School budget, food-service worker raises defeated in Charlestown

By BILL CHAISSON
[email protected]
CHARLESTOWN — There was only one contested race in Charlestown in the March 12 elections; four candiates were vying for a single three-year seat on the select board. In the end Jeffrey M. Lessels received 423 votes and will join the board, replacing the departing Thomas Cobb.

Moderator Gabriel St. Pierre will once again hold the office for the next two years.

Richard Lincourt and Douglas Neill ran for re-election to the planning board without opposition.

Nancy Houghton and Roger Thibodeau ran for re-election to the finance committee, but Patricia Chaffee did not. Chaffee will be succeeded by Keith O. Weed. All will serve a three-year term.

William Sullivan was re-elected as a trustee of trust funds, another three-year term.

Maureen Spilsbury was re-elected to the library board of trustees. The terms of Becky Bailey and Marie Weller have also ended, but they did not run again, nor did anyone else. 

Similarly, no candidates ran for the vacant seat on the cemetery board of trustees.

Article 2, “the solar ordinance,” passed by 702-205. Passage will add the ordinance to the planning and zoning codes of the town. It is written in compliance with state statutes (RSA 674:17 (l)(j) and RSA 672:1-III as amended). The ordinance is designed to balance concern for the “public’s health, safety, and welfare” and the town’s “scenic views, historic properties, and economic and environmental sustainability,” with the desire to develop “clean, safe, renewable energy resources.”

Article 3, the operating budget for the town, passed 461-379. The total budget of $5,658,362 was a 12 percent increase over last year’s budget of $5,046,037.

Articles 4 through 10 were requests for permission to allocate specific sums toward or for particular projects. Permission was given in all cases: $25,000 to add to a real estate reappraisal capital reserve fund (505-335); $3,000 to add to a emergency communications capital reserve fund (633-210); $30,000  into a swimming pool rehabilitation capital reserve fund (556-294); $80,000 to purchase a highway truck (545-299); $5,000 to the senior center (710-149); $260,500 for masonry work on the Silsby Library with $100,000 to come from an LCHIP grant and $160,500 for a capital reserve fund maintained for library restoration and preservation (653-195); and finally $40,000 to prepare preliminary drawings for upgrading the fire station.

Article 11 was a little different in that it concerned the Fall Mountain Regional School District. In this article permission was asked to allow the town to ask for a study that would the “feasability and suitability of the withdrawal of Charlestown from the cooperative school district …” The report would be given to the State Board of Education, which would have the power to approve and reject the plan. This measure passed 617-248 and the sentiment is further reflected in the results of the school district election below.

Articles 12 through 14 returned to the theme of requesting permission to make appropriations. Voters turned down a request to purchase a new ambulance for $239,000 (404-450). They also said NO (372-487) to a 10-year $550,000 lease-purchase agreement for a combination pumper truck for the fire department. Article 14, permission to make the first payment on the fire truck, was contingent on Article 13, and so failed as well (359-487).

Finally, Article 15 asked for permission for the select board to increase its number to five from three. This article passed rather handily, 490-364. There will be further steps to take and further public participation, now that they measure has passed.

 

School district vote

Charlestown is part of the Fall Mountain Regional School District (SAU 60), so Charlestown residents voted on school board members who represented Acworth and Alstead. In Acworth Sarah Vogel received more votes that Linda Christie (295-234), so Christie, who was the chair of the board, will leave and be replaced by Vogel. In Alstead Joseph Levesque received more votes than David Hogan, the vice-chair of the board (267-244), and so Levesque will replace Hogan. At-large board member Rebecca Sethi ran unopposed. Leroy Watson, the district moderator, also ran unopposed.

In addition to causing turnover in board leadership, voters also said NO (341-487) to the operating budget of $31,224,800, a 0.6 percent increase over the previous year’s budget. Furthermore, voters said NO (384-452) to a collective bargaining agreement between the district and its food service workers that would have increased available severance and also provided raises over the next three years. Both of these articles had been recommended by the school board.

Further school-district warrant articles generally fared better with one exception. Articles 3 through 6 focused on appropriations of $115,500 for playground equipment in Alstead (317-215); $84,000 to upgrade intercom systems in Charlestown Primary and North Charlestown schools (592-236); $123,000 to do the same in Walpole Primary and Walpole Elementary schools, and the roof on Walpole Elementary School’s gym will be paid for from a reserve fund (296-216); $257,100 to update restrooms for ADA compliance and several other improvements to Fall Mountain Regional High School (502-314), all from a capital reserve fund.

Given the latter, it was interesting that Article 7’s multiple requests to add money to capital reserve funds was defeated (386-421). Various allocations to funds in Acworth, Alstead, Charlestown, Langdon, and Walpole will not be made, in spite of this measure being recommended by the school board.

Finally, Article 8 on the school-district warrant repeated Article 11 on the Charlestown warrant and asked for permission to conduct a study about the feasibility and suitability of “one or more pre-existing districts from the cooperative school district …” withdrawing. It was approved 524-304.