Grimaldi does not feel she has the ability to develop the parcel, and doesn't want to keep paying taxes on it.
AGAWAM – The city is on track to accept a donation of 12 acres of land off the south side of School Street to set aside for conservation and open space.
Mayor Richard A. Cohen has forwarded a request to accept the land to the City Council. The council received the request at its meeting Monday and is expected to discuss the proposal when it meets Sept. 6.
The mayor said Monday he favors accepting the land, which is owned by Realtor Elizabeth M. Grimaldi of Grimaldi & Burzdak Real Estate. The parcel is near School Street Park and is not suitable for building because it has wetlands, according to the mayor.
At an assessment of $142,000, the parcel does not generate much in the way of property taxes for the city, the mayor said.
“She is very generous to the town and very generous to the Senior Center, too,” Cohen said of Grimaldi.
The mayor said both the Planning Board and the Conservation Commission have recommended the city accept the parcel to be preserved for conservation and open space.
Grimaldi said the address of the land is 0 School St. and it is located on the south side of the street across from Beverly Lane. The parcel is heavily wooded and has wetlands, according to her.
The land generates a yearly property tax bill of about $2,000, Grimaldi said.
“I don’t want to pay taxes on it. I have owned it for at least 20 years,” Grimaldi said when asked why she wants to give the land to the city.
At the age of 79, Grimaldi said she is no longer up to the task of developing the property.
The landowner said if the city does not want the parcel she will donate it to a church or a charity.