by Mary Grow District #15 State Senator Matthew Pouliot visited the Vassalboro select board’s Feb. 16 meeting to speak briefly about legislative issues and to ask what’s important to Vassalboro officials and residents. He began with the state-wide need for affordable housing and the problem of balancing responses to state issues with local control. The […]
by Mary Grow At their Feb. 7 meeting, Vassalboro Planning Board members approved reuse of the East Vassalboro Country Store; continued discussion of the proposed solar ordinance; postponed two applications on their agenda because applicants were not present; and rejected an unusual request to pre-approve a new business. Tim and Heather Dutton applied in January […]
by Mary Grow Vassalboro school board members discussed various topics at their Feb. 14 meeting, excluding the 2023-24 budget. The budget will be the topic of a Tuesday, March 7, workshop, set to begin at 5:30 p.m. instead of the usual 6 p.m. at Vassalboro Community School (VCS). Principal Ira Michaud reported on both ends […]
by Mary Grow After the China select board held a Feb. 13 public hearing on proposed amendments to the Board of Appeals Ordinance (Chapter 9 of China’s Land Use Ordinance) and invited members of the planning and appeals boards to participate, planning board members devoted their Feb. 14 meeting to a workshop on the ordinance. […]
by Mary Grow Ballard Last week readers met James Howard, one of the first settlers at Cushnoc (which became Hallowell, which divided into Hallowell and Augusta) and some of his family members; and your writer promised information on other pre-Augusta settlers, Ephraim Ballard, Daniel Cony and Henry Sewall. Thanks to her habit of keeping a […]
by Mary Grow Note: this report does not cover the Feb. 13 select board public hearing on the draft Board of Appeals ordinance (Chapter 9 of China’s Land Use Ordinance), to which select board members invited members of the board of appeals and the planning board. The same topic is the main agenda item for […]
by Mary Grow Five members of China’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Committee met Feb. 8 and reviewed most of the requests for TIF funds for the 2023-24 fiscal year that begins July 1. China’s TIF money comes from taxes Central Maine Power Company pays on its north-south transmission line through the town. By state law, […]
by Mary Grow Four of the six members of China’s Board of Appeals met Feb. 8 to hear a variance request from Charles and Julie Wing for their property on Fire Road 12, off Neck Road. Stephen Greene, Lisa Kane and Alan Pelletier promptly re-elected Spencer Aitel board chairman. Aitel explained the variance procedure, which […]
by Mary Grow Vassalboro select board members held their annual preliminary budget review the afternoon of Feb. 7, proposing several new expenditures and letting new town manager Aaron Miller show how quickly he is mastering the finances of a town he’s served only since Jan. 2. No decisions were made on 2023-24 budget recommendations. Discussions […]
by Mary Grow At their Feb. 2 meeting, Vassalboro select board members continued discussion of better outside lighting and handicapped accessible front doors at the town office; improvements at the transfer station; and other, mostly on-going, issues. They made a decision on the town office lighting, and expressed approval of Ben Gidney’s suggestion regarding parking […]