By Nate Jones

Staff Writer 

How many pizzas did James Vasile have to sell before he could afford four acres along the Nonesuch River and 1.5 acres in the Higgins Beach neighborhood?

At 50 cents a pie – a lot. 

“He was a first generation Sicilian, and he used to own the Sportsman’s restaurant in Portland,” Michael Vasile, James Vasile’s son, said. “He used to sell pizza for 50 cents a pie and spaghetti for a buck a bucket.”

 Now, five years after his father’s death, Michael Vasile said he and his family are in negotiations with the town and conservation groups to sell their property on Mussey Road and two lots along Ocean Avenue that have been run by the family as parking lots for nearby Higgins Beach. Last month, the town council gave Town Manager Tom Hall the OK to begin negotiating with the Vasiles. 

“Parking has been a long issue at Higgins Beach,” Councilor Carol Rancourt said. “And the land on Mussey Road along the Nonesuch – now that’s something we really want to preserve.”

According to an initial draft of a contract between the town, the Vasile family and the Trust For Public Land, the town may match up to $635,000 in grant and state conservation funding in order to acquire the properties. Funding could be procured through programs such as the Public Access to Maine’s Waters Fund through the Land for Maine’s Future Bond. If Land for Maine’s Future dollars are used to purchase the property, the state could retain access rights to the land, according to the agreement.

“It’s very exciting but is getting very complicated,” Hall said of the negotiations.  

Should the town eventually own the Ocean Avenue properties – now valued together at nearly $1.5 million – a majority of the council was in favor of continuing to operate the lots as public parking space. Michael Vasile said the family would insist on the town continuing to do so, as it was his father’s last wish for the property, “a family jewel,” he said. 

“It’s safe to say the town is in the business of running seasonal parking lots,” Hall said. “I’d like to think we can do it better than anyone else.”

Michael Vasile said his father also left instructions for the property along Mussey Road to be used for preservation purposes; a memorial park in his parents’ names. While Hall and the council are in agreement that a majority of the land would remain undeveloped, Town Planner Dan Bacon said a small portion of the property at the corner of Payne Road and Mussey Road could be used to improve traffic flow. 

“Mussey and Payne Road are aligned at a challenging angle,” Bacon said. “The town has had an interest in realigning the intersection.”

Along the Saco border, another parcel of land could change hands. Tibbetts Road resident Dennis Hall said he and his wife would like to acquire a portion of a 69-acre, town owned parcel formerly known as the “sludge pit.” Bacon said the site had been used to dump sludge in the 1960s and 1970s, and Tom Hall said it had been closed and capped at least once. 

“I never thought I would hear that anyone was interested in the sludge pit, but OK,” Councilor Ron Ahlquist said. 

The parcel, valued at more than $160,000, abuts the Hall’s property and is currently home to two large fields and several off-road trails. According to an initial draft of the potential subdivision, the town would retain a portion of the property that follows the Nonesuch River for conservation purposes and the Halls would own a majority of the two existing fields. 

“[Dennis] Hall is really the best steward of this land,” Tom Hall said.

Dennis Hall said he would like to eventually hay the fields and allow his wife to use the land to ride horses. Dennis Hall said he had attempted to post the land to deter destructive ATV and dirt bike use, but the signs “disappeared.”

“I just want to preserve it,” Hall told the town council last month. “Nobody cares about the land out there, you know?”

Peter Hatem, the Hall’s attorney, said the couple would agree to limit the development potential for the lot to a single family dwelling, most likely for a member of their own family.

“That’s not necessarily a deal breaker,” Hatem said of the development rights.

A majority of the council supported the concept of selling the land, although some councilors were concerned about the potential for triggering a Department of Environmental Protection review of the parcel by the sale. Tom Hall said the negotiations were ongoing.

“We haven’t even begun to talk price yet,” he said. 

    Staff Writer Nate Jones may be reached at 282-4337 ext. 233.