BETHEL – Town Clerk Christen Mason expects to be busier than usual in the next 10 days.

That’s because Bethel Rescue Director Arlene Greenleaf filed her intent to request a recount of Tuesday night’s Municipal Referendum Question 2 balloting.

Question 2, which asked voters to approve the design, construction and equipping of the town’s ambulance station to improve existing facilities by borrowing up to $150,000, was defeated by a tie 314-314 vote.

“Arlene wants a recount done,” Mason said Wednesday after noon.

But the process can take up to 10 days.

“Whoever wants to call a recount must have signatures from 10 percent of the people who were checked off on the voter registration list. That’s 64 people,” Mason added.

Greenleaf has five days to get the 64 signatures to file a written notice or petition demanding a recount of the municipal vote. Then, once the signatures are verified, Mason has five days to do the recount.

However, the town clerk is solely responsible for counting the ballots – all 639 of them – under the supervision of a majority of the selectmen, she said.

“It’s not so bad because it’s only for one question. So I can make a pile of yes votes and a pile of no votes, then total them up. But it will take a while and the selectmen can just sit there and watch me,” Mason added.

At the Board of Selectmen’s 7 p.m. meeting, Monday, June 16, she expects Town Manager Scott Cole to ask the board to set a date for the recount.

Selectmen Donald Bennett and Reggie Brown reacted with surprise that voters didn’t approve the expansion project.

“I was stunned,” Bennett said Wednesday afternoon. “I kind of expected it to be a lot like the fire station, to pass, but narrowly, but I guess it was one vote away from passing narrowly.”

When contacted after the results were posted Tuesday night, Brown said he was “really disappointed” by the ambulance station vote.

Equally chagrined was Bethel Rescue paramedic Seth Guthartz.

“I’m very disappointed,” Guthartz said Wednesday afternoon. “It’s a shame that so many people, 314, in this town are so shortsighted. Bethel is an expanding town that has an active and very professional rescue service. This (expansion project) was not a want, but a need for this town. It’s such a shame.”

Municipal Referendum Question 1 asked if the town would OK the design, construction and equipping of a 10,000-square-foot fire station to replace the existing 5,000-square-foot facilities by borrowing up to $1.3 million. Tuesday’s voters approved the project voting 320-304.

“We have, admittedly, one of the top of the line ambulance services and we run it in a way that puts it as the least costly in services to run. So it’s tough to understand how we can’t afford $150,000 when it costs us $120,000 to run it for a whole year.

“I will be working, on my end, to see about getting things righted around,” Bennett said.

tkarkos@sunjournal

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