Up to here with landfills, Milton votes resounding No

Anti-landfill activist Eric Knapp, right, at table, chats with voters, while pro-landfill forces, with green signs, line up to the right of walkway into polls on Tuesday at the Emma Ramsey Center in Milton. (Lebanon Voice/Harrison Thorp

MILTON - Milton voters made it quite clear they wanted no part of ReEnergy's proposal to build a landfill on Piggott's Hill, defeating Question 3 overwhelmingly 1,100-182 on Tuesday.

In the past several weeks ReEnergy had launched an expensive campaign blitz, but the promises of jobs and a revenue infusion for the town fell on deaf ears as voters seemed more intent on safeguarding Milton Three Ponds and Milton's aquifers from possible contamination if a solid waste landfill were constructed.

After crushing the landfill proposal, however, voters loosed their purse strings and approved a host of spending items, many of which had been rejected in previous years.

Passing by generous margins were a $3.9 million town budget (880-332), a $495,000 long-term lease to acquire three large highway department dump trucks with snowplows (776-454), a $143,000 design plan fund for a new fire station (716-538), a $240,000 long-term lease for a highway department grader (704-529) and a $20,000 playground at the Town Beach.

Voters also approved housekeeping changes to the Capital Reserve Fund and Capital Improvement Plan and to allow the Capital Improvement Plan to make recommendations for future growth.

Money for police radios and the town bridge fund was also approved, while a proposal to allow the budget committee to design any future default budget was soundly rejected, 857-324.

In municipal elections, the only contested race was for planning board, with Bob Bourdeau (713) and Timothy Long (514) winning seats over Robert. V. Graham Jr. (495).

On the school side, in the only contested race Timothy Long edged out Lue Snyder for a school board seat by just five votes, 474-469.

Meanwhile, all school appropriations were handily approved including a $9.3 million SAU operating budget.