As the fall season comes to a close, Newtown Forest Association (NFA) prepares to enter formal negotiations with the estate of Dr Thomas Draper in the hopes of acquiring the Deep Brook Farm property at 32 and 21 Deep Brook Road.

The state's oldest private land trust announced efforts earlier this autumn to acquire the 60+ acres of pristine land near the center of town. NFA Executive Director Trent McCann sat down with The Newtown Bee to discuss the organization’s perspective on where the process currently stands.

Emphasizing the volume of community participation and engagement, McCann said they “are really hovering around our fundraising goal.”

“There’s no significant gap that needs to be covered at this point,” said McCann.

While reminding Newtown citizens that any and all funds they might be willing to contribute are welcomed by NFA in its ongoing mission to preserve open space, he congratulated the community for their tremendous support and collective effort.

McCann highlighted the explicitly local character of NFA supporters’ activism.

“I have to give a ton of credit to the neighbors of Deep Brook Farm,” said McCann. “These are the people who will fundamentally be the most impacted by potential development of that property. There have been a number of neighbors who have personally stepped up with pledges, as well as people who have reached out within their personal and professional communities to really bring in a second wave of pledges forward, just in the last couple of weeks, that have propelled us to where we were hoping to be fundraising-wise.”

This surge in community engagement has been a game changer, according to McCann. The enthusiastic and substantial contributions from local residents, especially those living near the farm itself, has enabled NFA to make the transition from fundraising to the negotiation phase equipped with the necessary financial backing to engage in serious discussions around acquisition and maintenance.

The negotiations themselves, having already begun, signify the critical phase in NFA’s efforts. McCann noted that both NFA and the Draper estate have conducted separate appraisals of the property’s value.

“Both groups have gotten an independent appraisal, and both appraisals are in,” he said. “I am not at liberty to share the amounts, as we are entering negotiations with the Draper estate, so I don’t want to say anything that would jeopardize those negotiations.”

Although the specific results of the appraisals remain confidential to maintain the integrity of the negotiation process, McCann expressed confidence in the progress made so far. According to him, no new revelations are expected that would significantly shift the scales in either direction. All that remains to be accomplished is the difficult and potentially lengthy process of coming to a reasonable middle ground of satisfaction to both NFA and the estate.

While no new developments are expected until the negotiations, which may take several months, finally close, McCann did drop a hint that the organization has “a couple other potential projects in the making.” He also urged residents to keep their eyes out for the NFA’s event programming, even during the winter months.

Finally, he hoped to raise awareness about a role that needs to be filled for a residential caretaker at Holcombe Hill. The position, which mandates residency at the Holcombe Hill cottage and does not include monetary compensation, would require three days of stewardship labor a week in exchange for rent-free living in a beautiful location.

Citizens interested in this opportunity or in NFA’s activities and programming should visit newtownforestassociation.org.

=====

Reporter Owen Tanzer can be reached at owen@thebee.com.