"Ultimately, we would need to figure out what it would cost to take down the structures on the property," said Selectman Brian O'Herlihy.

Selectmen, along with other town officials, met with representatives from the federal General Services Administration for a tour of the property near the Wayland-Lincoln town line on Jan. 24.

"The cement block building, from the outside, looks like it's in reasonable shape," said selectmen Chairwoman Mary Antes. "There was at least one other building that was about to fall down."

The tour raised many questions which selectmen want answered before proceeding with the acquisition.

Federal and state agencies passed up on the land leaving Wayland to decide if it sees any potential in the former missile site.

During the Cold War, the United States Army operated 280 Nike Missile sites, with one built straddling Wayland and Lincoln. The property contains four decaying administrative buildings and barracks built in 1954, along with scrap metal from the missile launchers.

The site also contains underground structures, which once contained missiles, and a water tower.

Nike sites were built to protect key military and industrial sites, as well as major cities, from the threat of long-range Soviet bombers with nuclear weapons.

In addition to the 13.6 acres in Wayland, the Nike site includes another half-acre in Lincoln. Lincoln is interested in what Wayland decides, so officials from both towns will be keeping in touch.

The complement to the Wayland-Lincoln parcel is what is now owned by the Massachusetts Audubon Society in Lincoln. It was all part of the same Nike site before closing down.

Most Nike sites around Boston were deactivated in the early 1960s, but a handful, including the one in Wayland, were kept in use.

When the Wayland Nike site was shut down in 1974, the Massachusetts National Guard used the land. When membership in the National Guard began to shrink, the property was no longer needed.

The buildings have been left vacant since 1999.

That same year, the Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge showed interest in acquiring the property, but nothing came of it.

Wayland could acquire the land for free if it is used for specific educational or recreational purposes. However, there would be a charge if the land was used for any other purposes.

"For me, a question would be the environmental status of (the land)," O'Herlihy said. "It might be good enough for open space, but it might not be good enough for housing. I think determining that is a key factor."

Selectmen have not seen results of any environmental tests, but Antes said the site has been cleaned.

"They did say when the Army leaves they have to clean it up to a certain standard, but we don't know what that standard is," she said.

On the site walk, Selectman Betsy Connolly noticed almost no vegetation in the center of the property and questioned what might be causing that.

"If we feel it was obvious there are some problems there, they would push the military to pay to clean it up," she said.

Water and soil studies must be completed to determine the environmental status of the site.

In 1999, a member of the National Guard said a study found no major environmental hazards.

The General Services Administration allows six months, until July 1 in this case, for the town to decide to acquire the parcel.

An extension is possible.

"We asked about the deadline because we were concerned we wouldn't have enough time. They said as long as we have a plan, in the progress of trying to execute something, it would be OK to not be completed by that date," Connolly said.

Once more of their questions have been answered, the selectmen plan to solicit public input on potential uses of the former Nike site.