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	Colchester Agrees to Buy Camp Parcel for $4.5 Million, Pending Voter OK Burlington Free Press July 23, 2011 http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20110722/NEWS02/110722012/Colchester-agrees-buy-camp-parcel-4-5-million-pending-voter-OK?odyssey=nav|head A 26-acre property along Malletts Bay owned by the state’s Roman Catholic diocese for 65 years might become public land, pending approval by Colchester voters. The state’s Catholic diocese has agreed to sell Camp Holy Cross to the town for $4.5 million. Voters would have to approve a bond for that amount in a special election scheduled for Oct. 4 before the sale goes through, Assistant Town Manager Joan Boehm said. Property maintenance costs have yet to be determined. The property was used until 2008 for Catholic youth camps and a camp for children who have or had cancer. The diocese put the property on the market to help pay settlements to victims of sexual abuse by priests. The diocese also sold its headquarters on North Avenue in Burlington. The town announced the deal Friday, though the agreement was signed July 15. Colchester residents voted to authorize the Selectboard to negotiate for the purchase of the property on Town Meeting Day last year, by a vote of 1,420 to 1,329. In 2010, the property was listed for $7 million. If the sale is approved, financing would be through the Vermont Municipal Bond Bank. Town officials said the purchase would result in an additional $20 per year for each $100,000 of taxable property value. The board also plans to explore the possibility of donations, grant funds and other revenue sources to reduce the cost to taxpayers. The agreement allows the town to show the property to residents before the vote, and the board plans to organize events. “This is as much a purchase for future generations of Colchester residents as for this generation,” town officials said in a statement. “We strongly believe the very best feature of this property is its adaptability for many different uses.”
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