NORFOLK — Norfolk town council members voted unanimously to approve a land swap with a local business owner that will see a tract of privately owned land in the center of the park come under town control.

Town board member Paul Paige abstained from voting.

Town officials approved the resolution during an Aug. 10 board meeting after first bringing up the possibility during meetings as far back as April.

At the heart of the issue is an existing pavilion that is partially over the property line and sits on a tract of land owned by Richard and Brenda Paige.

The land swap will now ensure that the town owns all land that the pavilion sits on.

With the land swap approved, town officials said they must wait 30 days before filing the deeds after consulting with the town attorney. The deal is also subject to permissive referendum.

But the deal was not without controversy, as a number of the more than two dozen attendees raised concerns during the public comment period about the property and a local concert series that has been held in the park for two years.

Some residents voiced concerns over parking, saying the downtown area has limited parking to begin with and the concert series accounts for a large portion of street side parking during the events.

Christine Paige, who organizes the concert series and runs the 501(c)3 non-profit organization, said that she intends to continue to expand on the concert series and hopes to attract more attendees as the series continues to develop.

Paige said she has been hard at work soliciting donations and grants, putting in thousands of hours of work to raise over $65,000 for a new bandshell.

But some residents pushed back on the idea of expanding the series in the park, saying the park is too small to accommodate larger audiences, while also pointing to parking issues as a primary concern as well. Town officials said the park is just over one half acre in size.

Paige also said she views the concert series as a way to revitalize the downtown and to attract more businesses to main street. If successful in obtaining enough funding, she said she would like to replace the pavilion in the park with a new, larger and modern bandshell.

When asked by an attendee if food trucks could possibly come to the park during concerts, Paige shot the idea down.

“No, no, no, no, no. This is to enhance Norfolk businesses because this little town is dying. Walk down main street. The sidewalks are a mess. They were repaving arenas when sidewalks are crumbling,” Paige said.

“I don’t know why you wouldn’t want food trucks here,” Town Supervisor Charlie Pernice said.

“This is another attack on the Paige family in the town of Norfolk and I am tired of it. I am tired of it. There will be no food trucks there. You want this series to close down and it’s not going to happen,” Paige said.

The meeting became heated as more attendees asked questions of Paige and offered suggestions for alternative locations.

Other concerns raised included what possible rental fees would be in place to utilize the space and bandshell, along with the possible liability over the new bandshell and who would be responsible for its maintenance and upkeep, given that it would be funded by a non-profit organization but would sit on Town of Norfolk property.

Board members weighed in on rental fees, with Pernice telling attendees that most properties owned by the town can be rented for a $35 daily fee, however the arena would cost more due to the amount of electricity needed to run lights, to staff the space depending on the event and to clean up afterward.

Paige pushed back on the idea of renting the bandshell as well, saying a non-profit such as the concert series should not and cannot be required to rent a property to host events.

The attendee who suggested the idea clarified, stating she meant to speak to rental fees for other events unrelated to the concert series that may wish to utilize the town park space and bandshell.

On multiple occasions Pernice reminded attendees to address the board during the public comment period.

Some residents suggested the series may be better suited if it were moved to the arena.

One resident also suggested the arena for ease of parking, as well as the possibility to move a concert inside in the event of inclement weather.

Paige vehemently pushed back on the idea, saying she would never allow that to happen.

“There will not be a band shell up by the arena. That will not happen. I’ve got the money…in savings accounts from grants I’ve written,” Paige said.

Some residents also questioned whether the police department would be able to assist if concerts did grow larger and required police to assist with safety and traffic flow.

Town Supervisor Charlie Pernice said it would be difficult given the limited man power of the part-time police department.

Town board member Jean Gang suggested some officers should switch from a day shift to a night shift in order to assist with the concert series, if such a need should arise.

Pernice spoke to the officers’ schedules, saying many are only available during the day shift and likely would not be able to assist on a night shift.

Heated debate continued between attendees until Pernice called for an end to public comment, ending the meeting shortly thereafter.