Groton — The Town Council will hold a virtual public hearing at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday on the proposed sale of the former William Seely School property at 55 Seely School Drive.

By state statute, the town is required to hold a public hearing on the sale of the property, independent of whom the property ultimately gets sold to, Town Manager John Burt said.

Once the hearing is held, the matter then would be referred to the Representative Town Meeting, town Planning and Development Director Jon Reiner said.

Separate from the hearing on the sale of the property, the Town Council is slated at its meeting Tuesday to discuss and potentially vote on an option agreement with DonMar Development Corp. of North Haven, the preferred developer for the site, Reiner said.

DonMar Development is proposing to build a 280-unit apartment complex, called "Triton Square," with a clubhouse, pool, grilling stations, walking trail and dog park.

The option agreement would allow DonMar to start doing its due diligence for the project, which includes a substantial financial outlay, Burt said.

“The agreement allows the potential purchaser the ability to fully inspect the property to determine its suitability for the project, including a comprehensive environmental assessment and the satisfaction of certain other conditions as may be required by the purchaser, to allow a multifamily residential development,” he said.

During the option agreement period, the developer would submit plans to the Town Council to get the go-ahead and then seek approvals from the Inland Wetlands and Planning and Zoning Commission, among others, said Reiner and Assistant Planning Director Deb Jones.

The proposed option agreement is for 12 months, but could be extended to 18 months. The sale price is $1, and the developer would take on the liability of approximately $2.1 million to demolish the school, Burt said.

Calls to postpone hearing

Burt said an executive order issued by the governor waives many public meeting requirements during the pandemic, as long as municipalities provide an opportunity for the public to view or listen to the meeting in real time.

But some neighboring residents and property owners have called on the town to postpone the meeting until they can attend in person and have sent in letters to The Day.

Neighboring property owner Gretchen Chipperini raised concerns, including that many people don’t have access to technology or don’t know how to participate in a meeting electronically, or they won’t know that the option to do so exists.

“The right and proper thing to do is postpone the hearing until after the COVID-19 emergency has ended,” Groton resident John Irving Suarez wrote in a letter to the editor.

Town Mayor Patrice Granatosky said during this time the town is delaying some non-urgent meetings, such as a task force on short-term rentals, but still needs to move forward with tackling vital matters. Town staff set up avenues so people have opportunities to comment.

People wishing to provide live comments directly to the council during the meeting should register by 4:30 p.m. Monday so they can obtain a link to participate online via the Zoom website or app, as well as a phone number they could call instead of going online, Burt said. To register, people should email Council@groton-ct.gov saying they would like to register, along with their name and phone number, or they can call (860) 441-6633 with the same information. People also can email written comments for the record to Council@groton-ct.gov.

“Since there is no way to know how long the current situation will continue, the Council is attempting to proceed as normally as possible with town business, while best enabling the public to participate,” Burt said.

k.drelich@theday.com