GUILFORD – The Town of Guilford has a court date set for January in its prolonged effort to renew the lease for the Guilford Lake swimming area. The swimming area is but a small portion of a larger 76-acre plot of land, deeded to absentee owners Samuel Streiff, and his sister Helen Dobbins. The siblings represent the sixth generation of their family to own the property and the same beach front portion of the land has been leased to the town for $10 a year since 1979. In 2011, Streiff and Dobbins informed town officials they did not intend to renew the lease for 2012. Nonetheless, the town and the beach front owners were able to come to a temporary accord, and the lease was renewed for this year – but the owners once again made known their intention to not renew the lease for next year.

For years, the $10 lease has been part of a mutually beneficial relationship between the town and the swimming area owners. In the past, when town-wide property assesments were conducted, the 76-acre property had been overlooked, leaving it with an assessed value far below its market worth, according to town officials.