PEMBROKE - Town officials are under fire for selling a Hooksett couple an acre on Borough Road that doesn't exist.

After John and Renee Kuliga were refused a refund for the purchase price, transfer taxes and nine years of property taxes, they got a lawyer.

The Kuligas bought the land from the town in 1995 for about $2,250, adding it to an abutting lot they'd owned since 1946. Last summer, after questioning a recent reassessment, they hired a surveyor who discovered the land they bought from the town never existed.

In January, the Kuligas requested a refund of the purchase price, transfer taxes and property taxes, which total about $8,000. The selectmen instead offered $3,072 - the cost of the land, plus a refund of only the 2004 property taxes.

The Kuligas' attorney, Shannon Sprinkel of Concord, did not return phone calls late last week. But in a letter to the town on April 20, she told officials the Kuligas now want $16,000. That amount equals the cost of the land, tax stamps, nine years of property taxes - all at 8 percent interest - plus surveyor expenses and legal fees.

Neither side disputes that the town accidentally created the lot when it made a surveying error in 1995.

"The town compounded this error by offering the tax parcel for sale without any further investigation into how the lot was created, who owned it, or why taxes had not been paid on it," Sprinkel said. "Had the town done even a modest level of due diligence, it likely would have discovered the surveying error, corrected its tax maps and not taken steps to sell the non-existent parcel of land."

She also said the 2004 tax refund the town offered was for the wrong lot.

Town Administrator Troy Brown said the town sold the land to the couple without warranty. "The selectmen are in a very difficult situation," he said. "They fully understand the position of John and Renee. They understand this was part of their retirement plan. But the town needs to be careful it doesn't set a precedent."

Because the land was sold "as is," officials are worried that refunding all that the Kuligas request could set a precedent for future land sales.

The selectmen are scheduled to discuss the issue at tonight's meeting, at 6:30 at the town hall.

(Rebecca T. Dickson can be reached at 224-5301, ext. 312, or by e-mail at rtsaros@cmonitor.com.)

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By REBECCA T. DICKSON

Monitor staff