GILEAD — The town hall was packed Saturday night as 95 voters plus a few children and observers crowded in for the annual town meeting.

The 60 percent voter turnout was largely due to interest in whether or not the town should buy a six-bay building owned by fire Chief Ken Cole. After this question was settled, the crowd dwindled until to about 40 at the end, approving $201,774 in expenses.

There seemed to be no doubt that the town needed a place to store road equipment, which is now either in the fire station or outside. The question centered on whether the Cole building was the right building in the right place and if this was the right time to purchase.

One resident pointed out that the town has ample room for a building near the salt and sand storage facility, while it would be impractical to drive the front-end loader back to the Cole building after each use.

Cole repudiated speculation that his building was in default and would soon be available at a foreclosure sale. He said “Now is the time to buy,” as he had taken $25,000 off the asking price, offering it to the town for $133,500.

Selectman Jeremy Morin said a real estate broker had difficulty finding sales of comparable property but put his appraisal at between $60,000 and $90,000. He did not know what it would cost to build a similar building.

Voters decided not to buy the building by a 58-32 vote. The next four articles, which dealt with $34,100 in expenses related to the purchase of the Cole property, were passed over.

Incumbent Selectman Morin defeated challenger Joe Boudreau 57-37.

During the meeting Boudreau expressed his opinion that town records were not as open as they should be. Town Clerk Linsley Chapman said all public records were available at the town office.

The town paid off a bond this year, reducing long-term debt service by $22,000. There was some sentiment for keeping this money in the budget. One resident felt it should be used for paying off the other debts early; others thought it could be put aside for future road projects.

Morin said the selectmen considered these options but preferred that this article reflect the minimum required debt payment. He did not rule out raising additional funds for these other purposes.

RSU 44 Superintendent Dave Murphy said he expects the school budget to be about the same. He said that the town’s share will be higher because of reductions in the state’s payments. However, there is enough surplus in the school account to cover this increase.

The town will hold a special town meeting on the school budget when it is complete.