by Mary Grow Fairfield, the southernmost town in Somerset County, differs from Augusta, Vassalboro/Sidney, and Winslow/Waterville in being surveyed and settled only on the west bank of the Kennebec. However, the Charles Hayden survey map copied pursuant to a Feb. 4, 1813, vote of the Kennebec Proprietors and published in the Fairfield Historical Society’s Fairfield, […]
by Mary Grow China selectmen made three major decisions at their April 13 virtual meeting. All were by unanimous vote of the four board members participating; Irene Belanger was absent. The action voters need to know about first is that the annual town business meeting, initially scheduled for early April, is postponed for the second […]
by Mary Grow Two Vassalboro Budget Committee meetings April 7 and 9 plus an April 7 school board meeting led to three conclusions. The first was that nobody had final figures for a 2020-21 school budget, and if the town meeting were to be postponed from June 1, both committees might have their April deadlines […]
by Mary Grow As previously described, what is now the Town of Sidney, on the west bank of the Kennebec River north of Augusta, began as the western half of Vassalborough, now a separate town on the east bank of the river. (See The Town Line, March 26) The Kennebec Proprietors hired Nathan Winslow to […]
by Mary Grow In a normal year, Vassalboro selectmen and Budget Committee members get increasingly reliable figures as they move through the municipal budget process, from initial requests in January to definite figures in April for town meeting voters’ action in June. In 2020 uncertainties are increasing as fast as they’re decreasing, on both the […]
by Mary Grow Demonstrating their increasing comfort with virtual meetings, Vassalboro selectmen resolved several issues and consulted with their consultant the evening of April 2. The three board members made decisions on work on two big culverts, on Cross Hill and Gray roads; on adding solar power to Vassalboro’s energy mix; and on use of […]
by Mary Grow Winslow is the next town north of Vassalboro along the east shore of the Kennebec River. According to Henry Kingsbury’s History of Kennebec County, its location was determined by the junction of the Kennebec with the smaller Sebasticook River, as a river junction was a convenient meeting place for groups from different […]
by Mary Grow China selectmen held their first virtual meeting March 30, with three members joining Town Manager Dennis Heath at the town office and two calling in. The main purpose of the meeting was to pay the usual two weeks’ worth of bills. At Board Chairman Ronald Breton’s request, Heath provided updates on coronavirus […]
by Mary Grow At China’s March 26 Broadband Committee’s virtual meeting, Town Manager Dennis Heath and committee members explained how virtual meetings are temporarily considered public and therefore legal. The difference is Governor Janet Mills’ declaration of an emergency, committee member Jamie Pitney said. Normally, only a few state agencies were allowed to hold some […]
by Mary Grow In addition to review of plans for operating during shutdown (see The Town Line, March 26), Vassalboro School Board members at their March 24 meeting briefly discussed the first draft of the 2020-21 school budget. They and Superintendent Alan Pfeiffer intended to meet again March 31 to review a revised budget and […]