Selectmen Considering Purchase of Main Street Archdiocese Property

At their Aug. 12 meeting, Selectmen entered into executive session to discuss the potential purchase of 7.86 acres of property at 120 Main St. owned by the Archdiocese of Boston, currently part of St. Dorothy's Parish. 

After their executive session, Town Manager Jeff Hull explained Selectmen were considering a vote of determination of uniqueness which demonstrates the property has unique characteristics that make it impractical to go through formal bid process.

An agreement to purchase the property would have to receive approval from the Archdiocese of Boston as well as Town Meeting approval.

Selectmen voted 4-0 in favor of a determination of uniqueness for the property at 120 Main St. 

Selectman Michael Newhouse was not present at Monday's meeting. 

Town Manager Jeff Hull also addressed the proposed Merrimack Valley Casino at 300 Ames Pond Drive in Tewksbury, noting the town is currently receiveing assistance from the Metropolitan Area Planning Agency in assessing the potential impacts of the proposed project on Wilmington

"I also anticipate reaching out to counterpart in Tewksbuty to have some discussions with him about the proposal," Hull said. 

Selectmen Chair Michael McCoy said it would be important for town officials to remain aware of further developments concerning the proposed slots-only casino in coming weeks. 

"We've got to be very careful about what's going on in the next community because obviously traffic is going to be an issue and it's going to affect this community, so we really need to be careful on what we see and what we do in that area," McCoy said.