ANDOVER — Voters will elect seven officers at the polls on March 20, Town Clerk Melinda Averill said.
Averill is running unopposed for another three-year term as clerk and tax collector.
Three people are seeking two seats on the Board of Selectmen. Selectman Jane Rich is being challenged by Brian Mills for a three-year term. And Wendy Closson is unopposed for a one-year term, Averill said.
For fire chief, Lucien Camire and Jim Adler are vying for the job for the next three years. Justin Tibbetts is not seeking re-election.
Candidates for road commissioner for three years are David Dolloff, David Jacques, Daniel Irish and Darryl Wells. Mark Farrington is not seeking another term.
Albert Coolidge is seeking another three-year term on the School Board.
Averill was hired as town clerk in April 2010 to fill a vacant two-year term and said she’s still learning the latest procedures and laws.
“Each year it seems that laws are changed, from freedom of access requests to voting, so trying to stay abreast of changes is a chore in itself,” she said.
Averill said town office workings are improving every year, and one area she wants to work on is organizing cemetery and vital statistics records.
“I am encouraged by the positive things which the town has moved forward on,” she said, such as online registrations of vehicles and trailer re-registrations, snowmobile and ATV registrations, and hunting and fishing licenses.
Averill said she strives for fairness.
“I think that we need to change our way of thinking (because) we are a business, and therefore we need to collect license fees that we are entitled to,” she said
She said the town is not on top of personal property taxes but she’s hopeful that those issues will be resolved with the completion of revaluation of properties in September.
Another concern, she said, is a lack of volunteers for committees and boards, because many residents work out of town and they don’t have the time to volunteer for committees.
“That being said, we should think of the positives in Andover; what a beautiful spot we (have), and the great people that live here. We don’t have stores open 24/7 or services five minutes away, but that’s OK, that is why (we) live and work here,” she said.
“The best part of my job is being able to help customers when they come in and want to know about certain things in Andover. Living here for over 30 years, I’m glad that I’ve had the opportunity to listen to the old-timers with their stories and knowledge,” Averill said.
Polls will be open from noon to 8 p.m. Tuesday, March 20, at the Town Hall.
mhutchinson@sunmediagroup.net
The cover of the 2017 Andover Town Report features a photo of the Town Hall provided by the estate of James J. Mulvaney.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
