It has been an honor and privilege to serve as your village
trustee the past ten months. I was elected to fill a one year vacancy. My term
is up and I would like your support to continue. The money that runs the
village of Andover is your hard earned dollars. I believe every cent should be
accounted for. I'd like to share a few highlights of my year in office. Below
are a few examples of the progress that has been made spending your tax dollars
more efficiently. This past summer the superintendent of the village resigned,
and the position was not filled until this past October. With a unanimous vote
of the board and mayor, John Martin was hired as village superintendent. The
hiring of John Martin, in my opinion, was one of the best decisions approved by
the board in years.
John is a veteran of the armed services and has served two
tours in Afghanistan. He was a member of the Seabees and has served our country
for sixteen years. He is also a certified engineer, welder, and has built
roads, bridges, water and sewer systems. If you ask what does this have to do
with the village, then look no further than the village itself. Since coming on
board in October, John and his employees started checking off projects as
completed on a to-do list that had been neglected for years. John has
implemented a repair and service program for village equipment and trucks which
has not been present in recent years. By servicing and repairing in house there
is a significant savings. Now that we have a service program all of our equipment
and trucks are washed at least once a week. A village Ford one ton truck had to
be sold for scrap recently. The truck had been through two motors, one
transmission, and frame and body were rusted out beyond repair due to poor
maintenance. John has replaced five drain boxes by himself. He has been
cleaning out the village shop and barns which have been neglected. In the
process of cleaning he has found over $1,000.00 in truck parts for a truck we
no longer have. He has returned the parts, and the village now has a credit of
over $1,000.00 for future purchases. Also he has discovered several thousand
dollars worth of electrical equipment that was purchased and is too big for our
system. Our superintendent is in the process of determining what it is worth and
hopefully we (the board) can put it out for sale to recoup some of the money
spent. The water pumps have been adjusted, and we are no longer discharging
treated water; A significant savings in chemical purchases. We currently have
up for bid a Kodiak dump truck viewed as excess equipment. Sale of this will
help pay for the Dodge pickup with plow and sander that had to replace the
scrapped one ton. In recent months we have shared services with the Town of
Andover and the Village of Wellsville (which has been a tremendous help). John
does not receive the generous benefit of full medical insurance (approximate
cost of $19,000 a year) that is offered to our employees; A huge savings to the
budget. His work ethic and knowledge have created a work environment where
other village employees are able to be more efficient and well rounded. I
encourage people to attend board meetings. We have a new beautiful village
office at no cost to taxpayers. This village office was donated by the Joyce
Family. Our old office was in need of numerous repairs. With this donation we
were able to sell the old village office which is now on the tax rolls. A local
business is now able to expand. I would like to say despite all the untruths on
social media that John and his one man crew are on the right track to restoring
the village. If there is a problem, please call so an attempt can be made to
fix it. We have had other donations this year that have saved tax dollars. Otis Eastern purchased two laptops for the
DPW. They also provided a truck for our
use due to the one ton needing to be replaced.
Otis serviced the village backhoe for a savings of $1,200.00. John used
the Otis facilities to repair and put back on a steel hydraulic hose that was
leaking on the Peterbilt dump truck. The quote for that repair was $2,200.00.
This is not all inclusive of everything that our superintendent has
accomplished in the short time he has been here. It has been my honor and pleasure to work
with John. He is one of the most knowledgeable hardworking men I have ever
known. I hope people will come out and vote Tuesday March 20th. There are two
trustee positions up this year. One is mine, and the other a fellow board
member. Robert "Bob" Joyce is running against the Democratic incumbent.
Bob would be a great asset to the village board. My questions and suggestions
are not always well received, have ruffled a few feathers but I am proud of the
progress made. With your vote I can continue to serve and work for you the next
four years. On a personal note I would like to thank John Martin, and all of
our past, present and future service men and woman for their service and
protecting our families and freedoms.
Merle "Mike" Dibble
Editor's note: Mr. Dibble is one of three candidates seeking to fill two available seats. Top two vote-getters win.
