by Mary Grow Federal and state emergency management funds will reimburse the Town of China to cover partial clean-up costs after the Dec. 17-21, 2023, storm that left roads and roadsides littered with fallen trees and other debris. China Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood shared an Oct. 28 letter from the Maine Emergency Management Agency saying […]
by Mary Grow Vassalboro planning board members had three projects on their Nov. 12 agenda. They spent as much time discussing how each fitted into town ordinances as on the merits. They ended up disappointing one applicant, Vassalboro’s Public Works Department, represented by Brian Lajoie. Revision Energy did not expect a decision, so representative Annalise […]
by Mary Grow The northernmost of three area towns incorporated on April 26, 1771, was Winslow, on the east bank of the Kennebec River, then including Waterville and Oakland on the west bank. As discussed in earlier articles, Teconnet or Ticonic, later Winslow, was one of the earliest European-settled areas on this part of the […]
by Mary Grow China Town Clerk Angela Nelson reported the following voting results early Wednesday morning, Nov. 6. For the local select board, with five candidates for three seats, voters re-elected one incumbent and added two newcomers. Incumbent Blane Casey was top vote-getter with 1,409 votes. Added to the board were Thomas Rumpf, with 998 […]
by Mary Grow Vassalboro voters approved two of three local referendum questions at the polls on Nov. 5, according to Town Clerk Cathy Coyne. All three decisions were by narrow margins. Question 1 asked voters’ approval to spend up to $360,000 from existing funds as matching money for a grant to cover the cost of […]
by Mary Grow Vassalboro select board members held a workshop meeting on Oct. 30, hoping to revive the annual tradition after several years’ break. The purpose is to begin prioritizing issues they plan to address in the next few years. The Oct. 30 meeting (changed from the usual Thursday evening to avoid Halloween) lasted about […]
by Mary Grow Another Kennebec Valley town incorporated April 26, 1771, simultaneously with Hallowell (then including Augusta), was Vassalboro, then including Sidney. Vassalboro’s and Sidney’s early educational systems will therefore be examined next. According to Alma Pierce Robbins’ 1971 history of Vassalboro, voters did not discuss education at their first town meeting, held May 22, […]
by Mary Grow China Municipal Building Committee member Edwin Bailey discussed his concerns about recent changes in the plan for a records storage vault at the town office building at an Oct. 24 committee meeting. He, Scott Pierz and chairman Sheldon Goodine did most of the talking, with occasional comments from Terry DeMerchant and Angela […]
by Mary Grow China planning board members continued review of the town’s subdivision ordinance at their Oct. 22 meeting, focused on clarifying a change Codes Officer Nicholas French is recommending: allowing cluster developments, also known as open space subdivisions. The current ordinance has one sentence about cluster developments. Section 11.7 says, “Cluster developments are prohibited.” […]
by Mary Grow Only two members of China’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Committee, chairman Brent Chesley and member Jamie Pitney, attended the Oct. 28 meeting. Though no decisions could be made without a quorum, Chesley and Pitney heard reports from TIF fund recipients. Martha Wentworth, chairman of the China Recreation Committee, was the only one […]