Controversy over China Police Department heats up

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The following is a reprint of a letter sent to the Morning Sentinel writer Greg Levinsky, from China Police Chief Craig Johnson, provided to The Town Line by Chief Johnson.

Dear Greg:

China town manager’s April 30 letter on China policing.

I find the matter discouraging and dispiriting. However, I do not want this issue to seem like or turn into a political matter. The China Police Department is currently allotted up to 26 hours of coverage a week. The China Police Department is a part-time agency. We have a total of five officers, each of which are certified by the Maine Criminal Justice Academy as full-time law enforcement officers and each one is a law enforcement veteran. Two of our officers are Advisors to the Chief (Chief Michael Tracy and Sgt. Jerry Haynes of the Oakland Police Department). Our law enforcement training is continuous and up to date. The understanding between the department and the town is that we will cover as many hours as possible each week up to 26 hours.

In January of 2021 I received an email from the town manager and learned that she was asked to look into the cost of 40 hours a week coverage from the sheriff’s department. I also learned the town already had an initial meeting with Sheriff Mason. Although, I was told that no final decision had been made, however, there were three options:

  1. Keep China Police Department as it is;
  2. Add a 40-hour chief and keep part-time hours;
  3. Disband and hire KSO for 40 hours a week.

After receiving this email I became concerned about hiring anymore officers to provide more coverage up to the allotted 26 hours. I didn’t and don’t feel it would be appropriate to hire more officers with the departments existence being in jeopardy. It wouldn’t be fair to the officers or the taxpayers, should we have to disband.

Chief Johnson’s response was:

I believe the Town of China, its residents and its police officers have quite a vested interest in the China Police Department. I have personally devoted a great deal of time and effort into updating equipment, updating the Standard Operating Procedures, establishing China P.D.’s own IMC reporting system and doing police work for China, all while representing the town. Also, I speak with people / residents all of the time whom are glad to see that China has its own police department. Additionally the C.P.D. 2021 / 2022 budget proposal provides up to 66 hours a week coverage.

This past week I received a letter dated April 30, 2021, from the town manager, which is attached.

Town manager explains proposed police budget for 2021-22

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China town manager Rebecca Hapgood. (photo by Eric W. Austin)

by Rebecca J. Hapgood
Town Manager
Town of China, Maine

The Select Board in conjunction with the town manager spent many meetings over three months reviewing the options for police services for China. All meetings were open to the public. The prior town manager proposed in the prior fiscal year to grow the part-time police force to a full-time department with one 40-hour a week officer and several part-time officers filling the 26 hour a week part-time role.

“We are not defunding the police. There is no ill will and no dislike or distrust of our police. Our officers are an asset to our community when they are available.”
– Rebecca Hapgood, China Town Manager

Both the Select Board and the current town manager reviewed this option as presented in January of 2021 by China Police Chief Johnson. We also asked Chief Johnson for a budget for only a 40-hour a week position. Additionally, we spoke with the Kennebec Sheriff’s Office (KSO) to explore costs on contracting for one full-time 40-hour a week deputy who would work the hours and days we wanted above what is already provided in our county taxes.

The original presentation to the Select Board included this option, because it was less than the cost presented by Chief Johnson. After additional information was presented by KSO like the costs the town would assume to “buy out” an officer from another department to fill this role, I opted to change course. I researched the option of providing police services by KSO at an hourly cost.

Currently, our police budget provides 26 hours of coverage from our three part-time officers. Each of these officers have other full-time employment and only work for China after their regular jobs. Often, there are matters for which we would like coverage during the day. From July 2020 to April 2021, the three officers have worked a combined average of 22.81 hours each month not including the last two weeks which totaled 3.13 hours of service out of the 52 budgeted hours of service.

We are not defunding the police. There is no ill will and no dislike or distrust of our police. Our officers are an asset to our community when they are available. Our goal is to provide the community with the coverage it demands.

The Select Board thoughtfully and meticulously considered the options while keeping your tax dollars in mind. If the budget is passed on June 8 as proposed, we would defer the China Police for a year which would allow us to restart the program in the future, if the proposed option does not meet our needs. The proposed police option for $34,000 provides up to 10 hours of coverage from KSO officers. Prior police budgets amounts were $39,795 for the 2019-2020 fiscal year and $40,561 in the current fiscal year. If you have any further questions, please ask. Our website www.china.govoffice.com has the sample ballot and other information under the Elections tab.

China selectmen unanimously support CBC program

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by Mary Grow

At their May 10 meeting, China selectmen followed up on their April 29 meeting with China Broadband Committee (CBC) members (see The Town Line, May 6) by voting unanimously to support the CBC program, without yet committing any town money.

The vote encourages CBC members to continue working with their consultants from Mission Broadband, Johan Dougherty and Mark Van Loan, and the president of the potential town broadband supplier, Mark Ouellette of Machias-based Axiom Technologies. They have two main projects: refining estimates of costs to expand and improve broadband services, and explaining the proposed service to residents and enlisting them as customers.

The next official step is the June 8 annual town business meeting. Art. 16 on the warrant asks voters if they want to approve revisions to China’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Program. The revisions include adding broadband service as eligible for TIF money and authorizing funds.

If voters approve, CBC members intend to ask selectmen’s approval to use part of the appropriation for the 2021-22 fiscal year that starts July 1 to pay Mission Broadband to continue assistance.

The next request CBC members will have for selectmen, in the summer, is to put on the Nov. 8 local ballot a bond issue to finance construction of the bigger fiber optic network that will make improved and expanded service possible.

Selectmen repeatedly said they are not committing to the bond issue at this stage, because cost projections are incomplete. They are waiting until Mission Broadband representatives and Ouellette develop more definite figures, and until they see how many China residents sign up to share the costs of bond repayment and ongoing services.

Three CBC members attended the May 10 selectmen’s meeting remotely. They answered questions and said they are satisfied with the selectmen’s vote.

The CBC meets virtually at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 13. The meeting is listed on the town website with other meetings to be live-streamed.

In other business May 10, Town Manager Becky Hapgood reported on upcoming events and deadlines, including:

– Regular selectmen’s meetings are scheduled for 6:30 p.m. May 24, June 7 and June 21 and a special end-of-fiscal-year meeting Wednesday, June 30. The time for the June 30 meeting is to be determined. The town office will close at noon June 30 to let staff finish end-of-year bookkeeping.

– Regional School Unit (RSU) #18’s annual budget meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday, May 20, at Messalonskee Performing Arts Center, in Oakland. This meeting is when voters from the five member towns (Belgrade, China, Oakland, Rome and Sidney) vote on the 2021-22 school budget.

– China’s annual town business meeting will be by written ballot Tuesday, June 8, with polls open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the former portable classroom behind the town office. The annual school budget validation vote will be held at the same time. China’s local elections are held in November, not in June.

– Absentee ballots for the China meeting are available from the town office until June 3. Absentee ballots for the school budget validation vote will be available May 21, after voters approve the budget. The secure dropbox for returning ballots is in place in the town office dooryard.

– The town office will be closed Saturday, May 29, and Monday, May 31, for the Memorial Day holiday. It will also be closed all day Tuesday, June 8, so staff can help with voting.

Pre-election information is on the town website, www.china.govoffice.com.

Selectmen appointed ballot clerks for the June 8 election. They appointed Thaddeus Barber as a member of the Recreation Committee.

Ronald Breton, chairman of the selectboard, reported that he and Hapgood have started conversations with Palermo selectmen over the contract under which Palermo residents use China’s transfer station. The 33-year contract was signed in 2016 (Breton’s first year as a China selectman, he said).

Hapgood reported for other town department heads, including:

– Public Works Manager Shawn Reed, who has been “continually battling the beavers” in the vicinity of Evans Pond on Hanson Road; and
– Police Chief Craig Johnson, who said he and his staff had put in 15 hours in China during the month of April.

Breton commented that the budget for police services allows up to 26 hours a month, when the part-time officers have time.

Selectmen unanimously approved a resolution condemning discrimination against Asians and Pacific Islanders. Hapgood said the item was on the agenda at the request of the Waterville City Council, whose members passed it last month and are encouraging area towns to follow suit.

VASSALBORO: Two solar farm requests to fill June planners’ agenda

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by Mary Grow

Vassalboro Planning Board members ended up with a single application to review at their May 4 meeting. The previous week, Board Chairman Virginia Brackett reported that Sebago Technics had postponed continued review of their application for a solar farm off Cemetery Street.

Brackett said she did not know why Sebago representatives were not ready to appear May 4. Their application is tentatively scheduled for the June planning board meeting.

New (and returning) Codes Officer Richard Dolby expects Sunvest Solar might also be ready for a June 1 presentation on their project on Webber Pond Road. Board members agreed two solar farm applications would fill up the June agenda.

The application reviewed and approved at the May 4 meeting was from Renee Zohar Fischman and Mathew Williams, to reopen the marijuana grow facility in an existing building at 1776 North Belfast Avenue (Route 3).

Action was delayed repeatedly. First, board members had trouble finding copies of the application Fischman and Williams had given previous Codes Officer Paul Mitnik before he retired at the end of April. After Fischman sent the documents, there was another pause as Brackett tried to determine whether anyone was viewing the virtual meeting and wanted to make comments.

“This meeting is going well,” Brackett remarked as board members waited for an answer from the meeting facilitator, David Trask, Vassalboro Community School’s Technology Systems Administrator.

Fischman said she has owned the Route 3 property since September, and she and Williams have been licensed medical marijuana caregivers since January. They intend to abide by state regulations as well as town ordinances.

Board members agreed the application to resume the operation was in order, because it had been closed for less than a year. Once they had necessary documents, they found the project meets all criteria in Vassalboro’s ordinance, and approved it unanimously with three conditions:

  • Fischman and Williams will maintain an adequate odor mitigation system to meet the tenth criterion in the ordinance, which requires the operation not to “adversely affect the use and enjoyment of abutting property as a result of noise, vibrations, fumes, odor, dust, glare, or other cause.”
  • They will send Dolby copies of their state caregiver licenses for town records.
  • The board approval applies only to the marijuana grow facility and does not include the adjoining lot, on which Fischman and Williams plan a modular home and new septic system. For those, they will need appropriate permits from Dolby.

Fischman and Williams plan no changes to the building exterior, access driveways, landscaping or other external factors except addition of motion-activated security cameras and lights on the building. The lights will be down-facing and should not interfere with neighbors or traffic on North Belfast Road or Whitehouse Road, Williams said.

VASSALBORO: No comments during marijuana ordinance hearing

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Probably the shortest in town history

by Mary Grow

A dozen residents attended the Vassalboro selectmen’s April 29 public hearing and board meeting, but not to talk about the proposed “Town of Vassalboro Marijuana Business Ordinance” that was the hearing topic.

Selectboard Chairman John Melrose opened the hearing and asked for audience questions and comments. After less than half a minute with no reactions at all, he closed the hearing, making it probably the shortest on record in the town.

Voters will accept or reject the ordinance by written ballot on June 8. It is posted on the town website, in the central section.

Later, it appeared that some of the residents wanted to talk about whether John Green, who now owns Tom’s Rubbish Removal, should have a key to the transfer station. On two occasions during the winter Green was unable to dump a load of trash.

Selectmen were reluctant to give a private hauler a key to the facility, citing town liability should anything go wrong. Town Manager Mary Sabins said Green and Transfer Station Manager George Hamar have been talking, and she thinks they have resolved the issue.

Another topic of interest to some in the audience was awarding the bid to install a Kohler 250-watt diesel generator at Vassalboro Community School so the school can serve as an emergency shelter.

Sabins reported only one bid was received, from Generators of Maine, in Belgrade, for $121,250, including complete installation work. The price was $6,250 higher than the town had accumulated grant and other monies to cover.

Selectmen voted unanimously to accept the bid, planning to take the extra money from savings in other departments or from the $15,000 contingency fund voters approved at the 2020 annual town meeting.

“This is something we have to have,” said Robert Browne, known as the most conservative money person on the board.

Sabins said the Red Cross has approved the school as an emergency center. In the future, Red Cross and Kennebec County Emergency Management Agency personnel will train local volunteers to run it.

Dan MacKenzie, vice-president of Generators of Maine, wrote on the bid form that the company could start work within 154 days of the award and would try to have the generator installed by Oct. 31. However, he wrote, Covid is delaying deliveries, so he cannot guarantee the date.

Selectmen signed the warrant for Vassalboro’s June 7 and 8 annual town meeting. Board Chairman John Melrose said the Kennebec County budget has increased, mostly because of staff expansion, and Vassalboro’s share has risen by 5.6 percent. Sabins said the amount in the town meeting warrant (Art. 21), $383,911, matches the planned increase.

In response to a query from resident Tom Richards, Melrose said the state Department of Transportation has postponed plans for extensive work on Route 32, which runs from China to Winslow through the villages of East and North Vassalboro. DOT hopes to find money to repave a short section in North Vassalboro, from about the post office to about the Baptist Church.

Melrose, who is a former state Commissioner of Transportation, predicted the planned “maintenance mulch” on several other roads in town “won’t last long.”

Sabins said she had a request from an event promoter who wants to stage a July 2022 music festival featuring Waylon Albright “Shooter” Jennings, son of country music stars Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter, and Coleman “IV” Williams, Hank Williams’ great-grandson. Vassalboro has no ordinance to regulate such gatherings; selectmen decided they and probably the planning board need to discuss creating one.

The next Vassalboro selectmen’s meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 13, in person in the town office meeting room.

China Recreation Committee sets rules for field uses

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Internet photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/brendan-c/5722220187

by Mary Grow

Four of the five China Recreation Committee members met April 21 to talk about recreational field use and related topics.

They reviewed and expanded the requirements for using town-owned recreational fields near China schools and approved Thad Barber’s request for baseball and T-ball games during the month of May. They also agreed to subsidize the cost of field lights for Barber’s program, up to $750, for this one time.

Future requests to help with lighting costs will be considered, for in-town groups only, after committee members get updated information on Central Maine Power Company charges. Because of Covid, the lights haven’t been used in over a year, committee Chairman Martha Wentworth said.

Requirements and criteria for field use include:

• Proof of insurance;
• A fee for use by non-resident organizations that include non-resident participants;
• Priority in scheduling for China users;
• Fields to be left in original condition, with equipment and trash removed;
• No smoking in any form;
• No sitting on fences;
• No vehicles on the fields without town permission, except for emergency vehicles.

Committee members discussed needed work at the fields and agreed on measures to be taken as soon as possible, without interfering with baseball.

The recreation committee’s request for $31,400 for 2021-22 is included in Art. 5 in the June 8 town meeting warrant, with the subject Boards and Committees.

Wentworth plans to investigate scheduling a community movie night in August. Scott McCormac volunteered to talk with Thurston Park Committee members about possible joint projects.

The next China Recreation Committee meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 19.

China road committee discusses paving plans

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by Mary Grow

China Road Committee members, plus Town Manager Becky Hapgood and Selectman Wayne Chadwick, discussed 2021 paving plans at an April 23 meeting.

Committee Chairman and Public Works Manager Shawn Reed led the discussion. He explained that China should do about six miles of repaving every year to keep up with maintenance, although, he pointed out, some roads need more frequent work than others.

Last year, he said, concerns about the impact of coronavirus on the economy meant only about four miles were done. This year’s preliminary plan includes the postponed work plus four miles, to get back on schedule.

Reed proposed continuing work on Deer Hill Road and doing most of the roads in the South China Village area. He added Arnold Road off Windsor Road, which hasn’t been done in 15 years and is “pretty broke-down overall” and Meadow Wood Drive off Arnold Road. Focusing on one section of town at a time, so that equipment needs less moving around, should help control the cost, he said.

Committee members nominated several stretches of Dirigo Road as in bad condition. They concluded about a mile of the road should be repaved, without specifying which mile.

They have scheduled a road tour beginning at 8 a.m. Friday, May 7, to come to final decisions.

At the April 23 meeting, Reed did not know how much paving mix will cost per ton this summer. That figure will impact how much the town can afford to do.

As in past years, he intended to combine bids with Vassalboro; he hoped to have them out by the end of April. Having more miles to offer is likely to generate a lower price, he said.

Reed and Hapgood said the budget voters are asked to approve for paving for 2021-22, which will pay for summer 2021 work, totals $563,250. Of that amount, $45,000 is allocated for crack sealing, striping and patching.

Reed emphasized the value of sealing cracks, as a preservative between repavings, to keep water from freezing under and breaking up road surfaces. Lane Road and Weeks Mills Road are two he nominated for crack sealing this summer.

Weeks Mills Road was returned to town maintenance from the state. Reed said the part the state rebuilt is holding up well, the other mile and a half less well than he had hoped.

He would like a one-inch overlay on the entire two miles, but recommends delay because other roads need attention first.

Another issue committee members discussed was the chip seal resurfacing used last year on South and Deer Hill roads. Reed said it is rougher than asphalt paving, and after plowing there was more slush on the surface than on asphalt. But, he said, it is holding up, and overall he is “kinda pleased.”

Chadwick and committee member Dale Peabody said the chip seal should have been swept more than once, to make it easier for motorcyclists. The need to sweep loose material into ditches makes chip seal less desirable in some areas, Reed said.

Chadwick asked whether the chip seal had been hard on cutting edges on the snowplow. Joshua Crommett, committee member and public works employee, said not enough to make a difference between one plow and another.

All States Asphalt, of Richmond, is the only company offering chip seal, Reed said. He will continue using it on Deer Hill Road if committee members approve.

Committee members did not schedule another meeting after their road tour. They hope they will not need to meet again until fall, when they start considering the 2022-23 budget.

China planners postpone request for solar permit extension

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by Mary Grow

China Planning Board members postponed a request for a permit extension for SunRaise Investments’ planned Route 3 solar project to their May 11 meeting, before continuing their April 27 discussion of the proposed Solar Energy Systems Ordinance that will regulate such applications in the future.

Almost a year ago, at their May 19, 2020, meeting, planners unanimously approved the proposed solar farm on land leased from Daniel Ouellette on the south site of Route 3, west of the Dirigo Road intersection.

SunRaise Vice-President for Construction Kevin Corbett explained that construction work has not started because the company needs to complete arrangements with Central Maine Power Company. He feared the permit would expire before work started.

China’s Land Use Ordinance says permits expire a year from the date of issuance unless a “substantial start” on construction has been made. Once the “substantial start” is made, the permittee has 18 months to finish the project before the permit expires.

Corbett sees construction starting in late 2021 or early 2022. SunRaise still needs to finish plans and acquire equipment, he said.

Planning board members discussed whether work done already, like initiating discussions with CMP, counted as a start. Chairman Randall Downer postponed action in order to provide time for notice to neighboring landowners. The renewal request should be on the May 11 planning board agenda.

Corbett offered suggestions on China’s draft Solar Energy Systems Ordinance, including some identified as inserted by Portland law firm, Verrill Dana. Verrill Dana attorney, Scott Anderson, attended the virtual planning board meeting. Board members were surprised to learn that Verrill Dana had had access to the document they have edited on-line using SharePoint.

A major change would have exempted solar panels from the definition of “structure” in the China ordinance. Anderson and Corbett supported the change because the ordinance now says that in the rural area, “structures of all types shall not cover more than 20 percent of any lot.”

Corbett pointed out, and board members agreed, that solar panels, which allow water to drip onto the ground among them, are not the same as a building roof that concentrates run-off. However, Board member James Wilkens asked, would the change mean solar panels could cover 100 percent of a lot?

“That’s not what I want,” he said.

Downer said that in past reviews, China planners had defined solar panels as structures. Board members voted unanimously to delete the proposed amendment.

They also deleted a second amendment Verrill Dana suggested referencing state law. They intend to incorporate references from other parts of the China Land Use Ordinance.

At Downer’s suggestion, he and board member Toni Wall (appointed in absentia) will smooth out the draft ordinance before the May 11 meeting. Wilkens volunteered to help if Wall declines.

Board members currently plan to hold their May 11 meeting in person, at 6:30 p.m. in the former portable classroom behind the China town office. The meeting room can accommodate 17 people within Covid-19 restrictions, Downer said.

WINDSOR: Employee manual updated to include better explanation of PTO

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by The Town Line staff

At their March 30 meeting, Town Manager Theresa Haskell presented the board of selectmen a better explanation of Paid Time Off (PTO) and how it works. She also asked for the employee manual to be updated. The unanimously approved the update.

Haskell said the town received the final Workers’ Compensation Audit for 2020 and the town received a return premium adjustment of $1,603.

Road Supervisor Keith Hall reported many projects now underway in town. Work continues on the Reed Road, and it was hoped the sand would be put for this year. Concrete repair on the old garage next to the town office was quoted to be $5,700. According to MMA insurance, this work needs to be completed by June 30, 2021.

A resident has requested the removal of a rotten tree within the town’s right of way on the corner of Hunts Meadow Road and Rte. 17. Hall was not sure if it would be the state’s responsibility or the town. He reported there is $1,850 left in the tree removal budget line, but he had planned on using this on the Barton Road.

Transfer station figures show an increase of $1,026.70 from March of last year, and the figures were up $10,267 for the whole year.

Cemetery Sexton Joyce Perry reported a busy spring. Since January, there have been 21 deaths of Windsor residents. She also stated that gravel will be needed at Resthaven Cemetery before the cemetery is open. This had previously been approved.

Selectman Ronald F. Brann reported he heard on the news that all deaths under Covid, families can receive $9,000, up to $20,000, with multiple deaths. They may also be able to go back to the doctor and question the death certificate.

All members of the board of selectmen were present, and all motions presented to the board were unanimously approved.

The next board of selectmen meeting was held on April 27.

CHINA: Broadband costs big unknown at this point

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by Mary Grow

After two more hours April 27 revising their explanatory document for China Community Broadband, China Broadband Committee (CBC) members presented it to the selectboard at a joint virtual meeting April 29.

The ensuing two-hour discussion focused on costs and on what service customers could expect.

Costs are a big unknown at this point, presenters said. The plan includes estimates, but they are only estimates, for two main reasons:

  • Costs for construction materials are likely to change, up or down or both, by the time work starts, and the amount of construction work – for example, the number of new poles needed – is unknown until contracts are signed.
  • The number of users who sign up for the new service, the “take rate,” determines monthly income, which needs to cover repayment of the proposed construction bond plus operating costs. CBC consultants have prepared scenarios based on different take rates without knowing which is closest to accurate.

Consultants Mark Van Loan and John Dougherty, of Mission Broadband, had three tables showing financial results with three different take rates, from 1,005 to 2,270 customers, resulting in three different fees per household, from around $85 per month to around $50 per month. These prices will vary with costs and with whether and by how much seasonal residents are billed differently from year-round residents.

Mark Ouellette, President of Machias-based Axiom Technologies, with whom CBC members are negotiating to provide service, said he usually gets high take rates as his company moves into new towns, including towns like China with existing providers.

In China, CBC members estimate that Spectrum Community Solutions serves about two-thirds of households; Consolidated Communications serves about 20 percent; and about five percent have no internet connection.

Another factor influencing costs to customers, CBC member Tod Detre said, is that the committee’s current plan is to offer only one level of service, which he calls gig over gig. The phrase means one gigabit per second can be uploaded to the net and one gigabit per second can be downloaded.

Selectman Wayne Chadwick doubted most people need that fast service. Detre agreed, and said the committee plan could be amended to offer as options lower service levels at lower monthly fees, if China residents prefer.

Assuming selectmen authorize CBC members to continue, a next step is to start a comprehensive community outreach program to determine how many households want what level of service.

Prompt sign-ups would provide useful information, but committee members and consultants realize that some residents will wait to see whether selectmen present the construction bond at the November 2 elections and voters approve it.

Service would be established if a minimum number of users sign up. Another issue concerning selectmen was whether people who sign up later would be charged a fee. Again, the answer is to be determined; one possibility would be to schedule future open enrollment windows during which fees could be lowered or eliminated because multiple houses would be connected while trucks and workers were in town.

Town Manager Becky Hapgood suggested selectmen discuss whether to continue to support the CBC’s work at their May 10 meeting. If they do support the committee, next steps include:

  • The community outreach program, envisioned as including email, social media, meetings, printed materials and probably other methods;
  • At the June 8 town business meeting, voter action on the Second Amendment to China’s Tax Increment Financing document, which adds broadband service to approvable TIF projects and provides funding to continue working with Mission Broadband;
  • Selectmen’s request for authorization to issue a bond and a Nov. 2 voter decision on the bond.

The amount of the bond is undetermined because construction costs are undetermined. Committee members suggest an “up to” figure – currently estimated at $6.5 million – so selectmen are not obligated to borrow more than is needed.

When Chadwick asked Ouellette why Axiom didn’t borrow the money, Ouellette replied that towns get a much lower interest rate than private companies.

The CBC plan would have Axiom build the fiber optic infrastructure, using a contractor, provide service, take care of billing and maintain the system. The town would own the system and could change providers should Axiom prove unsatisfactory.

A contract between Axiom and town officials, to be signed if the bond issue is approved and nothing has impaired the company’s relationship with the town, would spell out details selectmen asked about, like the contract length, construction schedule, how often Axiom would pay China its share of revenue and whether the local on-call repair person would work for Axiom or for China.

The CBC’s goal is to provide a town-owned broadband system offering all residents high-quality service that is easy to update as technology changes, at a price that will cover costs and, after the bond is paid off, generate extra revenue.

The document CBC members presented to selectmen April 29, titled “Community Broadband Project – Declaration of Intent” is posted under the Broadband Committee in the list of officials, boards and committee on the China website, www.china.govoffice.com.