Town Council Calls Special Meeting to Review Latest Joppa Hill Farm Agreement

Bedford Town Manager Jessie Levine sent out a notice late Monday informing the public and press that the Bedford Town Council has called an emergency meeting for Tuesday night at 7 p.m. to review and discuss the latest agreement between the Educational Farm at Joppa Hill and the town.

The two sides have been going back and forth for years in an effort to resolve structural and safety issues with the farm's aging barn and, most recently, appeared on the verge of a deal in January before negotiations broke down prior to a deal being signed.

The agreement reads as follows:

THIS AGREEMENT is entered into this ____ day of March, 2013, by and between the Town of Bedford, a municipal corporation located in the County of Hillsborough, State of New Hampshire, with a mailing address of 24 North Amherst Rd., Bedford, NH 03110 (hereinafter the “Town”) and the Educational Farm at Joppa Hill, a non-profit organization with a mailing address of 174 Joppa Hill Road, Bedford, NH 03110 (hereinafter “EFJH”).

1. The Town shall remove ceiling tiles and necessary wiring and lighting from the barn, at its sole expense, by April 30, 2013.
   1. EFJH shall vacate the barn within 15 days, upon notice of the imminent removal of the ceiling tiles by the Town, and shall not use the barn until a certificate of occupancy is secured.
   2. If EFJH chooses to repair the barn, then the Town shall provide a temporary electric panel.
2. Within 60 days of the removal of ceiling tiles from the barn by the Town, EFJH shall notify the Town whether it intends to repair the barn.  
3. If EFJH decides to repair the barn, said work shall be completed within 1 year of the notice provided in paragraph 2. Completion shall be determined by a certificate of occupancy.
   1. Prior to beginning construction, EFJH shall demonstrate to the Town, in the form of a bank statement and schedule of costs associated with the barn repair, that it has funding sufficient to complete the construction necessary to obtain an certificate of occupancy.
   2. EFJH shall be responsible for conforming to all applicable building codes and securing a building permit and certificate of occupancy. The Town waives any fees associated with permits, licenses, or inspections.
4. If EFJH decides to proceed with the repair of the barn, then the parties shall negotiate in good faith in an effort to reach a new lease of up to 30 years.  Said negotiations shall not represent merely the negotiation of a rider extending the existing lease.  Any new lease shall not take effect except upon the actual completion of repairs and securing a certificate of occupancy.  Otherwise, the new lease will be considered null and void.  
5. The Town makes no representation of suitability of the barn, property or other improvements for a particular use, and should EFJH determine that there are any deficiencies associated with the barn, property or other improvements, known or unknown, it shall be solely responsible for same and may, at its sole expense, repair or remediate, or remove itself from the property.  Should EFJH choose to remove itself from the property, the lease shall terminate.
6. EFJH shall purchase and maintain, at its expense, public general liability insurance applicable to EFJH’s operations, and to the premises and to any improvements thereto, naming the Town as an additional named insured and loss payee.  Coverage shall be in the amount of $ 2,000,000.00.
7. During any periods of construction by EFJH, EFJH or its agent shall carry and provide proof of builder’s risk insurance covering the project at its full value, and shall name the Town as loss payee.
8. Time shall be of the essence of this Agreement, and the failure of EFJH to perform in accordance with any specified dates and/or time periods provided for herein shall automatically cause the termination of this Agreement and the lease.
9. This Agreement represents the entire agreement between the parties and all previous discussions and representations are merged herein. This Agreement may only be modified by a written instrument signed by both parties.