The election takes place Monday from noon to 7 p.m. at Fire District 1, 144 Newton St., South Hadley.
SOUTH HADLEY – There may be years when the elections at Fire District 1 in South Hadley are sleepy affairs, but this isn’t one of them.
Edward G. Wall, chairman of the fire district’s Prudential Committee, attributes the excitement this year to big changes over the past few years, including expanded responsibility for emergency medical services, and to the retirement of the district treasurer after 30 years.
The election takes place Monday from noon to 7 p.m. at Fire District 1, 144 Newton St.
Three people are running for an opening on the three-member Prudential Committee, and two are running for district treasurer.
“There are signs and banners popping up all over town,” said Wall.
The Prudential Committee is the body that decides – with “prudence,” or common sense – how the fire district will spend its money.
“What we do is set the budgets and make decisions on expenditures we have to make, such as an ambulance or fire truck,” said Raymond Miner, the only incumbent running for Prudential Committee member.
Miner is being challenged by Dennis Hogan, a firefighter, Town Meeting member and manager of an upholstery company, and Gregory Sheehan, former chairman of the South Hadley Selectboard.
Miner is a tutor at South Hadley High School, a former business owner and a seven-year veteran of the committee.
“There’s going to be a lot of action this year,” he said, “and that’s a good thing.”
Prudential Committee members commit to three years and get a small stipend. District treasurer is a full-time position paying $56,000 to $58,000 annually, a salary that Wall said has caused some dissension in South Hadley.
Candidates for that post are Monica Walton, assistant district treasurer for Fire District 1, and Terie Fleury, who has 12 years of corporate bookkeeping experience.
Margaret St. Martin, treasurer for 30 years, is retiring.
The positions of moderator, water commissioner and district clerk, though uncontested, will also appear on the ballot on Monday.
South Hadley has two fire districts, a holdover from the days when there was no direct route between South Hadley Falls and the Mount Holyoke College area to the north.
The fire districts are independent from South Hadley town government and from each other, imposing their own taxes and holding their own elections.