The Town of Hampden Select Board voted Tuesday to call a special election for June 23, 2025, to fill a Select Board seat vacated by Craig Rivers, who submitted a resignation effective May 19.

The special election motion passed after board members and the town clerk confirmed state and local timing requirements: a minimum of 64 days’ notice is needed to schedule a special election from the date the town clerk receives official notice of a vacancy. Select Board members discussed dates in June and settled on June 23 as the practical earliest calendar date that met the statutory notice window.

Board members also discussed whether to place a separate debt-exclusion question for the fire department on the same ballot. The board agreed it could add a debt-exclusion question only if Town Meeting approves the measure first: the town must provide at least 35 days’ public notice after the Town Meeting vote before placing that question on the ballot. Board members said they expect to wait for Town Meeting’s outcome before finalizing any debt-exclusion question for the June 23 ballot.

The board directed staff to notify the town clerk and publish the special-election warrant and to coordinate with the town moderator and clerk about timing around Town Meeting so that, if the town meeting votes to approve a debt exclusion, the question could appear on the June 23 ballot with proper notice.

Board members noted practical concerns about scheduling multiple votes and confirmed intent to hold the special election on June 23 to avoid repeated elections over the summer. Several procedural motions around opening and closing the Town Meeting warrant and revoking a prior ballot question were also made and recorded by the Select Board during the meeting.

No roll-call vote tallies were recorded in the transcript; motions were approved by voice vote with members answering “Aye.”

Ending: The board’s action sets in motion the calendar for candidates to file for the vacant seat and for election logistics; whether the fire-department debt-exclusion question will appear on the June 23 ballot depends on the outcome at Town Meeting and the required 35-day notice period.