NEWPORT — A solution that satisfies the school district’s need for recreation land to replace the property where a new agricultural center will be constructed appears imminent.

At Monday night’s Selectboard meeting, board Chairman Jeff Kessler said the town will offer land to the school in North Newport off Corbin Road where a new public water source is being developed. The town owns the land around the new well.

Kessler said the town wants assurances from the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services that a recreation field on the property won’t impact water quality of the well.

“We need to clear this up,” Kessler said. “We just want to be sure DES does not come back and say, you put a practice soccer field there (and) you can’t have a well anymore.”

Kessler said a practice field used infrequently should not affect water quality but the town must be certain so as not to jeopardize the well, which would be the town’s third water source. A $3.4 million bond to construct the well and run a mainline to the existing system will be decided at Town Meeting on May 9.

If DES allows construction of the field, the town will meet the conditions of a grant obtained decades ago that was used to purchase land just north of the high school for recreation. According to town officials, the Land and Water Conservation grant requires that if the property is ever used for something other than recreation, the town must replace it with a similar sized parcel and use it for recreation also, otherwise it could face penalties.

The problem arose when the school district moved the proposed site of the new agricultural center from the south end of the middle high school next to the technical center to the north side where a former hockey rink was located along with other fields. The district learned of the grant conditions from resident Ed Karr and further research revealed the requirement to find a replacement parcel.

The grant states that the 150 acres granted to Newport in 1974 gives the town the “right to construct, operate and maintain 6 tennis courts, three basketball courts, a natural ice skating rink, a multi-purpose turf field and a 35 meter ski jump located at the site of the Newport Jr High School. No other uses, or the conversion or disposal of any part of the project site will be permitted without prior approval of the N.H. State Liaison Officer and the Director of National Park Service.”

Planning and Zoning Administrator Christina Donovan explained the grant conditions to the Planning Board in February.

“The hockey rink was built on land designated for recreational purposes,” Donovan said. “It has to stay that way unless it is replaced somewhere else.”

Kessler said he hopes DES will respond this week.

“We are working to make this go forward,” Kessler said.

Also at Monday’s meeting, there was confusion over the issuance of building permits for the $15.4 million project for additions and renovations to the technical center, which voters approved last year. Superintendent Donna Magoon said the Planning Board told her the Selectboard has to approve permits for the project but the board said that is not its role.

The Planning Board can issue permits for the first phase of the work, which is in the existing tech center, but the permit for the 10,000-square-foot agricultural center will have to wait until the town gets approval from the DES. The Selectboard is involved because the town is responsible for meeting conditions of the original grant.

“We can’t issue permits on property that is in dispute,” said Planning Board member Tobin Menard.

Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com.

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