ARUNDEL – Voters here June 14 overwhelmingly agreed to amend the town charter to include a provision that added school board members to the list of officials who may be recalled, provisions to make the charter gender neutral, and other proposed changes, but not enough people turned out to cast ballots, so the items will be revisited Nov. 8.
That is the word from Arundel Town Manager Keith Trefethen, who said 30 percent of those who voted in the last gubernatorial election – or 622 registered voters – would have had to cast ballots for the measures to take effect. In the end, 414 did so.
Voters June 14 validated the $54.1 million Regional School Unit 21 budget that had been approved in a district meeting May 16, 289-111, with 14 blank ballots; and agreed 305-95, with 14 blank ballots, to continue holding the validation vote for the next three years.
Incumbent candidates for selectmen Velma Jones Hayes and Jason Nedeau were unopposed and elected with 317 and 316 votes, respectively. Incumbent RSU 21 director Erin Nadeau was unopposed and earned 343 votes, and Ryan McQueen, also unopposed, was elected to the two remaining years of a three-year term with 292 votes. Theo Rohrs was unopposed for a two-year term on the budget board with 331 votes. There was no candidate for another two-year budget board term, nor were there candidates to fill two one-year terms on the budget board.
At the annual town meeting on June 15, 27 voters approved all 41 articles that included raising and appropriating funds for two new full-time firefighter positions to augment existing staff, contributing to a playground fund, and a series of articles to fund the government and services for the new fiscal year, along with zoning amendments.
Town Clerk Emily Nedeau said a couple of the articles were amended, because the original figures were based a calculation of four hours, rather than 42. Article 9, which asked voters to approve $751,310 for operations of the Arundel Fire-Rescue Service account to for staffing and training of existing personnel was reduced by $9,549; and Article 10, which asked voters to approve $184,000 for two additional firefighter/paramedics was reduced by $19,098.
Arundel has 3,688 registered voters, Nedeau said.
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