At the January 6th meeting of the Board of Selectmen the Selectmen as Trustees of the Governor Stoughton Land did a page turn of the most recent draft of an RFP that will seek to meet the intent of the Governor’s will: to provide assistance to Milton’s poor.

There is one issue that they will seek town counsel input on in a closed session on January 20th. That is: whether or not to include a minimum price on the land should a party want to purchase it outright. Selectman Shields suggested that a minimum price might not be advisable as it could possibly discourage some non-profits from submitting a proposal. It could potentially stifle creativity in the proposals they receive. This is connected to another factor that surprised some which was that the Selectmen were entertaining a sale of the property at all. Previously they had indicated that a long term lease would be the best course of action as it would allow the town to retain control of the land. However, they will entertain a sale because they want to encourage any and all proposals. As Town Administrator Mearn told us, “They want to cast as wide a net as possible.” Mr. Mearn also noted that unlike other RFPs, the Selectmen will not be appointing a group or committee to vet the proposals but will be reading all the submissions that come in

A reading of the current RFP does not reflect favoritism or bias to any ideas or proposals that have been suggested to date. The Selectmen will continue the discussion in open session at their meeting on 01/20; going not closed session for that portion to be discussed with town counsel.

The full text of the current draft RFP can be found here.