A year and a half after selectmen approached the then-new Midcoast Conservancy for a contribution in lieu of taxes, the nonprofit has proposed paying the town $1,425 a year, plus full taxes on one parcel the nonprofit could choose to sell. Third Selectman Doug Baston told MC’s executive director Jody Jones and land and conservation director Anna Fiedler April 11, he considered the $1,425 figure a starting point.

The conservancy’s letter to the town states the organization paid Alna $3,834 in 2016, including full taxes on six parcels. If MC enrolled in a current use program and had open space and forest management figured in, based on 2016 valuations, its taxes would come to about $1,414, the letter states.

The letter seeks tax exemptions on 13 parcels totaling 375.9 acres. “We understand that asking a town to exempt our organization from taxes is seen as a burden to others in the town, especially in these times of tight state and federal budgets where more and more costs are being transferred to the local level,” Fiedler writes. MC’s ownership of the acreage ensures those properties will be forever open to enjoy and will add value, not financial burden to the town, she writes.

MC’s acres don’t add to school costs, require more roads or need as much fire and police protection as developed property, the letter states. The acres support flood control, groundwater recharge for private wells and, for the Sheepscot River and other water bodies, buffering from contaminated runoff; and Alna children have benefited from MC's programs, it states.

"That said, we do wish to contribute to the town’s financial resources as well as the ecological and recreational resources," Fiedler writes about the payment offer. MC plans to still pay full taxes on a fourteenth, 10-acre parcel it retains the right to sell.

Upcoming results of the town's revaluation should help in the tax discussion, MC's representatives told Baston and First Selectman Melissa Spinney.

Resident Greg Shute said the talks with the conservancy could be an opportunity to make sure the town treats all nonprofits fairly. Attendees also voiced interest in talking further about recreation, including public water access. The town’s new recreation committee could look at it, said Shute. Selectmen recently named him to the committee.