Tilton voters approve police station

TILTON — The fifth time was a charm for the Tilton Police Department, which finally saw voters finally approve a plan to build a new police station.

The decision was helped by last year’s vote to purchase a 4.5-acre parcel of land on Sanborn Road to serve as the location for the police station.

Town Administrator Jeanie Forrester said the proposal had more than an 80 percent favorable vote at the March 14 Town Meeting after very little discussion.

“People were educated about the issue and knew how they were going to vote when they came in,” she said.

Voters approved a “friendly amendment” to reduce the proposed operating budget by $3,000, removing money for the senior center after creating a new expendable trust fund for that purpose. “The feeling was that now we didn’t need that money in the operating budget,” Forrester said.

A proposed $2.5 million sewer extension failed after voters complained that it would serve a few people at the expense of all taxpayers.

Voters also turned down a petitioned article that would have granted a solar exemption.

The town honored outgoing selectman Catherine Dawson, the town’s longest-serving member of the Board of Selectmen who had 19 years of service to the town. She was given a Carhartt jacket with the town seal on it.

Tilton also offered its first community service award to Police Officer Liz Murray, recognizing her help to everyone, from children to seniors. Murray recently was the highest-pledged participant in the Winni Dip to benefit Special Olympics.