BUCKFIELD – The issue of abandoning town roads drew a standing-room-only crowd to the Municipal Center Tuesday.

More than 50 people crammed into the meeting room to make their cases for roads they don’t want abandoned.

“Wow, we should have roads on the agenda more often,” quipped Town Manager Glen Holmes.

But roads were no laughing matter for Dwight and Jackie Dwinal, who delivered a signed petition asking selectmen not to abandon a section of Hammond Hill road.

According to town officials, the road has not been maintained for at least 30 years.

The Dwinals own 150 acres on the hill and the road is the only access to their property.

Holmes referred to the Maine Municipal Association’s interpretation of a law passed by the Legislature in 1967.

That law states towns may cease maintenance on town roads deemed to be of limited use and value to the traveling public. The roads may be abandoned if work has not been done on them for 30 years.

Judy Berg read a portion of a letter written by Perry Lamb of Brunswick, who did an extensive study of MMA’s legal interpretation of the abandonment law. The letter cited a case in 1970 in Canton where the law was found unconstitutional.

According the MMA manual, the law’s language was revised in 1976 to address any issue considered unconstitutional, Holmes said.

Donald Baum, who owns a camp on Hammond Hill, said access was needed for fire trucks.

Maintaining all forest roads would be too costly for taxpayers, Holmes argued.