Several people argued in favor of Westport Island keeping the famed Wright Landing house during a May 16 public hearing at the town hall, but it will be up to the voters on June 28 whether or not this town-owned house and property should be sold.

The house, once belonging to shellfish and bloodworm harvester-friendly couple, Adrian and Mary Wright, is currently being rented by senior citizen Ann Dowrick.

Dowrick attended the Thursday night meeting, along with approximately 40 other people. Like a number of her fellow residents, Dowrick spoke in favor of the town keeping the house.

Dowrick and others commented favorably on the scenic 2.3-acre parcel of land that the town also owns, indicating a concern about its loss to a single owner.

The June 28 referendum question, if passed, does not put the Wright house on the market immediately; there are certain steps that would need to be taken beforehand.

The question asks voters to authorize $5,000 for the Board of Selectmen to first establish an easement to “permanently protect public access to the municipal boat launch and parking area.”

A positive vote would also allow selectmen to get an appraisal of the house and land, after which they would put the property on the real estate market.

Residents at the public hearing challenged the Budget Committee's proposal. They cited a number of concerns, such as: potential commercial uses by a new property owner and the loss of any savings to education costs if new residents of the house were to have school-aged children. Residents also challenged the committee's figures.

Budget Committee Chairman Dennis Dunbar gave a presentation that highlighted three options for the town: sell the house and land; continue to rent the house; or refurbish the house for municipal expansion and storage.

If the town ultimately sells the property, it would reduce municipal expenses by up to $18,000 per year and would provide revenue generated from the sale (an estimated $30,000 to $80,000 after loan repayment), according to the committee.

Dunbar then discussed some downsides to keeping the property, either for rental income or for other uses.

“The interest rate we are getting is remarkable,” Dunbar said. Currently the variable interest rate on the loan is 1.3 percent, according to the committee. “But we are taking a risk the rate could go up.”

Costs of keeping the property include continued loan payments, maintenance, repairs and upgrading of the property, security costs, electricity, telephone and heating costs. There is also the annual loss in tax revenue: an estimated $2,450 annually.

Town treasurer Susan Partelow argued that the committee could not include the total assessed value of the property when looking at any losses in tax revenue because the easement-restricted portion of the property can not be taxed. She also did not think the payments made down on the loan should be viewed as equity instead of as an expense.

Resident Joe Donehue supported the recommendation to sell the Wright house.

Committee members returned more than once to the statement that Westport Island should not be in the real estate business. Now is a good time to sell, according to the committee, because market conditions have improved.

Keeping the loan is a risk due to a variable interest rate, maintenance and upgrading the building to meet Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements is an unknown cost and financial risk. Also, “no voter consensus has been reached to date on a long-term beneficial municipal use... that would be worth expending an additional $360,000 or more.”

Where did that $360,000 figure come from? That is the estimated 20-year cost to keep the house and property for municipal use. The committee's presentation estimated annual costs for electricity and phone usage ($1,500) and heating oil ($1,100) and no rental income.

“There's no way I pay that for heating,” Dowrick said following the meeting.  She said she pays approximately $4,000 annually for heating oil. In addition to covering the costs of electricity and phone, she also pays the town $730 per month. That's $8,760 per year.

Dowrick said the town has received $47,450 in total for the 65 months (roughly five and a half years) she has rented the Wright house. The town rented the house to another tenant for some time before Dowrick moved there.

Resident John Nelson reminded committee members that approximately 70 percent of the town's voters approved acquiring the house and 2.3 acre parcel in 2004. It was then that the town received grants from Land For Maine's Future worth more than $180,000 and a bank loan for a little over half a million dollars. To date, the town owes about $220,000 on the loan.

Dowrick said the Wright Landing Committee, which is an all-volunteer group of island residents, saves the town a lot of money in maintenance costs and upkeep of the property.

She would like to see the town keep the house and land. “I won't be there forever,” Dowrick said. “It's important, in my mind, to maintain open access to the water and land.

“There aren't that many places like that on the water.”