The city Planning and Zoning Board approved the $650,000 purchase of the 13.45-acre parcel of land at 462 Oronoque Road in an apparent attempt to block its use as a used car lot, which residents suspect would be nothing more than a junkyard.

Mayor James Richetelli told the board, “Tonight I ask for your approval to purchase approximately 13.45 acres of land on Oronoque Road.  We have had our eyes on this piece of land for quite some time, and the city has always known it is a strategic property to acquire at some point.” 

The parcel the town's aiming to purchase is a piece of land which on the borders of Rivercrest Farms. It is in the vicinity of local area neighborhoods. 

The current owner of the land has been in State Supreme Court fighting foreclosure since he went delinquent on payments in 1997.  According to the mayor and many concerned citizens who have spoken out against the developer, the owner intends to turn the farmland into a “used car lot” which they say, in actuality, will be a junkyard.

The town would pay $1.1 million for the land up front -- and get back $450,000 in back taxes at the closing -- making the total cost $650,000, according to the mayor's office.

“This purchase will prevent a use of the property not in the best interest of the surrounding neighborhoods or the town itself,” Richetelli said.

Board member Janet Golden asked the mayor if there were any current plans for the development of the land and Richetelli replied, “There are no immediate uses in mind.  But the purchase gives us the opportunity and ability to make decisions and opens up many options for the future.”

After a short discussion, board member Gregory Vetter, Sr. made a motion to approve the purchase and Janet Golden quickly seconded.  The vote on the approval was unanimous.  The application will now go before the Board of Alderman for final consideration.

A small group of town residents attended the meeting and gathered outside City Hall afterwards.  One of them was life-long Milford resident Keith Dunn who said, "I just wanted to see what happened as I have been following this for a long time. "

Also on the agenda for the Tuesday night meeting was a presentation by Jocelyn Mathiasen, director of permits and land use, reviewing new technology being implemented by town government over the next few months.

Mathiasen reviewed two new technologies which she says will greatly improve efficiency on the both sides of the permit process. 

“We have been working very hard to address the issue of long lines inside the Inspector’s Office and other government departments,” she told the board.

The first new system is called QLess and is similar to those being used currently by DMV offices across the country.  As opposed to coming into local government offices and waiting in long lines, once the new “Queue Manager” is created, residents will be able to “sign into line” from home and receive notifications about current waiting time.  Then when their turn is up to see officials, they will receive another notification informing them that it is their turn.

“This new queue managing system could be used for other functions in the city over the foreseeable future,” said Mathiasen.

The second new device is set to improve the ability for residents and government departments to communicate over pending permits.

ViewPermit is new network-based software which will allow applicants to fill out one form and have that form sent to all necessary departments via the internet.  This will save the applicant the trouble of having to walk from office to office filling out various applications for approval.

According to Mathiasen, the software will cost the city less than $70,000 and will be an incredible gain for the city.