07/18/09 - The Land Trust held off discussing a change to its own policies to reflect the Town Council’s recent decision to limit the use of pesticides and herbicides on town-maintained land.

Chairwoman Barbara MacMullan asked for the delay Monday because trustee Harold “Turtle” Hatfield III could not attend the monthly meeting. She added, however, that upon review she learned that the trust already has fairly robust regulations in place to thwart the use of dangerous chemicals on its land.

From the audience First Warden Kim Gaffett thanked the trustees as well as The Nature Conservancy and the Block Island Conservany for their support of the Town Council decision.

Another lean month

Trust Treasurer Barby Michel reported that the Land Trust took in a whopping $30 in property transfer fees in June. The trust collects a 3-percent fee on all property transactions. As of the end of fiscal year 2009, which ended on June 30, Michel said the trust had collected a total of $511,792 in fees — half of what it had become accustomed to collecting for many years running. The drop in fees is illustrative of the slow real estate market on the island.