CAPE ELIZABETH – The Cape Elizabeth Town Council voted unanimously Monday to give $350,000 to the local land trust to aid its purchase of 63 acres adjacent to an 80-acre parcel it already owns in Robinson Woods.

However, the donation required some financial wrangling along with a 20-minute tete-a-tete behind closed doors.

Chris Franklin, executive director of the Cape Elizabeth Land Trust, said the transfer is the final piece in a puzzle first envisioned in 1977, with the proposal for a 7.5-mile-long trail system linking Fort Williams Park to Kettle Cove.

“This acquisition preserves the 70 percent of that trail that remains in private ownership,” said Franklin. “As we know, the only way to ensure future public access is public ownership. We’ve been fortunate to have many private land owners who have allowed use of their lands, but this is a gift to future generations.”

Three residents rose to speak in favor of the deal. Only Bill Enman struck a discordant note.

“The more money that goes to this land trust, the higher our taxes go,” he said.

Enman’s comment had no dampening effect on councilors, however, as they generally waxed poetic about the purchase, calling it a “great investment.”

“This is a real watershed moment for the Town of Cape Elizabeth,” said Chairman David Sherman. “I think when we look back on this decision 20 or 30 years from now, we are going to be so grateful. I am very, very excited to vote in favor of this.”

“There’s a time to spend and a time to save, as my mother used to say, and I think this is a time to spend,” agreed Councilor Frank Governali.

Even Councilor Jessica Sullivan, who could not help but ring a fiscal warning, supported the idea.

“I’m very much in favor of open space,” she said. “But what comes back to me is that we are spending taxpayer money. What we do here takes money out of their pocket.”

Despite that warning, the donation appears to be “revenue neutral.” Nearly half of the pledge ($150,000) was appropriated from money already set aside in the town’s land acquisition fund. The other $200,000 will come from a 20-year bond unanimously authorized by councilors.

However, that money is more than offset by savings councilors expect to realize by refinancing $1.9 million in remaining debt from $4 million in bonds sold in 2001. Town Manager Michael McGovern predicted that, thanks to more favorable interest rates, the town can expect to save up to $240,000 over the remaining life of the bond.

There was only one small hiccup in the proceedings, which came when Councilor Anne Swift-Kayatta asked for an executive session.

Preparatory to the vote to go behind closed doors, McGovern sought to clarify Swift-Kayatta’s motion, leading her to the one reason allowable in statute for a closed meeting, given the circumstance.

“Is the reason you want to discuss this in executive session because public disclosure of the negotiating position of the town might harm that position?” he asked, nearly quoting the applicable chapter and verse of state law verbatim, from memory. “Is it something like that?”

“Yes,” said Swift-Kayatta.

Although McGovern did site the correct statute, it was unclear what “negotiating position” he was referring to. The town is neither a buyer nor seller of the property. The $1.1 million deal is between the land trust and Robinson Family, LLC. Also, seemingly every angle of the town’s donation to help drive the transaction, and thus mitigate what CELT must raise on its own, was set out in documents made available prior to the meeting.

The true purpose for the executive session may have been revealed when, 20 minutes later, town councilors rejoined the audience. Almost as soon as they retook their seats, Swift-Kayatta moved both parts of the town’s $350,000 contribution. She then appended to that donation a request to “enter into a respectful discussion” with the land trust, in which the town will ask the trust to allow a quarter-mile-long section of the Shore Road Pathway to cross through the section of Robinson Wood it already owns.

Swift-Kayatta said changing the layout of the path – slated to move forward this fall after many years of planning, thanks to a $729,000 Department of Transportation Grant – would save the town roughly $75,000 in construction costs. That is the same amount councilors agreed to appropriate May 9 as part of the required local match for the Shore Path grant.

Redirecting the path also would “avoid significant changes to the character” of Shore Road, said Swift-Kayatta.

As he did before the executive session, McGovern jumped in once again, to the apparent rescue of Swift-Kayatta.

“It’s my understanding that you are binding us [in your motion] to have a discussion with the land trust as to the good and bad points of moving a portion of the Shore Path a little bit inland onto the Robinson Wood property,” he said. “I do not hear that the outcome of those discussion binds the acquisition in any way. Did I hear correctly?”

“It’s a good-faith request that we work together,” said Swift-Kayatta. “I don’t have all the facts yet to know if this is feasible, but I think we have an opportunity for a win-win here.”

“To be clear,” said Sherman, “the outcome of those talks will not affect the funding for this land acquisition.”

Sherman gave his statement the phrasing of a question and, although nobody used the term quid pro quo, Swift-Kayatta appeared to stress this was not her intent.

Sherman suggested that McGovern find out if the land trust is amenable to any encroachment of the Shore Road Path into the Robinson Woods and report back to the council at its next meeting.

Although councilors skirted the appearance of a quid pro quo, the municipal gift does come with two strings. No dollars will trade hands between the town and land trust until the trust shows it has the remaining funds it needs to complete the land buy. Also, a public easement onto the property must first be secured.

If land trust fails to complete its financing package, and the deal falls though, the entire $350,000 will revert to the town’s land-acquisition reserve fund, with no further encumbrances.