Ayer wants to buy railroad land

AYER -- In another chapter of a long-simmering dispute between Ayer and Guilford Transportation Industries Inc. over the protection of an aquifer, selectmen Tuesday night are expected to delve into ways of obtaining private and public funds to purchase land from the company.

Guilford -- based in Portsmouth, N.H. -- wants to build an automobile-unloading facility near an aquifer, covering more than 35 acres. The aquifer is a primary water source for Ayer and a secondary source for Littleton.

The current facility, bounded by railroad tracks, goes from Willow Road to Westford Road to the Littleton line.

For now, though, the company is not interested in selling any land to the town, a senior Guilford executive said. Several years ago, Guilford and the town were involved in a federal lawsuit over the town's rejection of plans for a new rail facility. The court upheld the company's contention that federal commerce rules take precedence over local regulations.

In a 2003 settlement, Guilford agreed to certain conditions tied to the construction of the new rail unit. They include soil sampling during construction and monitoring rail cars to make sure they don't block crossings for long periods of time.

But the ideal solution, Ayer officials now say, is to try to acquire land from Guilford so the watershed can be fully safeguarded.

''We want to look into funding sources that are feasible" as well as to explore the possibility of linking up with a nonprofit group such as the Trust for Public Land, Town Administrator Anita M. Scheipers said.

Planning Board chairman Bill Oelfke said he supports ''looking at any money that's available" for purchasing the land.

Selectmen have a rough outline he prepared on raising funds for aquifer protection, said Shaun Suhoski, Ayer's community and economic development director. It's possible, he said, that federal and state safe-drinking-water grants could be tapped.

Littleton officials will support Ayer's efforts in any way they can, but financial assistance is not in the offing, said Savas C. Danos, general manager of the Littleton Electric Light and Water Department. ''We can't put up any money because the aquifer is a secondary district for us," he added.

Guilford, meantime, would like to have a new facility built in the next 12 to 18 months on portions of a 125-acre site acquired from a sand and gravel company, said company president David Fink. ''We're trying to be a good neighbor, and so up until now, we've proceeded slowly" on implementing court-approved plans.

The company, he said, has had a presence in Ayer since the early 1970s, unloading Ford Motor Co. vehicles.

Despite Guilford's construction timetable, discussions are only beginning on how land could be purchased ''to protect the aquifer, which is important not only to Ayer but to the region," said Carolyn McCreary, president of a group called People of Ayer Concerned About the Environment.

McCreary said she is ''cautiously optimistic" that, in the end, the town will prevail in its land-acquisition efforts.