Harpswell will reconsider a plan that calls for the town to tear down the former Navy water tower on the Mitchell Field property.

Harpswell’s selectmen and Budget Advisory Committee recommended spending $22,000 to remove the water tower, out of concern that it poses a safety hazard. The spending proposal will appear on the March 12 town meeting warrant.

But Town Administrator Kristi Eiane said selectmen will consider an alternative Thursday night that would save the tower. Eiane said the alternative warrant article came after the town received a petition signed by 323 residents who want to keep the tower for use as a cellphone tower or for storing water to fight fires. The selectmen’s meeting will start at 6 p.m. in the town office.

If the alternative is approved, residents will vote at the town meeting on putting $22,000 in a water tower repair and maintenance fund. Gifts or grants could be put in the fund, and the money could also be used to pay an engineer to determine whether the tower is structurally sound.

Mitchell Field, a former Navy fuel depot, is a 119-acre town-owned property. It includes 2,630 feet of shoreline on Casco Bay, 14 buildings, a pier, the 100,000-gallon water tower and 2 miles of paved road. The town acquired the property in 2001 from the federal government.