Bridgton election results; Save Town Hall group prevails
Results at a glance:
Selectman, two three-year terms
Bernie King — 580
Paul Hoyt — 553
Planning Board, one three-year term
Brian Thomas — 709
Planning Board Alternate, one three-year term
Dee Miller — 3
Roxy Hagerman — 2
Thomas Harriman — 2
Peter Oberg — 2
Phyllis Roth — 2
SAD 61 Director, one one-year term
Karla Swanson-Murphy — 558
Charles Peter Mortenson — 250
SAD 61 Director, one three-year term
Cynthia LeBlanc — 447
Lee Martel-Bearse — 355
Bridgton Water District, one three-year term
Barry Gilman — 716
Q. 1: Affordable Housing
Yes — 535
No — 328
Q. 2: Fire Protection
Yes — 438
No — 407
Q. 3: Alarm Systems
Yes — 450
No — 364
Q. 4: Bear River Aquifer
Yes — 559
No — 273
Q. 5: Sign Ordinance
Yes — 442
No — 419
Q. 6: Site Plan Review
Yes — 507
No — 295
Q. 7: Shoreland Zoning
Yes — 481
No — 336
Q. 8: Willis Brook Aquifer
Yes — 524
No — 291
Q. 9: Town Hall
Yes — 380
No — 550
Q. 10: Cell Towers
Yes — 644
No — 262
By Gail Geraghty
Staff Writer
Bridgton’s Vote No crowd for Question 9 won the day Tuesday by defeating a citizen’s petition that would have put off repairs to Town Hall. The vote was not even close, with 550 against delaying repairs, and 380 in favor.
All other referendum questions passed, although voting was close on the new Fire Protection Ordinance (438–407) and amendments to the Sign Ordinance (442–419). A new Local Preference Housing Ordinance, once the subject of much controversy, passed easily by a 535–328 vote.
In local elections, Cynthia LeBlanc bested Lee Martel-Bearse in a contest for a three-year seat on the SAD 61 Board of Directors, while Karla Swanson-Murphy beat out Charles Peter Mortenson for a one-year seat on the school board. Uncontested incumbent Selectmen Bernie King and Paul Hoyt were re-elected by votes of 580 and 553, respectively.
It remained to be seen as presstime what, if any, additional effort might be made by Town Hall petitioners at Wednesday night’s Town Meeting to put off the repairs, by reducing budgeted line items for the $325,000 stabilization project.
The vote was a victory for the Jumpin’ Janes and other recreation supporters who campaigned under the cry of “Save Town Hall,†even though petitioners argued they were only seeking a fiscally-responsible funding plan from selectmen. They didn’t think it was a good idea to use Community Development Block Grant funding for the project, and petitioners were also against the idea of borrowing $55,000 a year for five years from the Moose Pond Trust Fund to pay off $225,000 in bonding.
The Vote No crowd, however, argued that residents had already given selectmen their blessing to craft a funding package in a straw poll. Further study on the issue wasn’t needed, they said, because selectmen had already paid an engineer to study the issue. Town Hall needs to be preserved for its historic value, they said, whatever the future might hold in terms of an expanded recreational facility in town.
The second citizen’s petition, to increase residential setbacks to 750 feet for cell phone towers, fared much better, passing by the widest margin in Tuesday balloting of 644 yes to 262 no. It remains to be seen, however, whether the tower ordinance amendment will have any impact on AT&T’s Hio Ridge Road application now pending before the Bridgton Planning Board. The question did not include any retroactivity clause, and selectmen have been advised by the town attorney that attempts to block a pending cell tower application would likely not prevail in court (see related story, this paper).
