WEST PARIS — Residents at Saturday’s annual town meeting approved all 44 warrant articles, including more than $17,000 for the former Agnes Gray Elementary School building, which the town recently purchased from the Oxford Hills School District after the structure was closed in 2024 because repairs were deemed too costly.
The $17,311 appropriation covers upkeep of the building and mowing the grounds, but it does not include decisions about the building’s future use.
“It’s going to be a while before we figure out what we’re going to do with that building,” West Paris Town Manager Joy Downing told residents during the meeting at Ring-McKeen American Legion Post 151 at 6 Church St.
Downing said she had hoped the town would have the deed to Agnes Gray by the time of the meeting so officials could begin setting dates for public meetings and hearings on the building’s future, but Maine School Administrative District 17 has yet to deliver it.
She said she is also working with the town attorney on a stipulation to the district stating that it cannot return to the property to remove items from the school after the sale.
“Once we get the keys, it’s ours, and they can’t go back in and get anything,” Downing said. “We’re going to have to have votes further down the road.”
Until then, the 8.2‑acre property must still be maintained, kept mowed and trimmed, and nearby Legion Memorial School, which serves prekindergarten and kindergarten students, continues to use the site for its summer programming.
The Selectboard had recommended $13,355 for the school, but increased the amount after a mowing bid for the property came in at nearly $4,000.
Downing said several community members have offered to mow the property on a volunteer basis, and any unused funds would return to the town’s undesignated fund.
Voters also approved the purchase of a new “mini” fire truck for more than $413,996. The truck, a Fouts FOUR first‑out utility rescue mini pumper, is about half the size of a regular fire truck but offers many of the same capabilities at nearly half the cost, and it has become increasingly popular in rural fire departments.
“This is a style of truck that’s getting more and more popular in rural departments. This is getting more and more popular because it’s a multiuse truck. It’s much easier for people to learn on. It’s much easier to get water out,” Ed Pennell, a member of the West Paris Fire Department, said at the meeting.
In a letter published on the West Paris Fire Department’s Facebook page after Saturday’s meeting, Fire Chief Mike Henderson thanked residents for funding the purchase of the truck.
“This new truck will be a tremendous asset, enhancing our ability to respond effectively to emergencies in West Paris and to assist our neighboring towns through our mutual aid partnerships,” Henderson wrote. “It represents an important investment in the safety and protection of our residents and surrounding communities.”
Voters also approved the town’s acquisition of the Wayside Cemetery on Main Street.
Resident Elaine Emery said the West Paris Cemetery Association would transfer $5,100 it had raised through past projects to the town. In response, residents voted to subtract that $5,100 from the $32,075 budget line proposed for cemetery maintenance, bringing the approved total to $26,975.
Voters further approved $648,050 for summer and winter highway operations; $325,624 for administration; $199,900 for the transfer station; $168,090 for salaries and benefits; $135,194 for the Fire Department; $82,465 for hydrant rental; $58,645 for the West Paris Library; $24,675 for assessing; $18,591 for animal control; $17,035 for recreational programs and ball field maintenance; $16,770 for maintenance of municipal buildings; $12,500 for streetlights; and $6,500 for the West Paris Explorers After‑School Program.
