Walking through Dunbarton Town Hall, which has areas dating back to the 1860s, reveals floors that creak beneath each step.

The town is also facing a need for athletic fields as the town’s growing population is driving up school enrollment. Even a future expansion of the elementary school could become necessary.

With these needs in mind, Select Board Chairman David Nault said at Tuesday's annual town meeting that buying 16 acres of land on Stark Highway for $245,000 was a smart investment in the town's future.

“It’s just a great piece of property to the townspeople,” said Nault. “It’s always good to look ahead to the future for some land for the town’s use for expansion. We all know the town’s changing and growing.”

The land sits directly across from the town pound and is part of a larger stretch of more than 100 acres under conservation.

Residents supported the purchase by voting in favor of the warrant article, which was the biggest ticket item and added $0.39 to the tax rate, or about $150 a year for a home worth $400,000.

"This kind of land is hard to come by," Resident William Nichols said. He said it could be used as a ball field. 

The property is owned by Kathryn Lane of Goffstown, whose brother, Ken Koerber is a longtime resident of Dunbarton. 

According to Nault, Lane wanted the town to have the first opportunity to buy it.

Dunbarton voters approved the $3.7 million operating budget, which represents a 12.5% increase, though $386,198 of it is offset by the unassigned fund balance, and the vote passed without any discussion. The budget will increase the town tax rate by $1.114, which is about $456 more on the annual tax bill for a $400,000 home.

Voters also decided to change the road agent position from an elected to an appointed role. Jeff Crosby, the current road agent, will be stepping down at the end of his term next year.

Under the new structure, the select board will appoint the road agent based on qualifications, with the position being for a one-year term.

“We didn’t want this to become a popularity contest of non-qualified individuals,” said selectman Michael Kaminski. “It will expand our pool of qualified candidates to outside of Dunbarton.”

In addition, a lengthy list of warrant articles was presented, including a new command vehicle and emergency medical equipment for the Fire Department, as well as a new police cruiser. 

The only proposal that didn’t pass was for a $4,340 skid steer mower attachment, which would have been used to mow around the transfer station and the solar arrays installed there.

Sruthi Gopalakrishnan can be reached at sgopalakrishnan@cmonitor.com