ANDOVER — Sixty voters seated in folding chairs separated by six-foot distances took part in a five-hour-plus town meeting Saturday, honoring a long-time resident and handling 58 warrant articles of town business.

Before the meeting officially began, Scott Farrington presented his father, Freeman Farrington, the 2019 Andover Maine Spirit of America Foundation Tribute. The elder Farrington was born in East Andover and was given the award for his “commendable community service” as a member of the American Legion for 50-plus years and as a Knights of Pythias member for 65-plus years.

Freeman Farrington “is said to emulate the model of friendship, charity and benevolence,” his son said, and he volunteers with the Ellis River Riders and distributes food from the local food pantry to his neighbors.

Among 58 articles voted on during the town meeting, residents took the following actions:

* Voters turned down a COMSAT Trust Fund ordinance by a vote of 27-23 after they decided to redo the vote because the initial tally differed by one vote and Town Clerk Melinda Averill was the only person who counted the handheld votes.

The fund, first approved in 1984, has a balance of $760,171 as of June. The proposed change would have removed the requirement that any fund withdrawal receive an affirmative two-thirds vote.

Resident Dick Merrill said that without the fund’s two-thirds approval requirement, the money “would have been spent in the first five years,” and he felt that “a little more thought (should be) put into this.”

Selectman Brian Mills disagreed, saying, “I think it’s time for a change. There is money that’s sitting there that we are unable to utilize for capital improvements in the town of Andover. We have been very transparent with this and put a tremendous amount of thought into this.”

Mills continued, “What we are asking for (is) to be able to access this account and pay ourselves back for money for projects in the town that are overdue or that need to be done.”

* Voters rejected a request to raise or appropriate money for a new or used tanker truck to replace the town’s Engine 2 tanker truck. In the article, Fire Chief Jim Adler suggested a new truck be purchased for $250,000 or a used truck for $100,000.

“Engine 2 that we use for a tanker now is 45 years old. The pump on it I did not opt to fix because I wanted to give us a chance to see if we wanted to replace it or not, before I dump more money into a 45-year-old truck,” Adler said.

“I am looking for a stripped-down, stock, off the yard tanker truck. I am not going for a custom-built. . . .  If you opt for the used $100,000 truck you never know what you get,” Adler said.

Resident Kevin Scott disagreed with the request, saying, “I think it’s time we oppose this article; it’s not the right time to be buying this truck. We’ve already put $5,000 in the capital equipment fund. . . . We should wait and see how our finances shape up before we make this investment.”

* An article to raise or appropriate $35,500 for the operation of the Andover Public Library passed by a vote of 27-23. Residents first discussed an amendment to retain the 2020 operating amount of $32,500, before voting to make the increase for 2021.

“If you vote this in (last year’s library operating amount), you’re taking away from your community,” said Library Director Janet Farrington. “Right now, the library is more vital than it ever has been. We have people that have nowhere to go. They can come, they can read, they can get books, or use our internet. The library is vital to this town and I wish more people understood that.”

mhutchinson@sunmediagroup.net

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