WHITMAN — Oct. 6, 2026 — The owners of a 12.5-acre, largely wetland parcel at the end of Jacob Lane have offered to sell it to Whitman for its $218,000 assessed value, according to a presentation last Tuesday, and Select Board members looked to state grants and land trusts as alternatives to Community Preservation money for a purchase the owners want resolved by January.
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The parcel, listed on the agenda under Conservation Commission member Ed Winnett as Parcel ID 36C 89 8, sits off Washington Street, borders Abington to the north and abuts Conservation Commission land and Hobart’s Meadow. About four to five acres are grassy upland. The presentation said the owners want the land kept in its natural condition and are asking the 2026 assessed value, with a tentative 2027 value of $229,000. Using a Plymouth County median of about $48,000 per usable acre, it put the land’s worth at $192,000 to $240,000. A Community Preservation funding application was filed in June.
The land also holds four wells that are not in operation. The presentation called them a potential future drinking water source but said they would need quality testing, infrastructure, treatment and approval from the state Department of Environmental Protection and the Conservation Commission; three sit inside wetlands. They are about 1,000 feet from the Abington-Rockland joint water works well on Myers Avenue. Asked whether Whitman would be drawing on the same groundwater, Winnett said that was possible and needed study. The parcel could also carry an alternate Frederick Douglass Trail route from Essex Street.
Jason Desrosier of the Old Colony Planning Council (OCPC) told the board that, with an adopted Open Space and Recreation Plan, Whitman could apply for state land grants to buy conservation land.
Every dollar is so important to our taxpayers right now, and yes, this is a fantastic opportunity, and I support everything up here, and I want to be sure the funding source to achieve this is the best possible option.
— Dawn Byers, Select Board 1:01:59
Dawn Byers asked for research on the state land grant process. The board was later told the fiscal 2027 round closed July 9. Assistant Town Administrator Matt Dyer offered to approach land trusts such as Wildlands Trust. The Community Preservation application stays in line for a possible January special town meeting article, which could be pulled or passed over if outside money comes through.
During Sabrina Chilcott’s town administrator report, the board was told it will be asked Oct. 20 to vote again on the ballot question for a Jan. 30 debt exclusion to fund South Shore Tech’s new building, using the same wording it voted in May. The regional district, not Whitman, will choose between level debt payments and equal principal payments, and Dan Salvucci, who also represents Whitman on South Shore Tech’s School Committee, said he would carry the board’s view to that district vote asked for direction. Members who spoke favored level payments. Chair Justin Evans cited Whitman’s expected enrollment decline as Marshfield phases into the district; Byers compared the choice to a 30-year mortgage while acknowledging level principal saves money over the life of the loan. No vote was taken.
Desrosier also presented the draft Whitman Housing Production Plan, a five-year plan for 2027 to 2032. It counts 208 units on the town’s Subsidized Housing Inventory against 5,974 year-round housing units, a 389-unit gap to the 10% Chapter 40B benchmark, and four units are due to leave the inventory in 2027. Of 45 strategies, 23 involve no new construction. Salvucci, citing the DPW, said town sewer is almost maxed out. The draft is expected around December, with Planning Board and Select Board adoption targeted for May, ahead of the June 30, 2027, end of the grant funding the plan. Byers asked to revisit it at a future meeting.
