PARIS — Selectmen discussed progress on the issue of giving a piece of the Cornwall Nature Preserve to the Hillside Cemetery foundation Monday, as residents criticized the plan for going against the wishes of Alice Cornwall.

Town Manager Phil Tarr said the town’s attorney, Rob Crawford, is looking into the issue and is in contact with the Maine Attorney General’s office for their decision.

William Burmeister, president of the Hillside Cemetery Association, has requested 1.13 acres of the 147-acre preserve to be transferred to the cemetery so the nonprofit group can sell plots to fund the cemetery’s maintenance, which has been falling behind in recent years.

Buried there, among others, are Hannibal Hamlin’s family and Alice Cornwall.

However, the deed to the town from Cornwall said the land couldn’t be subdivided and no tall trees could be cut on the property.

Tarr pointed to an incident in Bethel where a water reservoir given to the town was reverted back its original owner. “What you’re trying to do could be possible,” Tarr told selectmen. He said the town will also need to meet with the property owners for the land abutting the cemetery and the preserve.

“We need to get them on board,” Tarr said.

Cornwall’s children have all signed a letter giving the town permission to hand over the land in the interest of preserving the cemetery.

Chairman Robert Kirchherr expressed concern about the town incurring legal fees to research an issue that would benefit the Hillside Cemetery Association. Kirchherr said he wanted to “make sure the taxpayers aren’t footing the bill for this.”

Selectman Ted Kurtz agreed that issue should be part of any proposal to move the property to the cemetery association.

Whether the town can and should give the land to the cemetery was controversial. Several residents spoke up to say it would be against the wishes of Alice Cornwall and the interests of the town.

Kurtz said that if the cemetery association was unable to keep the cemetery in good condition, responsibility for maintaining the historic ground could fall upon the town.

Franca Ainsworth, who chairs the Conservation Commission, said the town should survey the land before making any decisions. She said she didn’t like the idea of going against Cornwall’s will.

“A will is a will,” Ainsworth said.

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