*ICYMI – Articles of the Day 1, 2, 3 & 4, 5

As we ready for Town Meeting on May 14, 2024, the Town will be presenting information every day on different warrant articles.

The full warrant has not yet been finalized, but a full list of the articles can be found here:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-y4Cd71ERgJAqVxD3X9tnQw22Owiebv0/view?usp=sharing

Article 1: Reports of Receipts and Expenditures.
The Town Bylaw Chapter 15 Section 4 requires all Town officers, boards and committees who receive or expend money to keep a record and accounting of those actions and report those to Town Meeting in an annual report.  Under Article 1, Town Meeting is accepting those reports.

Article 2: Authorization of the Town Manager or Superintendent of Schools Regarding Contracts in Excess of Three Years.
Massachusetts Law only allows municipalities to enter into a contract of up to three years without permission of Town Meeting.  This article allows the Town Manager and Superintendent to sign contracts of longer than three years with the Select Board’s or School Committee’s approvals.  Towns will sometimes opt for longer contracts in order to lock in attractive pricing or for a lease.  For instance, the Select Board voted to allow a five year contract to rent the town’s postage machine in order to take advantage of the best pricing.

Article 3 and 4: Authorization to Accept and Grant Easements
These articles allow the Town to accept and grant easements for any public purpose.  An easement is a right to use someone else’s land for a particular purpose.  The Town often has to accept easements for purposes like extensions of sidewalks or for utility purposes.  The Town may grant an easement to a utility company or the Commonwealth.

Article 5: Amend General Bylaw- Chapter 60 Animal Control
This article will amend the current animal control bylaw to make it compliant with state law as well as best practices.  The bylaw changes are being recommended by our Animal Control Officer.  

Behind the Scenes Spotlight – Thank you, Lyne Savage

You may have noticed someone, sitting quietly for the past 23 years at a table behind the Moderator, noiselessly working a calculator. That unsung cog in our Town Meeting machine is the Finance Director/Town Accountant, Lyne Savage.   Lyne has been responsible to make sure all the dollars we spend meet our revenue and reports dutifully to the Meeting and the Town Manager that we are solvent as a town.  No one has done that job better than Lyne. This will be her last year keeping us all out of trouble as we wish Lyne a wonderful retirement from community service.

– Public Access Defibrillation Program

The Town of North Andover is expanding its Public Access Defibrillation Program across all fifteen recreational fields. Each field will be equipped with an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) in the event of a sudden cardiac arrest event.  Read more about this program here.

Events and Reminders:

–Happening this week:  Spring Leaf Bag Curbside Pick-Up, Weeks of April 8, 15, and 22, 2024.

-National Prescription Drug #TakeBackDay | Saturday, April 27, 2024, 10am-2pm at the North Andover Police Department

The North Andover Police Department will be hosting the National Drug Take Back on April 27, 2024 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Dispose of your expired, unused, or unwanted medication at the North Andover Police Department, 1475 Osgood Street

Upcoming Meetings:

Monday, April 22:
Select Board

Tuesday, April 23:
MassHire Merrimack Valley Workforce Board
Middle School Building Committee
Stevens Memorial Library Board of Trustees
Festival Committee
Massachusetts DOT I-495 Andover-Lawrence Bridge Replacements Public Meeting

Wednesday, April 24:
CREST
Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
Greater Lawrence Sanitary District
Machine Shop Village
Conservation Commission
Finance Committee

Thursday, April 25:
Youth & Recreation Council Meeting
North Andover Housing Authority
Board of Health
School Committee Meeting