The town of Pembroke wants to use $200,000 in Community Preservation Act funds toward the purchase of a cranberry bog, reports the Pembroke Express. The use of CPA funds should be permissible because the town wants to preserve the land as open space. Ironically, the purchase of the bog would help the town get rid of a lawsuit that stems from the encroachment of the automobile into Cranberry Land:

On March 10, 2008, property owner George Andruk through his attorney sent selectmen a letter accusing the town of causing “substantial injury to the bogs through its continued application of road salt, sand and other materials on the roads and shoulders adjacent to the bogs.”

Andruk demanded $465,000 in damages for “severe cranberry vine mortality,” lost cranberry sales and “extensive remediation costs,” according to the letter.

Thorne said after receiving the letter, he turned it over to town counsel. Soon after, the town began talks with the property owner to purchase the land. Town Meeting voters then authorized the town to buy the land last April.