Stonington selectmen support groups' efforts to buy Coogan Farm
Mystic — The Stonington Board of Selectmen voted unanimously Wednesday to support an effort by the Trust for Public Land and the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center to seek a state grant of up to $500,000 to obtain a conservation easement for 34 acres of Coogan Farm.
The nature center, with help from the trust, has agreed to buy the land from the Clara Morgan Coogan Trust for $2.8 million.
The Campaign to Save the Coogan Farm has so far raised $320,000. The group hopes to raise $3.5 million to cover the purchase and other costs associated with preserving the land and allowing passive recreational use.
The two groups also have begun discussions with Stonington officials about having the town borrow $1.5 million to help the center purchase and preserve the land. That bonding was not discussed Wednesday.
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