Alna selectmen

Walk in the woods helps clear up town line questions

Tue, 07/19/2016 - 12:45pm

A Newcastle man was right about Alna’s tax map showing part of the town line wrong, Alna First Selectman David Abbott said Monday night. The monuments, a couple of which have toppled, are where John Hilton said they were, in a zig zag instead of a straight line near Jefferson, Abbott said, hours after town officials’ approximately two-hour walk in the woods off Egypt Road.

It appears that fixing the line on the map shouldn’t move anyone to one town or the other, in part because deeds are used to establish properties, Abbott said. “I don’t think anyone’s tax bill is going to be changing.”

Jefferson’s tax map was much closer to correct than Alna’s and would take little adjusting, Abbott said.

One monument was not found; a surveyor may be consulted to help re-establish that point in the town line, Abbott said in Monday’s phone interview.

Asked about the walk, Abbott said it was not easy-going: Hot, humid, wooded, rocky, and at times flat, but other times “uphill, uphill, uphill,” Abbott said. He wore no tick repellent but picked up only two ticks, he said.

Responding to an email seeking his tick count and other information from the walk, Third Selectman Doug Baston wrote: Much to my surprise, zero ticks. I wore hiking pants and sprayed a little Off around the cuffs.”

Locating the monuments was interesting, Abbott said. They had either an A for Alna or J for Jefferson on them and the letters might not be noticeable if you weren’t looking for them, he said.
 
Baston wrote that he and Jefferson Selectman Jigger Clark agreed to reset the fallen stones and adjust the maps. “All very amicable.”

The walk was planned as officials sought to verify Hilton’s research into the town line and his ancestors’ properties. In June, Alna selectmen first reviewed and began efforts to verify the information he sent them and other area officials.

In a phone interview Tuesday, Hilton expressed satisfaction with officials’ response. “This is something that has existed for a number of years, and current town officials had this dropped in their laps. It’s just made them aware, so they can make whatever changes are necessary.

“They definitely got a better understanding of the lay of the land there,” Hilton said. He had one small tick on him on the way out, he said.