STONEHAM – Election of a town clerk brought almost a third of Stoneham’s 255 residents to the town’s annual meeting Saturday, a turnout which surprised many in attendance. Monika Spooner challenged Midge Silvio for the position, which Silvio has held for five years.
In a handout she distributed at the meeting, Spooner stated that “it would be beneficial to the town to have a resident and taxpayer of Stoneham” serve as town clerk. Spooner’s family has lived in the town for five generations, according to the handout. Silvio, a native of Boston, moved from Stoneham to neighboring Albany Township.
Despite her move over the town line, though, townspeople approved Silvio by a vote of 51-18. Soon after the vote, many of the standing-room only crowd left, with nearly 70 articles still to decide.
The almost 50 residents remaining went on to unanimously approve a pay increase of 50 cents per hour for the town clerk and treasurer. The increase brought the total to be raised through taxation for town salaries and stipends to $31,000.
At the recommendation of Treasurer Mary Fox, the town voted to divide funds from excise taxes between town roads and the dump. The sum of $35,000 from excise taxes will be used to repair roads and bridges, along with more than $11,000 from state highway department block grants and $11,478 carried over from last year.
Maintenance of the Albany Township waste station used by Stoneham, Waterford and Albany will be funded through $15,000 from excise tax and $20,000 from the general fund. No money will be raised through taxation for either highways or trash.
Voters approved extending a portion of the Slide Inn Road, not to exceed one quarter mile, to winter maintenance after a lengthy debate. Laura Gouin, who lives on the road, told townspeople that the length of road which would need to be plowed was probably no more than 100 feet.
The road is one of two town roads which are maintained in the summer but not plowed in the winter. Some residents worried that approving plowing on Slide Inn Road would lead to requests to plow Ban Grover Road. Selectman John Collins said, though, that the town has a legal obligation to continue to maintain a road which it has maintained at one time, unless the town votes to abandon the road.
“If you vote this down,” he said, “I promise you it’ll end up in court in a heartbeat,” he said.
Plowing an extended portion of Slide Inn Road added $652.75 to the funds appropriated for snow removal, bringing the total to $31,552.75.
In other business, residents granted $329.95 from town fees to establish a Web site for the town. Former Selectman Jim Tinder has volunteered his time to create the site, which will include town ordinances and tax information.
Silvio said the site may actually save money in photocopying and postage, as taxpayers will be able to print out forms and applications at home.
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