ROCKLAND — Despite a vote of 2 to 1 on a motion that would have allowed Rockland’s city manager to begin negotiating a real estate option agreement with a Boston-based company for two pieces of city-owned property, the proposal ultimately failed in Council Chambers April 29.

That’s because two councilors were absent from the meeting, and the motion required three positive votes to pass.

If it had passed, the order would have opened discussions between the city and Rockland Energy Center LLC, which had hopes of siting a gas-fired energy plant on land that has been occupied by Rockland’s public works garage.

Rockland Energy, a subsidiary of the Boston-based Energy Management, Inc., also wanted to acquire Rockland’s City Hall, at 270 Pleasant Street.

The deal would have been negotiated by the city manager, subject to approval by the City Council by an ordinance amendment.

Terms of the proposed negotiation specified that Rockland Energy would have paid monthly option payments of no less than $1,000 beginning no later than Aug. 1.

Mayor Frank Isganitis and Councilor Valli Geiger both approved the motion, in anticipation of opening public dialog and hearing the community’s thoughts about the proposal.  Councilor Will Clayton’s opposing vote, however, negated further municipal discussion.

Councilors Louise MacLellan-Ruf and Larry Pritchett were not in attendance, and at least three positive votes were required to push the proposal forward.

The public comment portion of the April 29 special meeting drew a steady stream of Rockland residents to voice concerns about natural gas plants, pollution, suggestions of council non-transparency, and questions about the future of city functions, its operations and offices, if the City Hall and public works garage were sold.

Councilor Geiger said: “I thought that my job was to ensure that we look at opportunities for our city. We all know that we are facing a mil rate of 22. Frankly, that terrifies me. It’s unacceptable. We all know that for that mil rate we have so many needs that aren’t being met. Our sidewalks, our roads. We have a failing school, and yet our school uses up 70 percent of that mil rate.

“Did I think it was worth it to engage in a conversation with an energy company to bring a gas pipeline to the coast, to create a combined heat and power plant? I did.”

Geiger said she wanted to know more about the proposal.

“Can we trust that this will be non-polluting,” she asked. “I don’t know. Those are questions I wanted to know.”

Geiger proposed changing the amendment so that residents would vote on whether the pipeline was allowed. But, the no vote of today’s meeting canceled any further consideration on the matter.

In response to a comment made by a resident that that ‘Rockland is for Sale,’ Councilor Clayton said: “That’s kind of our job. We’re here to say that, yes we’re open for business, and we get to choose. We, collectively can be part of that.”

Clayton said he felt citizens made several good points about natural gas concerns. He said he wanted more discussion and more workshops to allow people with knowledge of natural gas and potential pollution to share expertise.

He told the audience: “Huge entities like the Walmarts and the Walgreens, they would rather not fight with the public. They’d rather find the next place willing to take them. I have absolutely huge reservations that that could happen to us. However, if I’m willing to stand here and take the heat for it, you better as well.”

Mayor Isganitis clarified that without a positive vote, there would be no workshops or discussions. Isganitis had wanted to pass the motion so that he could hear from all sides.

“All of those things would be opportunities for us to say ‘we wish to step further or we don’t wish to step further,” he said. “At no time did we develop a process that was taking us immediately from point A to point B.... Without three votes in the affirmative, it’s over before it begins. Are we that community? Because we’re sending that message that we aren’t open minded. And I think that that’s the wrong message to send.”