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Pownal approves budgets, elects local officers and OKs liquor sales in two secret‑ballot votes
Summary
At Town Meeting on June 23, voters elected local officers, approved the town budget and several capital articles, and passed two secret‑ballot measures to allow off‑premises spirit sales on Sundays and other days; key spending votes include public works, public safety and design funding for a future facility.
Pownal residents elected local officials, approved the annual budget and accepted a number of capital and operating articles at Town Meeting on June 23, 2025.
In secret‑ballot results announced at the meeting, George Pottle received 74 votes for Select Board/Assessor with 40 other write‑ins and 236 blanks. Christopher Savaiano won the RSU #5 seat with 271 votes. Craig Vosmus was elected Cemetery Commissioner with 322 votes. Voters approved two local referenda on liquor sales: permitting sales of spirits for off‑premises consumption on days other than Sunday passed 254–86, and permitting sale of spirits for off‑premises consumption on Sundays passed 230–110.
Select Board Chair Jon Morris opened the evening session and outlined the possible tax impact if all warrant articles pass, noting the town must apply a 30% valuation factoring to comply with state law, which he said puts Pownal’s ratio at roughly 76% for the coming tax year. Moderator Bo Chesney then reviewed procedure and asked speakers to state their names and addresses.
The meeting approved a series of zoning ordinance amendments (Articles 5–10) presented by the board; most passed with little or no discussion, though one change narrowing mobile‑home park zoning to Rural B prompted commentary from Robert Van Milligan and clarification from Code Enforcement Officer Tim Giddinge that the state requires zoning designations for mobile home parks.
On the budget, voters approved the general government appropriation of $708,245 after the Select Board explained wage and compensation adjustments that raised the request above the Budget Committee’s recommendation. Voters also approved major department appropriations including $233,815 for public safety and $1,001,183 for public works, both reflecting higher compensation and operations costs in FY2026. The meeting accepted $741,000 in non‑property revenue to reduce the amount to be raised by taxation and approved a transfer of up to $300,000 from the unassigned fund balance to mitigate the mill‑rate increase.
Smaller but notable appropriations included $156,000 for the Capital Project Fund, $5,700 for the Pownal Center Water Association (reflecting higher insurance and generator fuel costs), and $8,500 for cemetery maintenance. An article to fund an external consultant for town visioning failed on a close vote, 31–32.
Several facility repair items for Mallett Hall received funding using taxation and ARPA funds; voters approved up to $43,000 (taxation) and $7,000 (ARPA) for dormer repairs after hearing that ARPA funds must be spent by Dec. 31, 2026.
The meeting adjourned at 9:00 p.m.
What’s next: voters approved funding for design and grant‑readiness work on a proposed co‑located fire station and public works facility (see separate article), and several follow‑up steps — including grant research, design work and continued committee work — were assigned to the Future Facilities Committee and Select Board.
