LITCHFIELD — Voters, with a show of hands at town meeting Saturday, agreed to create a nonconforming lot for Litchfield Academy and to spend funds for a fire department grant.

Other votes were so close they had to go to paper ballots.

Office Manager Trudy Lamoreau said about 60 people came out for the three-hour meeting. Items that took up the most discussion on the short warrant: creating a Litchfield Board of Assessment Review for townspeople to appeal property tax abatement denials and limiting bids on two town-acquired beaches at Peace Pipe Shores to local property owners in that subdivision.

Voters eventually approved the new review board by a vote of 25-19. Currently, people denied an abatement appeal to the Kennebec County Commission. Town Manager Mike Byron had estimated that the town had seen four appeals in the past two years.

Three members and two alternates will be appointed to the new board.

By a vote of 20-22, residents defeated the measure to limit the Peace Pipe Shores bids, Lamoreau said.

In approving the nonconforming lot, voters separated Litchfield Academy from Libby-Tozier school on paper. By approving up to $7,000 for the fire department, voters gave the department the OK to use $125,000 awarded by the Department of Homeland Security to buy a special truck. Local funds were needed to provide a 5 percent match, according to the meeting warrant.

kskelton@sunjournal.com