At Woodstock’s annual town meeting Monday, March 30, voters will decide whether to spend $75,000 to purchase 3.4 acres along Route 26 to “conserve and protect” a popular roadside spring.

The parcel contains the spring’s source on higher ground above Route 26. The small triangular lot below it — where the familiar wooden springhouse sits and motorists stop day and night to fill their containers — is owned by an out-of-state resident who is unwilling to sell.

In December, Woodstock resident Braydon Rice paid $70,000 for the source parcel. As Woodstock Town Manager Tonya Lewis explained, town ownership would ensure the land is protected in perpetuity — something private ownership cannot guarantee.

According to Lewis, Katherine Giunta of West Roxbury, Massachusetts, owns the spring parcel and told town leaders — before Lewis’ tenure as town manager — that she does not want to sell the property.

The spring is regularly tested and is the sole water source for many people in the area. Lewis said that some wells in Woodstock village and neighboring Greenwood produce iron-rich water that many find unpleasant to drink.

For others, their well water may be high in minerals, such as chlorine, or a spring user’s well may go dry during drought, leading them to rely on the roadside spring.

Voters will decide about the roadside spring water source and other municipal matters at 6 p.m. at the Woodstock Fire Department, 26 Monk Ave.