ANDOVER – Voters on Saturday were faced with several articles dealing with the heating system for the Town Hall and the windows.

Article 63, which asked for a Town Hall Committee to review the present status of the hall and to develop a long range plan that would include recommendations for improvements, maintenance and use of hall, was unanimously approved. Most agreed that the windows should be either repaired or replaced, but some said it was agreed upon last year but nothing was ever done.

It was voted to restore those windows where possible and replace those in need. The voters expressed their wishes to have the windows remain in keeping with the historic building features and not go with all new ones.

The requested amount of $10,000 was reduced to $5,000 as there was enough in the previous window account to make up the difference to have them restored.

Selectman Joan Carney said five furnace repair persons had looked at the Town Office furnace and all agreed it should be replaced. The vote requesting $35,000 to purchase a new furnace for the Town Office carried.

Article 60 asked for $1,000 to repair the Town Hall furnace and after considerable discussion, it carried. The selectmen are looking at fuel costs and they feel repairs to zones and leaking valves as well as fixing windows will help.

Yet another year has passed with the revaluation article being rejected.

Selectman Carney said sooner or later the state would catch up with them as the ratio between property evaluations and current selling prices was getting farther out of line. She said the town is already having penalties against it in receiving lesser funds for Homestead exemptions and veterans exemptions. One voter expressed his exasperation over the article going another year without being passed and said he was paying more taxes than people with larger houses than his which he felt was discriminatory.

In other business, the budget increased slightly to $23,000 for operation of the Public Library, and $10,000 was approved for the Fire Truck account, with most other recommendations remaining the same as 2003.

Elections for a selectman/overseer of the poor for a 3-year term and a SAD 44 school board director for a 3-year term will held be on Tuesday, March 23, between the hours of 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.

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