In terms of Town Municipal Governments, summer is often a fairly quiet period. This is in comparison to the busy budget season in the fall, town meeting preparation season in the winter, and the post town meeting reporting season in the spring. This summer could be nicknamed committee season, as we will have three new committees start up.

The first committee, as mentioned in a prior issue of the Beacon, is the Municipal Records Committee. This will be chaired by Town Clerk/Tax Collector Lisa Meier. The committee’s duty is to “govern the disposition of municipal records” pursuant to RSA Chapter 33-A. This will include deciding where and how records are stored, identifying which records no longer need to be retained, and addressing long-term preservation of town records which must be retained permanently.

The next is the Capital Improvements Program Committee. While not actually a new committee, it has been inactive for quite a while and is being reactivated this year with Doug Phelps once again at the helm. As a committee, their duty is to gather information from department heads and other town officials about what they foresee as the future needs of the town and compiling a single document known as the CIP or Capital Improvements Plan (or Program).

Per the New Hampshire Municipal Association, the CIP is a planning tool. Under the law, “the sole purpose and effect of the capital improvements program shall be to aid the selectmen and the budget committee in their consideration of the annual budget” (RSA 674:5). 

The final CIP must be submitted to the governing body and the budget committee “for consideration as part of the annual budget” (RSA 674:8). The projects identified in the CIP are not mandatory; the CIP is simply a set of recommendations and an outline for achieving them.

The third is the Recycling Committee. Selectman Roland Carter is leading the charge on this one.

At a recent Andover Select Board meeting, Andover resident Ken Tripp and Wilmot Select Board member Glynis Hart addressed the board and talked about a recent NRRA Conference they attended. During one of the sessions, led by Brian Patnoe of NRRA, they heard about examples of small towns that were successfully collaborating in their recycling efforts.

Andover Transfer Station Supervisor Rich Gross was not present at the Select Board meeting, but earlier had expressed his full support for a new committee. He said that Wilmot and Andover had talked about recycling before, but discussions had gotten bogged down in the details. He hoped to see ideas and discussion progress much further this time around.

All official town committees post notice of their meetings and produce meeting minutes. If you would like to participate in or attend any of the meetings, keep an eye on the Town website, andover-nh.gov, and the two Post Offices, for meeting notices.

Yes, it looks like we may have a busy summer before we head into budget season.