BY TAYLOR SLONAKER AND TIM CALABRO

Strafford Selectboard Chair Toni Pippy, seated, checks voters off the checklist with the help of Town Clerk Lisa Bragg on Town Meeting Day. As of 9:15 a.m., more than 300 mail-in ballots had been counted. (Herald / Dylan Kelley)

Voters in Strafford went to the polls Tuesday to decide town matters, electing a new member to the selectboard in one of the region’s only contested races and turning down a plan to relocate the town offices.

The selectboard will not be moving forward with the purchase of the Tilles property for a new town office after a vote on Town Meeting Day rejected the appropriation of $300,000 toward that goal. The measure was voted down 305-218.

Under the proposed plan, the town offices would have been relocated to a property near Barrett Hall on the Justin Morrill Highway rather than renovating the town’s current offices in South Strafford. The selectboard in its pre-town meeting presentation estimated the cost of renovations would be much higher than relocating.

But that was the only time voters said “no” on Tuesday’s ballot. All other items passed, including funding for a pocket park garden that caused much discussion ahead of the vote.

The pocket park fund, which allocates $4,800 toward care of a town property current maintained by volunteers, passed narrowly by 34 votes, pulling 277 for and 243 against. That was the closest shave of the day, however.

The $1,146,710 proposed for the town budget passed by 400 votes, with just 53 against. Articles three and four, which proposed logistical details related to town spending passed 430-85 and 511-12 respectively. Tax-exempt status was extended to Barrett Hall and to the firehouse in similarly lopsided votes (505-23 and 512-13).

According to town clerk Lisa Bragg, Strafford mailed ballots (970 total) to all registered voters this year and 534 were returned.

Town Officers

There were two contested races on the ballot this year.

John Freitag and Brian Johnson were vying for a two-year seat on Strafford’s five-member selectboard. That vote easily went to Johnson, who tallied 421 votes to Freitag’s 98.

David Paganelli was elected to a second vacated seat on the selectboard, this one for three years. Rett Emerson and Patrick Kelly were the two to leave the board as their terms expired.

The second contest was for a three-year cemetery commission seat, to which Sherm Wilson won reëlection over Lauri Berkenkamp in a 397-96 vote.

All other elections were uncontested. including Kerrie Bushway for a three-year lister term, June Solsaa for auditor (three years), Sarah North for trustee of public funds (three years), Miriam Newman for a two-year library trustee seat, Jeanne Castro for delinquent tax collector (one year), and Lisa Bragg for a one-year term as the agent to deed real estate.

Sarah North is taking over as trustee of public funds, a three-year seat left by Elizabeth Ruml.

Kerrie Bushway won a three-year seat as lister, June Solsaa will serve a three-year term as auditor, Miriam Newman won a two-year term as Harris Library trustee, and Jeanee Castro took a one-year seat as collector of delinquent taxes.

School Board, Budget

All measures for the Strafford’s Newton School passed easily this year.

The town set stipends for board members at $500 in a 457-42 vote. Items to authorize the board to borrow money, to set the treasurer’s stipend at $1,600, the assistant treasurer’s stipend at $600, and to transfer up to $10,000 to a tuition reserve fund each passed with similar margins.

The closest item on the school ballot was for the budget itself, a $3,545,997 total. That amount represents a 6.44% higher cost per equalized pupil ($19,573) than the prior year, but due to the machinations of school funding would represent an eight cent decrease in the Strafford education tax rate.

That budget measure passed easily, 372-134.

Sarah Root is returning to a two-year school board seat and Maggie Hooker was elected to the other two-year school board seat. A third seat on the board—this one a three-year term—had no candidate on the ballot. David Grant was elected moderator.

Original story can be found at The Herald.