Alstead voters OK road project, tax-exemption changes
Mar. 10—ALSTEAD — Voters elected a new selectman and approved the entire warrant during Alstead's annual town meeting vote Tuesday.
Joel McCarty beat Gordon Kemp, 251-185, for a three-year term on the selectboard. Neither was an incumbent.
Voters approved all 20 articles on the warrant, including the proposed operating budget of $1,634,128, which is down $75 from the $1,634,203 budget voters approved last year. Since Alstead is an SB2 town, voters considered all articles at the polls at town hall.
In addition to backing the budget proposal 326-88, voters also agreed to raise the amount of property value exempt from taxation to $25,000 for people ages 65 to 74, $50,000 for someone between the ages of 75 and 79 and $100,000 for a person 80 or older. The current exemptions are $20,000, $40,000 and $60,000, respectively. This article passed 345-46.
Voters also approved several zoning amendments, including one that will allow structures defined as "event centers" in all zoning districts by special exception (333-72) and another that will define "short term lodging facilities" as premises where people stay for fewer than 30 consecutive days and that provide services similar to those found in the hospitality sector (296-103).
In addition, residents voted to allocate money to various town funds — including $150,000 to the bridge capital reserve fund, $100,000 to the highway capital reserve fund and $75,000 to the fire department capital reserve fund — and appropriated $220,000 to reclaim and pave part of Gilsum Mine Road.
Elected without contest were Julie A. Bacon for a three-year term as town clerk/tax collector; Bruce Bellows for three-year terms as a trustee of trust funds and on the cemetery commission; and Susan Norlander for a three-year term as library trustee.
Mia Summerson can be reached at 352-1234, extension 1435, or msummerson@keenesentinel.com. Follow her on Twitter @MiaSummerson
