Attleboro Accepts Donated Land; Pays Taxes to Seekonk

There was a big "oops" moment at  Tuesday night when City Property and Claims Committee Chairperson, Richard Conti, told the rest of the committee members that the city of Attleboro had accepted donated "open space" land that was technically located in Seekonk. As a result, the city received a $500 tax bill on the property.

The land was part of the Oakridge II Estates, a subdivision in Attleboro approved by the council in December 2002.  

On the south side of that subdivision there is an approximately 5,000 square-foot (o.116 acre) parcel of land  (plat #38, lot #18) near Seven Arrows Farm, that the land owners donated to the Attleboro Conservation Commission. 

"We accepted gift of open space, but what we didn’t know was that part of the land was in Seekonk," Conti said. 

The land issue was discovered when the town of Seekonk sent the city of Attleboro a tax bill.

According to Seekonk Tax Assessor Theo Gabriel, the privately owned land was purchased by Attleboro in December of 2008. In the last two years, Seekonk has charged the city $556.97 last year and $544.36 the year before.

"We are talking less than 5,000 square feet," Conti said. "[Seekonk] didn’t want to buy it, but will accept it as a gift. The intent is to make it walking trails or bike paths."

The Committee on City Property and Claims voted to in favor to donate the land to Seekonk under the management of the Seekonk Conservation Commission. The donation now needs to be approved by the City Council.

Abigail Crocker contributed to this article.