GRANVILLE – Voters at Granville’s Annual Town Meeting voted for the town not to purchase an 18-acre plot of land at 144 Barnard Rd. to be used for a highway garage, citing concerns over the property’s proximity to residential areas.

Article 15 on the meeting warrant, if passed, would have authorized the town to spend $250,000 from free cash to buy the property. Because it was a land purchase vote, it required a two-thirds majority to pass. Though a majority of voters at the meeting were in favor of it, 66-58, the article failed to get a two-thirds majority.

The Selectboard had recommended the spending, but residents at the meeting questioned why it was coming to a vote when so much about the project is still unknown to them, including where exactly on the 18-acre plot of land the garage will be located. Some residents also had safety concerns due to how close the property is to residential areas.

“Barnard Road is almost filled with private residences,” said one resident who did not identify himself before speaking. “Daily we have walkers, we have bike riders, we have dog walkers, we have children. All of those people are going to be on the road every day.”

The Select Board recommended the purchase of the land because the current public works garage is showing its age, having been built in the 1940s. Selectboard Chair Theodore Sussmann said that there is little other available flat land in Granville that could host such a facility.

“I apologize to the neighborhood who doesn’t want a DPW garage in their backyard, I fully understand that,” said Sussmann.

He also noted that the vote was not to construct a public works garage on the property, but simply to purchase the land on which it could later be built.

“This piece of property may or may not have a garage on it in the future, depending on a vote at a future town meeting,” said Sussmann before the vote took place.

Selectboard member Nicole Berndt said that the town has been “kicking this can down the road” for too long, and now the current building is not safe.

“Part of the reason we are doing this is because this property is available and this is our best option,” said Berndt.

Resident Stan Broszka said he was concerned over the price of the property, considering that there isn’t even a design in place for a potential building.

“I know the Selectboard proposed it, but it seems like they are going backwards. You are going to buy the land then design it. Why not find an engineering firm to figure out what your needs are … to the point where you design the building?” said Broszka.