Andover 2022 Annual Town Meeting: What You Need To Know

ANDOVER, MA — Andover will hold its annual Town Meeting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 17, and Wednesday, May 18, at the Richard J. Collins Field House at Andover High School at 80 Shawsheen Road.

There are 35 articles to vote on at the meeting, with requests such as: borrowing $9,500,000 to fund improvements for Doherty Middle School and Andover High School and a vote on raising by taxation, borrowing, or transferring available funds to the sum of $6,560,000 for infrastructure improvements.

Members can find more information on the essential articles below, and you can find all the articles for the town meeting here.

Article 18: Doherty Middle School upgrades and Andover High School design

If approved, the town will borrow $9.5 million. The bulk of the money, $8 million, will be used to pay for the design, renovation, and construction of Doherty Middle School, including plans for improvements and an elevator. The other $1.5 million will be used to address overcrowding at the high school, either by renovation or new construction.

Article 23: Capital projects from the water and sewer enterprise fund

Through either taxation or borrowing of funds, the town hopes to collect $6,560,000 for various water and sewage projects, such as continuing accelerated water main replacement and replacing the Dale Street Pumping Station.

Article 31 and 32: Shawsheen River improvements

The town is looking to use $228,794.24 to pay for the design, engineering, and construction of the Shawsheen River Interceptor Improvements. The project will fix deficiencies in the vital pipe, which flows along the Shawsheen River and picks up most of Andover's sewage flow. In addition, the project will use $2,200,000 of unused funds from the Shawsheen River Outfall Sewer construction and reconstruction project authorized in the 2008 Andover Town Meeting.

Article 34: Land acquisition

This article requests the town vote on using $413,000 in funds to purchase 1.78 acres at 138A Chandler Road in Andover. The land will increase the total acreage of the Chandler Road Recreational Area and accommodate greater design flexibilities for the park.