Gould Hill Orchards on sale for $2.2 million

Bow Editor — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 18:40:00 GMT

Without someone to pass it along to and struggling with tax issues in town, a large portion of Gould Hill Orchards is officially on the market.

After several years of working with Hopkinton to find a way to keep the property as a working farm, Erick Leadbeater has now listed 58 acres of land with LandVest for $2.2 million.

The portion is what Leadbeater refers to as the “heartbeat” of the 80-acre farm, which has been in the Leadbeater family since his father bought it from the Goulds in 1939.

The section for sale includes the buildings, storage, barn and orchards.

“We’ve been talking with the town and a number of groups of people and the town had expressed an interest,” said Leadbeater. “Sue and I are beyond retirement age and neither of my daughters is in the position to step in and run the farm. I can’t take it with me so I decided I needed to figure out the future before someone had to for me.”

George Langwasser, Board of Selectmen chairman, said the town’s Open Space Committee has been responsible for the negotiations, but the group has been unable to reach any agreement with Leadbeater.

“I think most of the town would like to see it remain a working orchard. I can tell you that the town has no interest in purchasing it and operating it as a working farm,” said Langwasser. “It would be something in conjunction where if everything fell into place and (the town) purchased it, they’d look for someone to hire and run it as an apple orchard. There are a lot of things that are up in the air at the present time.”

Should the Open Space Committee come to an agreement with Leadbeater, it would still have to be approved by the town at Town Meeting in March.

One reason for the decision to sell the farm now is that the town shifted to a new system of tax assessment about a year ago which changed how the farm would be taxed.

Normally, farms are given a tax break since they are used for agriculture under the Current Use Assessment Program, making it possible for farmers to afford using open space as farm land. However, the town shifted the value to the footprint of the buildings on the land and Leadbeater can no longer use the program.

When the town switched to Avitar to assess the land, the method changed. The new process devalued the per-acre market value from $75,000 to about $2,800 per acre, according to Leadbeater.

Another aspect Leadbeater questions involves the view assessment, something he questions the validity of.

“What really has me concerned is that there is no definition in state law that says what defines a view. There is nothing in manuals how to assess a view,” he said. “A view is not a realty item. They went down in June and looked from the cottage and didn’t have a view because the leaves had come out on the trees. That seems amazingly arbitrary and my real concern is this. In six weeks when the leaves are gone, will it all come back?”

The farm received an abatement of $20,000, which Leadbeater called significant but it wasn’t enough.

“Agriculture will not support the level of taxation that the view adjustment and Avatar’s (town assessor) methodology that results. If there is no one to step forward and watch a hurting of their bank account, it can’t function as a farm anymore,” he said. “The town may still have some interest, and that’s fine. I would encourage anyone who wants to continue this as a running farm to go ahead and make the purchase.”

Although there was some level of difference between the town and Leadbeater, Langwasser said he hopes those feelings have passed.

“We received a nice thank you from the owner for what we did to try to keep it a working farm. That has probably disappeared. I’d be the first to admit that no one likes to pay taxes. Two dollars of taxes is too high. We’re dealing in a realistic world, though,” he said.

In a perfect world, Leadbeater said he would like to avoid selling to a developer, but knows he has to keep an open mind.

“That is a function of how long nothing has been happening. It’s not my ideal (selling to a developer), obviously, but I guess I can’t rule that out. Some of that I would have to go on the recommendation of LandVest. It isn’t at all the ideal scenario but I can’t rule it out,” he said. “If this were easy, we wouldn’t be talking. We’ve had some offers from developers, but we’re looking to find someone who doesn’t want it developed, who wants to see it continue.”

Help away from home – Shop owner reaches out to African refugees

Bow Editor — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 19:49:00 GMT

BY MATT SCHOOLEY

Kim Harris’ Hopkinton shop serves as much more than just a place where customers come to make purchases.

The specialty store sells a variety of home goods, but more importantly serves as a place where Hopkinton-area residents can come and talk to Harris about how they can help refugees from across Africa who are living in the Concord area.

Harris is a member of the Concord Multicultural Project, which helps refugee families after they have been relocated in the area. The shop owner had been previously interested in helping the refugees, but wasn’t sure where to begin.

“I had always been interested in the refugees, but never knew how to get started. A friend told me about the group that got together once a month, and once I went to one of those meetings, I got hooked,” said Harris.

“Whenever I have the free time I like to spend time with them. I love it.”

Recently, the group was given a $500 grant by the Junior Service League, which will help fund the newest project, aiming to help the refugees make beaded items.

Harris said the effort will focus on the female refugees, who will get paid for making a variety of items, which will then be sold to shops in the area. The money earned will then be put directly back into the Concord Multicultural fund, thus helping the refugees even further.

The process is something Harris is very excited about, as it will help the families more than financially.

“Since a lot of the women are sitting at home in their apartments all day to watch their kids and their husbands are working, we want to help them make some money and be able to do something,” she said.

“They’re very creative and hard working, and it helps them with their English and get some self-esteem. Some of them are very talented.”

The group has received donations of sewing machines and other tools to help get the process going, and Harris said donations such as beads and plyers are greatly appreciated.

Many of the new Concord residents have come from areas such as Ethiopia, Rwanda and other troubled countries.

“They’re basically fleeing from political strife and endangerment, killings and those things. It’s horrendus the situation they have left,” she said.

Because of the difficult backgrounds the refugees come from, Harris said the little things are even more rewarding.

“The most rewarding aspect is to see when they can accomplsih something like getting their drivers license. We want to make it so they feel like they have a family here,” said Harris. “It’s just great for them to know that they can call me just to talk and say hi and just to know that we’re here for them, because it’s a pretty incredible transition for them.”

Helping the refugees become community members is the ultimate goal of Harris and her fellow volunteers.

“We’re just really hoping to find out what each person’s talents are. Once the refugees are settled in with the basics, they’re at the point where we can focus on the fun things with them,” said Harris, whose dream is to have a cultural center in Concord. “We want them to have English classes and extra tutoring, to have basic skills to get out into the community and be sustainable. They really do want to work and get out there.”

Anyone interested in helping volunteer or donate to the refugees can stop by the Bella Shop on Main Street in Hopkinton or contact United Way of Merrimack County.

For Harris, the reason to volunteer is simple.

“I just love helping people, and they are a group of people who really just need a leg up. They’re our neighbors.”

Hopkinton News : local business

Gould Hill Orchards on sale for $2.2 million

Help away from home – Shop owner reaches out to African refugees