HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3873        FILED ON: 3/29/2017

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 3767

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Gailanne M. Cariddi

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act authorizing the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance to grant easements to the town of Lanesborough for the reconstruction of the Narragansett Avenue bridge over Lake Pontoosuc.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3873        FILED ON: 3/29/2017

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 3767

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninetieth General Court
(2017-2018)

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An Act authorizing the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance to grant easements to the town of Lanesborough for the reconstruction of the Narragansett Avenue bridge over Lake Pontoosuc.

Whereas, The deferred operation of this act would tend to defeat its purpose, which is to provide forthwith for the authority of the division of capital asset management and maintenance to grant easements for the purpose of reconstructing a bridge in need of immediate repair and reconstruction, therefore it is hereby declared to be an emergency law, necessary for the immediate preservation of the public [Emergency Preamble Context].
 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

     SECTION 1.  Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 34 to 37 of chapter 7C of the General Laws, the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance may grant permanent and temporary easements over portions of a certain parcel of land, being assessor’s map 116, lot 26, held for purposes of conservation and recreation, located within and northwesterly of Pontoosuc Lake, in the town of Lanesborough, which portions are adjacent to and under the Narragansett Avenue bridge, said easements to be used for the purposes of repairing, reconstructing, operating, maintaining and/or improving said bridge, subject to the requirements of sections 2 through 5 and to such additional terms and conditions consistent with this act as the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance may prescribe. The portions of said land are shown on a plan of land entitled “Massachusetts Department of Transportation Highway Division Narragansett Avenue (Bridge No. L-03-024),” revised through June 10, 2016, as follows: “parcel X-E-3,” containing 650 square feet, more or less; “parcel X-E-4,” containing 3,295 square feet, more or less; “parcel X-E-6,” containing 1,640 square feet, more or less; “parcel X-TR-3,” containing 12,060 square feet, more or less; and “Parcel X-TE-5,” containing 6,947 square feet, more or less.  Prior to finalizing the transaction herein, the division of capital asset management and maintenance may make minor modifications to the plan and easement areas in order to carry out the purposes of this act.

     SECTION 2. To mitigate impacts to public lands protected for natural resources, the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance may, in his discretion, require the grantee to compensate the commonwealth for the interests in land described in section 1 through the conveyance of land to the commonwealth under the care and control of the department of conservation and recreation and/or the transfer of funds, the value of such compensation, if any, to be determined by the commissioner.  Any payments to the commonwealth authorized by this act shall be deposited in the Conservation Trust established under section 1 of chapter 132A of the General Laws.

     SECTION 3.   The commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance may commission an independent appraisal of the value of the easements described in section 1, which shall be prepared in accordance with the usual and customary professional appraisal practices by a qualified appraiser.  Consideration for the grant of the above-described easement interests may be the value of the easement interests, or some lesser consideration, including nominal consideration, as determined by the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance, in his discretion. 

     SECTION 4.  The grantee shall assume any and all costs associated with engineering, surveys, appraisals, deed preparation and other expenses deemed necessary by the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance to execute the conveyances authorized by this act.

     SECTION 5.  No instrument executed pursuant to this act shall be valid unless it provides that the easements shall be used solely for the purposes described in section 1. The instrument or instruments authorized in section 1 shall include a reversionary clause that stipulates the property shall revert to the commonwealth, upon such terms and conditions as the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance may determine, if the property ceases to be used for the express purposes authorized in this act, following notice of such to the grantee by the division of capital asset management and maintenance and a failure by the grantee to cure the violation to the satisfaction of the division.  If any interest reverts to the commonwealth, any further disposition shall be subject to sections 34 to 37 of chapter 7C of the General Laws and the prior approval of the General Court.

     SECTION 6.  This act shall take effect upon its passage.