Since I was in Washington D.C. I missed the town council meeting where the Wilkus Farm proposal was discussed. However I attended the organizing meeting of the Save the Farm group the day after. There I learned that turnout at the Council meeting was large and that the Council decided to table the proposal to sell the farm until they could explore the legal implications further. Since the motion was tabled the group is now in a holding pattern. There was general consensus that we should be present at Council meetings and stand ready to voice our opposition again when the issue is taken from the table. Meanwhile information is being distributed via an e-mail list and a facebook page.

At the organizing meeting I came to learn that there is a lot of confusion about the disposition of the land and the accompanying referendum. The explanatory text for the referendum is below:

Wilkus Farm Referendum Explanatory Text by Matthew Zagaja

As you see, the text mentions the house and barns, but as a matter of procedure there remains a question as to whether or not they were purchased in a way that protects them. Some believe the purchase of the barns was done separately with town money, not included in the referendum, and the town is free to do with that portion of the parcel as they see fit. Others believe it is part of the protected parcel. More research is being done by the Council and the Save the Farm group in order to answer this question.