Preston — An unmarked gravel road off Route 164 goes straight down a gradual slope to a sharp left curve that eventually leads to the state boat launch at Amos Lake.

Along this drive to the left is large tract of picturesque wooded land crossed with century-old stone walls that neatly divide the former farmland into rectangular sections - except for one curious small, perfectly round stone wall pen with a 2-foot-wide opening.

Residents will decide Thursday at a special town meeting whether to purchase this 28-acre long-vacant parcel at 178 Route 164, now owned by the Pappalardo family. Last fall, town officials received an offer from the family's attorney, Janet McCurdy, to make "a contribution of land in some fashion with the possibility of income in return."

Town Planner Kathy Warzecha ironed out details with McCurdy to define the proposal. The parcel was surveyed, and a 2-acre piece that abuts the state-owned land at Amos Lake and includes a portion of a small pond would be preserved as open space. The town would pay $30,000 for this piece, using open space acquisition funds that have accrued over time through subdivision fees.

The remaining 26 acres of dry, mostly flat farmland would be the family's donation to the town.

"It's all pretty flat, and most of it is buildable," First Selectman Robert Congdon said Friday during a tour of the property. "The ability to have it be both open space and unrestricted land leaves all your options open, whether it's for open space or town facilities."

The town has eyed this piece several times over the years, possibly for an open space park or the site for a new town hall. But it wasn't for sale.

The land also has 1,190 feet of frontage along the state right of way from the road to the lake.

If residents approve the offer as presented, no tax money would be used for the purchase, and the town would lose little in tax revenue, since the property is taxed at a reduced farmland rate, Congdon said.

Yet some issues were raised by the Preston Conservation Commission at its Feb. 27 meeting. Commission members questioned whether the town should spend most of the remaining nearly $40,000 in the open space account to purchase a pond and wetlands - land already protected from development.

Conservation Commission Chairman Gary Piszczek said during the meeting that if the town wants to use the land for development in the future, town general fund money should pay for it. Commission member and Selectman Timothy Bowles suggested increasing the amount of open space to be preserved, but he said using conservation funds to protect an aquifer did make sense.

Members said they would raise the issues during the town meeting and might ask that town general fund money instead of conservation funds be used for the purchase.

A second item on Thursday's town meeting agenda asks if residents wish to approve an ordinance that would allow low-income military veterans or their surviving spouses an additional $10,000 in property tax exemption. The full two-page ordinance is posted on the town's website at www.preston-ct.org and also is available at the town clerk's office.

c.bessette@theday.com

If you go

What: Preston special town meeting on land purchase and veterans' tax exemptions.

When: Thursday, 7:30 p.m.

Where: Preston Veterans Memorial School, 325 Route 165, Preston.