No new gas station on Route 12

By STEPHEN SEITZ
Special to the Eagle Times
WALPOLE — Those worried about the potential gas station and convenience store on Route 12 may now breathe easy; an agreement to purchase the land has been reached. 

“We have a purchase and sale agreement,” said Ray Boas, bookstore proprietor and editor io the local monthly news Web site, The Walpole Clarion.

D&C Transportation, a bulk fuel distributor based in Orleans, Vermont, wanted a special exemption to the local zoning laws, under which the land is zoned as agricultural. The town rebelled, with as many as 200 people attending one planning board meeting. At the Oct. 9 meeting the Walpole planning board unanimously rejected the company’s request. D&C subsequently pulled their application. The 10-acre tract is on the Connecticut River in the area known as “the Gateway to Walpole.”

Boas said placing a gas station on the site would cause several difficulties. 

“Not only is it prime agricultural land, it’s right on top of our local aquifer,” Boas said. ”People were worried about a possible pollution hazard.”

Now, all that’s needed is $280,000. The idea is to turn the land over to the Walpole Conservation Commission.

“We’re already a quarter of the way there, and we haven’t even started yet,” Boas said. 

Those interested should donate to “Walker Road Conservation,” and their contributions should either be dropped off or mailed to the Walpole Town Hall. Donations are tax-deductible.