Southampton Select Board Accepts Member's Resignation, Eyes November Special Election

EASTHAMPTON -- June 23, 2026, Southampton Select Board accepts a board member's resignation and begins planning for a special election to fill the seat. The board voted unanimously Tuesday to accept the resignation of Ellen DeBure, effective June 17, leaving Southampton with a four-member Select Board; members directed Town Administrator Scott to work with KP Law on the feasibility of placing a special election on the November state ballot to fill the remaining roughly one year of her term. The Administrator reported two FEMA Assistance to Firefighters grant applications were submitted ahead of deadline, $701,000 for a tanker pumper and $250,000 for 22 SCBA units, each requiring only a 5 percent town match totaling about $47,500, and said the town is "99 and a half percent sure" it has received a MassTrails grant of approximately $240,000 for the final design phase of the Greenway. The board also authorized a letter of support for a roughly $370,000 land acquisition grant for the triple brick property on Middle Road, approved Joseph Russell, 18, as a new Water Department technician at $24.26 per hour, and hired Kayla Feen as part-time Youth Librarian at Gardner Library at $21.66 per hour after a six-month vacancy.