by Mary Grow

Lower than last year, but property owners should expect larger tax bills

China select board members set the 2024-25 tax rate (in their role as town assessors) and lined up several local referendum questions for Nov. 5 at a busy Aug. 12 meeting.

The tax rate they chose, based on assessor William Van Tuinen’s figures and recommendation, is 11.7 mils, or $11.70 for each $1,000 of valuation. This rate is lower than the 2023-24 rate, which Van Tuinen said was 12.26 mils.

However, local property-owners should expect their 2024-25 tax bills to be larger than last year’s.

Van Tuinen explained that town expenses will be higher in three areas: the Kennebec County tax, the municipal budget voters approved at the June town business meeting and the Regional School Unit #18 school budget.

The assessor did a comprehensive upward revision of property values, land and buildings, this spring. Because the values are higher, a lower tax rate will raise enough more money to cover higher expenses.

Tax bills should go out promptly. By town meeting vote, the first half payment is due at the town office by the close of business Monday, Sept. 30.

Potential Nov. 5 referendum issues include amendments to China’s Land Use Ordinance; an amended Tax Increment Financing (TIF) document; an amended Budget Committee Ordinance; and a map of the development district in South China (to complement the description voters approved in June).

Depending partly on the outcome of an Aug. 26 public discussion, there might also be a question requesting a moratorium on high-voltage power transmission lines through China. Board members received a petition to discuss the moratorium; they invite interested residents to participate at their Aug. 26 meeting, which will be in the town office meeting room at 6 p.m.

Many have requested nomination papers

As of Aug. 12, China Town Clerk Angela Nelson reported the following people had taken out nomination papers for local elective office:

— For the select board, incumbent Brent Chesley, Edwin Bailey, Tod Detre and Thomas Rumpf. Incumbent Janet Preston has announced she is not seeking another term; Blane Casey’s term also ends this year.
— For the budget committee, District 4 incumbent Timothy Basham. The other openings on the budget committee are for the secretary (currently vacant), District 2 (northeastern China; incumbent Taryn Hotham) and the At-Large position (incumbent Elizabeth Curtis).
— For one of China’s two seats on the Regional School District #18 board of directors, no one. Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood said at the Aug. 12 select board meeting incumbent T. James Bachinski does not intend to run for another term.

Signed nomination papers must be returned to the town office by Friday, Sept. 6, for candidates’ names to appear on the Nov. 5 local election ballot.

In other business Aug. 12, select board members and Recreation Committee chairman Martha Wentworth discussed a proposed dog park on the town-owned lot south of the town office, near the red barn.

Wentworth had an estimate of $7,648.52 for 150 linear feet of fencing, with double gates, from Maine Fence of China. The recreation budget can cover the cost, she said.

Board and audience members considered whether the park would be large enough. Wentworth proposed asking local dog-owners for donations and seeking grants for a larger area.

Wentworth said since dogs already use town trails, there would be no extra insurance considerations. Maintenance would include mowing and trash pick-up as needed; dog-owners would be expected to clean up after their pets.

She presented the dog park as a place for residents and their dogs to socialize. Her committee proposes moving the ice rink to the same lot, and she talked of picnic tables and areas for cornhole and similar games.

Select board chairman Wayne Chadwick, a dog owner himself, questioned the need for a dog park in a rural area where most people have room for their dogs to play. He was also concerned about disease transmission among dogs. And he said he was opposed to creating another town park without voter approval.

After 40 minutes’ discussion, board members voted 4-1, with Chadwick opposed, to authorize Wentworth to continue to plan and to seek additional funding, with the understanding they were not making an appropriation for the project.

Other Aug. 12 decisions included:

— Authorizing a little over $14,000 for Provost Monuments, of Benton, to repair headstones in the Branch Mills cemetery;
— Accepting a bid from S. D. Childs & Sons Excavation, of Palermo, for $12,850 for trail work in Thurston Park;
— Accepting bids for PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) remediation at the transfer station and public works garage, from Radon Technologies and EverClean Water, in Fairfield, for $9,530, after discussion of water usage and options. Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood praised the company’s earlier installation of a system in a nearby private home and said the remedial technology should eliminate the staining and odor that have bothered staff at the facilities.
— Appointing resident Dwaine Drummond to fill a vacancy on the planning board until Nov. 5; board member Blane Casey, the town’s alternate representative to the Kennebec Valley Council of Governments (board member Janet Preston is the representative); and codes officer Nicholas French to represent the town at China Region Lakes Alliance board meetings, in response to a request from CRLA.

Hapgood reported on Maine’s blue envelope program, which provides legal-sized blue envelopes for drivers for whom encounters with police might be challenging – those diagnosed with autism, Down Syndrome or anxiety, for example. The China town office has envelopes to distribute.

The next regular China select board meeting will be Monday evening, Aug. 26, with the agenda including the discussion of a power line moratorium.

by Mary Grow

China Planning Board members decided at their July 30 meeting that they have a proposed new town ordinance ready to forward to select board members.

The document is titled “Mass Gathering Ordinance” and is intended to regulate events that bring 500 or more people to a site, in order to protect nearby residents and participants. Board members began discussion at their July 9 meeting (see the July 18 issue of The Town Line, p. 2).

Board chairman Toni Wall said the title is based on state law. Board members are working from an ordinance that Vassalboro voters narrowly rejected three years ago, adapted to fit China.

Much of the July 30 discussion focused on the application process – what information someone planning to hold a large gathering, like an outdoor concert or a road race, needs to provide. Planners agreed requiring an application three months before the event was scheduled to start was reasonable.

They included a required public hearing to collect comments before acting on an application.

The ordinance, if recommended by the select board and approved by voters (perhaps on Nov. 5), would not apply to pre-existing venues where gatherings are normally held.

The ordinance, if recommended by the select board and approved by voters (perhaps on Nov. 5), would not apply to pre-existing venues where gatherings are normally held. Board members agreed it would not affect most ongoing events, from church fairs and fire department fund-raisers to the annual China Community Days celebration.

Vassalboro’s ordinance was drafted in response to a planned country music festival on private property. The festival was never held.

Wall said she would forward the draft ordinance to town attorney Amanda Meader for her review before it goes to the select board.

Planning board members had one other piece of business July 30, a revised plan for Novel Energy Systems’ solar development on Parmenter Hill Road, approved last fall. Codes Enforcement Officer Nicholas French said Novel Energy has had to buy a different type of solar panel, which requires a different configuration.

There is no change in the size of the area panels will cover, or in buffers or other aspects of the project that affect neighboring lots, French said.

Board members unanimously approved the revised plan.

The next regular China planning board meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 13.

by Mary Grow

China select board members heard information at their July 29 meeting that they hope will let them set the 2024-25 local tax rate at their Aug. 12 meeting.

Assessor William Van Tuinen said state officials had approved his revaluation of China property. By increasing land values by 10 percent and building values by 20 percent across the board, he brought China’s valuation close enough to actual prices to count as the 100 percent valuation the state wants.

Mobile homes Van Tuinen said he treated differently. Since they had not been revalued for some time, he increased their valuations more, though he kept in mind the lower value of older mobile homes.

With this work done and approved, Van Tuinen said he probably can give selectmen the information and tax rate options they need before their next meeting.

The valuation adjustments do not mean that tax bills will increase by 10 and 20 percent; higher valuations allow a lower tax rate. However, increased expenditures this fiscal year over last year will raise local taxes.

Nomination papers now available

Nomination papers for China local elective offices became available Monday, July 29. Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood presented a list of those whose terms expire this year:

— On the select board: Brent Chesley, Blane Casey and Janet Preston;
— On the budget committee: secretary (vacant), District 2 (Taryn Hotham), District 4 (Timothy Basham) and at large (Elizabeth Curtis); and
— RSU #18 Director: T. James Bachinski.

Signed nomination papers must be returned to the town office by Friday, Sept. 6, for candidates’ names to be on the Nov. 5 local ballot.

On another topic, a petition presented at the July 29 meeting asked for a public meeting to discuss and vote on a moratorium on high-voltage transmission lines or corridors passing through the town. Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood said the petition was started in October 2023 and recently received the required number of signatures.

The three board members present, Jeanne Marquis, Brent Chesley and chairman Wayne Chadwick, discussed whether to schedule a special town meeting, hoping the required 100 voters would show up, or whether to put a transmission line/corridor moratorium ordinance on a Nov. 5 local ballot. On Chadwick’s recommendation, they postponed action until a full board is present.

Hapgood said the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has approved one of China’s three requests for storm damage reimbursement, authorizing a grant of more than $48,000 to cover costs of cleaning up roadside brush and debris. State officials are reviewing the grant, she said. There has been no action yet on the other grant applications.

She presented a brief report on a violation of China’s solid waste ordinance: a seasonal resident entered the transfer station on a Monday, a day it is closed, to leave trash before returning to his year-round
home.

The man self-reported, Hapgood said, perhaps because an attendant saw and recorded him.

The maximum penalty could have been a $700 fine, Hapgood said. Board members considered that it was a first offense and self-reported and imposed a $100 fine.

Board members unanimously approved a renewal license for Wildwood Pawn, Inc., on Gunshop Road north of China Village.

They approved more end-of-fiscal year business, allocating money unspent before June 30 to 2024-25 accounts or reserve funds. They approved contracts for town functions, as Hapgood recommended.

Hapgood reported that Julia Gagnon, Maine’s American Idol contestant earlier this year, will sing at the barbecue that is scheduled for 5:30 p.m., Friday, Aug. 2, at the ballfields by China Middle School, on Lakeview Drive. Barbecue tickets were almost sold out by July 29.

The Aug. 1 – 3 China Community Days schedule is available on line on the China Community Days Facebook page and on the town website, chinamaine.org.

August China select board meetings are scheduled for Monday evening, Aug. 12, and Monday evening, Aug. 26.