by Mary Grow Vassalboro officials plan to hold an open town meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday, June 22, at Vassalboro Community School (VCS), believing they can do so safely and within state guidelines. Town Manager Mary Sabins said consensus was reached after many email and personal discussions among selectmen, town office staff, VCS technology coordinator […]
by Mary Grow In addition to the mills and factories described in the previous article in this series (see The Town Line, May 7), two other uses for the Kennebec (and other Maine rivers) were transporting wood – long logs and four-foot pulpwood, for building and for pulp mills – and chopping cakes of ice […]
by Mary Grow At their May 11 regular meeting, China selectmen rescheduled and reformatted the annual town business meeting to meet current health requirements and approved reduced 2020-21 expenditure requests in anticipation of revenue shortfalls. The business meeting will be held Tuesday, July 14, and will be by written ballot. Polls will be open in […]
by Mary Grow Vassalboro Planning Board members reviewed two preliminary applications for solar power development in town at their May 5 virtual meeting. They expect one to be ready for a public hearing (if needed) and perhaps final review at their June 2 meeting. Both projects involve solar panels on metal supports inside a high […]
by Mary Grow Vassalboro selectmen put one long-discussed issue to rest at their April 30 meeting, when they unanimously approved a power purchase agreement with ReVision Energy to buy power from an out-of-town solar project, they hope beginning early in 2021. However, they and Town Manager Mary Sabins made no progress on the difficult questions […]
by Mary Grow Another use for the Kennebec, and for its tributary streams, was to provide water and water power for a variety of mills and other industries, beginning in the 1790s and continuing well into the 20th century. Kingsbury, in his History of Kennebec County, says sawmills came first, with lumber used locally and […]
by Mary Grow China selectmen and Budget Committee members will hold a joint virtual meeting beginning at 6 p.m. Thursday, May 7, to discuss changing budget recommendations in the warrant for the annual town business meeting. According to an email from Town Manager Dennis Heath, he expects at least 8 percent less income for 2020-21 […]
by Mary Grow At their first virtual meeting April 28, China Planning Board members heard preliminary information on a second proposed solar development, this one on Route 3 (Belfast Road), and scheduled a site visit and a public hearing. SunRaise Development of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, the company that previously received approval for a solar array […]
by Mary Grow The Vassalboro Planning Board meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 5, virtually, with two preliminary discussions of applications for solar projects on its agenda. Neither project is related to the discussions among selectmen and school board members about buying solar power from an out-of-town project, although ReVision Energy, the company working with […]
by Mary Grow At a special meeting April 28, Vassalboro School Board members voted to join with town officials in a plan to buy solar power from an out-of-town development. Board members had information and advice from attorney Aga Dixon, of Drummond Woodsum, who is acting for the school and town jointly. Selectman John Melrose […]