Town Coordinator Henry L. Danis Jr. and others said the deed restrictions were unfairly dropped on the town at the last minute.

“We were taken aback that we were presented by this type of deed,” Mr. Danis said at a Sept. 23 meeting of selectmen. “Right now, I’m very uncomfortable with it.”

The developer’s lawyer, Mark L. Donahue, said he wanted to make sure the property would be used only as a public park, and wouldn’t one day become a building or a soccer field, for example. “This park is different from other parks you have accepted as gifts,” he said.

Selectmen debated whether residents should vote on accepting the park at town meeting tonight, or whether the matter should be deferred to the spring. Selectmen decided to keep the article on the fall town meeting warrant as a courtesy to the developer. But Mr. Danis and Town Planner James E. Robbins said that unless issues were resolved, they would ask voters not to accept the park.

Since last month, both sides have come much closer to negotiating a compromise, but they were still ironing out the details late last week, just a few days before town meeting.

The park includes benches, walking paths and a large circular fountain, which is not yet complete. The fountain is sitting on the ground, but Mr. Robbins said it should be on a three-foot base. He said he wouldn’t want the town to accept the park unless the fountain issues are resolved.

“They’ll need to remove the fountain and build the base, then replace the fountain,” he said. “They already spent more than $100,000 on the park. They’re reluctant to spend more.”

Gregory B. Franks, town counsel, has been working with Mr. Donahue on the wording of the deed.

“We’ve gotten a lot closer,” he said last week. “The differences are much smaller. I can’t guarantee that we’ll get a deed that selectmen will like, but I’m very hopeful.”

One of the biggest concerns for town officials was a deed restriction that said that if the town wasn’t maintaining the park to the level the developer expected, the developer could do the work himself and send the bill to the town. Mr. Franks said that might not even be legal.

That issue has been resolved, he said, but he declined to discuss any more specifics while negotiations remained open.

“We’re trying to find a happy medium where both parties can live with the terms,” he said. “We shouldn’t be able to vote on something without knowing what we’re getting.

“It’s not unusual for the town to accept property that’s restricted in one way or another,” he continued. “The issue here, though, was that when the special permit was issued, there weren’t any comments about restricting use. It came as a surprise to town officials.”

Town meeting will be held at 7 tonight at the Westboro High School auditorium. The town meeting warrant includes an article that would create a wetlands protection bylaw, giving the Conservation Commission broader authority to impose regulations; and an article that requests $1,489,485 to fund teacher salaries for fiscal 2008 and 2009.

Contact Priyanka Dayal by e-mail at pdayal@Telegram.com.