New London
The article required a 60 percent majority to pass but fell well short of a simply majority, losing 154-77.
Also defeated, 109-77, was a move to rescind the quarterly tax billing schedule for property taxes and revert to semi-annual billing.
The various budgets for general government, highway, streets and sanitation, health and welfare, recreation and debt service were all approved easily by a show of hands, as was an article to put a total of $623,500 in various capital reserve funds. Measures to pay for an asphalt roller, portable radios for the fire department and paving of some roads — all from existing capital reserve funds — were also easily approved.
The bond proposal drew the most comments, the majority in opposition. The Selectboard gave a lengthy presentation on the process to get to this point. It had not been decided which town department would be housed in the new building but most likely it would be a new police station. The station in the Buker Building has deficiencies including faulty heating, inadequate storage and a water problem, Police Chief Ed Anderson said.
The chief asked voters to approve the request to set the money aside. “If the appropriate piece of property does come up, the Selectboard will be able to get it quickly,” Anderson said.
But the majority opposed the idea. Some said not enough study had been done to determine what the current station would need for renovations, and others said it was wrong to buy land when the town was not certain how the new building would be used.
Resident Bob Bowers said the town has not had a professional go through the Buker building to determine how it could accommodate police needs and what has to be done to fix the problems.
“This article is ahead of the game,” said Bowers. “Let’s do a study and come back and say here are the costs, then we can decide what to do.”
John Wilson agreed. “I just can’t see going forward with the until we determine the efficacy of the present location.”
Budget Committee member Lindsay Lund supported the article and emphasized that the article does not spend the money but only gives the Selectboard permission to move forward if the right parcel become available, because waiting for voter approval at Town Meeting could take too long.
In ballot voting on Tuesday, Town Clerk Linda Nicklos and challenger William Kidder III ended up tied, 270-270, with Barbara Vaughn winning 70 votes.
Nicklos via email on Wednesday said, “We had a coin toss today for the Town Clerk tie. I won the coin toss and the opponent is requesting a recount.”
The recount is scheduled for Tuesday at 5 p.m.
Selectboard member Janet Kidder was unopposed for a three-year term, but there were contested seats for the Budget Committee.
Robert Prohl, with 355 votes, Lauren Chadwick (271) and Mark Christensen (227) won three-year seats, outpacing Tyler Beck, Kim Ilg and Tacee Walker.
Gerald Coogan, with 248 votes, defeated Bruce Hudson (176) and John Raby (118) for a one-year seat on the Budget Committee.
Residents by wide margins approved proposed zoning amendments that would create a bike rack ordinance and an “institutional theater district” that includes two properties owned by New London Barn Playhouse.
