The Haymarket Town Council approved once again of the sale of the Town Center property to commerical developer Gerry Kennedy for $2.3 million Monday night at Town Hall.

If nothing derails the anticipated settlement date of Feb. 28, then control of the property will be turned over to Kennedy, which he plans to convert into a series of small businesses and retail spaces. The deal will be voided if it is not settled on or before that date, according to a statement read by town attorney John Bennett.

Though he initially planned to bring in only up to 20 tenants, an additional building that is still to be constructed on the property could bring that number up to 28 tenants depending on the size of the new businesses that occupy it. Kennedy confirmed after the vote that he has secured 17 tenants so far.

Kennedy has also agreed to move four historic buildings from around town on to the property, which is set to be renamed the Haymarket Oldtowne Centre, as part of a preservation effort.

Council members Ozzie Vazquez, David Leake, John Cole, Sue Shuryn and Susan Edwards voted for the motion to approve of the Kennedy site plan and sell the property. Council member Bob Weir voted against all the motions.

According to the town's chief financial officer James Naradzay, the town plans to pay off about $1.1 million in bond debts related to purchases of buildings at the Town Center and the early phases of the Street Scape project. The Street Scape is designed to make Haymarket more pedestrian-friendly.

Last October, council members came to a basic consensus that the remaining $1.2 million would then be used, at least in part, to construct a new town hall building at the Harrover property on the east end of town.

But nothing has been decided yet.

"We need to get a consensus from the residents (and) the business owners about what type of town hall they want, " said Naradzay.

He later added, "There's no pressure to get it done. The pressure is on getting it done right."

This is the third time the Town Council has approved of a deal proposed by Kennedy to buy the Town Center property. The last time was in January 2008, before Leake or Edwards were elected. That plan fell through after the Haymarket Planning Commission clashed with Kennedy over a deceleration lane along Jefferson Street.

Because of what Kennedy attributed to public outcry in his favor, he resubmitted his offer that March. The town council then approved of it again in a preliminary way, which basically authorized the Planning Commission to re-review it.

After a series of delays stemming from summer to winter 2008, two public work sessions during the last two months, and a unanimous vote of recommendation from the Planning Commission, Kennedy finally secured the deal Monday night despite objections from Weir, who has constantly disavowed the plan since its inception.

"I have no confidence in the plan," said Weir. "[I have] no confidence this applicant can pull this site plan off."

No council members defended Kennedy during discussion periods while Weir again outlined his opposition to the deal.

Weir's list of problems included numerous delays with the plan, a lack of time for him to review documents, the sale price and the overall business model. He was the council's liason to the Planning Commission when the plan was first derailed.

"It seems to be a recurring theme with this application," said Weir, speaking specifically about the delays. He later added, "Some of the documentation hasn't even been submitted yet."

Kennedy declined to directly respond to the charges, saying instead that "the plan has had a thorough level of review."

Leake said after he left the meeting that he thought Kennedy's plan was "a great idea.

"We moved to Haymarket for a small-town fell and I think [this] is going to support the walking-town" concept, he said.

At 8:12 p.m., the council cast its first of three votes on the plan, all of which were approved 5-1.

During the second discussion, Weir once again dissented with the council, though his claims were not debated.

"I've noted before, I don't believe the sale price is acceptable," he said, mentioning the final sale price was about one-third less than what the town originally wanted of $3.2 million.

Weir continued to take the council to task for how there is no solid plan yet for where the new town hall will be after the council is forced out of the Town Center. The town council has planned to eventually move into a new hall at the Harrover property on the east end of town, but that stucture has no date-certain about when it will be erected.

"It's poorly organized, poorly thought out, and I think it's fiscally irresponsible and it's going to cause us [problems] in the future," he said.

The councilman arched his head to the right after the other five council members voted in favor of the final motion, which was for the sale of the property. Weir then rolled his eyes up as to look at the white, paneled ceiling about four feet above him and cast his vote with an ascending and then desending musical pitch: "No."

Mayor Pamela Stutz finally responded to his concerns once the votes were all tallied.

"I just hope your concerns are unfounded as we go through this," mayor Pamela Stutz, a Kennedy supporter, said to Weir right after the final vote.

"And I'll be the first to say, 'I told you so,'" he replied.