Select Board Continues Review of Town Meeting Warrant Articles

ANDOVER, MA – The Andover Select Board held a meeting on Thursday, March 27 in the Select Board Room at Town Offices. The focus of the meeting was the Board’s continued review of Town Meeting warrant articles. The Board considered and voted to recommend approval of two articles: one that would authorize a series of financial housekeeping matters, and another that would authorize the acquisition of a small parcel of land at 0 Essex Street to enable the Town to complete planned roadway improvements along Essex Street.

Recommendations on Town Meeting articles made by the Select Board will be reflected in the Finance Committee Report, which will be mailed to all households before Town Meeting.

Financial House Keeping Articles 
The Select Board reviewed a series of routine financial authorizations organized within the Annual Town Meeting warrant under the title of Financial Housekeeping Articles. Notably, this year the article includes measures to transfer capital appropriations, previously authorized by Town Meeting but unexpended, to new accounts where they can be more readily utilized to address capital needs of the Town. 

Item E within the article seeks to authorize the repurpose and transfer of unexpended appropriations totaling $137,625.46 to the Capital Projects Fund for accessibility improvements, $269,060 to Water Enterprise Retained Earnings, and $1,468.75 to Sewer Enterprise Retained Earnings.

Item F would transfer an additional $114,236.21 to the Capital Projects Fund for accessibility improvements.

The funds being recommended for transfer through this article were unexpended for a variety of reasons, including scenarios where the full funding amount appropriated by Town Meeting was not needed to complete a project. The recommendation to repurpose funds for accessibility improvements is based on the fact that the demand of funding in this area typically exceeds available resources, and because it applies to a wide range of facilities improvements.

Other authorizations contained under this article include the establishment of expenditure limits for the Town’s revolving funds, the appropriation of PEG (Public, Educational, and Governmental) access funds for AndoverTV, and the transfer of funds to the Pension Obligation Bond Stabilization Fund.

The Board approved a series of motions to recommend approval of all components of this article.

Essex Street Land Acquisition 
Town Manager Andrew Flanagan provided an overview of an article that would authorize the acquisition of a 0.21 acre parcel of land located at 0 Essex Street and currently owned by the Archdiocese of Boston and controlled by St. Augustine Parish. 

In 2023, the Town of Andover received a $3.3 million MassWorks grant to make infrastructure improvements along the Essex Street corridor. This project includes significant streetscape improvements and the reconfiguration of major intersections. During the planning phase of this project, the Town determined that acquisition of the parcel at 0 Essex Street would be necessary to complete the anticipated infrastructure improvements. Notably, the boundaries of the parcel extend into Essex Street, likely a result of the width of the roadway expanding over time.

Since identifying the need to acquire the parcel, the Town engaged in negotiations with the Archdiocese, and conducted an analysis to determine the value of the property. The current assessed value of the parcel is $49,500, which is significantly lower than comparable surrounding parcels based on the fact that it is considered a non-conforming lot. Through the Town’s acquisition of the parcel, it would be made a conforming lot, thus increasing its value by approximately $382,400. 

The Article before Town Meeting in April would authorize the acquisition of the 0 Essex Street for a purchase amount of $365,000. It would further authorize the repurposing of $291,216.47 from existing capital balances, plus the appropriation of an additional $83,783.53, to fund the purchase and $10,000 in anticipated associated costs. 

The Select Board voted to recommend approval of this article. 

 Other Actions 

• The Select Board voted to accept a grant of easement for Hartigan Court, which is necessary to complete a sewer maintenance project on the street.
• During the Town Manager Report, Flanagan announced that the annual Pre-Town Meeting Forum will be held on Thursday, April 24 at 7:00 PM in the Select Board Room at Town Offices. Residents will be able to attend and ask question in-person or virtually. 

The full meeting can be viewed online through AndoverTV. The Board is scheduled to meet next on Monday, March 3