OXFORD – Selectmen on Thursday agreed to give the Oxford Recreation Department a year to show how the former fire station on King Street can be used to expand recreational opportunities in town.

Selectmen told the department to use the building this year for storage and possibly as a meeting space, and bring plans for an expanded recreation department to next year’s town meeting.

The meeting space, which would include the bathroom and kitchen, could be used by the Oxford Baseball and Softball Association, Scouts, 4-H and senior citizen groups, by using a third of the building and making slight alterations, recreation committee members said.

Donations and grant funds would be sought for the project, which would also involve moving the ice skating rink from the new fire station property on Route 26. The adjacent police station could be gutted and used as a warming hut, with an area for a portable toilet.

The other two-thirds of the old fire station would be used for winter storage of wharfs, now left on Pismo Beach, a tractor and accessories, Pismo Beach concession stand equipment, and baseball, softball and T-ball equipment, now in a number of private homes.

In the summer, the space could be used to store the ice rink, and used by beach attendants.

Approval by selectmen came after a straw poll of around 25 voters at the special town meeting showed only two people opposed to the plan.

Selectmen had debated whether to sell both buildings and their several acres of land to bring in revenue for the town. Local Realtor Tom Kennison had offered to market the property on behalf of the town.

But there was some question whether the property was within the shoreland zone, which would limit its marketability. The town’s code enforcement officer said yes, but Kennison and others challenged that assessment.

The question had not been resolved as of Thursday.

“We’d like to expand our recreation program beyond a baseball and softball field,” said Recreation Committee member Gary Smith. “And a building is an integral part of that.”

Head Selectman David Ivey supported the plan, saying he’d become disillusioned with area efforts to bring a YMCA center to the area. With work, a small town can develop its own recreational program. “Aroostook County has towns with programs that are second to none,” he said.

Smith said he’d like to see Oxford improve its recreation program to be on a par with what the neighboring town of Norway offers. “We’d like a length of time to see what we could do.”

Fellow Recreation Committee member Sharon Jackson said the department has a good resource of manpower, and has access to fund raising. She acknowledged there’s no money in the recreation budget, but that a campaign could be started.

The storage would be secondary to efforts to expand recreational opportunities, she said.

“We’ve done miracles with our rec fields – anyone who knows what those fields looked like 10 years ago should know,” she said.

But Roger Smedberg wondered what an expanded recreation plan would cost the town.

“You’re going to have to go with hired help,” he said. The town pays $2,300 a year for insurance on the buildings, and pays for heat in the winter.

“That money’s got to come from someplace, and that’s your tax bills,” Smedberg said.

Recreation Committee member Lois Pike said the building wouldn’t have to be kept heated this winter. She said using the building the way the committee wants to won’t happen right away. “It will probably take three years to do it,” she said.