BRISTOL — Bristol residents created a new village Tuesday.

Residents voted 295-269 to incorporate the central core of the town, creating a nine-square-mile village of Bristol inside the boundaries of the town.

With 564 votes cast — there were approximately 1,750 eligible voters — it was a somewhat higher turnout than local officials had expected.

About a dozen people, members of the Town Board and local residents, turned up at the town hall Tuesday at 8 p.m. when the polls closed to learn the results in person. They waited while poll workers hand-counted the ballots.

“I’m very pleased with the outcome,” said Richard Gossling, the town chairman. “More importantly I’m pleased that it went before the electorate and they decided.”

Gossling — who will no longer be town chairman because he lives within the boundaries of the new village — said the vote must now be certified. After that certification, a special election will be called to elect a village board.

“Oh absolutely,” he said when asked if he plans to run for village office.

More control

Incorporation supporters such as Gossling believe creating a village will give Bristol more control over its future.

Voters questioned after casting their votes said they were swayed by that argument.

“I voted yes so we’re not annexed into another town, Kenosha or Pleasant Prairie, so that we’ll be able to keep our borders safe,” said resident Carol Gorsuch, after voting at town hall at about 4 p.m.

Villages have powers towns do not, from annexation to creating independent zoning ordinances rather than following county rules.

Those opposed to the incorporation worried creating another layer of government would ultimately result in higher property taxes.

Bristol residents have been considering incorporating some portion of the town since the 1960s. As a village, the community could not be annexed by neighboring municipalities, while towns have no way to block annexation.

What’s next

Once Tuesday’s vote is certified, work will begin on creating new town and village boards, and splitting the assets between the new village and the town.

The two members of the Town Board who live in the town area — Colleen Fisch and John McCabe — will remain on the board and appoint new members to fill the three remaining seats.

A special election will be called for 40 to 50 days after the incorporation results are certified. In the interim, the remaining Town Board members will appoint six trustees and a president to the new village board.

The most likely candidates would be the Town Board members who live in the new village, including Gossling and Supervisors Ruth Atwood and Carolyn Owens. That interim board would remain intact until the special election.

The village will share staff and administration, and the town will receive 60 percent of the assets, the village 40 percent.