SOUTHAMPTON — In a competitive race for two seats on the Select Board, Maureen Groden and incumbent John Martin were elected Monday to serve three-year terms.
Groden, who teaches at the University of Massachusetts and works in hospice nursing, was top vote-getter with 487 votes.
Martin, director of procurement and campus services at UMass, was re-elected to his second term with 398 votes.
Of the town’s 4,441 registered voters, 780 people, or about 17.5 percent, cast their ballots Monday.
Six-year incumbent Jacqueline Sears lost her seat Monday, garnering 237 votes. Gary Swanson, a former assessor, also ran and received 269 votes.
While campaigning, Groden said she tried to focus on a personal relationship with residents. She went door-to-door, reconnecting with people in town she has come to know during the three decades she’s lived in Southampton,
“I’m really grateful to the voters of Southampton,” she said.
Groden will miss Tuesday’s Select Board meeting because she is attending a hospice conference in Washington. Groden said she will have active participation and regular attendance.
Martin’s goals for the next three years include a new public safety complex and funding for a second ambulance shift at the town’s Fire Department.
“You can’t open the doors on the fire truck because (the building) is so tight,” Martin said.
A $10.8 million override for a new police and fire station was rejected at the May 2015 annual Town Meeting. Martin said that initial cost was too expensive. He said now the town is looking at building a complex that would cost $7.5 million.
With debt exclusions retiring over the next few years at Norris School and Hampshire Regional High School, Martin said, the town’s debt service can be refinanced and taxes won’t go up.
And while the Fire Department is staffed during the day, evening and overnight hours are on-call, which contributes to a longer response time. At last year’s town election, a ballot question asking for an $135,000 override to fund the second shift failed.
“(Fire Chief John) Workman has done a good job of organizing the department,” Martin said.
The ballot question on allowing the town to continue to plow private ways passed by 526 votes to 168.
For three decades, the town has used public money to remove snow and ice from private streets.
Passing of the ballot question allows continued town plowing of Bass Cove Right of Way with 13 homes, Brickyard Road Extension with six homes and Wallace Road with four homes.
The question also allows the Select Board discretion to include any other private roadways that might have been omitted because of past record-keeping errors.
The ballot question does not affect the tax rate.
Elections to other Southampton positions were uncontested.
Robert Floyd was re-elected town moderator, Donna Whiteley was re-elected treasurer, Shelley O’Connell was re-elected to the Board of Health and Judith Miller Conlin was re-elected to the Cemetery Commission.
Lucinda Palmer was elected as almoner and Charles D. Kaniecki, son of Select Board Chairman Charles J. Kaniecki, was elected to serve on the Housing Authority.
Donald Bernier, Linda Saltmarsh and Beth Russell Smith were all re-elected to serve as library trustees and Norman Smith was newly elected.
Virginia H. Ahart and Janet L. Brown were re-elected to serve on the Community Preservation Commission.
Corey Braastad was re-elected to the School Committee for Hampshire Regional High School. James Palermo was newly elected to the committee.
Virginia H. Ahart was re-elected to serve on the Norris School Committee and Doreen Bashista was newly elected.
Sunia Pallante was re-elected to serve as park commissioner. Arthur Lawrence was re-elected to the Personnel Policy and Procedures Board. Paul Furgal was re-elected to the Planning Board. Ronald Laurin was re-elected to serve as tree warden and James Walunas was re-elected to serve as water commissioner.
And some won by write-in votes.
Two seats for Finance Committee were open for a three-year term, although there was no candidates on the ballot. Francine Tishman won by 117 write-in votes and Daniel Pellegrini who was elected by 11 write-in votes.
Doric Dods, who has served on the Historical Commission, was elected assessor with 118 votes for a three-year term.
Caitlin Ashworth can be reached at cashworth@gazettenet.com.