GRANTHAM — Voters on Tuesday night approved all general government spending and the purchase of a 386-acre wooded parcel off Upper Dunbar Hill Road that will be conserved for recreation uses.
Residents also backed the final lease payment on a Dodge Charger police cruiser, the purchase of a new highway dump truck and a new roof for the highway garage.
Voters also agreed to pay $7,500 to replace the highway department generator and $18,000 to replace the transfer station generator.
Two articles with an immediate tax-rate impact — $7,500 for a highway department generator and $18,000 for a transfer station generator — created some discussion. They ultimately passed.
The Grantham budget of $1.35 million represented a 9 percent decrease in spending. Despite that decrease, the estimated tax rate will increase 33 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation, or $83 on a $250,000 home.
Voters approved the Sawyer Brooke Headwaters parcel purchase at a total project cost of $515,000, with about $215,000 of that coming from private donations or grant funding, and the remainder from surplus. The land, which abuts Corbin Park, now has a permanent conservation easement for recreation uses like snowmobiling, skiing, birdwatching, hiking, mountain biking and hiking.
That was a plus for the many people in attendance.
“I think it would be wonderful to set this land aside for future generations to enjoy,” Ted Fantl said just prior to the vote.
For some, it was a broader issue: A few people commented that if the town lost the opportunity to buy the land and someone bought it and developed it, that could impact the school system, such as increasing the budget. The school budget passed last week, but not without extensive debate about rising school taxes.
“Think about what you are going to have to do for the school,” Bob Osgood said.
Richard Hoffman agreed.
“Development of that parcel would be a huge disaster,” he said.
The article passed on a voice vote and was followed by applause.
In Australian ballot voting, Tanya McIntire was seeking a seat on the School Board, as were incumbents Christine Conroy and Denise Sullivan.
Longtime Selectboard incumbent Constance Jones was facing a challenge from newcomer Pavel Zagadailov.
Jordan Cuddemi can be reached at jcuddemi@vnews.com or 603-727-3248.