TURNER — In September, the Turner Board of Selectmen voted unanimously to ask its residents to acquire the town’s Natural History Club.

The matter is to be placed on the 2018 town meeting warrant, but Gordon Twitchell, former president of the club, said not all statements made at that September meeting were accurate.

In fact, he said, “they were outright lies.”

“The facts are that the members have voted to what will be the division of the club’s assets,” Twitchell wrote in a letter to the Sun Journal. “All contents of nature will be given to the State of Maine Museum. These contents are currently at the club’s building.”

The building, which sits on 1.6 acres, is said to be more than 100 years old.

At the September meeting, Jim Talbot, president of the Turner Historical Society, and several others attended to plead for the board to help keep the building’s ownership in Turner.

According to Talbot, Twitchell planned to see the property donated to the Youth Group of the Stanton Bird Club of Lewiston, though Twitchell resigned from the presidency of the club in 2014.

Barbara Beedy, curator, presented the board with paperwork showing James Nutting of Turner as the president and treasurer of the Natural History Club that has seen declining membership for many years. The only other member names listed were Homer Hinkley, Anita LaChapelle and Elaine Chouinard, all of Turner.

Because of declining numbers, the club’s board voted this summer to dissolve the club.

Town Manager Kurt Schaub gave the board a copy of the club’s bylaws to review. Article 14 states that if the club were dissolved, confirmed assets would be “transferred or conveyed, in trust or otherwise, to the Town of Turner, or to a charitable and educational entity.”

The document designates the Maine State Museum as the preferred entity to receive the contents of the Natural History Club Museum, with the town the preferred entity for receiving and managing the remaining assets.

Talbot said most of the museum’s contents have been allocated to the Maine State Museum. Five paintings, specific to Turner, were given to the Turner Historical Society and hung in the Turner Historical Museum on the fourth floor of Leavitt Institute. He said one painting has since been removed by Twitchell and given to the town of Livermore, because some believed it depicted a scene in Livermore.

In his letter to the Sun Journal, Twitchell wrote: “The club has two options for its property in Turner Center. Offer it to the town of Turner. If this option is voted by the club membership, there will be many improvements that are needed to make the building suitable for year-round use. These will include drilling a well, a new heating system, bathrooms, new windows and a parking lot. The town manager has stated he would prefer receiving tax income from the property instead of spending tax dollars on needed improvements.

“Option two would be to sell the property and put the money from the sale into a trust fund called the Maine Community Foundation. Interest from the fund would go to the junior members of the Stanton Bird Club dedicated to the study of nature.

“Club members will meet in April to make a decision on the future of this property. The decision will be made by the members of the Turner Natural History Club.”