WATERFORD — Former Selectman John Bell was unanimously elected to the board Friday with 25 votes.

It was the only office on the annual election ballot, prompting officials to reduce the polling hours to 1 to 5 p.m. at the Municipal Building.

Bell, a land surveyor who has lived in Waterford for almost 25 years, has family roots in town that go back six generations.

He served on the Board of Selectmen from 2007 to 2010. He decided not to seek re-election in order to devote more time to his then-teaching position in computer-aided design at Oxford Hills Technical School in Paris.

Bell, who became a certified Maine assessor in August 2013, said last month that he is hopeful that this skill, combined with his previous experience on the board, will make him an “immediate asset.”

He replaces longtime Selectman Richard Hunt, who died Dec. 19.

Action on the 62-article warrant continues at 9 a.m. Saturday, March 7, at the Waterford Fire Station on Valley Road.

ldixon@sunjournal.com