Marblehead board plans hearing on possible eminent domain takings

MARBLEHEAD – Selectmen have scheduled a hearing on the eminent domain takings of a home and three other parcels on Stony Brook Road – but according to Town Counsel Lisa Mead that process may not be necessary.Mead said Monday the town has negotiated prices for the tasking and cleanup of land at 52, 55, 56 and 57 Stony Brook Road, which was contaminated by run-off from the former town landfill.However, the town wants to begin work this fall and the agreements have not been finalized, and the board has scheduled an eminent domain hearing to make sure the work can go forward.”The town is under a time frame,” Mead explained. “They’re trying to make certain deadlines to save money. If the work is done in a certain sequence the contractors only have to mobilize once instead of two or three times.””The eminent domain taking may or may not happen,” she said.Selectmen have voted to schedule a hearing and a vote on the takings Aug. 24. They plan to meet in executive session with the Board of Health to discuss the takings before their July 27 meeting.Town Meeting voted to approve the purchase of Jeff Dinsmore’s chemically contaminated house and land at 57 Stony Brook Road for $1.2 million, $277,00 for the clean-up and legal fees and an estimated $970,000 for the purchase of the house.Town Meeting also approved $1.8 million for the purchase and clean-up of the vacant lot at 56 Stony Brook Road, a portion of a house lot at 55 Stony Brook Road and an easement at 52 Stony Brook Road. The land-takings at 55, 56 and 57 Stony Brook Road are scheduled to become public land once the cleanup is finished.