The City Council voted unanimously in favor of appropriating $9 million in funds for the bond purchase of the more than 130-acre parcel of land from Rousselot at its latest meeting on Thursday, Dec. 28.
Parts of the Meadow at Peabody Golf Course comprise the majority of the land. Mayor Ted Bettencourt told councilors his office worked with Rousselot for months after the company announced it would be shutting down its operations at the close of this year to work out the open-space purchase.
The 132-acre parcel, with a listed address of 80 Granite St., directly connects to the 80 acres of open space city officials purchased for millions of dollars earlier this year. In all, across both purchases, the City will spend more than $16 million to preserve open space and to bring its municipal golf course entirely under its ownership.
Before the motion passed 11-0, Bettencourt addressed the council expressing gratitude for its support of the transaction.
“I wanted to just thank all of you for your commitment to the city,” Bettencourt said. “This is a special meeting and I appreciate every member of the council being here today for this important and historic vote that I know all of us believe in.”
The purchase — much like the open space acquired by the City earlier this year — will be funded entirely outside of the operating budget, with Community Preservation Act funds, proceeds from the golf course, and “other funding sources” used to cover the debt-service payments the City will make once the sale closes.
Bettencourt alluded to those funding sources Thursday, however he noted that he will not have the specifics for “a couple of months.”
