PERU — Election clerks were still busy counting ballots at noon on Wednesday from Tuesday’s town meeting polls. They took a break from midnight to Wednesday morning.
Results, however, were in for the municipal elections and the straw poll on wind farms. A majority of voters said no to wind farms in Peru.
Timothy L. Holland won re-election to the Board of Selectmen, getting 316 votes.
The second available selectman seat, however, is up in the air. After a recount, candidates Richard I. Powell and John L. Witherell remained tied at 284 votes apiece.
“If one doesn’t concede within seven days, then we’ll have to have a run-off election,” Vera Parent, town clerk, said Wednesday at the town office.
“We did a recount just to make sure it was a tie,” Parent said.
Candidate Richard J. Vaughn received 155 votes.
Parent won re-election as town clerk, receiving 548 votes, and Lolisa M. Windover received 526 votes for her first three-year term on the RSU 10 School Board. Incumbent RSU 10 Director Jessica Hines did not seek another term.
As for the non-binding straw poll that asked if voters support the construction of wind farms within the town limits of Peru, 194 said Yes; 394 said No.
That means the Peru Wind Power Committee will now make recommendations to selectmen about pursuing more restrictive measures.
Parent said selectmen have scheduled a meeting for 5 p.m. Thursday, June 14, “to figure out what’s going on.”
They are expected to go through balloting results on the town meeting warrant and determine if a special town meeting is needed to resolve any articles that may have been voted down.
Check back with SunJournal.com for results that are expected later today.
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