At Wednesday’s selectmen’s meeting a number of old business items were taken up including fixes to the website, safety upgrades to the doors and the fire/rescue contract with Conway Village Fire Department.
Kathy Vizard, town administrator, reported having sent out notices of the upcoming joint board meeting to all board member for whom she had an email address, but has heard nothing back regarding topics for the agenda. Please contact her if you have any ideas.
Selectman Rick Hiland discussed Our Town Energy Alliance (OTEA), a group of approximately 10,000 members, that negotiates prices with vendors for oil, kerosene and propane. He said belonging to the alliance has saved him quite a bit of money and he wanted to pass this information on to Albany’s residents. He noted that there is still time for people to sign up as prices get locked in by July. For more information, contact Rick.
Selectmen also discussed the town’s cash flow to see if and when they would need to borrow money to pay bills. Generally property taxes replenish funds for the town in the fall. Selectman Hiland shared a spreadsheet he had put together and said that spending is up $273,000 over 2015, thus the cash crunch could come as early as this summer. The board discussed changing the town’s fiscal year to line up with the school district and/or making property tax billing twice a year.
Please note that the selectmen’s office will be closed May 20.
Gibson Center: Master Gardener, Julia King, will speak about ways to attract pollinators to yards and gardens. Join Julia on Tuesday, May 17 at 12:30 p.m. and learn how to make your garden and yard attractive to pollinators. Or, you might like to spend the afternoon at Sip N’Paint. The Centers bus leaves after lunch. The cost is $44 for transportation, canvas, paint, instruction and a smock. Bring your own snack and beverage. Call 356-3231 to sign on. On Thursday, May 19 there will be ballroom dancing after lunch.
Library: Monday at 10:15 a.m. the Morning Book Group meets. On Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. it’s Story Time for Twos, on Wednesday it’s Story Time for Wee Ones followed at 4 p.m. by Advanced Robotics. On Thursday at 10:30 a.m. there’s Story Time for Threes and Fours. At 11 a.m. it’s Yoga for Kids and caregivers.
At the recent Eggs & Issues event held at the White Mountain Hotel there were about 60 attendees who came to hear Governor Maggie Hassan speak about the State of the State. Of those about 13% were from Albany: Charles Greenhalgh, Steve and Sara Knox, Lauren O’Reilly, Scott McKinnon, Stan and Dorothy Solomon. That’s a pretty good showing for our small town. We left encouraged and looking forward to more good news with the understanding that the state needed to continue along this positive path.
Robert Kilkelly is still undergoing radiation treatments for his “agent orange” problems. He is looking well though. On another level, he will be getting his PHD in Sociology this year. Congrats!
Mary and Terry Leavitt went to Keene State College last Saturday for the graduation of Jennifer Plummer. Jennifer is the daughter of Bethany Leavitt Plummer thus Mary’s granddaughter and Terry’s niece. It was at this event where William Marvel was given his Honorary Doctor of Human Letters for his books on the Civil War.
A big welcome home to Carol Munroe who has returned from Florida where she spent the winter. She reported having had a great time.
Nancy and Roger Holmes celebrated their fortieth wedding anniversary in Nashville,Tennessee. They were joined there by Nancy’s parents who were celebrating sixty years of marriage and Nancy’s sister and brother-in-law celebrating their thirtieth anniversary. All enjoyed good shows and the best food the south had to offer. This was certainly a memorable time for all.
Bernadine Dubois’ son, Bobby Brousseu from Canaan, Vt. came to Albany for Mother’s Day weekend. As an added gift Bobby did some outdoor work and then took his mom to Banners for Mother’s Day dinner. It was a pleasant weekend for all.
For all those fishing enthusiasts, New Hampshire Fish and Game is now stocking trout and other fish in local streams. Enjoy!
Let’s cross our fingers and hope that this lovely weather we’ve been enjoying for the past several days means that spring has really arrived. Have a great week!