GUILFORD – Summer is still a few months away, but people in Guilford are concerned they may have already lost the public swimming area on Guilford Lake, which has been leased to the town since 1979.

The swimming area is part of approximately 76 acres owned by Samuel Streiff and Helen Dobbins, the sixth generation of their family to have control of the property. The family terminated the lease agreement with the town in December due to a sharp increase in the assessed property value in 2011.

The property was previously assessed at $50,000, but was increased to $378,000 at the beginning of 2011 in an attempt to “bring equity and fairness to the entirety of the tax base,” said Susan McIntyre, who stepped down as assessor in December. Penny Haddad has since replaced McIntyre. The lakefront property was just one of many assessments to change following the town-wide re-evaluation.

“We were very disturbed by the change ... we never wanted any development to be done on the property, but we just can’t afford the taxes as they now stand,” said Streiff. “I understand to a fair degree what’s going on, I understand the town board’s position, we just want them to understand our position as well.”