Capital Improvement Committee will be Reviewing Projects

Initial plan should be done by November

April 1, 2015 • Saved under Committees
By Doug Phelps, Committee chair

At the request of the Andover Budget Committee, a Capital Improvement Committee was formed to look at the Town’s long-range capital improvement needs.

Although authorization to form the committee was approved at the 1991 Town Meeting, the last capital improvement plan documented was in 2001.

The intent of a capital improvement plan, under the provisions of RSA 674-5, is to provide to the Budget Committee and Select Board an advisory document which looks at least six years into the future and encompasses capital projects solicited from all of the department heads in town.

An important part of the concept of the capital improvement process is keeping capital improvements in alignment with the Town’s Master Plan. That’s why the Capital Improvement Committee is sanctioned by the Planning Board.

The recommended composition of a Capital Improvement Committee includes members of the Select Board, School Board, Budget Committee, and citizens of the town. Currently, the committee meets on the last Thursday of the month at 7 PM at the Town Hall. Committee members include:

  • Doug Phelps, Chair
  • Chuck Keyser, Vice Chair
  • Kent Armstrong
  • Jeff Newcomb
  • Dennis Fenton
  • Bill Leber
  • Duncan Coolidge, Select Board
  • Michele Dudek, School Board
  • Jessica Pine
  • Lenny Caron
  • Marj Roy, Town Administrator
  • Chris Caron
  • Arch Weathers, Budget Committee

The committee has held three meetings so far and has worked through some preliminary steps, such as establishing the criteria for what a capital improvement item is (any project with a gross cost of at least $10,000 and an expected life of five years) and how the projects will be classified and prioritized.

Capital improvement planning also entails basic analysis of such items as the Town’s tax rate history, capital expenditure history, as well as the school population and general population trends.

The mission of the committee is to complete project reviews along with prioritization, analysis of tax impacts and timing, and finally, general public and Planning Board review, by early November.