Save Fort Rock halted: Exeter leaders explain why effort to conserve 148 acres derailed

EXETER — Town officials said they are “open to continue discussion” with the Rugg family after the family withdrew their offer to sell 148 acres of woodlands to the towns of Exeter and Newfields over a boundary dispute.

Exeter Select Board Chair Niko Papakonstantis said Monday the town “remains in favor of the proposed project," but noted the Rugg family officially withdrew their offer Friday.

“The town of Exeter had no role in this decision to not move ahead with the project,” he said.

The Trust for Public Land and the Southeast Land Trust of NH have been working with Exeter and Newfields for 18 months to purchase the property, which includes 12 miles of the Fort Rock Trail system, from the Rugg family for nearly $5.2 million.

Newfields voters had approved spending $3.7 million at the March Town Meeting to purchase the Newfields portion of the land, which accounts for 101 of the total 148 acres. Exeter voters overwhelmingly expressed interest this year in buying the remaining 47 acres in their town at next year's Town Meeting.

Momentum for the project, however, came to a halt last week when the Trust for Public Land announced the Rugg family was no longer in a position to sell the property “due to a boundary and ownership issue with the town of Exeter that could not be resolved to each party’s mutual satisfaction.”

Previous story: Family halts plan to sell 148 acres to Exeter, Newfields

What is the land dispute between the town and Rugg family?

According to Papakonstantis, the town “has deeds from various sources” on approximately 37 of the 47 acres in Exeter that the Rugg family had claimed they owned. He said it would be “irresponsible” for the town to forgo its rights to the land and purchase a property that, according to town records, it already owns.

The Rugg family disputes the town’s claims that it owns the land and hired its own land surveyor to make their case.Papakonstantis said the town “has no authority” to determine ownership rights as it is something that would need to go through Superior Court.

Papakonstantis said the town attempted to come to a resolution with the Rugg family. In January, he said Exeter offered to relinquish its claims of ownership to approximately 30 of the 37 acres, provided that the Rugg family do the same with the remaining 6.8 acres, for which Exeter has a warranty deed.

Town Planner Dave Sharples said a warranty deed protects the land from any third-party ownership claims. He said the parcel was given to the town by a developer as conservation land.

“As stewards of taxpayers' dollars and since the town believed it had legitimate claims to the property, it could not simply give up its claims,” Sharples said. “Instead, in January… we made the Ruggs what we believe a fair offer to resolve this dispute.”

However, Papakonstantis said the town did not receive any formal acceptance or rejection of the offer until Friday, a week after the Trust for Public Land made the announcement.

Derek Rugg, who owns 15 (including the 6.8 acres) of the 47 acres in Exeter, was not available for comment.

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Save Fort Rock's proponents express ‘disappointment,’ 'frustration' and ‘anger’

Proponents of the project filled up the room at Monday’s meeting, holding posters that read “Save Fort Rock” and “Save Our Trails.”

Exeter resident Dan Longcope expressed his “disappointment,” “frustration” and “anger” that the project is no longer moving forward.

“I was riding last week, and as I was going through these trails, I’m thinking, ‘Oh, this is going to be somebody’s living room, this is going to be somebody’s pool…’” he said, referring to the fact that the land could be sold to a developer if it is not conserved.

Mike Mackey, of Newfields, said he “felt betrayed by Exeter.”

He said Newfields did a lot of the “heavy work,” having to face two of the three Select Board members who were against the project to gain voter approval at Town Meeting for its share of the cost.

Gabe Klaff, of Exeter, said the town should “exhaust all options” and look at every possibility to work with the Ruggs and move the project forward.

“My concern with this process is that we as a town and the community, have not done enough to break down the red tape for these people,” he said. “But you’re not dealing with a massive corporation here who’s trying to hoard their pennies and negotiate for every little cent, you’re dealing with a family who’s outwardly given us such a treasure in this land and experiences that it offers.”

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Select Board willing to return to the negotiation table

Selectman Dan Chartrand said there was nothing but support from the board for the project. However, he said, the Ruggs have not been responsive to the town on resolving the dispute, speculating that the boundary was not the real issue that made the Ruggs not want to move forward.

“My spidey sense tells me the boundary dispute is a bit of a red herring and an excuse for not moving forward, and I don’t know why. I don’t have an explanation,” he said. “The lack of engagement with us, that speaks volumes of what’s going on behind the scenes.”

Papakonstantis added the town also offered the Rugg family mediation to resolve this issue, which the family declined.

“When and if the family wants to continue the discussion, we are ready,” he said. “We know that our constituents are excited about this project, and we are excited about this project.”

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Save Fort Rock: Exeter explains why deal to buy 148 acres halted