Lehman says he will not vote or benefit from Town's potential purchase of Wood Site.

Lehman says he will not vote or benefit from Town’s potential purchase of Wood Site.

Mammoth Town Councilman Michael Raimondo wants to see the Town buy Sam’s Wood Site to make sure it remains an events venue for years to come. The Council talked about a possible purchase in a closed session on property negotiations Wednesday night. That session prompted questions from the public on a for sale sign with Matthew Lehman’s name on it at the Wood Site.

Lehman confirmed that he does have and has had for several years a For Sale sign on the Wood Site. Lehman said that in addition to being an appraiser he is also a real estate broker. He said, “Although I work heavily in residential real estate, my primary area of expertise has been commercial real estate for some time.”

Councilman Lehman explained that he will not benefit on any sale of the Wood Site by his seat on the Town Council. He said, “To be clear, I’ve not and won’t act in the capacity of a Town Council person with regard to the Wood Site. When the idea of discussing the Wood Site came up in open session a few weeks ago,” said Lehman, “I made sure to have immediate discussions with the Town Attorney on how to best approach the situation.”

Lehman explained further. He said, “I will not be discussing the Wood Site as an advocate for or against its purchase, nor will I be voting on anything related to this property should the need for a vote arise. I will be recusing myself from any meetings regarding the Wood Site. In the event the Town were to purchase the property, I would not be able to receive compensation,” he said.

Lehman called this “a unique situation, but not completely uncommon in a small town.”

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