A property abutting the Chilmark town hall could become the new headquarters for Tri-Town ambulance, if voters agree at the annual town meeting next spring.

Chilmark selectmen signed a purchase and sale agreement early this week to buy 399 Middle Road, a 1.4-acre parcel owned by Emmett and Kathie Carroll, for $900,000. The agreement hinges on voter approval in April.

This is not the first time the town has tried to buy the Carroll property. A purchase and sale agreement was signed in 2015 when selectmen thought they could build a new fire station there, but the plans fell apart when fire chief David Norton objected, calling the location was unsuitable for a firehouse.

Now with preliminary designs under way to expand the fire station on its current site next to the town hall — buying the Carroll property to house the regional ambulance service is back on the table as a viable option, selectman Warren Doty said.

I think we can locate the ambulance headquarters for Tri-Town there and rebuild the fire station on the current lot,” Mr. Doty told the Gazette by phone.

Tri-town ambulance serves the three up-Island towns of Aquinnah, Chilmark and West Tisbury. The ambulance is currently housed at the West Tisbury public safety building, but Mr. Doty said EMS would prefer to house the service in Chilmark to be more central. “They could have a better response time,” he said.

He said the plan now goes before voters in April as a site plan and a specific purpose. “This is not for general municipal use,” Mr. Doty said. If the purchase is approved, the plan calls for the three towns to share the cost of building the new facility, which would house offices and a bunk room for paramedics, Mr. Doty said.

He also said: “We’ve been trying to buy land in the Beetlebung Corner area for years to house our public safety facilities. We’ve made quite a number of offers and it hasn’t worked out.”

The property once belonged to the Chilmark Grange Society according to a town statement. It is assessed at $519,400 and includes a small house, according to the assessors property record card which is posted on the town website along with an announcement about the sale agreement.

Mr. Doty said the price was negotiated with the owners. He noted the highly competitive real estate market in the town center.

Two weeks ago Beetlebung Farm was sold to a private buyer for $2.4 million. The town was also an active interested buyer for that property.

“Prices in the Beetlebung Corner area are what they are,” Mr. Doty said.