Kingfield residents will elect a new member to the Select Board in December.

Following the resignation of Hunter Lander in August, the board voted Sept. 21 to hold a special election Dec. 8 to fill the vacant seat. The board has been operating with four members since.

This was the second meeting in a row where the vacancy was debated. At a Sept. 8 meeting, after discussing the challenges that a four-person board could have in getting business done, opinions were split over whether to hold a special election or wait until the annual town meeting in June, causing the discussion to be tabled until Sept. 21.

Board member Kim Jordan said the town could not wait until June to fill the seat. That option would risk splitting votes on a number of important decisions.

“I think in our last meeting that we had, we had two tie votes, and we didn’t get anywhere with those discussions,” Jordan said. She said the town “voted for us to have a five-member board for that very reason.

“We’ve got some pretty serious stuff that’s coming up in front of us with the Bowdoin College thing, the school withdrawal,” she added. “I mean, we can’t keep having tied votes.”

Morgan Dunham, chairman of the board, noted the learning curve for a new member and expressed hesitance about filling the seat immediately.

“To have a new person come on the board,” Dunham said. “It takes us back a couple of steps. Just explaining everything and someone learning something new. It’s a little bit frustrating.”

Jordan explained that the new member will need to get trained regardless of when they are elected. She said that at least two community members have expressed interest in running for the position.

A motion to set the election date almost didn’t pass. Jordan and Christopher Rushton voted in favor of the motion. Dunham initially voted against but changed her vote to pass the motion. David Davol did not vote.

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