TURNER – The Board of Selectmen will hold a special town meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 18, at the Municipal Office to vote on the sale of the former Grand Army of the Republic Hall in North Turner.

The board accepted Kerry Thomas’ bid of $15,650 for the two-story building Nov. 4, but the next day Town Manager Kurt Schaub was notified the sale or disposal of the property must be approved by voters.

“Upon further investigation, I found that the hall was accepted by the selectmen as a gift in 1976, but did not have the authority to accept gifts of real estate,” Schaub said. Voters must ratify the selectmen’s 1976 vote and give selectmen authority to sell the building, he said.

“As the icing on the cake,” Schaub added, voters need to “agree to place the proceeds from the sale in the obsolete buildings account.”

Thomas lives on Howes Corner Road and has several rental properties in town, Selectman Kevin Nichols said.

The G.A.R. hall at 29 Howes Corner Road in North Turner was closed in August after the town’s insurer deemed it structurally unsafe and would no longer insure it.

The colonial-style building had been used by the North Turner Union Presbyterian Church for public suppers.

It was dedicated in 1885, and according to the bid notice posted by the town, it sits on half an acre next to Martin Stream. It has a drilled well, a septic system installed in 2016, a bathroom and a kitchen/food preparation area. Each floor is about 1,250 square feet.

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