BUCKFIELD — The Hells Angels and the Old Church on the Hill will be on the ballot Tuesday when voters go to the polls for the annual town meeting.

Instead of a public gathering, Buckfield voters decide warrant articles by secret ballot. Polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. June 10 at the Town Office. In addition to the 36 articles, residents will also vote on the Regional School Unit 10 budget.

Six articles ask voters to accept the property at 150 Depot St. and funds for scholarships from the estate of James Jordan. If residents vote to not accept the gifts, the land will be given to the nearest chapter of the Hells Angels.

Jordan, a lifelong resident of Buckfield, had no connection to the motorcycle group, and was not even a motorcycle rider, his friend Roland Frechette of Hebron said in April. Calling it a bad joke, Frechette said it was a way to make sure town residents accepted the gifts.

Depot Street is part of Route 117, heading out of town toward Paris.

Jordan died at his home March 16, 2024, at age 80. According to his obituary, he graduated from Buckfield High School and worked at Tilton’s Market. He then became a traveling salesman for Cornwall’s Manufacturing and later drove trucks of antiques from Maine to Texas. He retired as a manager at International Paper.

The Town Report is dedicated to Jordan.

The first article in the six-question series, No. 30, asks voters to accept the gift of the residence at 150 Depot St. and a 2-acre parcel surrounding the structure “for the purpose of providing a location for the training and support for the town’s rescue unit.”

It states, “non-acceptance of this gift would result in the property being devised to the nearest chapter of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Group of North America along with the residuary of the estate,” which is approximately $850,000.

The other questions deal with an additional land gift to the town, setting up of three scholarships and funding an annual trip for the town’s senior citizens.

According to Town Manager Cameron Hinkley, an attorney for James Jordan’s estate and the town approved the wording of the articles.

Voters will also be asked Tuesday to approve the potential sale or lease of the Old Church on the Hill at 77 High St. It was built as a Universalist church between 1831 and 1832. Featured prominently on the town’s seal, the building was included on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

In a note below the article on the warrant, the church requires substantial structural and cosmetic renovations. A formal study conducted in 2020 said repairs to the steeple and roof would cost $635,000. A second opinion issued in 2022 said that with enough volunteers, repairs could be done for $25,000.

“The town has been unable to find volunteers to fundraise, coordinate additional opinions or make repairs,” the note below the article reads. “The building continues to deteriorate and requires significant attention.”

Residents will also consider a new cost recovery ordinance that would allow the town to recoup fire department expenses from nonresidents for certain incidents.

Voters will also be asked to approve the $3.1 million budget, which is 9.9% higher than the current budget.  Hinkley said the increase is due to the “pressures of inflation, coupled with the needs to ensure fair compensation for our staff.”

The percent increase is lower than the school budget and the Oxford County budget.

Selectmen Sandra Fickett and Azalea Cormier are running unopp0osed for another three-year term on the five-member Select Board.