John Carter discusses the importance of the School Board.
Lovell Selectmen and Moderator Jon Bliss
Sixty citizens attended Lovell's Annual Town Meeting and in traditional New England manner, voted on a total of 83 articles. A written ballot was required only two times. Jonathan Bliss was nominated and elected to serve as the moderator for the meeting. Mr. Bliss started the proceedings commending Larry Fox and the Lovell Public Works Department for their excellent work in maintaining the town's roads during this lengthy winter. Here is a summary of the meeting:
* The Annual Report was dedicated to Friends Helping Friends, a town committee formed in 2012 that assists needy Lovell residents with fuel, electricity, food or clothing. Funds are raised annually from private donations, a chili challenge and a raffle held by Lovell's Delta Masonic Lodge #153. * Robert Drew was reelected to a three-year term as a Selectman. * Ron McAllister was elected Code Enforcement Officer. * Karen Bacchiocchi, Ron Masse and Richard Legere were elected to the Planning Board. * Kathleen Vachowski and Mary Heroux were elected to the Budget Committee for seven-year terms. * Jack Jones and Jane Williams were elected to the MSAD 72 Board of Directors. * $10,521 was appropriated for the Stoneham Rescue Service while Fryeburg Rescue Service received $10,488 as well as $4,000 towards Fryeburg Rescue's Investment Fund. * All of the local organizations, such as the Lovell Historical Society, Charlotte Hobbs Memorial Library and the Lewis Dana Hill Memorial Library received their requested dollar amounts. * Most requests from a variety of non-profit groups providing services to Lovell residents, such as Community Concepts, Seniors Plus and the Sweden Pantry were approved. * A 1.7% Cost of Living Raise was approved for all town officers' salaries.
Perhaps the day's lengthiness discussion centered around the omission of the word 'the' in Article 66 and whether it needed to be corrected for the record. Other than that, the meeting was run efficiently and concluded in a timely two hours! Plenty of time remained for everyone to enjoy the pleasant late-winter day. Here is a copy of the full Annual Report.