Exeter area election results: Voters nix $16.3M fire and police station

EXETER — Exeter voters on Tuesday narrowly shot down a $16.3 million plan to build a new police station and fire substation and changed course on a town vote last year to close a portion of Swasey Parkway to vehicles.

The bond article for a proposed 23,165-square-foot, two-story police headquarters and fire substation required a three-fifths majority to pass. It received 891 votes in favor and 669 against, bringing it to 57.1%, just shy of the 60% needed.

Exeter town voters decided on 32 warrant articles and approved most of them, including the town’s $21.3 million operating budget, $4.5 million water budget, and $7.4 million sewer budget.

In addition to the safety complex, there were five other bond articles on the ballot this year and all gained approval.

Article 4 which sought a $6 million bond for water and sewer improvements in the Westside Drive area was approved by a vote of 1,042 to 495. Article 5, which calls for a $798,000 bond to install a roundabout at the intersection of Front, Pine and Linden streets near the Exeter Inn, passed by a vote of 965-605.

Police Chief Stephan Poulin said the defeat of the new police station and fire substation was unfortunate. However, he thanked voters who braved the harsh weather conditions to cast their support for the project.

"We’re all living and working in the same economy and that is tough at the moment," Poulin said. "However, if there are other factors that weighed on voters' minds when they considered this article, we would definitely like to hear about them and discuss how we can do better next year. "

The proposed complex at 6 Continental Drive would have featured an outdoor deck, fitness room, large community room and designated spaces for each department. The current public safety complex on Court Street was built 40 years ago and officials say it’s too small to meet the current needs of the department.

Swasey Parkway closure up in the air after town vote

The future of pedestrian and vehicular traffic on Swasey Parkway isn’t clear cut after a citizens’ petition article gained approval by a vote of 924-637. Put forth by Dwane Staples, a trustee of Swasey Parkway, the article asked the town to keep the parkway open to traffic. Last year, voters approved an article that would make a portion of the parkway from Water Street to the gazebo pedestrian-only and allow two-way traffic from the gazebo to Newfields Road.

Before that could happen, the town needed to seek a probate court ruling because of wording in the original trust that said the parkway should be open for “pleasure vehicles.” A judge ruled in February the town could move forward, but at this point, it is not known whether the town vote will supersede the court ruling.

Select Board Chair Niko Papakonstanis said Tuesday night the board will speak with the town counsel later this week to get a legal opinion and would comment at a future meeting.

Exeter first town in NH to 'offer the all-for-one voting capability'

Exeter introduced two improvements at the polls during this election, including touchscreen Polling Pads for ballot clerks to check in voters, as well as an accessible voting booth, which includes a computer where residents can make their votes, which are then printed out on a ballot to be counted.

With the polling pads, ballot clerks were able to scan voter’s licenses, access the voter checklist online, and print a ticket for each voter, which they then used to obtain a ballot.

“The town of Exeter is extremely proud to be the first town in New Hampshire to offer the all-for-one voting capability,” Papakonstantis said. “We started working on this last year because it was extremely important for us to offer voting for everyone. The feedback has been excellent, we’ve had all sorts of folks try it out, even those who are not vision impaired.”

Improving access to voting has been an ongoing discussion at the local municipal level, said Town Manager Russ Dean, who added that Exeter has taken the lead in implementing the Democracy Live system.

“I think that’s a great step forward and that you’re going to see that other communities are going to follow us and work to make that happen in their communities,” Dean said. “We’re happy to be a pioneer.”

While other communities opted to postpone voting during Tuesday’s storm, Exeter opted to carry on, which pleased voter Bill Compton. He wasn’t deterred by the snowy roads and simply took his time driving to vote.

“They’re still pretty slippery, even though they’ve been plowed,” Compton said. “I was glad they didn’t postpone it. I noticed a lot of towns postponing and I think that gets confusing, I used to be a school official and that was something we always feared.”

Dawn Bullens elected to Exeter Cooperative School Board

Voters in the Exeter Region Cooperative School District passed all three warrant articles, including the $69.2 million operating budget.

They also elected a new member to the regional school board.

Exeter resident Dawn Bullens, who previously spent nine years on the Exeter Elementary School Board, received 1,824 votes, edging out Aunksika Ann Slayton (905).

In the other contested race on the ballot, Erin Steckler defeated Melissa Litchfield for a seat on the Cooperative School District Budget Committee.

Artimovich, Kleinman elected to Brentwood Selectboard

BRENTWOOD — Former state Rep. Melissa Litchfield lost her bid to secure one of two seats available on the Select Board.

Paul Kleinman was the top vote-getter in the three-way race with 501 votes, followed by incumbent Andrew Artimovich (499). Litchfield was third with 431.

While Bob Mantegari opted not to seek reelection, he received 25 write-in votes.

In other races, Gabbie Kelly defeated Elizabeth Faria by a vote of 469-373 for a seat on the Budget Committee, while Megan Schneider won a seat on the Trustees of the Trust Fund over Nick Wrighton. In a four-person race for two library trustee seats, Megan Schneider and Melissa Bertoulin defeated Caleb Labbe and Julie Velevis.

Brian Duffy and Allison Higgins were elected to the School Board in a three-way race defeating Bill Dunham.

Brentwood's traditional Town Meeting will take place Saturday, March 18, when voters will decide the town's proposed operating budget of $5,525,898, an increase of $599,449 or 12% over last year. Also on the ballot is a question to replace traditional Town Meeting by adopting SB2. SB2 towns have a deliberative session in which voters amend articles with a hand count vote, but then go to a ballot box later to cast their final votes on warrant articles.

Michael Houghton reelected to Stratham Select Board

STRATHAM — Selectman Michael Houghton was elected to another term on the board, defeating challenger Denise Lemire at Tuesday's election, 362-140.

Lemire thanked her supporters in a Facebook post.

"I appreciate everyone that showed up and showed me that a number of neighbors are ready for 'a new voice in the room,'" stated Lemire. "I will continue to stay involved and hope someday to be that voice for you!"

In the three-way race for two seats on the Stratham School Board, Erik Herring and Sophie Saltonstall defeated Elizabeth Ellis Ohr.

Voters also approved nine zoning articles, including three that affect development in the town’s Gateway Commercial Business District, which includes the corridor of business activity along Portsmouth Avenue.

Article 2 requires greater front setbacks in the district and along Portsmouth Avenue to ensure room for landscaping and pedestrian facilities while Article 4 seeks to establish minimum standards in the district for sidewalks and driveways to reduce conflict points between pedestrians and motorists. It also includes standards for electric vehicle charging stations.

The town will hold its traditional Town Meeting on Saturday, March 18, at 9 a.m. in the Stratham Memorial School. The town will decide nine warrant articles, including a proposed $8,211,188 operating budget, which is a 2% increase over last year.

Epping voters approve budget, new firefighter

EPPING — Voters approved all but three of the 30 warrant articles on the Town Meeting ballot Tuesday.

They overwhelmingly approved the town's proposed $17,194,269 operating budget as well as a $79,050 request to bring on a new firefighter. However, they rejected spending $171,600 for sidewalk snow removal equipment by a vote of 455 in favor and 468 opposed.

The other two articles that failed were citizens' petitions.

Voters rejected adopting the New Hampshire Resolution on Climate Change by a vote of 344 in favor to 625 against. They also rejected a petition to eliminate "all tax dollars" for the Epping Youth Athletic Association. The petition claimed the group has "participated in political campaigns over the past two years to influence the outcome of Epping town elections."

Selectmen voted 5-0 to not recommend the article citing that the issue was addressed, and the matter has been resolved. Voters agreed, rejecting the article by a vote of 534-387.

There were also four contested races on the ballot.

Selectwoman incumbent Pamela Tibbetts defeated challenger Steve Thomas, 565-350. John Scully, Michael Charkowski and Steve Ozols won seats on the Budget Committee, defeating Marty Dyer, Robert Konrad Hodgman, Bret Lincoln and Gary Mac Leay.

Michael Sudak defeated Moe Titcomb for one seat on the Planning Board while Cassie Hojanoom won a seat on the Zoning Board defeating John Scully.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Exeter election results: $16.3M for new fire, police station rejected