For the second time in five months, Maine School District 52 voters Tuesday rejected buying land in Turner for a transportation facility and fuel tanks, and potentially athletic fields.

The combined vote for Greene, Leeds and Turner was 835-353.

Each town opposed what some called “a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

The tallies were: Greene, 306 nos, 82 yeses; Leeds, 165-71; and Turner, 364-200.

The district has an option to buy 18.8 acres on Cobb Road from the Ralph Caldwell Living Trust through Dec. 31. The district has allocated $500,000 in a reserve account for the property.

District representatives had hoped to buy the land to install new diesel fuel and gas tanks, build a small transportation facility and add athletic fields when the funds are available.

“The school board will continue to look for solutions to the pressing problems the district has related to the transportation department, fuel supplies and safety issues related to parking at the high school,” MSAD 52 Superintendent Cari Medd wrote in email.

A snowmobile trail on the property and access to fishing at the Nezinscot River would have remained open to the public.

Turner voters approved the purchase in May while Greene and Leeds opposed it in a combined vote of 322-242. 

The site is centrally located between the Leavitt Area High School at 21 Matthews Way, Tripp Middle School at 65 Matthews Way and Turner Primary School at 59 Cobb Road.

District officials say they need to relocate diesel fuel tanks because their use is expiring. The tanks are in the midst of a crowded parking area on school property. The site does not meet Maine Department of Environmental Protection requirements because it is too close to water sources, Medd previously said.

The district would also have added gas tanks to save money; it is currently purchasing gas off site.

There is no transportation facility for the district, and parking spots need to be saved routinely for buses during busy athletic programs and school activities. Medd said the district’s 30 buses and 25 vans no longer fit in the Leavitt Area High School parking lot and the crowded campus has no practical on-site solution.

Woods behind the high school and the middle school are all considered wetlands and the land next to Turner Primary School is too close to the public water supply at Jimmy’s General Store, Medd said. The small field next to the Central Office at 486 Turner Center Road is too close to private wells and the office well, and too small for the transportation fleet.

Another of the priorities was to keep the transportation fleet near the Turner campus because 1,500 students are transported to the campus each day. There are also 256 middle and high school sports trips each year.

The land would have also allowed the district to create two more sports fields since there is no room for more fields on existing property and more students are participating each year.