OXFORD – The Town of Oxford held its regular monthly board meeting Wednesday evening with a modest public turnout and a number of issues laid out on the table that went largely unattended.

During the public comment portion of the meeting, at least four town residents spoke, touching on the issues of board conduct, town planning board assignments – including provisions to move forward with zoning ordinances that have been worked on for nearly two years – and delivery of a written instrument signed by 69 town residents.

Presented and read aloud to the board by Susan Granata, the letter expressed dissatisfaction for the town planning board's position of “throwing away nearly two years of work.” The tenor of the letter echoed the fear of the town reverting back to the 2007 zoning ordinance, which they consider “pro-fracking” and is more or less a difference of opinion amongst town residents.

Signers of the petition feel that by not addressing the prospect of “fracking” now, the Town of Oxford will remain vulnerable to large gas companies and the like. They fear detrimental outcomes, such as real property devaluation, will have a long term affect on the livelihood of the town and its residents.

Business owner and opponent to the presented letter Bryant LaTourette suggested that by taking measures against allowing gas companies to work within the town’s boarders, the town would in effect decrease land value.

“The evidence of property devaluation is clear, because mineral rights can be separated from land, and value can be established from them.” LaTourette said. He continued, “Land with minerals in Chenango County, New York for example, sells between $1,800 and $2,200 per acre whereas land without mineral rights sells for $750 to $1,100 per acre. This indicates mineral rights values of roughly $1,000 per acre. By banning development of those of those minerals, board members instantly cut the value of their land and their communities by half.”

Another resident, Fred Lanfear, commended the board for their prior resolution which banned the practice of “brine spreading” within the town’s boarders. At one time, the town had considered utilizing brine, which is a byproduct of both salt mining and natural gas hydrofracturing, as a treatment for ice dissipation along the town’s roadways.