Marblehead board votes to take over property

MARBLEHEAD – Selectmen voted unanimously Wednesday to take an eight-month easement on property at 52 Stony Brook Road – and they told the owners they felt badly for them.That property, partially contaminated by the nearby town landfill, contains four condominium units. Town Counsel Lisa Mead told the selectmen the Board of Health will go before the Conservation Commission Sept. 8 for permission to work near wetlands and expects the contractor to finish work on the condo property by the end of December at the very latest. She said the work could be finished as early as October.Director of Public Health Wayne Attridge said the town kept negotiations to take the contaminated properties at 52, 55, 56 and 57 Stony Brook Road "on a friendly basis."Condominium residents Barbara Sullivan and Nancy Ryan questioned that."This has been a difficult two years and you cannot erase peoples’ memories," Sullivan said, noting that a realtor told her that even after the clean-up her property may drop as much as $100,000 in value."There isn’t a member of this board that does not feel badly for you," said Selectman Harry Christensen. "Would you have us not attempt to clean this up?"The landfill is scheduled to be capped once the contaminated material is deposited there.The town has negotiated the purchases of property at 55, 56 and 57 Stony Brook Road, so no eminent domain hearings were held on those properties.