WORTHINGTON — Deb Rocque will continue her time on the Select Board after defeating Steve Strom in Saturday’s town election by a vote of 175-127.
Also on Saturday, voters approved all 30 articles on the annual Town Meeting warrant, including for a citizen’s petition for more legal help to process large-scale solar applications. The petition, filed by Helen Sharron Pollard and discussed in Article 27, calls on the town to hire an independent, second legal opinion regarding the review, strategy, and long-term governance of such projects.
Now that the article has passed, the nonbinding resolution must go through the Select Board and potentially have town funds allocated, Select Board Chair Charley Rose said. The town may have to pay for the legal advice up front when projects are proposed and then seek reimbursement from developers. That would require voters to approve such funding at a special Town Meeting, he said.
Pollard said previously the Select Board, in conjunction with town counsel, determined a second legal opinion was unnecessary. However, Pollard said, “I felt like the townspeople should make that decision,” adding that it is important to get things right during the early stages of large-scale solar coming to town.
She also cites town bylaws for why the developers should be held accountable to pay. Those bylaws state that the Planning Board may hire, at the applicant’s expense, professional and technical consultants, including legal counsel, to help it review an application.
The bylaw goes on to say that the applicant must deposit any funds with the Planning Board at the time the application is accepted, and add any additional funds as the process unfolds. Failure to comply, the bylaw states, would be grounds for denying an application.
In other business at Saturday’s meeting, discussion about the roughly $6.3 million fiscal year 2027 budget was put off until July when the state funding become clear.
Election results
Rocque told the Gazette during her campaign for the three-year Select Board seat that she intends to focus on preparing a long-term future plan for the town. Part of that plan will include seeking new dining spots and offering things to do in town that complement Worthington’s rural character.
Just under a third of Worthington’s 1,036 registered voters participated in town election, which only featured the single contested race for Select Board. According to Town Clerk Katrin Kaminsky, 314 ballots were cast and 170 of them were cast early.
Nicole Shulze was elected to a three-year spot on the School Committee, receiving 274 votes.
Gary Ouimet returns for three more years as assessor after receiving 279 votes, Diane Brenner for three more years on the Board of Health with 286 votes, and Pat Kennedy now has five more years as cemetery commissioner, after receiving 291 votes.
After receiving 280 votes, Kate Bavelock is back for five more years on the Planning Board. Ron Sampson received 295 votes and will return for three more years as constable. Tree Warden Benjamin Brown is back for a three-year term and received more votes than anyone else on the ballot, with 296.
Moderator Kevin O’Conner will serve three more years after 283 residents votes. Randy Zucco and Joseph Boudrea were voted in for three-year spots on the Finance Committee after both received more than 260 votes.
Neither Rocque or Strom answered their phones for comment on Monday.
