Boards & Committees
Committee Volunteers Needed- Andover Cultural Council
- Andover Housing Authority
- Andover Housing Partnership Committee
- Audit Committee
- Ballardvale Historic District
- Board of Assessors
- Board of Health
- Board of Registrars
- Cable Advisory Committee
- Commission on Disability
- Conservation Commission
- Council on Aging
- Design Review Board
- Elected Trustees of the Punchard Free School
- Elderly Tax Aid
- Finance Committee
- Fishbrook Watershed Advisory Committee
- Greater Lawrence Technical School District Committee
- Housing Trust Fund Board of Trustees
- Ipswich River Watershed Management Council
- Lowell Junction Interchange Task Force
- Main Street Committee
- Memorial Hall Library Trustees
- Patriotic Holiday Committee
- Planning Board
- Preservation Commission
- Recycling Committee
- Retirement Board
- Scholarship Committee
- Spring Grove Cemetery Trustees
- TRIAD Council
- Towle Fund
- Trustees of Cornell Fund
- Youth Council
- Zoning Board of Appeals
Purpose: To promote cultural activities in Andover through the distribution of funds received from the state. The Council awards small grants to individuals and organizations that sponsor cultural activities.
Ref. - Mass. General Laws Chapter 10, Section 58
PURPOSE: To oversee the management of housing units, vouchers and certificate programs funded through state and federal agencies.
Ref. - Mass. General Law Chapter 121B: Section 11 & 26.
View more information on the Andover Housing Authority.
Purpose: To address affordability issues in Andover by developing recommendations for the Selectmen which take into consideration all means available for making Andover more affordable to current and future generations.
Related Links:
Who can purchase homes in Andover?
Purpose: To ensure that changes and additions within the Historic District are harmonious to the District and to prevent changes that might detract from the aesthetic and historic values of the District.
Ref. - General Bylaws Article XII, Section 36
Current (or most recent past) agenda
Board of Assessors |
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| Members: | John R. Petty, Chair Dennis Adams David A. Billard |
| Appointed by Town Manager: | 3 years |
| Meeting Times: | as needed |
Purpose: The Board is responsible for the valuation of all real estate and personal property items in the town. The Board hears appeals in these two categories along with motor vehicle excise. The Assessors are also responsible for awarding property tax exemptions provided by statute.
Ref. - Mass. General Laws, Chapter 41, Sections 1 & 24-26
Board of Health |
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| Members: | Candace Martin, Chair Dr. Donald Miller Margaret Kruse |
| Appointed by Town Manager: | 3 years |
| Meeting Times: | 3rd or 4th Monday of every Month |
Purpose: The Board of Health is responsible for promoting public health in Andover. It conducts investigations of health and environmental problems and manages and coordinates health programs and services within the town. Major concerns include preventing and controlling communicable diseases and ensuring that health requirements governing food service establishments, water supply, sewage disposal, housing and public swimming areas are met.
Ref. - Mass. General Laws, Chapter 111, Section 26-32.
See Board of Health page for more information.
Board of Registrars |
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| Members: | Carolyn Simko Ronald C. Hajj William T. Downs |
| Appointed by Selectmen: | 3 years (Manager appoints Town Clerk) |
| Meeting Times: | as needed |
Purpose: To assist the Town Clerk’s office in promoting and maintaining voter registration.
Ref. - Mass. General Law, Chapter 51, Section 15
Cable Advisory Committee |
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| Members: | John R. Dempsey, Chair Barbara Worcester Gerald R. Silverman John B. Flynn Zeff Marusich |
| Appointed by Town Manager: | 3 years |
| Meeting Times: | monthly as needed |
Purpose: To advise the Board of Selectmen on matters pertaining to cable television in the community and serve as a liaison between the community and the Town’s cable TV franchise. The Committee promotes educational, public access, and local programming use by Town agencies and citizens.
Purpose: To address Andover's disability needs for the Town and its residents, visitors and families with disabilities.
Ref. - Mass. General Laws Chapter 40 Section 8J.
See Commission on Disability page for more information.
Conservation Commission |
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| Members: | Donald D. Cooper, Chair Paul J. Finger Thomas J. Murphy Howard M. Kassler Michael Walsh Gail Ralston Alan French Alexandra Driscoll Robert Pustell, Emeritus Member |
| Appointed by Town Manager: | 3 years |
| Meeting Times: | 1st and 3rd Tuesday of every month |
Purpose: To protect Andover’s natural resources in accordance with state law and the Town's Wetlands Protection Bylaw, Article XIV, and to act as trustees in perpetuity of the town’s conservation land.
Ref. - Mass. General Laws Chapter 40, Section 5 and 8C
See Conservation Commission page for more information.
Purpose: The Council on Aging provides input and guidance to the Town and the Elder Services Division which coordinates and carries out programs designed to meet the needs of the elderly including Senior Center activities. These programs are developed in collaboration with programs of the Mass. Department of Elder Affairs and others. Its activities include the provision of congregate meals, Meals on Wheels, counseling and recreation for the elderly, Social Day Care program, Property Tax Work Off Program, health clinics, exercise classes, newsletter, outreach and advocacy.
Ref. - Mass. General Laws Chapter 40, Section 8B
See Elder Services page for more information.
Design Review Board |
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| Members: | Ann Constantine, Chair Sheila Doherty Craig Gibson Lynn Smiledge |
| Appointed by Town Manager: | 3 years |
Elderly Tax Aid |
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| Members: | David J. Reilly John Petty Jill Garvin Klaus Lasch |
| Appointed by Town Manager: | 3 years |
| Meeting Times: | as needed |
Purpose: To help seniors who can't pay their taxes.
Greater Lawrence Technical School District Committee |
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| Members: | Kenneth Henrick, Methuen, Chairman Gerald H. Silverman |
| Elected: | 5 year terms |
| Meeting Times: | as needed |
Purpose: To report each year in conformity with the terms of the Agreement to Establish a Regional School District. Participating communities in the district are the City of Lawrence and the Towns of Andover, North Andover and Methuen.
Housing Trust Fund Board of Trustees |
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| Members: | Kimberly Sousa, Chair Linda O’Connell Carolyn Hall Finlay Joan Duff Janice Burkholder Reginald Stapczynski |
| Appointed by Town Manager: | 3 years |
Ipswich River Watershed Council |
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| Members: | Water Treatment Plant Supervisor John Pollano |
Purpose: To advise local, state, and federal agencies on factors contributing to low-flow and no-flow episodes experienced on the Ipswich River. Balancing the water needs of communities with the ecological health of the river is a critical watershed protection issue.
Lowell Junction Interchange Task Force |
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| Members: | Chris Huntress, Chair Douglas White Alexander Chanler James D. Doherty William S. Holt Beth A. Niemi |
| Appointed by Town Manager: | 1 year |
Purpose: To provide a forum for local businesses, citizens, and government to discuss matters relating to Main Street Andover. Throughout the design and public meeting process, the Committee, working with the Design Consultants Inc., made recommendations to improve and adapt the plans to be compatible with Andover's unique character. The Main Street Improvement Project is expected to begin in the spring of 2005.
Purpose: The mission of the Trustees is to oversee the management of the library, including the selection of the Library Director, the approval of the budget, administration of invested funds and the establishment of general policies.
Ref. - Mass. General Laws, Chapter 78, Section 11
See Library web site for more information.
Purpose: To carry out the proper observance of Patriots Day and all such holidays and events as the Board of Selectmen may designate from time to time.
See Patriotic Holiday Committee page for more information.
Purpose: To consider and advise upon municipal improvements either at the request of other officials of the town or upon its own initiative. The Planning Board reviews the Capital Improvement Plan and Town Meeting articles relating to main ways, land developments, zoning, playgrounds and parks, and sites for permanent buildings.
Ref. - Mass. General Laws, Chapter 41, Section 81
See the Planning Division page for more information.
Purpose: To advise the Town concerning the preservation of its historic and archeological resources.
Ref. - Chapter 40, Section 8D
Purpose: To advise the Town on all matters pertaining to recycling.
See Recycling page for more information.
Retirement Board |
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| Members: | James A. Cuticchia, Charman John C. Doherty Elena Kothman Rodney P. Smith, Ex-Officio |
| Appointed by Town Manager: | 3 years |
| Meeting Times: | as needed |
Purpose: To provide retirement benefits to members and retirees as defined in Mass. General Laws, Chapter 32.
Purpose: To select recipients of educational financial aid and the amounts awarded to deserving town residents selected upon consideration of financial need, character, scholastic performance and involvement in community work and extracurricular activities.
Ref. - Mass. General Laws Chapter 60, Section 3C
Spring Grove Cemetery Trustees |
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| Members: | Paul Caselle, Chair John S. Bigelow, Vice Chair Arthur H. Richter Sandra Dearborn Jennifer Smith |
| Appointed by Town Manager: | as needed |
| Meeting Times: | as needed |
Purpose: To advise the Town on all matters pertaining to Spring Grove Cemetery.
TRIAD Council |
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| Members: | Ethel Olsen, Co-Chair Nancy Bailey, Co-Chair Thomas R. Deso Dorothy L. Bresnahan Richard Tyler Susan Toth Mary Joyce Kernan |
Towle Fund |
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| Members: | Phillip F. Sullivan Donald L. Thompson Christopher S. Doherty |
| Appointed by Town Manager: | 3 years |
| Meeting Times: | as needed |
Purpose: To administer funds, bequeathed by the late Margaret G. Towle, to the Town of Andover for assistance to Andover residents in need of aid, comfort or support on account of age, disability or unemployment.
Trustees of Cornell Fund |
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| Members: | Barbara Brandt-Saret Edward Morrissey |
| Elected: | as needed |
| Meeting Times: | as needed |
PURPOSE: The Trustees of Cornell Fund administer the funds for the John Cornell Fuel Assistance Fund which was established in 1893 to be used for the needy and poor to purchase wood or coal. In 1995 the trust documents were modified by the Probate court of Massachusetts to permit the use of all types of fuel for heating, cooking or electrical purposes.
Ref. - Town Meeting Article 17 of 1893
Purpose: To disburse scholarship funds held in the Punchard Free School Trust. Punchard Trustees maintain and administer two separate funds for the support of the Andover High School: One provides support for special projects requested by teachers and approved by the principal; the other fund provides eight major scholarships which are awarded to graduating seniors. The Punchard Trustees were originally created in 1850 by the will of Benjamin Punchard, a local industrialist, who left funds to provide for the beginning of a public secondary school system in Andover.
Youth Council |
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| Members: | |
| Appointed by Town Manager: | as needed |
| Meeting Times: | as needed |
Purpose: To promote programs and opportunities for youth in Town and to meet challenges and problems of youth.
Ref. - M.G.L., Chapter 40 Section8E
Meeting times: 1st Thursday of every month
Purpose: Issues special permits for use of property, grants variances from dimensional requirements of the By-Law, and hears appeals from decisions of the Building Commissioner.
Ref. - Mass. General Law, Chapter 40A, Section12
See Zoning Board of Appeals page for more information.