Mark Shaw, of Strafford, takes his ballot to the Strafford Town Clerk's Office in Strafford Village, Vt., where votes are being tallied on Tuesday, March 1, 2022 in the absence of a full town meeting in the Town House at right. Selectboard Chair Toni Pippy said that residents want to have a meeting so they can gather for town business where amendments and nominations can be made from the floor, that with Australian ballot voting, over 50% of the town's voter rolls returned a ballot this year. "It's a tricky deal," she said. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.
Mark Shaw, of Strafford, takes his ballot to the Strafford Town Clerk's Office in Strafford Village, Vt., where votes are being tallied on Tuesday, March 1, 2022 in the absence of a full town meeting in the Town House at right. Selectboard Chair Toni Pippy said that residents want to have a meeting so they can gather for town business where amendments and nominations can be made from the floor, that with Australian ballot voting, over 50% of the town's voter rolls returned a ballot this year. "It's a tricky deal," she said. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com. Credit: Valley News photographs — James M. Patterson (above) and Jennifer Hauck

STRAFFORD — Voters turned down a proposal to purchase a property to use as a new town office building.

Residents voted 305 to 218 against allowing the Selectboard to conduct a feasibility study on 7 Justin Morrill Memorial Highway with the intent of spending $300,000 to buy and renovate the single-family home to house town offices.

Voters agreed by a vote of 277 to 243 to contribute $4,800 annually to a fund to support the Pocket Park, which is located behind Murray Field in South Strafford.

Brian Johnson defeated former Selectboard member John Freitag for a two-year term on the Selectboard by a vote of 421 to 98.

All other articles on both the town and school warnings passed. That includes a $1.15 million operating budget and a $3.5 million school budget.

— Liz Sauchelli