After a couple of delays, and a protracted process that began under the prior Board of Selectmen, officials finally and unanimously voted to accept a conservation easement at Castle Hill Farms that will preserve the property and its pristine agricultural soil while allowing the Paproski family to continue to occupy the site and carry on agricultural and agri-tourism pursuits there.

A different easement, along with $450,000 in matching funds bonded and pledged by the town, had already been approved by selectmen, as well as the Board of Finance and Legislative Council, before it was rejected by the Paproskis. That came after they learned about numerous onerous restrictions that would have compromised their family’s livelihood on the local farm, which hosts seasonal activities, private events, pumpkin picking, hayrides, and a corn maze that draws enthusiastic visitors from around the country.

First Selectman Dan Rosenthal explained to Selectmen Jeff Capeci and Maureen Crick Owen November 2 that after the family backed away from that original deal, a better alternate developed, and after one year where they did not qualify for the necessary funding to make it work, a follow-up application was accepted.

The latest funding and easement came through the participation of the Connecticut Farmland Trust. Local land use attorney Robert Hall represented the Paproskis through the critical stage of negotiations and appeared on their behalf before the selectmen.

Rosenthal explained that besides being markedly better for the family in terms of its allowances for their business pursuits, the town’s contribution toward the latest easement was only $299,000, leaving an existing appropriation balance available to possibly secure additional contiguous open space to another town-owned parcel.

The 31.5 acres to be preserved incorporates the entire frontage and property owned by the family along Sugar Street/Route 302 and Sugar Lane — what Rosenthal described as the “most developable” part of the property with “trophy views.”

“It’s a vista that is in the town’s best interest to preserve,” the first selectman said, “and I’m glad the Paproskis held in there, and the town did, too.”

Calling the final outcome a “nice project for the town,” Hall described it as a win for the Paproski family, the community, and longstanding municipal efforts to maximize tax dollars toward high-profile open space acquisitions that dated back to the Herb Rosenthal administration.

Hall said the attorney for the Farmland Trust also had roots in Newtown, and that his father was a former resident.

The new approval went to the council and received final approval two nights later.

Emergency Communications Update

Another item on the agenda involved Dan Rosenthal updating selectmen about the ongoing emergency communications upgrade.

He explained that a utility shed at the Ferris Road communications tower site that the town is using was deemed viable by a consultant for use as part of the upgrade, versus demolishing and constructing a new one.

The first selectman also apprised selectmen that a lease agreement between the property owner and the telecom company that owns the tower set is to expire in ten years, and that it is too soon for the company to begin negotiating a lease renewal for the tower parcel.

Rosenthal said if that lease is not renewed, it is important for officials to know that town communications gear on that tower would likely have to be relocated. At the same time, he said such a prospect is far enough in the future that current efforts to locate a new tower site are unnecessary.