by Mary Grow When China Planning Board members met virtually Dec. 22 to begin discussion of a new solar ordinance, most of the members had received the template sent in November to Codes Officer Bill Butler only that afternoon. The delay, they surmised, was due to the Nov. 30 change-over in local codes officers, as […]
by Mary Grow The China selectmen’s special meeting Dec. 28 was called primarily to review Town Manager Becky Hapgood’s proposed changes in the town’s personnel policy. The only other issue on the agenda was action on the Broadband Committee’s Request for Proposals for improved and expanded broadband service in town. Selectmen unanimously approved the document […]
by Mary Grow China selectmen’s Dec. 7 split decision to ask voters to approve selling the former subdivision on the east side of Lakeview Drive (see The Town Line, Dec. 10) generated renewed and wide-ranging discussion at their Dec. 21 meeting. The Dec. 21 meeting also saw what was probably a first-ever occurrence: board members […]
by Mary Grow Vassalboro selectmen entertained three requests from residents of the Sherwood Lane subdivision at their Dec. 10 YouTube meeting, moving two forward without any final action. Leo and Andrew Barnett have spent the fall seeking town approval to build two large buildings to lease to medical marijuana growers on land beyond the end […]
by Mary Grow In a four-hour all-remote meeting Dec. 8, four Vassalboro Planning Board members reviewed and unanimously approved two major site review applications. Jeremy Soucy has town approval to open a used car business at 24 Webber Pond Road, on the premises of a previous similar business at the Riverside Drive intersection. Leo and […]
by Mary Grow China’s Tax Increment Finance (TIF) Committee members met virtually Dec. 1 and Dec. 8 to begin discussion of a proposed Amendment 2 to China’s TIF document. Progress was so slow that they scheduled another meeting for Dec. 15. The Dec. 1 meeting was a budget workshop to consider reallocating funds among TIF […]
by Mary Grow Of the 26 chief justices of the Maine Supreme Court, Augusta has provided six – perhaps not surprising for the state capital. Portland is second, with five chief justices including Leigh Saufly, who was appointed Dec. 6, 2001, and retired April 14, 2020. Andrew Mead is currently acting Chief Justice. None of […]
by Mary Grow NOTE: Due to Covid-19 restrictions, attendance at China selectmen’s meetings is limited to board members and the town manager; everyone else participates or views remotely. Unfortunately, the audio at the Dec. 7 meeting was so poor that much of the conversation was inaudible. The following story is therefore incomplete. Board member Irene […]
by Mary Grow Several of the small towns in the central Kennebec Valley have had local newspapers, and one – China – still does as of 2020. This writer has found no record of a newspaper published in Sidney, Winslow, Benton, Palermo or Windsor. Vassalboro’s first local paper was The Clarion, which Dean Marriner calls […]
by Mary Grow After a 20-minute Nov. 24 public hearing during which one person testified remotely, China Planning Board members postponed a decision on Giovanni DelVecchio’s application to set up a trailer-based medical marijuana dispensary on Route 3. DelVecchio, doing business as Weed on Wheels (WOW) Maine, has applied to use a travel trailer parked […]