Buckfield Select Board approves 2025–26 town meeting warrant after estate-gift articles split into separate votes

The Town of Buckfield Select Board on April 8 unanimously approved the 2025–26 town meeting warrant after staff said one large estate gift item was split into separate warrant articles to reflect different properties and cash gifts. Town Manager Cameron Hankley told the board “there's now currently 35 warrant articles” and that the single article presented at the public hearing had been broken into multiple votes so voters could accept or reject each gift individually.

Why it matters: Accepting or rejecting gift items at town meeting affects whether those assets — and any related cash — remain available to the town or pass to the residuary in the decedent’s will. Hankley said the residuary is approximately $850,000 and that some scholarship gifts could lapse to that residuary if a court or trustee determines the scholarship provisions fail; the breakdown was intended to give voters clarity on each separate bequest.

Hankley summarized the restructured estate-related items that will appear on the warrant. “Article 29 addresses the house and 2 acres, which is to be used for providing a location for training and supportive rescue,” he said. He said Article 30 covers roughly 13.9 additional acres “to be used for recreational purposes for the public,” and Articles 31–33 cover individual scholarship trusts. Article 32 specifically describes a $50,000 scholarship trust; Article 34 addresses a Portland Head Light trip bequest described in the will.

Hankley said attorneys for the estate and the town had revised the wording to make clear what happens if the town declines some or all gifts. He read the attorneys’ language as saying that rejected cash gifts would be added to the residuary…