Just before the 5 p.m. deadline, on Friday, June 6, Nicholas Lenge, authorized agent of Budding Rose Realty LLC of Hartford, amassed the $317,000 necessary to purchase the bankrupt Green 40. That sum is about three times the amount owed on the landlocked parcel and between 1.5 and three times the appraised value, depending on which appraisal one believes. Major backer for the purchase was Alexander Gillis of Fairfield, Iowa. 

The only other bidder at the bankruptcy auction held on June 2 was the town of Middlefield, who dropped out of the bidding at $300,000. First Selectman Jon Brayshaw noted, at that time, "I have a fiduciary responsbility to the taxpayers not to spend so much more than the property is worth." The decision to drop out was supported by calls to selectman Dave Lowry and Board of Finance chair Paul Pizzo.

The Green 40 piece is part of a larger story of the Powder Ridge bankruptcy. The ski area will go to auction on June 21. Lenge had put in a hand-written bid several months ago of $5.2 million; however, at that time, bankruptcy court Judge Lorraine M. Weil  ruled in favor of a town of Middlefield offer of almost $2 million less.

It remains to be seen whether Lenge will continue his quest to own the whole piece. He would not divulge his plans last week.