the BOS. However, at a Board of Finance (BOF) meeting on July 20, Finance Director Stacey Nobitz said while the net cost of the property is $800,000, the town many not have to cut a check for that full sum.

“There is approximately $300,000 left in a LOCAP Fund Project, that the town could vote to dedicate toward the purchase,” she said previously. “The BOF has not made a final decision on where the funds will come from.”

Additionally, over the past 12 years the town has invested $341,000 in lease payments on the property, including $180,000 that has been paid into escrow for the ultimate purchase of the property if it were to become available.

“The way the agreement was written was every monthly payment would include an amount that would be put toward the purchase price if we chose to buy the property,” said Banisch.

Since the property became available, rumors have been circling over the BOE’s possible use for the land as one proposed option in the school utilization study includes building a new school, possibly on that property. While that option is still on the table, Superintendent of Schools Tom Scarice previously said that is not the main reason to buy the property.

“It certainly is in the consideration for one of the options going forward for our school configuration long-term study,” he said. “It does keep that option in play. Whether or not we go with that option remains to be seen.”

The Town Meeting will be held Thursday, Oct. 13 at 6 p.m. at Walter C. Polson Middle School.