ORANGE — The Selectboard has directed Town Administrator Matthew Fortier to approach the Orange Innovation Center’s owner about the possibility of renegotiating an easement that currently requires the town to maintain most of the business incubator’s parking lot.
Fortier and Selectboard Chair Tom Smith said at last week’s meeting that an easement at 131 West Main St. has been in place for seven years, stipulating that Orange is responsible for the parking lot’s snowplowing, salting, sanding and other general maintenance. Fortier, who became town administrator in August 2023, explained he has been told the rationale behind this was to enable the town to obtain grants for parking lot improvements to entice businesses to move to Orange and boost the local economy.
But Smith said he thinks it is time to renegotiate the easement, as the Orange Innovation Center parking lot is the only piece of private property the town maintains.
“It’s a private business. We shouldn’t be doing that anymore,” he said.
Smith also said the agreement likely makes the town liable for any accidents or injuries that might occur in the parking lot if it is not properly maintained. Selectboard Clerk Andrew Smith said the other issue is ethics, because the agreement could give the impression that the town favors one private business over the others.
“So, I could see the need for renegotiation,” he said.
Fortier said Tom Smith is not the only person who has approached him about this issue, which he said is brought up every winter. He said he will reach out to owner Jack Dunphy about renegotiating the agreement.
When contacted by the Greenfield Recorder on Friday, Dunphy said no one had mentioned renegotiation to him yet, but that he’s “always up for talking to anybody.”
“I try to be a good citizen,” he said. “I’m happy to see what their concerns are.”
Dunphy noted the agreement does not include the back parking lot.
The Orange Innovation Center also houses the offices of the Orange Economic Development & Industrial Corporation, as well as the North Quabbin Health Collaborative. Orange is the host town for the health program funded by a state Department of Public Health grant. The other towns are Wendell, Warwick, New Salem and Petersham.
