Plainville, MA Bergh Property hearing

[EMTDAD]

looks like if you want to continue hunting on this 103 acre property, you best get out there and make some noise.

I'm not a Plainville resident, but Wrentham Sportsman's Association is partly in Plainville. I can try to lend some support if there'll be a contingent out there.

Forum on CPA, hunting in Plainville

PLAINVILLE OPEN SPACE & RECREATION COMMITTEE | Plainville MA

 

[whacko]

Great. Another town trying to keep taxpayers from accessing town owned land. Unreal

 

[Len-2A Training]

Ask the town if ANY money to buy this land was from the Pittman-Robertson fund? If so, our former town finance director once told me that this federal law requires that such land remain open to hunting, thus the town could not prohibit hunting on any such land.
https://wdfw.wa.gov/grants/wildlife_restoration/
Pittman–Robertson Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act - Wikipedia

 

[whacko]

Ask the town if ANY money to buy this land was from the Pittman-Robertson fund? If so, our former town finance director once told me that this federal law requires that such land remain open to hunting, thus the town could not prohibit hunting on any such land.
https://wdfw.wa.gov/grants/wildlife_restoration/
Pittman–Robertson Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act - Wikipedia

The PR act is one of the greatest success stories of our nation's history! Way too many moonbats, soccer mom anti hunters are unaware that gun owners funded the greatest wildlife conservation recoveries in history with a tax on fire arms sales that gun owners overwhelmingly supported! Hell....there are even gun owners today that don't know their gun and ammo purchases are taxed to directly fun wildlife conservation

Would be great if that parcel of land was PR purchased!!!

 

[EMTDAD]

Ask the town if ANY money to buy this land was from the Pittman-Robertson fund? If so, our former town finance director once told me that this federal law requires that such land remain open to hunting, thus the town could not prohibit hunting on any such land.
https://wdfw.wa.gov/grants/wildlife_restoration/
Pittman–Robertson Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act - Wikipedia

thanks... I am tasked with writing the formal letter from our club.. I was told that P-R funds go thru the state and are awarded to towns. I will mention that in the letter.

[EDIT] it appears it was purchased without P-R funding
Plainville TM gives green light to $1.5M land buy

 

[Len-2A Training]

thanks... I am tasked with writing the formal letter from our club.. I was told that P-R funds go thru the state and are awarded to towns. I will mention that in the letter.

[EDIT] it appears it was purchased without P-R funding
Plainville TM gives green light to $1.5M land buy

Good luck. True. Our town was looking to buy a very large piece of land and to forever put it off limits to any use other than looking at it from a roadway. That's when our town's finance manager (a friend) mentioned to me that if we received the state funding requested that it was P-R funds and legally would have to be open to hunting . . . the moonbats in town would have gone crazy. State didn't fund the request so it was never purchased.

 

[EMTDAD]

Good luck. True. Our town was looking to buy a very large piece of land and to forever put it off limits to any use other than looking at it from a roadway. That's when our town's finance manager (a friend) mentioned to me that if we received the state funding requested that it was P-R funds and legally would have to be open to hunting . . . the moonbats in town would have gone crazy. State didn't fund the request so it was never purchased.

Sharon, right?? ... it was mentioned last night at our meeting that there were a few towns that are going thru this problem..

we plan on sending a contingent from the club to the meeting tomorrow night..

 

[Len-2A Training]

Verify if P-R is in play here BEFORE the meeting. Contact the selectmen/town manager's office and ask directly. That way you can say something definitive if this is true rather than ask a question that gets swept under the rug.

 

[vicorjh]

thanks... I am tasked with writing the formal letter from our club.. I was told that P-R funds go thru the state and are awarded to towns. I will mention that in the letter.

[EDIT] it appears it was purchased without P-R funding
Plainville TM gives green light to $1.5M land buy

Interesting. I've been down this road, not for hunting but for sports fields / public parks. Towns were restricting who could use their parks (limiting use only to residents) and we were told the same thing when the federal funding question came up. "We receive funds from the state" thereby supposedly "validating" their position. Would be very interested in how the funding question gets untangled. Please let us know if you figure out the funding question.

 

[Len-2A Training]

Interesting. I've been down this road, not for hunting but for sports fields / public parks. Towns were restricting who could use their parks (limiting use only to residents) and we were told the same thing when the federal funding question came up. "We receive funds from the state" thereby supposedly "validating" their position. Would be very interested in how the funding question gets untangled. Please let us know if you figure out the funding question.

P-R funds do go to the state directly. The state chooses where those funds get spent, but the rules apply to the end use if any funds came thru from P-R to state to town. I guess the state rep down there would be a good source of "where did the money come from" to the state and used to buy that land. Many in town hall may not know.

 

[vicorjh]

P-R funds do go to the state directly. The state chooses where those funds get spent, but the rules apply to the end use if any funds came thru from P-R to state to town. I guess the state rep down there would be a good source of "where did the money come from" to the state and used to buy that land. Many in town hall may not know.

I suspect this may be the case (may not know) not just for P-R but also for other funding sources that end-up sourced from a state controlled pool. Some towns (not all) seem to use the state pool as an excuse for them to be willfully ignorant. Or, perhaps, it's by design.

I wonder if there is a public accounting for the funds in these pools? Or, does the legislature essentially launder the money through some sort of general fund machination.

 

[Rockrivr1]

I'll be watching how this goes as Mendon is about to start going down this road with the owners of some farmland that has been shooting on their own property. Busy body neighbors complained to the Selectmen and the Police are now involved. Unclear yet as to what will happen, but I can see it going down the same route as Plainville.

 

[EMTDAD]

town conservation agent says only town funding was used to purchase the property. Confirms media reports of loans and $$ from Plainridge casino

 

[vicorjh]

town conservation agent says only town funding was used to purchase the property. Confirms media reports of loans and $$ from Plainridge casino

Hmm, I've heard that one too, "only town funding". Usually occurs immediately after asking the funding question, no research / default response on their part.

I don't really know where to go with this but do wonder if it's codified somewhere in the town minutes that the loans are to be paid back only by tax revenue / municipal bonds? E.g., what is the source of the funds that have been used to repay the loan? Is/has the town received any state funding for recreational purposes and how was that being allocated? Also, are there any covenants on the parcel?

 

[Len-2A Training]

State Reps are always involved when state monies are involved. Call State Reps office and ask there. Unfortunately with the casino it is quite possible they didn't ask for state funding.

 

[dhuze]

It's looking like the town may not have used any federal funding going by articles on th purchase. They still may have, but I can't find it spelled out anywhere.

Plainville selectmen vote to buy farm for open space, but town meeting to have ultimate say

If it was bought as "open space" how can they restrict who can and cannot use it?

 

[Len-2A Training]

The town annual report (available from Town Clerk, perhaps Public Library as well), if you know when town meeting voted to buy the land you can find the article and it will tell you in black & white where the money came from (without filtering via 3rd parties).

 

[whacko]

It's looking like the town may not have used any federal funding going by articles on th purchase. They still may have, but I can't find it spelled out anywhere.

Plainville selectmen vote to buy farm for open space, but town meeting to have ultimate say

If it was bought as "open space" how can they restrict who can and cannot use it?

Cuz huntin has gunz......so.....cuz gun!

 

[EMTDAD]

Reminder... Today at 6pm at the Senior Center on School Street.

 

[EMTDAD]

update from Wednesday's meeting.

MassDFW deer guy was there basically saying that without hunting, the deer population would continue to increase. he wasn't there to make a case either way, but to inform the board. He made it quite clear that hunting was necessary to keep the population in check.

there were 5 from Wrentham Sportsmans including myself, 1 from Plainville Beagle, and a bunch of other hunters there to balance the antis. One whackjob was concerned that she wouldn't be safe walking her duck.. I swear she said duck.

Open Space commission was all non-hunters. We were very respectful, provided our comments in a letter to the board. The board really needs to be educated on it.. They had no idea and asked some really basic questions. Really showed the need for gun owners/ hunters to get involved in town politics to keep this crap from going full retard.

it's pretty complicated.. I guess the land was purchased by the Town under Board of Selectmen control, who banned hunting on this one area since the prior private owner did. Well this conflicts with hunting access on all other town land. Commission was tasked with makeing a recommendation to the BoS for what to do.

Tabled the issue.. look for notices for next meeting.