East Lyme — The newly reconstituted Board of Selectmen on Wednesday authorized First Selectman Kevin Seery to enter into negotiations on 120 acres of open space that have been a preservation priority in town going back two decades.

The land comprises the brunt of the 152-acre Hathaway Property that was deeded by the King of England to Solomon Gee in the late 1600s, according to a previous real estate listing. It remained in the family for 10 generations until it was purchased by developers this summer for $1.05 million.

Now, the parcel is being offered to the town for $1.65 million in a deal worked out by the East Lyme Land Trust. The grassroots group is under contract on the property, though it hopes the town ultimately will take ownership.

East Lyme Land Trust President Ronald Luich said action must be taken soon to protect the land, and temporary funding has been secured to purchase it in the land trust's name while the town goes through the lengthy approval process to take over the purchase.

"We understand the town has a process they need to abide by that is going to take a little time, which will require us to close prior to the town's financial involvement being finalized," he said.

He said the organization needs to secure the land quickly to "prevent other land agents from obtaining and building on the property." He cited one unidentified developer interested in putting 100 homes there.

The property is owned by Hathaway Farm LLC and represented by former East Lyme resident Steve Harney. He has said the remaining 32 acres are being sold for residential development.

Luich told The Day this past week that the land trust has secured somewhere in the area of $1.2 million dollars as a "stopgap" to buy time before the town can get the purchase approved.

"We have a group of benefactors who, in the background, are in a financial position that they put together the funds" for the temporary loan, he said.

When asked if any of the benefactors would be willing to make a permanent donation toward the purchase to relieve the burden on taxpayers, he said he could not answer that.

Seery at the selectmen's meeting acknowledged the town will not be able to make a big purchase like this quickly. But he said he spoke with the town counsel about putting the process in motion when he sought approval of the language for the motion authorizing negotiations "with representatives of Hathaway Farm LLC regarding the possible purchase."

The selectmen's vote was unanimous.

"Here again, they know we can't move within a month, but I think it's something we need to move on in the next few months," Seery said.

The first selectman told The Day this past week that he would expect a referendum to be held sometime around April if an agreement is reached. The purchase would have to be endorsed by the Board of Selectmen and Board of Finance before going to a public vote.

The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection this spring gave the land trust a $400,000 grant for the purchase of the property that must be matched by the town.

Luich said the group has confirmed the land trust "can transfer those funds to the town should the town decide to move forward with the (option) to purchase the property."

Seery said there is $205,000 in the town's open space fund. He also cited the town's remaining $3.8 million in federal pandemic relief aid as a possible source of funding, though there are a limited amount of approved uses for the funds designed to help cities and towns recover from the coronavirus pandemic.

Harney told The Day in September that there'd been a $4 million offer from a developer for the entire chunk of land. But, as he said to selectmen at their meeting this past week, he's presenting the town with the opportunity to protect and preserve the space before he entertains other offers.

Harney is a former Board of Finance chairman and a former member of the land trust. He was involved in selling 166 acres of forestland at the headwaters of the Niantic River to a preservation organization in 2017 for $1.7 million, according to The Day archives.

Harney emphasized that the Hathaway purchase has been identified in the 2009 and 2019 East Lyme Plan of Conservation and Development as the first priority in terms of open space acquisition. The document, which must be updated every 10 years per state statute, provides an ongoing framework for the town's planning decisions.

The land trust says protecting the quality and quantity of drinking water in the area is the most important reason to conserve the aquifer-heavy property as open space. It is part of the public water system, which predominantly serves the southern and central portions of town south of Boston Post Road and extends north along Route 161, according to the town.

Preserving the property also would provide recreational opportunities, establish a forest block and preserve important elements related to geology, history and biodiversity, proponents say.

Open space advocates have expressed fear that there could be upward of 70 homes built on the property if it is developed, which they said would be a drain on the school system, water system and police department — and on taxpayers' wallets.

They argue open spaces generate more public revenue than they require in municipal services, as indicated in a 2020 document from the American Farmland Trust and the state Department of Agriculture. The document cited the town of Lebanon, where each dollar of property tax generated by farm and open land required only 20 cents for municipal services. That was compared to residential land, which required $1.15 in municipal services.

e.regan@theday.com