Hopkinton’s Rotary Club is making strides in purchasing Gould Hill Orchard, with hopes of owning the property by spring 2009.

After orchard owner Erick Leadbeater was unable to strike a deal with the town to purchase the land, he put the 58 acres on the market for $2.2 million.

In November, the Rotary Club developed a plan to purchase the land by selling shares for $1,000 each.

Jim Zeppieri, heading the Rotary’s project, said the group is now completing the paperwork so it can go forward with selling shares. With each share comes one vote to elect the board of directors that would hire a professional to run the day-to-day operations of the orchard.

“We tried to structure it so just about anyone can participate. We don’t want to limit it to just a few people who can afford a share. We’re hoping that kids at the schools may even come together and that way they can own a share,” said Zeppieri.

After attending public meetings on the plan and speaking with members of town, Zeppieri said he is optimistic.

“We’ve done a lot of outreach, and we haven’t really gotten any negative feedback,” said Zeppieri. “Some people don’t want to see town money spent on this, which is understandable. Regardless of the way people feel about that, everyone thinks our idea is a good idea. In general, the idea has been well received.”

In addition to what Zeppieri calls the “tangibles” of the orchard – the land – the group needs to purchase the development rights for what he expects to be no more than $2 million.

To fund the $2 million, Rotarians will turn to multiple sources. Zeppieri does not expect the town to pay more than $600,000 out of a $5 million fund set aside for land.

The group can get up to $500,000 from the Land and Community Heritage Investment Program, some funding from the Federal Farm and Ranch Land Protection Program, and another portion from private foundations and public donations, he said.

Those five groups would cover the development rights, and selling the shares would cover the remainder of the cost.

Zeppieri expects to begin selling shares in late spring or early summer, once documents are submitted to the state.

“We’re hoping once the orchard opens for business again, we’ll be able to sell some more shares as well. And by around Thanksgiving, we hope to have raised all the money we need, and we can actually purchase the property,” said Zeppieri.

If the property is purchased by fall, Zeppieri expects to have the land running under Rotary and shareholder ownership by spring 2009.

Selectman George Langwasser said he hasn’t received enough feedback from residents yet to gauge interest in town.

“I don’t know if the town will buy into it, I have no idea. I haven’t had a bunch of folks call me one way or another to say whether they do or do not like it. I heard (the Rotary’s) presentation and it does make sense if things do come together,” said Langwasser.

Selectmen need to develop a plan of action one way or another, and work with the Open Space Committee to determine how much the town could invest in the property.

Gould Hill Orchard has been in the Leadbeater family since his father purchased the land in 1939. The 58-acre section for sale on the 80-acre property includes buildings, storage, the barn and orchards.

“It’s a working farm, and you hate to see those kinds of things just fade into the twilight. A lot of people come and visit the orchard in the fall,” said Langwasser. “It’s been a mainstay in town for a good number of years. Something like that is part of New Hampshire heritage and you hate to see it go by the wayside.”