by Mary Grow At their Jan. 19 meeting, China selectmen began review of the proposed 2021-22 town budget and made five committee appointments. Town Manager Becky Hapgood summarized the town’s current financial position and she and selectmen discussed future expenditures. Board members deliberately made no decisions, postponing their recommendations until the end of the review. […]
by Mary Grow Augusta Part 3 The previous articles in this series on historic places talked about some early Augusta sites and buildings. Two more, besides the Cushnoc Archaeological site and Fort Western discussed last week, are on both the National Register of Historic Places and the list of National Historic Landmarks. They are the […]
by Mary Grow China’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Committee members decided on Jan. 14 they are satisfied with their proposed amended wording to China’s TIF document. They began deciding what amounts of money to recommend voters appropriate for each of the various TIF projects. The Second Amendment (to the original 2015 TIF plan; the first […]
by Mary Grow At their Jan. 12 meeting, China Planning Board members worked on a proposed solar ordinance that will establish rules for evaluating future applications for solar developments. The board has approved three solar projects so far, on Route 32 North (Vassalboro Road), off Route 32 South (Windsor Road) and on Route 3 (Belfast […]
by Mary Grow Town Manager Becky Hapgood presented selectmen with the first budget she has prepared since assuming her new position in July 2020, at a special joint meeting with the Budget Committee on Jan. 11. The manager compiled figures presented by town department heads and the usual other groups, like town committees, insurance companies […]
by Mary Grow Augusta Part 2 As mentioned in the first article on historic places in Augusta (see The Town Line, Jan. 7), four are on the National Park Service’s Register of National Historic Landmarks (as is Fort Halifax, in Winslow). The Augusta sites, listed in historical order, are the Cushnoc Archaeological Site, Fort Western, […]
by Mary Grow At a well-attended virtual meeting Jan. 7, Vassalboro selectmen did a preliminary review of a thoroughly revised town marijuana ordinance; followed up with the second of two major road projects; and discussed issues raised by Conservation Committee members. They are asking for more comments on the draft Marijuana Ordinance, to be submitted […]
by Mary Grow Vassalboro Planning Board members heard an introduction to another proposed solar development, by entities who have not previously worked in the town, at the Jan. 5 planning board meeting. New England Solar Garden of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, was represented by Michael Redding. Sebago Technics, of South Portland, was represented by Owens McCullough. […]
by Mary Grow Augusta Part 1 The City of Augusta has 44 listings on the National Register of Historic Places, but some overlap. Nonetheless, the capital city has a substantial share of the 136 historic places in Kennebec County. Some of the buildings are private houses built for, owned by or otherwise connected with prominent […]
by Mary Grow China selectmen spent the most time during their Jan. 4 virtual meeting on two issues, one of which was on the agenda. That issue was the request from the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Committee to hire a Portland attorney to assist with preparation of China’s proposed revised TIF document (see related story, […]