ORANGE — A Selectboard meeting on Wednesday grew heated after the vice chair expressed outrage over a perceived lack of communication relating to two upcoming Special Town Meeting warrant articles seeking to acquire land to build a water tower at the Orange Industrial Park.

Pat Lussier said she had thought a parcel from Seaman Paper, one of the companies located in the industrial park, was the only land required to build the water tower. However, she learned at the latest Selectboard meeting that a parcel from Power Fund Partners, which grows the marijuana sold by the Orange Cannabis Co. dispensary, is needed as well. She said this information is “another surprise at the very end” and claimed there is a pattern of town officials failing to disclose important details.

Seaman Paper, at 151 Governor Dukakis Drive, has struggled with insurance costs due to the lack of water flow into its building, prompting concerns about fire suppression. Residents voted during Annual Town Meeting in June to contribute $1 million that would be combined with a MassWorks grant of the same amount and $835,700 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money to build the water tower.

“The parcel of land that they planned to build a water tower on was located between Seaman Paper and Power Fund. So, Power Fund is a corporation that … grows marijuana out there, in the industrial park,” Town Administrator Matthew Fortier said, having implored the public to show up on Dec. 2 to satisfy quorum for the Special Town Meeting. “So there’s two [related] articles on the warrant — one to accept the land from Seaman Paper; the other article is to accept or take the land from Power Fund.”

But Lussier expressed concerns about legal issues related to taking land by eminent domain.

“And I have to say that this is very annoying to me, that there’s a little hitch here that nobody knew about and now, at the 11th hour, we’re finding out about it,” she said, visibly agitated. “And [for] my part, as an elected member of this Board of Selectmen, I’m going to say I resent this. I resent this a lot, on behalf of the people of Orange, to be kept in the dark about something like this, where their money has been put on the line.

“Nothing ever comes forward when it’s first discovered — never,” Lussier continued. “This is infuriating, absolutely infuriating.”

Selectboard member Jane Peirce chimed in to say that Power Fund Partners has for two years said it would sign over the land needed for the water tower and Fortier merely devised a contingency plan.

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“It’s not like there was anything secret. It’s like, we thought we had it all figured out, and Matt has had to go to some lengths to come with Plan B in case Plan A actually doesn’t pan out,” Peirce said. “I don’t think it’s sneaky. I think it’s just that things don’t always move as fast as we want them to.”

William Storti, an engineer with Weston & Sampson, attended a Sept. 4 meeting and mentioned the two land parcels while detailing the final plans for the industrial park. However, Lussier was not in attendance for this meeting.

Once the Nov. 20 meeting had adjourned, there was another exchange in which Fortier told Lussier he believes he sent her an email related to the potential water tower but she said he did not. Fortier later told the Greenfield Recorder he couldn’t find the email he was referring to but that the Power Fund Partners matter was on the draft warrant emailed to Selectboard members on Nov. 8 and signed by them on Nov. 13.

Fortier later sent Selectboard members an email to clarify any confusion surrounding the proposed project and the procedure to get it completed. He also wrote that bidding documents will be opened on Dec. 5 to award the contract for the build.

The 18-article Special Town Meeting is set for 7 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 2, in Town Hall.

Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-930-4120.