Winchendon Boards Vote to Oppose Return of Crocker Pond Parcel to Original Owner

Planning Board · Meeting of July 21, 2026

Winchendon's Planning Board and Open Space Committee voted unanimously to oppose a citizen's petition that would return a 10-acre parcel adjacent to Crocker Pond to its original owner for $1. The article, placed on a special town meeting warrant for August 4 by Robert Francis — principal of Crocker Pond Properties Incorporated — asks voters to transfer the parcel back under the grounds that the town never used it for its intended purpose of driveway construction. Francis appeared before the joint session and described a 19-year effort to reclaim the land, maintaining he has spent $300,000 maintaining the privately owned road and bridge that provide the only vehicle access to Crocker Pond beach.

"This has been a battle for 19 years," Francis told the boards. Both bodies voted against supporting the petition, citing concerns about open-space preservation and the precedent of reversing town meeting land transactions, and then unanimously authorized a staff member identified as Isaiah to draft a joint letter recommending the town instead purchase a separate landlocked 10-acre parcel from Francis at fair market value as an alternative form of compensation.

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Source: the Planning Board meeting of July 21, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.