CHINA NEWS: Selectmen begin review of budget

by Mary Grow

China selectmen began review of the 2017-18 municipal budget request at their Jan. 23 meeting, but ran out of time to finish it. They plan to continue discussion at a workshop at the town office Saturday morning, Jan. 28, immediately after the special town meeting.
Voters at the Jan. 28 special town meeting will consider a moratorium on retail recreational marijuana businesses in town. The meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m. at China Primary School, behind the Middle School on Lakeview Drive. A quorum of 126 voters is needed to open the meeting.
The municipal budget will be presented to voters at the annual town business meeting, scheduled for Saturday morning, March 25, at China Middle School.

Jan. 23 budget issues featured a discussion with China Rescue Unit members about whether stipends would help the group get more members.

Selectmen also appointed a planning board member and approved a Dirigo Road junkyard permit.

Neil Farrington, chairman of the board of selectmen, invited China Rescue representatives to share their opinions on the value of stipends. David Herard and Thomas Alfieri said payment in some form might help, but would not necessarily solve the problem.

Rescue now has eight members, Herard said. Most of them have full-time jobs out of town. Despite the lack of available members, the unit responded to 305 calls in 2016, covering between 80 and 90 percent of call-outs, he said.

The men cited two main reasons for the shortage of members. Herard said unlike portrayals on television, rescue is “not an easy job” and can be “very unpleasant.” Both said young people are not interested in unpleasant service rewarded only by gratitude. “The kids today don’t have that ethic,” Alfieri said bluntly.

The job can be time-consuming. A local rescue member responding to a medical emergency might end up assisting Delta Ambulance personnel on the way to the hospital, and need to find a ride home; stand-by can take hours at a house fire, days at a search for a snowmobiler missing in China Lake.
Farrington suggested allocating funds to pay $100 per day for a Rescue Unit member to be on call for 24 hours. Selectmen made no decision.
There are two vacancies on the planning board, the alternate position from which Fred Montgomery resigned in December and the at-large position from which Frank Soares resigned this month. Selectmen considered four candidates for the alternate position and appointed Ralph Howe of Dirigo Road.
Howe described himself as a businessman who is “pro-business if it doesn’t affect neighbors.” He advocated loosening regulations on business in rural areas. With reference to the shoreland ordinance changes voters rejected in November, Howe said if a building is to be converted from a seasonal residence to year-round use it must have a septic system that will protect the nearby lake.

Selectmen voted unanimously not to appoint a replacement for Soares, but instead to add a special election to the warrant for the March 25 town business meeting. They asked Town Manager Daniel L’Heureux to advertise again for candidates.

The junkyard permit was granted to Timothy Coston in succession to Russell Coston for property at 281 Dirigo Road. Coston said he needs it primarily to finish cleaning up a section of the property. Selectmen approved a June 30 deadline to complete planned work.