Others from Watertown said that the letter contained information that is inconsistent with what the University has actually offered the town.

“We need Harvard to put one story on the table in clear, concise English and stop talking out of both sides of their mouth,” said Larry Rasky, the head of a Boston public relations firm representing the city of Watertown.

Kaprielian said that she was “offended” by information in the letter that she felt was misleading.

In particular, several from the town, including Kaprielian, Rasky and Watertown City Manager Michael J. Driscoll, contested the letter’s statement that the agreement “would extend out to as long as 51 years.”

While they agree that the University has presented a proposal that could be theoretically extended to that length, they said that Harvard has only been willing to promise extensions beyond 20 years based on an excess of conditions. They said that many of these conditions are unacceptable to the city and would give Harvard too great a degree of control over the city.

—Staff writer Daniel P. Mosteller can be reached at dmostell@fas.harvard.edu.