NEW SHARON -- Articles creating staggered terms for selectmen and investigating possible solutions for the closed Muddy Brook bridge on Main Street could spark discussion at town meeting Saturday.

The annual gathering, which may also include competition for the three selectmen's seats, begins at 9 a.m. at the Cape Cod Hill School gym.

Article 6, if passed, would change the current practice of electing all three selectmen to one-year terms annually to one creating three-year terms elected on a staggered basis. After a three-year period creating the change, one selectman would be chosen each year with the other two remaining on the board.

According to First Selectman James Smith, the article was placed on the warrant by request of a resident.

"I used to be opposed to it, but I've kinda mellowed," Smith said. "I tend to think if we're elected for one year, people could vote us out if they didn't like us, or we could leave if we decided we didn't want to take it anymore."

Two preliminary requests are aimed at addressing the controversial closing last year of the Muddy Brook bridge by the Maine Department of Transportation, which said the span was unsafe.

Article 11 asks if the town wants to authorize selectmen to investigate replacing the bridge, a cost they said has been estimated at $600,000. The following article seeks similar authority to investigate building a new way that would connect that end of Main Street to Route 2, with an estimated price tag of $100,000.

All town officers are nominated from the floor and elected at the meeting. Incumbent selectmen Smith, Maynard Webster, and Russell Gardner are seeking re-election. Others reportedly planning to challenge the trio include Jim Fleming, Aaron Turcotte, Larry Donald, and Spencer Thompson.

Money articles include one seeking $4,150 to buy a snow blower for clearing the Route 2 bridge sidewalk over the Sandy River. If all money articles are approved, total appropriations would increase about $45,000 from last year, officials said.