The Board of Selectmen is working on the warrant articles for Town Meeting on Tuesday, March 10. Several of the warrant articles being considered are of a “housekeeping” nature, in that they are simply trying to keep up with the way we do business in Andover.
Here, in question-and-answer format, is some background on a number of the warrant articles that we’re considering.
Concerning a warrant article to delegate the duties and responsibilities of the Cemetery Trustees to the Board of Selectmen:
Q: Why should the Board of Selectmen take over the duties of the cemetery trustees?
A: Because the demand for volunteers is constantly increasing and the state requirements for scheduled meetings and minutes is challenging, we felt that eliminating one area of responsibility and essentially assigning it to the Selectmen and a sexton was a reasonable change.
Concerning a warrant article to extend Emery Road’s Class 5 rating to allow a new home to be built:
Q: Who’s going to pay to extend Emery Road? What about maintenance for the new Class 5 stretch – will that increase the Highway Department budget for plowing, sweeping, resurfacing, etc?
A: An upgrade of a road from Class 6 to Class 5 would be the financial responsibility of the petitioner (in this case, the new homeowner). Subsequent maintenance would be the Town’s responsibility.
However, this specific upgrade is very unlikely to occur because of the prohibitively high cost of the upgrade. This has been an evolving issue; we think this warrant article is unlikely to be brought to the floor for a vote at Town Meeting.
Concerning a warrant article to “accept” Church Street in Cilleyville:
Q: What does “accept” mean? Why is this issue coming up now?
A: “Accept” means that the road would legally become a Town road with all of the maintenance responsibility. This case is mostly housekeeping, since the Town historically has already maintained it.
Concerning a warrant article to extend Hoyt Road as a Class 5 road in order to create a turnaround:
Q: What will it cost to extend Hoyt Road? Who will pay the cost? Why do we need a turnaround? Will this increase the Highway Department budget in future years?
A: For our Road Agent’s crew to properly maintain Hoyt Road and to safely turn vehicles around without damaging abutting private property, a turnaround is necessary. The cost of construction will be shouldered by the Town. Maintenance of a turnaround, if properly designed and constructed, should be minimal.
Concerning a warrant article to accept donations to erect a bandstand on the Village Green:
Q: What’s this about a bandstand? Who’s planning it, and why, and what purpose will it serve? What will it cost the Town for insurance, etc.? Why does the Town need to hold the project money?
A: A bandstand or gazebo on the Village Green would serve as a central focus of our community. It is envisioned that it would be built entirely from donations and used as a venue for various entertainments. For the Fourth of July, it would serve well as a place for the bands that accompany our traditional event.
The design would be the responsibility of the community.
As it stands, there are already sufficient funds that would be donated to see such a project to completion. But for a town to accept donated funds for any project, the donated funds must be agreed to by the legislative body if there is any possibility of on-going maintenance costs. In this instance, it’s expected that the bandstand would be designed using low-maintenance materials to limit those costs.
Any Town-owned structure is automatically covered by insurance without any increase in the total premium.
Concerning a warrant article to create a 10-year lease for the Andover Horseshoe Club’s use of Town property on Monticello Drive:
Q: What does the Andover Horseshoe Club pay for their lease? Why such a long lease now? Why not just do two-year leases?
For any organization or business to lease from the Town for more than two consecutive years, a warrant article is required to be passed by the legislative body. There is no benefit to granting short-term leases to stable organizations or businesses, as it merely clutters the Town Meeting with what amount to housekeeping issues.
As a courtesy to community-based clubs and organizations, leases are granted for minimal fees.
Concerning a warrant article to “accept” Johnson Lane between Cilleyville Road and Powers Lane for all traffic, both pedestrian and vehicular; and to accept Johnson Lane between Powers Lane and Routes 11 and 4A (through the Cilleyville-Bog Bridge) for pedestrian traffic only:
Q: What does “accept” mean when it comes to Johnson Lane? Why is this issue coming up now?
The Town has historically maintained this section of road, despite it being held privately. In order for the Town to legally maintain the road for public use, it must be a legal Town road, otherwise the Town is at fault.