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Westbrook Voters to Weigh In on Open Space Grant

Westbrook voters will be asked to approve the receipt of $315,000 in grant money to purchase land from Toby Hill Associates that will help protect Westbrook’s water resources. A town meeting on the proposal is set for 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb 2 at Town Hall.

First Selectman John Hall explained that the grant money will be combined with money the town already has to purchase the land for a total of $521,000. The parcel of approximately 130 acres is located at the end of the paved area of Tony Hill Road to the north east.

According to Heidi Wallace, the town’s inland wetlands agent and acting conservation coordinator, the town has been interested in acquiring the space for about three years.

“It connects to property owned by the Essex Land Trust to the north and the Westbrook Land Trust to the south. The goal is to have one continued, connected tract of land,” Wallace explained.

Toby Hill Associates, which was building a residential subdivision in the area, deemed the parcel unsuitable for its project. When the property became available, the town and concerned citizens began working to find ways to purchase the property to ensure they could be protected.

In 2020, Westbrook Land Conservation Trust Board of Directors Secretary Bill Neale explained to the Harbor News the value of the land.

The parcel is “very protective of all the Westbrook wells, the watershed, the Trout Brook,” Neale said. “In my opinion, it’s a good long-term investment.”

Wallace said there are three main benefits that the land purchase offers: protection of water quality, protection of wildlife, and recreation.

“It has great wildlife up there. There’s a lot of value in protecting those wetlands,” said Wallace.

In fact, sometimes that wildlife indicates that just how valuable that space is.

“The headwaters of Trout Brook are in that property and we have actually seen juvenile trout in those waters. That is an indicator of very good water quality,” said Wallace. “For how pure the water is, it’s a beautiful piece of land.”

The receipt of the grant isn’t the only item on the agenda for the Feb. 2 town meeting. Several other issues will be weighed at the meeting, including appropriating some of the town’s ARPA money, appropriating money for school upgrades, and dissolving the senior center management committee.