The title of this article is intentionally misleading. The town budget hearing revealed a budget that is neither bold nor all that new. It's essentially the same as last year with some minor changes due to increased or decreased costs and some scheduled projects. It was super boring just like a town budget should be. Town taxes are slated to be pretty much exactly the same or a little less. There were absolutely zero revolutionary changes made. The budget portion of the town meeting gets a 10/10 for brevity and clarity. Gus Weber and the Andover Town board really knocked it out of the park. There was only one member of the public in attendance (myself) as everyone else had other pressing engagements we assume.
The remainder of the Town Board meeting dealt with normal Town business. The dog warden reported 7 dogs at large and 2 dogs found. One of the dogs recovered was in need of immediate vet care and may result in charges filed. The police report stated that most of the motor vehicle incidents were involving deer as it is that time of year again. When is it not that time of year? The police report went on to report that they had 42 town related calls with 1 arrest. There was notable movement in the town court with 23 cases processed. Both the code enforcement and highway superintendent did not give report. The Andover Free Library also presented their 2020/2021 annual report which was accepted.
The Town also passed a resolution to renew a 5 year contract with the Andover Fire Department for 2022-2026. There was some discussion about the AHPC and they have called for an audit by the board and a public hearing to be held in December in regards to grant funds. There is some concern that the grant funds may not be spent in time due to delays in supply chains causing building materials like windows not being available before the grant closes in March. They're looking into how that is going to work.
The regular board meeting was a solid 9/10. The meeting lasted 23 minutes which is only one minute over the ideal length of time for a board meeting. A lot of good information was provided and resolutions made.
As the Andover Village Board Meeting was still in progress following the town meeting I stopped in to see what was up there. I regret this choice. The village board meeting lasted a grand total of 1 hour and 34 minutes which is an intense amount of time. I am informed this is a short meeting for them, which honestly sounds awful.
The highlights of the marathon meeting were that Matt Zengerle has been appointed meter maid/parking enforcement for the village and now has the ability to give parking tickets. This is in response to the parking violations that are causing visibility issues near some corners, primarily on main street. Also a reminder that beginning on November 15th through April 15th there is NO parking on the street between 2am-6am. This is to allow for plowing.
The Public works department also will be preparing a plan for next years road improvements in the village at the boards request. Following this the plan would be to create a 5 year plan to address village road issues. This was in response to a request from the public to make repairs to Oil Well Rd. that was brought to the board at the beginning of the meeting. Public works also talked about a bunch of electrical stuff and also some backflow valves that a private entity was in violation on. Apparently there was much discussion and concern that the valve issue would not be rectified by the persons in violation in time which would become a huge kerfuffle.
I couldn't tell you what happened in the first 25 minutes of the meeting that I missed, but I imagine it was all riveting. Overall there was much, so much, discussion. Had the meeting been about 35 minutes shorter it would have been a 7/10 as there was a lot of good information reported and a handful of positive resolutions made. As the meeting lasted 1 hour and 34 minutes, which is well over the 1 hour mark, it receives an automatic 0/10. I wish it could be different but I don't make the rules*.
*I do actually make the rules. I just hate long meetings.
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