Athol, Royalston to hold town elections Monday

REGION — Voters in Athol and Royalston head to the polls Monday, April 4, for their respective Annual Town Election. In Athol, there is no contest for any of the town’s elective offices, although two Proposition 2 ½ debt exclusions are on the ballot. In Royalston, there are no ballot questions for voters to consider but there is a race for a three-year seat on the town’s Selectboard.

Question 1 on the Athol ballot seeks voter permission to fund the replacement or repair of the Pinedale Avenue and Fryeville Road bridges and the Crescent Street sluiceway. Question 2 seeks permission to fund the purchase of a new pumper for the Fire Department.

While no amounts are included in either of the questions, the estimated cost of the bridge work is approximately $2.5 million, while the cost of the pumper is pegged at just over $800,000.

Candidates running unopposed for office include: Moderator, Lawrence McLaughlin; Selectboard (two seats), Stephen Raymond, incumbent, and Kala Fisher; Athol Royalston Regional School Committee from Athol (three seats), incumbents Tammy Duquette and Theodore Mallet III; Athol Royalston Regional School Committee from Royalston, Brittany Newton; Library Trustees (two seats), incumbents Sharon Brighenti and Margaret Feldman; Housing Authority, incumbent Cathy Savoy; and Constable, incumbent Kevin Materas.

Royalston voters will choose between incumbent Roland Hamel and challenger Rick Martin for a seat on the town’s Selectboard. Other races include: Town Clerk, incumbent Barbara Richardson; Board of Health, incumbent Andrea Crete; Library Trustee, incumbent Jeffrey Mangum; Planning Board, incumbent Kathleen Collins; Trustee of J.N. Bartlett Fund (four seats), incumbents Nancy Melbourne and Gary Winitzer, and Curtis Deveneau. No one returned nomination papers for the positions of Constable, Assessor, or Cemetery Commissioner.

Polls in both communities will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Balloting in Athol will take place in Liberty Hall, Town Hall, 584 Main St. Votes in Royalston will be cast at Town Hall, 13 The Common.