| Joanne Cole |
Voters at the annual Town Meeting on Monday approved all FY26 spending requests on the warrant by wide margins, including those for permanent bathrooms at the Fairgrounds. They also voted to keep the former ambulance, A-1, as a back-up to the town’s new frontline ambulance.
According to the clerks’ official count, 137 residents checked in, easily surpassing last year’s 81. In all, this year’s voters approved more than $7.5 million in spending, covering FY26 municipal operations, debt payments, paving/chip seal work, capital equipment and projects and additions to capital reserves for future needs, roughly a seven percent increase over the current year’s comparable figure.
Discussion was spirited on several items, but the votes that followed weren’t close. Some big-dollar items passed unanimously and without any questions or comments, including $512,500 for paving/chip seal work and $350,000 for Fire Rescue capital reserves.
Article after article, voters raised their yellow cards, and Moderator Kristin Collins, the town’s attorney and a first-time moderator, surveyed the room and announced the results: “Unanimous,” “Two No votes,” “All but one,” “All but two,” and similarly lopsided margins.
No spending requests were reduced on the floor. In fact, in the few instances where the dollar amounts recommended by the Select Board and the Finance Committee differed, voters opted to approve the higher of the two amounts.
Fairgrounds bathroom project funding approved. Funding for long-discussed permanent bathrooms and storage at the Fairgrounds was on the warrant and had been expected to generate discussion. It did.
As envisioned, the new facility would have four stalls, including ADA-compliant ones, sinks, a water fountain and storage space. It would be built as an addition to the existing pavilion near the playground.
Funding the project entailed voters authorizing $75,000 in new money, drawing $111,000 from reserves voters previously approved for the project, and using $40,000 from the Parks & Recreation Department’s own dedicated account.
Board member Peter Bragdon led off, speaking for himself, not the board. He said he supported having bathrooms but called the proposed project “off the rails.” He cited the costs–$239,000 is the turnkey estimate for the construction ahead–in addition to more than $40,000 for site and septic work already completed. Bragdon also questioned the facility’s location for security and accessibility, among other concerns.
Fellow board member Tammy Donovan countered, saying that the Fairgrounds are one community resource that “everybody can utilize.” The proposed design reflects a “vision down the road,” not the minimum to meet immediate needs, she said. For example, the structure’s storage area could be converted into a snack shack later on. “I support this one hundred percent,” Donovan said.
Resident Kathleen Potter, long-serving on the Parks & Rec Committee, pointed to the need and the heavy use the Fairgrounds fields get. Costs will only increase if the town waits, Potter said. “Do it now. The time is right. We have the money.”
Parks and Rec Director Sarah Rodriguez stepped to the mic to address specific points of concern. As to siting, there will be an ADA-compliant ramp for access. Other locations on the Fairgrounds property, including where the porta-potties are now, present problems of their own, Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez acknowledged design elements that look to the future – a system for heated floors, for example, anticipates possible winter uses at some later time. When board member Stephen Hathorne described the proposed facility as “the Taj Mahal,” Rodriguez responded lightly that the town didn’t get a quote “to build it in marble,” prompting laughter from audience members.
Resident Linda Chase picked up the thread, commenting that the town voted a Taj Mahal fire station and a Taj Mahal Public Works building, so why not Taj Mahal bathrooms – to more laughter.
Later, when moderator Kristin Collins declared that the $111,000 spending article had passed–with fewer than a dozen No votes, it appeared—audience members applauded.
Now that voters have approved funding, bid documents for the bathroom project will go out to contractors. Rodriguez and project supporters will be hoping bids come back at or under budget.
Voters retain the old ambulance. Another contested item was whether to retain the old ambulance, A-1, as a back-up to the town’s new ambulance, with associated insurance, repairs, and licensing costs.
Despite the meeting being well into its third hour, more than a dozen residents came forward to ask questions or offer their perspectives on the pros and cons of keeping or selling the former ambulance, a 2014 Ford van-style unit with a trade-in value of $10,000.
The choice before voters may have seemed narrow, but behind it were larger questions of whether the town needs to run two ambulances now – or will soon – not just keep a back-up ‘in case.’ Costs, call volume, response time, staffing, safety, mutual aid and more were in the mix.
To some speakers, given the town’s call volume, the old ambulance represents an inexpensive insurance policy, especially compared with purchasing a new ambulance. The recent new ambulance cost $370,000, Interim Chief Hale Fitzgerald noted in response to a question.
Resident Mike Linteau, an NG Fire Rescue paramedic, and NGFR Lt. Nick Hegerty, also a resident, spoke for keeping A-1. Call volume and the time an ambulance can be tied up on a hospital run were among reasons they thought A-1 is worth more than the trade value. Keeping it would provide “better service to the community,” Hegerty said.
On the other hand, residents had voted at prior town meetings to “replace” A-1, not keep it, noted Stephen Hathorne and others. If A-1’s condition in 2022 merited replacing it with a new vehicle, how can the old ambulance be appropriate and safe to use now, resident Don Libby asked.
To some, keeping the old ambulance represents ‘an addition to the fleet’ through the back door, and likely to slide the town toward another new ambulance and perhaps additional staffing to run both units. Yet others thought foregoing A-1’s trade value and getting it fit for the road were a small price to pay if it might allow quicker response to a life-threatening emergency.
When the ambulance question was finally called to a vote, Collins saw a majority of hands with cards raised in favor of keeping A-1. She said a precise count was in order since the issue was clearly controversial. The clerks circulated through the Memorial School gym and confirmed the result: 81 in favor of keeping the old ambulance; 23 opposed.
Newcomers join ‘regulars.’ Monday’s voters saw newcomers alongside familiar faces, all on hand for a variety of reasons. Eric Curtis of Bluff Circle was attending his first town meeting because he was “curious how it works,” he said. Carl McGee of Lewiston Road said he was reminded to attend by people from church. Louise Poppema of Intervale Road said no specific issue brought her in but rather an interest in being more actively involved.
“We generally come,” said Jeannie Butler of Intervale Road, seated with husband Mark. “You need to, to see what’s going on. Don’t complain if you don’t take the time to participate and voice your opinion. It’s productive to agree to disagree respectfully.”
The meeting opened with warm tributes to Kathleen Potter for her tireless service on town boards and committees and her commitment to the town in countless other ways and roles. Also honored were the members of the Semiquincentennial Committee for planning and organizing the town’s year-long 250th celebrations. Select Board Chair Dustin Ward and member Tammy Donovan read the honorees’ citations from the Annual Report, and the audience followed with rousing applause.
Then it was on to the budget articles and other items on the warrant.
Voters set the tone early with the Contingency budget line in Article 2. The Select Board recommended $60,000 and the Finance Committee $40,000. The comparable Contingency amount this year was $50,000.
Manager Bill Kerbin explained that the Contingency fund allows the town to act “when something comes up”—equipment repairs, retirements, mold remediation, recruitment and retention. After hearing that the alternative is the delay and expense of calling a special town meeting, voters opted for the higher amount.
So it went with the Planning Department budget a short time later. After hearing the rationale behind the higher recommended amount—$20,000 more to help attract a full-time planner–and various pros, cons, and possible alternatives, voters went with the higher amount.
After nearly three hours of reading, talking, listening and voting, the warrant was done and the meeting adjourned. Community members can mark their 2026 calendars and the first Monday in May, when this year’s newcomers will be Town Meeting veterans.
Residents who missed the May 5, 2025 town meeting can read the full warrant and explanatory information in the Town Meeting booklet at this link or in print from Town Hall. The meeting was videotaped by NGTV and, once ready, will be available at this link.
