BUCKLAND — Forty voters filled Town Hall on Tuesday evening to approve the discontinuation of a portion of Old Upper Street and the borrowing of up to $150,000 for Avery Road repairs, as well as a couple housekeeping items, in a swift 24-minute meeting.

Article 1 on the agenda was a petition from resident Susan Samoriski, who requested the town discontinue part of Old Upper Street and convert it into a private driveway for her 8 Old Upper St. residence. Samoriski is selling her home and said the buyers would like the road that wraps around the property to be private.

“The sale of the house at 8 Old Upper St. is contingent upon a portion of Old Upper Street being discontinued and going back to being a private driveway,” Samoriski said.

Samoriski’s petition received 250 signatures, well over the required 200 signatures needed to bring the matter to a Town Meeting vote.

Planning Board member Andrea Donlon said the board reviewed the proposal and held a public hearing on the matter, where no abutters or other members of the public voiced any concerns as the discontinuance would not impact any neighbors’ access to their properties.

She added that the discontinuance would not impact state aid for road repairs, and that the Highway Department is supportive of having one less road on its list to plow and otherwise care for.

No residents voiced concerns during Tuesday’s meeting, with the exception of Planning Board Co-Chair John Gould, who stepped down from his seat at the front of the room with the other town officials to share his thoughts as a private resident. Gould said he is worried about ensuring public access to the historic property.

Samoriski’s house was once the historic home of Mary Lyon, a pioneer in women’s education who founded Mount Holyoke College. It once served as the location for one of her schools.

“The Mary Lyon House is privately owned, but it is Buckland’s main claim to fame,” Gould said. “It’s a historic landmark and a resource.”

Gould said while the owners of the home may not like it, driving down the road to look at the Mary Lyon House is a public right, one that he wanted to protect. Voting to discontinue the road, he said, meant voting to take away a public right to view history.

Voters ultimately passed Article 1, with the only “no” vote coming from Gould.

The remaining three articles passed unanimously without any major discussion.

In Article 2, voters authorized the town to borrow up to $150,000 to pay for repairs to Avery Road, which was damaged in a heavy rainstorm last summer.

Selectboard Chair Clint Phillips said the leftover $350,000 in funding from the town’s recent paving project on Depot Street and at the freight yard covered the majority of the repairs, but to pave the rest of the road, more funding is needed. The town received a quote of $90,000 for the work, but the town is requesting up to $150,000 in case there are any unforeseen expenses with the project.

“We’re confident this will have a negligible impact on your tax bills and will allow us to pave a road that we didn’t really have on our radar, but Mother Nature certainly did,” Town Administrator Heather Butler added.

In Article 3, voters approved transferring $35,000 from the Recreation Water Pump Capital Project to the Recreation Area Improvement Project.

“This is about literally just changing the description of money we already allocated at Town Meeting to make it clear that there might be more than just replacing a water pump,” Town Moderator Phoebe Walker explained.

With approval of Article 4, voters rescinded the previous authorization for the town to borrow $598,400 for the Nilman Road culvert replacement project. The town was able to pay for the project mostly through grant funding and only needed to borrow $26,600 of the authorized $625,000 to complete the work.

Reach Madison Schofield at 413-930-4579 or mschofield@recorder.com.