NEW SHARON – Residents elected a third selectman and authorized preliminary work for a sand and salt shed off Route 2 on Monday night.

More than 130 residents packed the Cape Cod Hill School gymnasium to vote on four articles. Cindy Pratt was chosen moderator.

Russell Gardner was elected selectman after receiving 68 votes on the second written ballot, with Garry Mayo getting 54. The two, along with candidate Libby Kaut, failed to get a majority on the first ballot, and Kaut withdrew after the first vote.

Gardner fills the position held by the late Bill Lane. He will serve until March 2005.

“I hope to add a different perspective to the town dynamic,” said Gardiner, who has nearly 13 years experience on the Planning Board. Gardner is also a father of two children within the town school system.

Residents voted 77-28 to authorize selectmen to begin surveying and engineering work of town land for a sand and salt shed.

“This is very preliminary work to have someone to evaluate the site and boundaries and to see what steps there are to take next,” Selectman Maynard Webster said.

The price of the 150- by 300-foot plot is unknown, but selectmen hope to keep it low.

Residents also voted to approve changing the name of Pump House Lane to Library Road.