by Mary Grow CHINA China voters rejected both spending requests on their June 11 local ballot. They re-approved the school budget initially approved at the April 6 town business meeting and voted to continue the school budget validation referendum for another three years. Town Clerk Rebecca Hapgood reported the results, as follows: The request to […]
by Mary Grow Guided by veteran moderator Richard Thompson, 81 registered voters, according to Town Clerk Cathy Coyne, took less than two hours to approve the first 63 articles of their June 3 and June 11 town meeting warrant as presented. The meeting is now in recess until 8 a.m. Tuesday, June 11, when polls […]
by Mary Grow Taxes were the last, but not the least, item discussed at the June 10 China selectmen’s meeting. The bottom line: tax bills sent out late this summer will show increases in valuation and an increase in the rate, neither dramatically large. Tax Assessor William Van Tuinen is still working on local values […]
by Mary Grow China selectmen spent most of their May 28 meeting reviewing bids for outdoor summer work, with mixed results. Their decisions annoyed a resident with a personal interest in the matter. The bid requests were in three categories, each subdivided: materials, equipment to be rented (with an operator) and mowing. Two contractors bid […]
by Mary Grow At their May 21 meeting, Vassalboro School Board members reluctantly voted to raise the bill for a full-price school lunch from $2.75 this year to $2.85 for the 2019-2020 school year. A food service memo requested the increase, explaining that it is required by the federal government, whose officials found almost a […]
by Mary Grow About a dozen China residents attended the selectmen’s May 13 public hearing on two June 11 ballot questions, focusing most of their attention on the first and more expensive one. The first question asks if voters want to authorize selectmen to spend up to $150,000 for the Hall property across Lakeview Drive […]
by Mary Grow The good news about Vassalboro’s 2019-2020 school budget, which totals more than $7.7 million, is that it is more than $26,000 lower than the current year’s budget. It will have no impact on the local tax rate, and no adverse effect on local education. Superintendent Alan Pfeiffer said the major reason for […]
by Mary Grow At their May 16 meeting, Vassalboro selectmen talked again about the speed limit on South Stanley Hill Road and about redesigning the transfer station, coming to no conclusion on either issue. State, not municipal, officials set local speed limits. Town Manager Mary Sabins said she had an email from David Allen of […]
by Mary Grow Vassalboro Planning Board members unanimously approved all three applications on their May 7 agenda, attaching a condition to one. Permits were approved for: Cornerstone Christian Fellowship on Riverside Drive to expand parking space, with work to be done in two phases. Thaddeus Clark to put a mobile home on an existing slab, […]
by Mary Grow China selectmen and fire chiefs went another round in their months-long disagreement at the May 13 selectmen’s meeting, with considerable shouting, many contradictions, some assigning of blame and eventually a partial clarification of positions, but no resolution. Town meeting voters annually approve money for the fire departments for operations and, in recent […]