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Politics & Government

Town Ends Agreement with Turner Well

Selectmen approved dissolving the 10-year-old agreement with the Turner Homestead group on Monday night.

The town will no longer have access to the Turner Well after selectmen approved dissolving the 10-year-old agreement with the Turner Homestead group.

Since 1992, the town has been paying an annual fee for access to the well, Town Manager Keith Hickey said at Monday's selectmen meeting. In 2012, the fee was $35,000.

Hickey said the town has never had to pull water from the well and that it served only as an emergency reserve. The well has also been used by Campbell's Scottish Highlands Country Club and is located nearby.

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"We've had conversations through the budget process about no longer having a need for access to the Turner Well for a number of reasons," he said. "The board during their budget review agreed to no longer include the annual fee that we pay for the ability to access water from the Turner Well."

He said the town has increased its water conservation efforts and has identified other water sources in the 10 years since the agreement was made.

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Hickey said the language of the agreement allowed either party to end the arrangement with "proper notification." He said he has been talking with representatives of the Turner Homestead Inc. group, who have agreed to terminate the arrangement effective Dec. 31.

The approval passed with unanimous support from selectmen. Selectman Michael Lyons voted by telephone.

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