Abbot selectman leaves post after 25 years of service

ABBOT – A local man who spent 25 years trying to keep taxes low and improve his community recently retired from the Abbot Board of Selectmen.

Robert Kallgren, 73, who was feted recently at a retirement party thrown by the town, said this week that he has enjoyed his service. Kallgren served on a three-member Board of Selectmen in a town that has no town manager.

“If it was that bad, I wouldn’t have done it for 25 years,” Kallgren said this week.

Although the job was challenging and meetings were held often, he said, he would do it over again for his community. What made it a pleasant and rewarding experience was the capable town officials with whom he worked, he said.

Among the projects he had a hand in over the years included the construction of a new municipal building and the choice of a new location for the post office. He plans to continue serving as town chairman for the renovations of the former elementary school, which will serve as the new post office.

Although he leaves the town in good fiscal shape, Kallgren said, he worries about the property tax impact on longtime property owners. Lakefront properties have soared in value, which affects all properties in the community. Residents whose properties have no view or lakefront are feeling the pinch of the real estate market.

“It will be the town’s biggest challenge [in the future],” he predicted.