Exeter downtown park plan in limbo: Here's why Select Board have concerns

EXETER — A plan to turn an "eyesore" vacant lot on Water Street into a public park has hit a roadblock as town officials conduct due diligence on the cost and economic impact of the deal.

The Select Board held a second public hearing Monday night regarding the donation of the land at 23 Water St. from Elliott Berkowitz and Nancy Phillips. The couple has offered to gift the 3,300-square-foot property to the town with the stipulation that it becomes a public park and the town accept the donation by Dec. 29.

The board made no decision Monday and will meet again Dec. 28 at 8 a.m. to make a final decision.

Town Manager Russ Dean said Tuesday that residents have voiced concerns about the financial impact of accepting the donation. They wondered how much tax revenue the town would miss out on from private development and how much it would spend to create a park.

“When we talked about this internally, we really did not have a full-blown answer to that question,” said Dean. “This needed to be looked at in terms of a design and vetted through a process of design and that wasn’t something that – I don’t want to speak for Parks and Rec – but I think that was not something they were prepared to do at the moment.”

The Select Board expressed similar concerns Monday night.

Selectwoman Nancy Belanger said the proposed donation is a generous offer but wished the board had been given more time to make a decision.

Belanger said she is “really concerned” with not knowing the cost of turning the property into a park.

“Although I appreciate it, and I would absolutely love to see a green space there, if that’s where the town goes, I just feel like we’re premature on this conversation on several levels, with too many unanswered questions,” Belanger said.

Selectwoman Molly Cowan pointed out that the location of the property, downtown and along Water Street, is the most valuable space as far as tax revenue is concerned. The land is sandwiched between Il Cornicello and The Chocolatier and is considered by many to be an "eyesore."

“I do think there is room for green space and room for a park, but also I don’t know that I feel comfortable recommending this to our taxpayers without… (knowing) how much money would we have to put into that,” said Cowan.

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Exeter has until end of month to accept land donation

Berkowitz told the board Monday that the Dec. 29 deadline given to the town to accept the donation isn't flexible. Berkowitz previously said the decision to donate the land was for the “right purpose,” while Phillips said a park would keep their legacy in town alive.

She previously said the timeline was “simply (a) matter of estate planning.”

“… For a lot of other things in our businesses and things that we’ve done personally, it (accepting the donation) would have to be done by the 29th of this month… it would have to be a registered deed in this year,” Berkowitz told the board.

If the town does not accept the donation, Berkowitz said the couple will move forward with their initial plan for the space when they purchased the land in 2018 to build a mixed-use building.

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Board seeks more info before making decision

Select Board Chair Niko Papakonstantis said Tuesday that he has tasked Dean to gather as much information as possible before their next meeting.

Papakonstantis said the town would have had ample time to do its due diligence had the potential donation been offered earlier. However, he said the board is “doing the best we can” given the time constraints.

“The Select Board is committed to continue to investigate the possible acquisition, but doing so and doing what’s best for the community and the taxpayers and making sure most importantly, ensuring that the board does its due diligence as we would on any other land acquisition,” Papakonstantis said.

Darren Winham, the town’s economic development director, previously said the donation came together quickly.

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It was first presented to the town's Planning Board, Conservation Commission, Historic District Commission and Heritage Commission on Dec. 7. By state law, those boards had to recommend accepting the donation before the Select Board could act on whether to accept or deny the donation.

The property at 23 Water St. has been vacant for over three decades. A fire in June 1990 destroyed what was Exeter Jewelers’ former location and a shoe store. The only remnants of the buildings are the stone foundations barricaded behind a rotting wooden fence.

Berkowitz purchased the property in 2018.

The Select Board will meet again on Thursday, Dec. 28, at 8 a.m. to make a final decision on the donation.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Exeter NH board to decide on Water Street downtown park donation