Auction of Pownal race track site again cancelled. Don't miss the big stories. Like us on Facebook. POWNAL - A second scheduled auction of the former Green Mountain Race Track property was cancelled Wednesday, leaving town officials and area residents unsure what might happen next. Previously slated for January 7 at the 144-acre track site off Route 7 near the Massachusetts line, the auction was postponed until Wednesday at 11 a.m. However, no one from the auction firm, Landmark Auction Company, showed up at the advertised start time. At least one potential bidder - a demolition contractor interested in possibly working on the fire-gutted former track grandstand, which might have to come down to allow reuse of the property - and a few interested observers, including Select Board Chair Mike Gardner, attended the non-event. Gardner said afterward that he has not yet heard anything about next steps in the sale process, or whether any potential buyer might have negotiated a purchase with the mortgage-holder prior to Wednesday. Reached by phone on Thursday, an employee with Brock & Scott of Plainville, Mass., the law firm working with the mortgage-holder, said they were only authorized to confirm that the auction had been cancelled. * By Jim Therrien, Bennington Banner correspondent Florida-based Bayview Loan Servicing LLC holds a mortgage that was executed in 2004 by Progress Partners Ltd. Progress Partners had purchased the closed facility from J.T. Megaplex Inc., a company associated with former track owner, the late John Tietgens. Landmark Auction Company, which was to oversee the auction Wednesday, did not return a phone call seeking information about the cancellation and possible next steps for the track property. At the Pownal town offices on Friday, Town Clerk Julie Weber and Tara Parks, the town executive assistant, said they had received no new information from any parties involved in the auction process. Tietgens had purchased the property at an auction in 1992 when it was sold by the last group to run greyhound and horse race meets at the facility. The Rooney family, owners of the Pittsburgh Steelers NFL team and the Palm Beach (Florida) Kennel Club, had purchased the track from the original ownership group. Tietgens, a local horse owner, hoped to revive Green Mountain as a horse track, but several proposals put forth by him and potential investors never came to fruition. The facility opened in 1963 as a thoroughbred and harness race track but had switched to greyhound racing in the 1970s, before closing for good in 1992. The track was constructed by an investment group for about $6 million and opened for horse racing in 1963, initially considered a potential rival for Saratoga Race Track in New York. The Pownal track was sold to the Rooneys in 1973 for $8.5 million. Jim Therrien can be reached at [email protected] or by phone at 413-281-2646. Twitter: @BB_therrien

Race track site auction is postponed until February. POWNAL - A foreclosure auction of the former Green Mountain Race Track property, scheduled for Wednesday morning, has been continued until next month. The town of Pownal and other interested parties were notified by attorneys representing a mortgage holder for the former track property off Route 7. The firm Brock & Scott of Plainville, Massachusetts, notified town officials that the planned foreclosure sale was continued to February 25 at 11 a.m. at the property. The firm represents Florida-based Bayview Loan Servicing LLC, which holds a mortgage that was executed in 2004 by Progress Partners Ltd. Progress Partners had then purchased the closed race track from J.T. Megaplex Inc. Asked whether the town has heard the reason for the auction continuance, Select Board Chair Mike Gardner said in an email, "I haven't heard anything at all." Town Executive Assistant Tara Parks said in an email, "I just posted to Facebook the info I have on the track auction. The town has very little to do with this; however, we get the notices because they are recorded with [the town clerk]." Officials with Brock & Scott would not be reached Tuesday for comment.