In a major step toward eventually consolidating the police and fire stations, selectmen agreed Wednesday night to look into buying 12 acres bordering the high school and Wildwood Cemetery for a new public safety complex. The property at 16 Union St. was the top pick of town staff, who had scoured the area for places suitable for a new combined station. They also identified six other possible sites. Combined with the neighboring school and cemetery land, the property would become part of a roughly 87-acre swath of town-owned land. Selectmen said that contiguous tract would give the town hard-to-find room to use in the future if it ever has to expand the public safety facility, add another building or meet other needs. "Having that whole area gives us a lot of opportunities," selectmen Vice Chairman Adam Shuster said. The 12 acres is made up of three separate parcels owned by local developer Fafard Real Estate. Selectmen voted unanimously to start negotiations with Fafard for the land, though Selectman Cassandra Sammons was absent. Town Manager John Petrin said the land is known locally as the former Clocktown site and a liquor store used to be there. Today there is an abandoned house there, and the property has been on the market for years, Petrin said. If town officials can work out a deal with Fafard, the purchase would go to Town Meeting for a vote. Even if the town buys the land, Ashland would still be a long way from breaking ground ...
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