VIENNA – A record turnout of nearly 100 residents attended Saturday’s annual town meeting and elected Linwood “Junior” Meader as their new road commissioner.

They also refused to require that Town Clerk Connie Smith be available a minimum of 20 hours per week, including one evening and one Saturday per month. Smith has always worked from her home by appointment only.

The majority agreed they like being able to contact Smith at various times and thought setting specific hours would actually be less flexible for them.

Voters also refused to allow residents the option to register their vehicles in bordering towns when the town clerk is not available.

Former town treasurer Debbie Byrnes said Vienna used to have that option with neighboring Mount Vernon but stopped the practice when excise tax fees were not returned to the town.

Voters also did not want to change the selectmen terms from one year to staggered three-year terms.

Selectman Dodi Thompson said last year two selectmen positions were up at the same time, putting two inexperienced people into office at once. She supported the change to stagger the terms.

One concern raised was that three-year terms would mean residents would be “stuck” with selectmen for three years if they later decided they didn’t like the way they did their job.

The town does not have a mechanism for ousting a selectman from office. That would have to be voted on at town meeting.

The longer terms have been proposed in the past and always turned down.

Voters waited for more than an hour for election results to be tallied.

Meader received 145 votes, Alan Williams got 50, and write-in candidate Bruce Gurney had 12 for the commissioner’s job.

Town treasurer Martha “Marti” Gross had 170 votes to Belinda Lilley’s 59.

Thompson won another term as first selectman with 208 votes. Second Selectman Chris Smith garnered 177 votes, and Third Selectman Randy Carl got 205.

Smith tallied 156 votes for town clerk and tax collector. Write-in candidate Lacey Markham received four votes and challenger Denise Williams got 77 votes. Annie Tibbetts ran for tax collector and received 63 ballots.