For complete information about the 25 South Street project (from the point of view of the owners) you may access their 25 South Street Project Brochure here
Woodstock Early Bird reporter Gareth Henderson recently reported from a Woodstock Selectboard meeting that a new proposal was floating in the wind concerning the re-newed possibility that land might be available for acquisition by the Town as an annexation for the Woodstock Elementary School.
The subject provided much speculation and “back and forth” between various previous supporters and detractors of such an expenditure. We have not, until now, heard from the old “A&B Motors” landowners, Bill and Jenny Lamb. They have taken the time to explain to Woodstock Early Birds what is going on. We appreciate their candor, especially since this may again be “on the floor” in the next few days and up for discussion.
To the Town of Woodstock Voters From the Lambs
Re: A&B Motors Property – 25 South Street
To clarify. We acquired 25 South Street (A&B Motors) in September 2006, more than five years ago. Clean-up and ongoing testing have been underway ever since. All of our remediation actions have been undertaken with the full knowledge and support of Vermont’s Department of Conservation (VDEC). We owned the property during the period when acquisition was considered at two successive town meetings. We chose to refrain from giving any input or even attending the meetings, as we believed some might see our input as biased and inappropriate. Back then, we had mixed feelings about selling the property to the town. We still do.
Last year we placed an announcement in the VT Standard inviting town residents to give input on the future use of the property. A copy of the announcement was also sent home with students from the Woodstock Elementary School. Based on the input we received, we concluded that a small development of four small houses would be a welcome and marketable use. Last Spring, we voluntarily entered the property into Vermont’s Brownfields program so that final cleanup could be targeted for that use. The cleanup efforts and monitoring required under the Brownfields program are designed to insure the safety of the greater Woodstock community, and the future residents (including us), who will live on the site.
Our preliminary redevelopment plans were shared with town officials earlier this year. We have further refined the plans to conform with suggestions made by them. The concept plans ”25 South Street Redevelopment – Converting a Brownfield Site to meet a community need” are available on the Web. We were again recently approached to see if we might consider selling to the town. After considerable deliberation, we responded that we are not willing to give up our opportunity to live on the property. It is an ideal location, which will allow us to build an energy-efficient small house and attached garage, with easy access to all the village offers. As a result, we are somewhat reluctantly willing to sell a portion of the site to the town.
We have no personal preference whether the town buys part of the property, in which case we would build 2 residences, or whether we continue forward with our plans to build the four residences. Regardless of the Town’s final decision, we intend to live at 25 South Street and look forward to being back in the Village after having been away for approximately 10 years.
Our house and property in Norwich is now listed for sale. If you know someone who is interested in moving to Norwich, we hope you will tell them. Based on the most recent tests and assessments by the Brownfields program, it looks likely that we will be able to begin construction of our home at 25 South Street (aka A & B), early this coming summer and be living there by this time next year.
Sincerely, Bill and Jenny Lamb
Julia Carlisle
Woodstock Early Bird 