Plymouth Foundation — a charity — profits from town land deals with the Town and sand mining
Town officials complicit, transfer a total of 55 acres to Foundation in 2005 and 2022 for sand mining deals
Town officials give Foundation permits for massive sand mine 103 Hedges Pond Road in 2008 and 2011
Where did the money go from this mining and sales of Town owned land?
This blog explains how Town of Plymouth officials are complicit in directing public land to the “Plymouth Foundation” — a shadowy body run by developers (including Rick Vayo and Dee Wallace Spencer), state Representative Mat Muratore, and business people and three Town officials. Here is the official list of directors. Read more about the Foundation’s activities here.
The Town Planning & Development Department works hand in glove with the Foundation. Town land obtained by taking it for non-payment of taxes is shepherded through Town Meeting and into the hands of the sand and gravel mining industry and private developers. This happened in 2005 and in 2018 and continues today. Read more below.
Chronology of Foundation’s land grabs, Town complicity
2005: Foundation obtains 103 Hedges Pond Road from Town(Cantor Court)
The Town sold Plymouth Foundation 23.37-acres at 103 Hedges Pond Road in 2005. After conducting a sand and gravel mining operation from about 2008 to 2017 and profiting from the mining, the Foundation sold the land to Tonka Truck LLC in 2017 for $1.3 million. The location is known as Cantor Court. Where is the money?
Read more about the 2005 land grab for sand and gravel at 103 Hedges Pond Road here in the Sand Wars Report.
The Town gave a $475,000 mortgage to the Plymouth Industrial Development Corp. for the property. The Plymouth Industrial Development Corp. was also a non-profit charity and a predecessor to the Plymouth Foundation.
Below: 103 Hedges Pond Road outlined in red in 2005 before the Foundation’s mining operation. Abutting it to the north is the PA Landers massive 80+acre sand and gravel mine. Read more PA Landers mine on Mountain Road here.
Before: 2005 Cantor Court
Above: 2024: After the Foundation’s mining operation and sale of the land at 11 Cantor Court. Mining is ongoing as shown above. The Town Building Commissioner and Planning Department refuse to stop it.
2008: Town’s sand and gravel permit for Foundation sand and gravel mining
103 Hedges Pond Road
In 2008 the ZBA gave the Foundation a permit for a massive mining permit at the 103 Hedge’s Pond site. See, ZBA Decision, Case No. 3455, recorded at Registry of Deeds, Book 40005, Page 173.
The Town’s Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) is complicit in sand and gravel mining and has been for decades. It knows or should know the mining is not normal land development. It knows the developers and their engineers misrepresent projects and present half-truths claiming they have to remove massive amounts of sand and gravel to develop the land. It’s simply not true
2011: Town expands Foundation’s sand and gravel mining permit for 103 Hedges Pond Road
In 2011, the ZBA voted 4-1 (Edward Conroy voting against) to allow the Foundation to take out MORE sand and gravel, going from 400,000 cubic yards to 570,000 cubic yards. See, ZBA Decision Case No. 3623, recorded at Registry of Deeds, Book 40005, Page 173.
2017: Town’s special permit to Tonka Truck LLC so Foundation can sell the land at 103 Hedges Pond Road
2022: Foundation’s land grab at 71 Hedges Pond Road, Cedarville
In 2022, the Selectboard sold 33 acres of conservation land at 71 Hedges Pond Road to the Foundation for $1.00. The land was designated as the “Cedarville Conservation Area.” The Town Planning & Development Department told Town Meeting that 134 acres would be conserved as forest in exchange for the Town Meeting voting to allow the Selectboard to sell the 33 acres to be “developed.” The 134 acres is not in conservation as of September, 2024.
The Foundation has been marketing the 33 acres for $4.2 million. Where is the money going to go? It has a purchase and sale agreement with sand and gravel mining operator, EJ Pontiff. The Foundation refuses to disclose the purchase and sale agreement to the public. Pontiff applied for a sand and gravel mining permit. Read more about the effort to stop Pontiff’s mining plan here.
