China scouts officiate at morning worship

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Scouts from China Boy Scout Troop #479 are seen during Scout Sunday on February 3. Front row, from left to right, Michael Boostedt, Sam Boynton, Hunter Praul, Bryson Pettengill and Cameron Rossignol. Second row, Ayden Newell, Rémy Pettengill, Ron Emery, Sean Boynton and Aiden Pettengill. Back, Scott Adams, Tucker Leonard and Lee Pettengill. (Photo courtesy of Ron Emery)

On February 3 – Boy Scout Sunday – the Boy Scouts from Troop #479, along with some of their leaders, provided the Morning Worship Service at the China Baptist Church. The Scouts, under the leadership of Scoutmaster Scott Adams, have taken part in Scout Sunday Worship service for the over 26 years.

Very few Boy Scout troops in the Kennebec Valley District are provided this opportunity. The Scouts from Troop #479 were invited to prepare most of the worship service by Rev. Ronald Morrell.

Under Rev. Morrell’s direction and with assistance from Troop Committee member Ron Emery, the worship service gave each of the Scouts a chance to participate in the Sunday Morning Worship, as follows: Call to Worship, Scout Aiden Pettengill; Invocation and the Lord’s Prayer, Scout Rémy Pettengill; Responsive Reading, Scout Hunter Praul; Preparation for Prayer, Scouter Tucker Leonard; Pastoral Prayer, Scouter Lee Pettengill; Children Message “The Pledge of Allegiance” by Scouter Ron Emery; Offering by Scouts Sam Boynton, Ayden Newell, Aiden Pettengill, and Rémy Pettengill; Prayer of Thanksgiving and Dedication, Scout Sam Boynton; A Psalm for Scouts and Scouters by Scout Ayden Newell; Message by Ron Morrell and Benediction by Michael Boostedt.

Music was provided by the senior choir. Greeters were Ayden Newell, Cameron Rossignol and Bryson Pettengill. The twelfth point of the Scout Law, a Scout is Reverent, was exemplified by the Scouts.

A large congregation including boys and leaders in uniforms enjoyed the Sunday service. The China Baptist Church sponsors Boy Scout Troop #479.

Fellowship Hour was hosted by Troop 479 in the vestry.

Selectmen give thumbs down to request for food sovereignty ordinance

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by Mary Grow

Three of the residents who attended the Vassalboro selectmen’s Feb. 7 meeting brought specific requests; others came to catch up with local business.

Selectmen unanimously approved two requests, with qualifications, and refused to act on one.

Holly Weidner, a member of the informal East Vassalboro Village Area Association, asked that the speed limit on South Stanley Hill Road be reduced from 30 to 25 miles an hour, due to the number of houses, some with blind driveways, and the sharp curve before the intersection with Main Street.

Selectmen said the first step would be for the state Department of Transportation (MDOT) to review the road and make a recommendation to local officials. They voted to ask MDOT to review the whole East Vassalboro area, including the east end of Bog Road, with special attention to South Stanley Hill Road.

Weidner and Janet Babb asked to use the town office meeting room for a weekly Drums Alive class for six weeks. Drums Alive, they explained, is a fitness program for people of all ages.

Town Manager Mary Sabins said other groups using the room pay $10 per meeting toward costs of heat, lights and cleaning. Weidner and Babb were agreeable.

Selectmen’s concern was whether drumming and music would interfere with discussions at the counter in the outer office. They approved the request with the condition that office services not be impacted.

Dylan Dillaway, of 47 Daisies Farm on Webber Pond Road, asked selectmen to put on the June town meeting warrant a Food Sovereignty Ordinance. Other Maine towns have implemented such ordinances, authorized by state law in 2017. They allow the municipality, instead of state and/or federal governments, to regulate production, processing and sale of local food products.

Board Chairman Lauchlin Titus expressed concern about food safety. Board member John Melrose asked who among Vassalboro residents would benefit if voters approved an ordinance.

Dillaway said he would not – his operation has all the state certificates it requires.

Selectmen unanimously declined to act on Dillaway’s request. Sabins said Dillaway’s next step to get an ordinance onto the town meeting warrant is to get 211 voters’ signatures on a petition to selectmen.

In other business, selectmen unanimously authorized Sabins to sign an agreement with Central Maine Power Company to convert Vassalboro’s streetlights to LED (Light-emitting Diode) lights. Titus has not yet completed his survey of existing streetlights and areas where new lights might be needed; but signing the agreement will let CMP start ordering the new lights and scheduling the change-over.

Sabins said Vassalboro has a 2007 streetlight policy, posted on the town website (under Ordinances/Policies). It defines procedures for residents to request new lights and sets criteria for a no-longer-existent Safety Committee to evaluate requests and recommend selectmen approve or deny them.

Board members approved the revised draft of a request for bids to transport solid waste for disposal, omitting reference to recyclables.

Weidner asked what recyclables residents are now supposed to separate. Titus told her only cardboard, required by local ordinance, because when the Hampden Fiberight (or Coastal Resources) facility opens, its recycling operation will be more complete and efficient than anything the town could do at a reasonable cost. (See this article from the Jan. 31 issue of The Town Line.)

Before the meeting adjourned, Sabins gave selectmen a first draft of the 2019-2020 budget to review before their Feb. 12 budget workshop. The next regular selectmen’s meeting is scheduled for Thursday evening, Feb. 21.

Selectmen complete work on town meeting warrant

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by Mary Grow

China selectmen completed their work on the warrant for the April 6 town business meeting at a Feb. 5 budget workshop, giving Town Manager Dennis Heath the direction he needed to draft the document.

Heath quickly came up with a 29-article draft warrant. The first two articles ask voters to elect a moderator and to approve or reject the annual authorization to exceed the state limit on taxes if necessary. The final three articles ask voters to approve or reject changes to three sections of China’s Land Use Ordinance.

Articles 3 through 26 deal with the proposed 2019-2020 municipal budget and the usual associated questions, like setting tax due dates.

This year’s warrant omits reports from town committees, which voters have objected to as prolonging the meeting and duplicating information in the printed town report.

To further shorten the meeting, Selectman Irene Belanger said she will make the annual Spirit of America awards for volunteerism at 8:50 a.m., 10 minutes before the meeting starts, instead of during a mid-meeting break.

The draft warrant was forwarded to the budget committee for its review at a meeting scheduled for Feb. 11 (see related story here).

Selectmen made several changes in the draft warrant.

They are asking voters to increase their annual stipends from $1,000 to $1,800, a figure board member Ronald Breton said is still below the $1,900+ average for selectmen in towns China’s approximate size. At Breton’s suggestion, supported by board Chairman Robert MacFarland, they reinstated cost-of-living pay increases for town employees and deleted funds for the merit raises Heath had recommended.

Heath said a potentially costly legal issue might be pending, so selectmen increased the recommended amount for 2019-2020 legal expenses from $10,000 to $20,000.

They added the Crisis and Counseling Center to the list of out-of-town social service agencies requesting town funds. The Center’s request is for $528.

Stipends for volunteer firefighters were again discussed at length and both the allocated amount of money and the proposed procedure adjusted. The public works budget saw minor changes.

The next regular China selectmen’s meeting is scheduled for Tuesday evening, Feb. 19, because the town office will be closed Monday, Feb. 18, for the Presidents’ Day holiday.

Budget committee agrees with selectmen on all but two articles

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by Mary Grow

China Budget Committee members agree with the board of selectmen on all but two of the money-related articles in the warrant for the April 6 town business meeting.

At a Feb. 11 meeting, the six members present voted unanimously to support most proposed expenditures, including the major ones for the town administration, highway department and transfer station.

They declined to endorse the selectmen’s request to voters to increase each selectman’s annual compensation from $1,000 to $1,800, adding $4,000 to the budget. Budget Committee Chairman Robert Batteese supported the request; the other five members recommended rejecting it, on the ground that other departments were being asked to minimize expenditures.

A more significant disagreement is over stipends for volunteer firefighters, introduced to encourage more people to join China’s volunteer departments and more members to respond to fire calls.

At their Feb. 5 budget workshop, selectmen recommended reducing the amount for stipends from $33,000 to $22,700.

Representatives of two of the three departments protested the reduction to the budget committee. They claimed that selectmen directed Town Manager Dennis Heath to revise the figure the afternoon of Feb. 5 and acted on it that evening, without consulting firefighters. They learned of the change only when Heath emailed after the meeting, Weeks Mills Fire Chief William Van Wickler said.

South China Chief Richard Morse resented the lack of a chance to protest to selectmen and said the selectmen’s proposal “does not deal with the need to encourage participation.”

Van Wickler said stipends have increased the number of his department members who respond to calls and who stay to clean up afterward. Calling for fairness, he said he would like funds to reward those who respond most often, including the chiefs who go on almost every call. The selectmen’s proposed amount would allow each chief’s annual stipend for being chief, but would leave no money for per-call recognition.

Selectman Ronald Breton defended the selectboard’s position as part of efforts to control the municipal budget in a year when “the school and the county are gonna kill us.” Neither the Regional School Unit #18 nor the Kennebec County budget is included in the April 6 warrant.

Budget Committee members unanimously voted to raise the amount for stipends to $33,000. Their recommendation for the fire and rescue budget totals $181,499; the selectmen recommend $171,199.

At the end of the evening, the April 6 warrant had 30 articles. Heath intended to add one more, the usual request to authorize selectmen to apply for grants and appropriate matching funds if needed. Budget committee members unanimously supported adding the article.

Becky Hapgood honored for 25 years service to China

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China town clerk Becky Hapgood, left, is congratulated by town manager Dennis Heath on the occasion of her 25 years of service to the town. (Photo by Roland D. Hallee)

by Roland D. Hallee

It was 25 years ago – 1994: when O.J. Simpson led police on a slow speed chase in his white Ford Bronco, Major League baseball canceled the entire season due to a strike, Lisa Marie Presley married Michael Jackson, The Shawshank Redemption was the top film, Bryan Adams and Rod Stewart topped the pop charts, Law and Order was the number one television show, Bill Clinton was president, Robert Kraft bought the New England Patriots – and Becky Hapgood began her working career at the China Town Office.

Becky was honored at a reception at the China Town Office on Friday, February 8, by the office staff and town employees. She looked somewhat surprised, but not completely. “I noticed a lot of whispering going on around the office,” she said. “Especially this morning when they couldn’t wait to leave a meeting we were holding.”

Becky started working at the town office on February 2, 1994. “Although I didn’t like politics, and still don’t, I was working at BACK’s dairy bar, owned by my parents, and having just graduated from Thomas College with a bachelor of science degree in business management, I wanted to stay local, and find something year-round and full-time,” Becky remembers. A position opened at the town office, so she applied for it. She had also worked short stints at The South China Inn and Farrington’s Clothing Store.

“I learned how important it was to provide exceptional customer service, and loved the interaction with customers,” she added.

Becky succeeded Debra Fischer as the town clerk. She oversees a staff of five at the town office, deputies Kelly Grotton, Jennifer Chamberlain, Julie Finley, Kayla Krause and Tracy Cunningham.

Throughout the 25 years, Becky has worked with three town managers, Dennis Heath, Dan L’Heureux and Gary Brown.

China Town Manager Dennis Heath presents Becky Hapgood with a 25-year certificate. (Photo by Roland D. Hallee)

“Becky’s 25 years of service is a testament to her devotion to the people of China,” said Town Manager Dennis Heath. “The reputation of the town office has grown and been positive in large part to the relationships she has forged over her decades of service.”

Over a 25-year period, many things change. “Technology,” said Becky. “Information is at our finger tips. Computers enhance our ability to provide services to our residents.”

“We are required to attend certain trainings throughout the year,” commented Kelly Grotton, deputy town clerk. “Anytime Becky has the opportunity to meet new clerks she always offers to be a mentor if they have difficulty wading through all the aspects of the town clerk world.”

Becky’s dedication to the job is obvious in her achievements. She is a lifetime certified clerk of Maine, and was awarded as the Maine Town and City Clerk’s Association clerk of the year in 2015.

“One thing about her job that I don’t think people think about,” Grotton continues, “is how many different sets of laws and guidelines we have to know and follow. Most of what we do is set by law. Elections, motor vehicle registration, fishing and hunting licenses, and vital statistics (births, deaths, marriages, etc.) are a few of the state agencies to whom we have to answer.” To that list you can add tax collection, the lien process, payroll, accounts payable and all the laws associated with those.

Former selectman Neil Farrington added, “Becky and I have worked together for over 14 years. She was the person I would go to when asking for advice on local government policy and guidance. The town is very fortunate to have her as our town clerk.” Then he quipped, “I believe she created the phrase, ‘Neil alert,’ whenever I came into the town office.”

Becky has become a very much sought after member of the town office staff. “Several years ago, it was decided that she should have a wall because as her job has evolved over the years, much of what she does is better done with less interruption,” Grotton said. “The concept is good but didn’t work as expected. People will come in, look around and ask, ‘Where’s Becky?’ She will have to poke her head out to reassure them that she is right there.”

“She is highly skilled and vastly knowledgeable in town government,” added Heath. “If she doesn’t already know the answer, it won’t take long for her to get it. We are exceptionally grateful for her and her loyal service.”

“Becky has spent more than half of her life working for the town of China,” interjected Grotton while Heath was presenting Becky with a certificate and pin during the short and informal ceremony. Cake and punch was served.

Selectman Irene Belanger echoed the sentiments of others, applauding Becky by saying, “Becky isn’t only a very effective, good clerk, but she is a good friend to people as well.”

“I am appreciative,” Becky admitted. “I really love my job, the people I work with and the townspeople. Every day is different. The residents and my work family help to make this career a pleasure.”

Grotton summed it up best: “It is sometimes hard to gather the right words, in the right order, to express what should be conveyed. Becky has always worked toward making the town of China reflect in the most positive of lights. She has always stressed customer service and professionalism – she expects it of us and she models it in all of her actions. She considers the residents as hers and looks out for their best interests (picture a mama bear). She has always gone above and beyond any normal call of duty, not for recognition, but because it is the right thing to do. I have been happy to follow her lead for all these years.”

Becky resides with her partner Richard Doe, and her son Sage Hapgood-Belanger, a senior at Erskine Academy, in South China. In her spare time, she has coached recreational soccer and school teams, founded China Community Days, and spearheads the Christmas assistance initiative through which 10-20 China families are usually given a very nice Christmas.

Reflecting back to 1994 and the years since, Becky shares her experience: “I didn’t know what the job would entail when I started working for the town, but quickly fell in love with the job and the ability to help people. I enjoy meeting new residents that quickly become friends. I want our town office to be the best in the state.”

With no public in attendance, selectmen make short meeting of ordinance amendments

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by Mary Grow

With no members of the public present, the China Planning Board’s Jan. 29 public hearing on proposed ordinance amendments did not last long.

Since they did not need to explain the changes, board members discussed them among themselves, making one final adjustment to wording, and unanimously forwarded them to China selectmen with a request to add them to the April 6 town business meeting warrant.

Codes Officer Paul Mitnik had prepared a two-and-a-half page summary of the recommended changes. Most are in Chapter 2 of China’s Land Use Ordinance and are intended to eliminate duplications and contradictions and clarify requirements, rather than make major substantive changes.

For example, planning board Chairman Tom Miragliuolo told selectmen at their Feb. 4 meeting that rules governing septic systems will, if voters approve the changes, clarify that relocating a structure also requires updating the septic system if it does not meet current standards.

Another proposed change eliminates the requirement that a septic system have at least 1,000 square feet of land, because, Mitnik’s summary says, the requirement can make replacement of grandfathered systems on small lots near lakes impossible and because new technology allows smaller disposal beds.

Another group of changes, discussed at length as board members worked on the ordinance, separates commercial campgrounds from individual private campsites and clarifies which rules apply to which type.

A commercial campground is an area “providing temporary accommodation to the public for a fee in a recreational vehicle or tent.” A private campsite also provides temporary living in a tent or recreational vehicle, but is “used exclusively by the owner of the property and his or her family and friends.”

The planning board further recommends changes in a few of the definitions in Chapter 11 of the Land Use Ordinance and an amendment to the Subdivision Ordinance saying selectmen set fees the ordinance requires. Currently subdivision fees are listed in the ordinance, and therefore can be changed only by an ordinance amendment approved by voters.

At their Feb. 4 meeting, selectmen discussed some of the proposed changes, especially the section on private campsites, for half an hour before voting unanimously to add them to the April 6 warrant.

Miragliuolo told the selectboard, “Nothing any of us [planning board members] felt was controversial is in here.” There are more controversial issues to be reviewed for a later town vote, he warned; China has only conditional state approval for its Land Use Ordinance until voters bring shoreland provisions into compliance with state regulations.

Selectman Ronald Breton, former planning board chairman, supported presenting the amendments to voters with the comment, “I sat on that [planning] board long enough to know nothing’s going to be perfect.”

In other business Jan. 29, Miragliuolo announced he had received an email from District 3 board member Milton Dudley announcing his resignation from the board. District 3 is the southeastern part of China. The position of alternate at large is also vacant. That board member can live anywhere in town.

Board members canceled their Feb. 12 meeting, unless Mitnik receives an application for review. Their next regular meeting would be Feb. 26.

China town clerk: Get funding reports in soon; late fee now in place for dog licenses

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by Mary Grow

Town Clerk Rebecca Hapgood had three messages for residents and selectmen at the Feb. 4 selectmen’s meeting.

One was a reminder that any group that has not submitted its fiscal year 2017-18 report to be included in the 2018 town report needs to do so immediately.

Another was that dog licenses have a $25 late fee added as of Feb. 1, and it isn’t the town’s fault – it’s state law.

And, Hapgood assured selectmen, residents are watching their meetings on line and have told her how much they appreciate being able to follow town affairs on their own schedule. Most public meetings, including the selectboard, planning board and budget committee, are live-streamed and recorded. To watch a past meeting, anyone interested in viewing them should click here.

Selectmen also heard a presentation on the school forest behind China Primary School from Anita Smith. She and fellow retired teacher Elaine Philbrook have supervised maintenance and uses of the property for more than 20 years.

The forest has three main purposes, Smith said: education and recreation for all area residents, including, but by no means limited to students; display of the forest as a “dynamic ecosystem”; and, as a working forest, provision of natural resources, notably wood.

The forest has 20 outdoor classrooms and multiple trails. Signs provide directions and point out significant features.

Smith pointed out that the forest does not depend on tax money, but funds activities through proceeds from timber-harvesting and private organizations’ and state grants. She and Philbrook also welcome gifts of labor and relevant materials; for example, she said, Erskine Academy students and Eagle Scout candidates have worked on trails and facilities, and Inland Hospital donated enough snowshoes to outfit two classes at a time.

Another timber harvest is about due, Smith said. The most recent was early in 1998, to clean up after the ice storm.

Pending grants from Project Canopy and the Oak Grove Foundation will be used to replace the roof over the reading tree, one of the early improvements on the property.

Smith sees the property as an asset to China and the surrounding area and as a model for other towns and school units.

Selectman Ronald Breton encouraged her to ask for more help from the town public works crew and suggested she request an annual appropriation.

In other business, selectmen unanimously approved a Boston Post Cane policy setting out requirements and procedures for choosing the town’s oldest known resident.

Recommendations are welcome; the recipient must have been a resident for at least 25 of the previous 40 years.

They also approved the revised personnel policy on which they have worked for several weeks.

Because their next regular meeting would have fallen on Presidents Day, Feb. 18, when the town office is closed, they moved it to Tuesday evening, Feb. 19.

TIF members approve proposed spending

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by Mary Grow

Members of China’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Committee approved their proposed 2019-2020 expenditures unanimously at a Jan. 28 meeting.

The total to be taken from TIF revenues is a little more than $457,000. The largest amount, more than $200,000, is designated for Phase Two of the causeway road project at the head of China Lake’s east basin.

The committee had no update on plans for Phase Two, which is intended to make the area between the new bridge (Phase One) and the boat landing more usable for fishing and other recreation.

Town Manager Dennis Heath said Phase One will be finished in the spring, when the final coat of paving is applied to the road. At the same time, he said, the town plans to grant the China Baptist Church trustees’ request to fill potholes in their parking lot caused by construction equipment parked there.

The next-largest expense category in the TIF budget benefits China Lake: $50,000 to the China Lake Association’s LakeSmart program, half designated for improvements to three camp roads identified in 2016 as sources of run-off, and $20,000 to the China Region Lakes Alliance.

If voters approve the budget as presented, Thurston Park is slated to get $52,000 for maintenance and the China Four Seasons Club $50,000 for trail work.

Frank Soares, temporarily abandoning the TIF Committee chairman’s gavel to speak for the club, said the trail work will be spread over two years, repairing two sections of the power line trail north of Cross Road, parallel to Lakeview Drive.

TIF money comes from taxes paid by Central Maine Power Company on the power line and the substation in South China. Committee member Stephen Nichols commented it seemed fair to use CMP’s money on CMP’s right-of-way.

In other business, committee members talked about the revolving loan fund being developed with the assistance of the Kennebec Valley Council of Governments and decided they should meet with the KVCOG staff member involved in the program.

They scheduled their next meeting for Monday evening, Feb. 25.

Town manager presents detailed budget proposal; Final resident input tentatively set for Feb. 5

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by Mary Grow

China Budget Committee members and an audience that included town employees and volunteer firefighters heard Town Manager Dennis Heath’s detailed presentation of his proposed 2019-2020 budget at a Jan. 23 meeting.

Heath gave selectmen the same information at their Jan. 17 budget workshop. Currently, selectmen are scheduled to meet at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 5, to put the April 6 town business meeting warrant in final form. If all goes as scheduled, that meeting will be the final chance for residents to try to influence selectmen’s budget recommendations.

Budget committee members will meet again on Feb. 11 to make their recommendations on each proposed expenditure, supporting the selectmen or suggesting voters approve a different amount.

Among points Heath and others made at the Jan. 23 meeting:

  • The proposed budget does not fund a cost of living or other across the board raise for town employees. Instead, there is money for merit raises and for bonuses (for example, holiday gifts).
  • Funds are included for the new part-time codes officer’s position, planned to become full-time when current Codes Officer Paul Mitnik retires at the end of 2019. No one has been hired yet; Heath said as of Jan. 23 no candidates had been interviewed.
  • The police and animal control budget is increased to cover expected higher costs for police dispatching if China has to change from the state’s Regional Communications Center to the Augusta Police Department and buy updated radios.
  • Heath recommends $6,000 for China’s Economic Development Committee. Asked by Budget Committee Secretary Jean Conway if the committee is active, the manager replied, “No, but it will be.”
  • Scott Pierz, who is involved in both the China Lake Association and the China Region Lakes Alliance, asked for $25,000 to make improvements to three fire roads identified in a 2016 survey as contributing run-off to China Lake. Budget committee member Wayne Chadwick asked Pierz to try to set up cost-sharing arrangements with the shorefront owners responsible for the roads.

Selectmen give OK for appraisal on Bailey property

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by Mary Grow

At their Jan. 22 meeting, China selectmen unanimously authorized Town Manager Dennis Heath to have an appraisal done on part of Susan Bailey’s much-discussed property at the head of China Lake’s east basin. The manager expects the appraisal to give selectmen a basis for further negotiations with Bailey.

Bailey owns two pieces of land: about 6.2 acres across Causeway Street from the boat landing, used for unofficial parking, and a larger piece on the far side of Lakeview Drive. Selectmen and Tax Increment Finance (TIF) Committee members would like to acquire the smaller piece and make the parking official.

In the past, they were told that the two parcels could not be separated. Heath said at the Jan. 28 TIF Committee meeting they now can be, because after the house on the larger property burned, the insurance paid off the mortgage on the whole property.

Heath also told the TIF Committee getting the appraisal is “a little more complicated than I would have liked.” He is seeking a commercial appraisal; the first appraiser he heard from would have charged $2,800, compared to Heath’s initial estimate of $500 or so. Heath is seeking other quotes.

In November 2016 voters approved using up to $10,000 in TIF funds to buy the smaller piece. At the Jan. 22 selectmen’s meeting, Heath said the town’s valuation is about $1,700, because only about half an acre is dry enough to be usable.

Selectmen also approved unanimously Heath’s proposal to get a design and cost estimate for adding a climate-controlled records storage space, probably a new 12-by-12-foot room on the south side of the town office meeting room.

The current area is about four-by-eight feet, Heath estimated, and is full. State law requires municipalities to keep a variety of documents, some forever. The proposed new room would accommodate the present collection and future additions.

In other business Jan. 19:

  • Heath announced the schedule of March pre-town meeting informational sessions on the 2019-2020 budget, as follows: Wednesday, March 20, at 6 p.m. at Erskine Academy, on Windsor Road; Sunday, March 24, at 2 p.m. at the Albert Church Brown Memorial Library, on Main Street in China Village; and Wednesday, March 27, at 6 p.m. in the town office meeting room. The annual town business meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m. Saturday, April 6.
  • Board members reappointed Selectman Irene Belanger a member of the town Forestry Committee, with Belanger abstaining on the vote.
  • In response to an earlier selectmen’s discussion of comparative costs of crushing glass versus adding it to the mixed waste in the hopper, Transfer Station Manager Tim Grotton reported crushing costs a maximum of $30 per ton, versus $92 per ton to treat glass as mixed waste.

Selectmen postponed action on three items: Heath’s draft policy for awarding China’s Boston Post cane, to allow time to make sure it conforms to the publisher’s original intent in 1909; Heath’s proposal to create a new parks committee, expanding the Thurston Park Committee’s jurisdiction to the town forest behind China Primary School; and the revised personnel policy they have deliberated at past meetings and a special workshop.

The next scheduled selectmen’s meetings are a regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 4, and a budget workshop at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 5.