Marion voters will have five candidates to choose from for one selectman seat in the upcoming election, and on Thursday night all five got the chance to make their pitch to a standing room only crowd at the Music Hall.

At the League of Women Voters’ Candidates Night, Norm Hills, Dale Jones, Michelle Ouelette Smith, Matthew Vander Pol and Christine Winters answered questions about the Town House renovation project, gave their opinions about new business in town, outlined their priorities and spoke about the town’s relationship with Tabor Academy.

Question: Resident Rick Barnes asked all the candidates about the upcoming Town Meeting agenda item that requests $35,000 for the Town House Building Committee to do a study on building a new Town House on the VFW property.

“Do you support that article?” Barnes asked. “And if it found the best option is to relocate the Town House to the VFW site would you support that?”

Hills: “I think my from my point of view the Town House should stay in the village. People also need to understand the [Town House Building Committee] is very good at what they do, and have gone through preliminary design…I would probably support the existing study from the committee.”

Jones: “I believe in doing things in a cost effective manner. I love the look of the Town House, but I would certainly study a new building as an option. I would love to see it stay [in the village] but I’m not convinced it can be cost effective.”

Ouellette Smith: “The Town House should stay here [in the village]. We already have a committee that has looked into it. We don’t need to spend more money to look at the option. They’ve done a great job already researching it. It’s time to move forward.”

Vander Pol: “Personally I like the Town House and I like where it is. But I think we owe it to the voters, who are the ones who are going to decide if we spend more money. Small chunks of money add up quickly, so while $35,000 seems small, if we keep doing that we’re going to keep adding up and eventually we’ll be wasting money. Ultimately the voters will decide. I’m curious myself about the VFW property. Let’s take a look at it.”

Winters: “I do feel that small expenditures and investments into bigger projects is money well spent. The more info we have for voters the better. But the process can’t go on and on…We have to determine the water and sewer project too to make those major decisions, hopefully sooner than later. That will give some great insight.”

Question: What is your position on encouraging new business in town?

Winters: “Expanding our tax base and being open to new business is critical in our future. We’ve done an excellent job of highlighting open space to manage new business coming in. We are an aging community, and more and more are moving to retirement and fixed income, so that has to be part of the process. We can welcome small business. It’s critical we expand that tax base to keep Marion affordable for all.”

Vander Pol: “Anytime you can bring a business in and create revenue without an added expense, I think it’s a great thing. We need to be more openly seeking small business. We have a quaint feel, so whatever we can do to complement that is key.”

Ouelette Smith: “We want to keep Marion small and protect the quaintness, but we need to grow and bring up the tax base so we can have a senior center and have programs for our students and grow and move forward. We need to welcome business wanting to invest in Marion.”

Jones: “…There are certain businesses that would want to come in that I’d be afraid of and I’d like to have a hand in that. Most [businesses] would work and I’d be happy to work with people to help with the tax base.”

Hills: “There’s a specific part in the Master Plan on land use. One way we can control that is with zoning. We have discussions about getting desirable companies to come in. The other thing is there’s not a lot of land that you can build on for this stuff. It gets back to zoning and how we can use the land we have. Right now the tax base is 93 to 95 percent residential. Commercial can help but it won’t put us over the top.”

Question: What are the most important issues facing the town?

[The majority of candidates refer to sewer inflow and infiltration. Marion residents are being asked to vote on a $1.9 million dollar wastewater treatment plant upgrade to extend the plant's useful life and to help bring it in line with new state permitting requirements. This includes updating two unlined sewer lagoons which are leeching into groundwater. The overall cost of bringing the wastewater treatment plant up to new permitting standards is, according to Marion Town Administrator Paul Dawson, probably upwards of $20 million.]

Winters: “We need to pave Front Street, get the water situation settled and get the inflow and infiltration settled.”

Vander Pol: “Sewer inflow and infiltration. The treatment plant pumps about 438,000 gallons on an average day. We have about 200,000 gallons of groundwater leaching into our pipes, and we’re paying to treat it. It’s not good. The treatment plan and inflow and infiltration are the biggest.”

Ouelette Smith: “The sewer issue, dictated by the EPA. Instead of investing in our roads and Town House we’re being dictated to spend this money. The biggest issue is to prevent this from happening again, and to plan for the future so we’re not in the same financial place we’re in now.”

Jones: “I do agree the wastewater treatment plant is a number one priority…Yes there is infiltration from the groundwater, but we have a well run plant. I think with a little bit of work with [plant operators] we can solve these problems without a huge cost to the town of Marion. We can work together and we have the background to solve the problem.”

Hills: “Wastewater and [inflow and infiltration] go hand in hand. Then…requirements for storm water in the streets, and finally the Town House is the next biggest thing. That also represents a bigger issue. The town doesn’t do the maintenance on the things we have. If we take care of what we have it reduces capital costs in the long run.”

Question: “Once upon a time Tabor Academy was an asset to the community. There seems to be talk within the community that it has become a liability. Do you have any thoughts on how it could support the town of Marion?”

Hills: “Tabor is an asset, they do things for us that they don’t need to. But there’s nothing that would stop us from having more discussions with them for additional help. We need to start talking to them and have some idea of what we need to talk about.”

Jones: “Tabor donated the land for the police station…The school doesn’t pay taxes but the families of the people who work there go to our public school. Tabor doesn’t help take care of our citizens anymore.”

Ouellette Smith: “There should be some give and take on both sides. I thought Tabor could help with the senior center, because we help with educating [employees’ children]. We can complement each other. They can be just as invested in us as we’ve been with them. It should be talked about. I think we can be an asset to them and they can be to us. We should start with open lines of communication.”

Vander Pol: “You’re not going to get anything if you don’t ask. I think they can and will do more. I think we need to find out. Let’s have the conversation.”

Winters: “Marion is special to Tabor. We see their students volunteering with our schools and nonprofits and I think there is an effort to be integrated within the town. With that said, there are other private schools that do not pay taxes but make contributions to the town in lieu of. There are many ways they can do it. You won’t get it if you don’t ask, so I think those steps should be taken. I think any situation where Tabor can contribute would be welcomed.”

Question: What is the most important responsibility of the Board of Selectmen to the community?

Hills: “…The board sets policy and makes strategic decisions, and makes sure all the other boards coordinate going forward.”

Jones: “The most important thing is continue being a servant to the public. I promise you I’ll be a great selectman and make sure Marion continues to be a great place. I’ll make sure we treat this town properly.”

Ouellette Smith: “I believe a selectman should be an advocate for residents and open lines of transparency and communication. The agenda is to serve the community.”

Vander Pol: “I think the most important thing is being a leader, and providing all of you with all of the information that’s on the table.”

Winters: “The board’s role is accountability. It’s accountable for the town administrator and all of the committees. It’s the last stop. They answer to the townspeople as far as tone and setting policy. They’re the guiding light.”

The five selectmen candidates were the only candidates who spoke at the event, as all other races are uncontested. Jay Ryder was running against incumbent town clerk Ray Pickles, but has dropped out of the race due to health issues.

The election will be held on Friday, May 12. Polls will be open at the Benjamin D. Cushing Community Center (formerly the VFW) from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.