Dan L’Heureux
Residents of China and nearby towns are invited to a retirement party for China Town Manager Daniel L’Heureux, scheduled for 5 p.m., Saturday, June 30, in the portable building behind the China town office on Lakeview Drive.
Incoming Town Manager Dennis Heath announced that the town office will be closed Saturday, June 30, to make sure office staff have time to attend the party.
Joe McLean, from Wright-Pierce Engineers, shows bridge plans for the causeway to the TIF committee in May 2018. (Contributed photo)
China’s TIF (Tax Increment Finance) Committee members had little progress to report at their June 18 meeting.
The committee’s main focus is on the head of China Lake’s east basin, where the first phase of a multi-year project involves replacing the bridge across the inlet stream. That work is supposed to be done this fall. Phase two calls for additional parking, improvements to the existing boat landing and increased pedestrian access to the shore. Tom Michaud, chairman of the subcommittee working on the causeway project, reported that only one company responded to a request for bids on the bridge. When Joe McLean, the Wright-Pierce engineer working with China, inquired, he found potential bidders were booked for the summer and had not read enough of the request to realize the work is to be done in September and October.
Consequently, Michaud said, the bid deadline was extended, and he hopes for at least four bids.
The shortage of parking is so far stymieing phase two. The land where boaters park across from the landing, and a larger parcel across Routes 202 and 9, belong to Susan Bailey, not to the town. Michaud and other committee members insist that if the project is to succeed the town needs to buy the property.
After a lively discussion, Soares proposed that he, Michaud and fellow subcommittee member Jim Wilkens talk with other landowners on the east side of Route 202 and along the west end of Pleasant View Ridge Road to find out whether anyone is willing to sell.
If parking is to be across the main road, committee member Amy Gartley said, pedestrian safety needs to be considered. Town Manager Daniel L’Heureux reminded the committee that the state Department of Transportation (MDOT) agreed to install a traffic light on Route 3 in South China when Hannaford agreed to pay for it. Soares suggested the town could pay for a light at the head of the lake.
Committee members touched briefly on the 45-mile-an-hour speed limit on the causeway, a left-over from the days when the main road ran through China Village and across the causeway. L’Heureux said MDOT plans a traffic study and is likely to adjust the limit to the average actual speed.
The committee postponed discussion of other pending projects. Members reviewed Soares’ draft application form for TIF funds and suggested a few changes and review by town office staff.
According to the Town of China web site, the TIF Committee will meet again at 6:30 p.m. Monday, July 16.
Erskine Academy Faculty of the Trimester recipients, from left to right, Mitch Donar, Louise Irwin, and Ryan Nored. (Contributed photo)
On Friday, June 8, Erskine Academy students and staff attended a Renaissance Assembly to honor their peers with Renaissance Awards.
Recognition Awards were presented to the following students: Hunter Gagnon, Angel Hall-Stuart, Carleigh Ireland, Jordan Lewis, Kyle Kirkpatrick, Michael Sprague, Megan Lemieux, Annemarie Allen, Lauren Boatright, Maggie Anderson, Chris Wight, and Cody Daigneault.
In addition to Recognition Awards, Senior of the Trimester Awards were also presented to three members of the senior class: Noah Bonsant, son of Wendy and Tracy Bonsant, of Windsor; Caleb Tyler, son of Regan and Jason Tyler, of Palermo; and Austin Cowing, son of Kirsten and Tony Cowing, of Palermo. Seniors of the Trimester are recognized as individuals who have gone above and beyond in all aspects of their high school careers.
In appreciation of their dedication and service to Erskine Academy, Faculty of the Trimester awards were also presented to Louise Irwin, cafeteria staff; Mitch Donar, JMG specialist, and Ryan Nored, English instructor.
Erskine Academy Senior of the Trimester recipients, from left to right, Noah Bonsant, Caleb Tyler, and Austin Cowing. (Contributed photo)
China selectmen voted at their June 11 meeting to fill in the fire pond they and town voters authorized last year to provide protection for Neck Road residents.
Voters appropriated $8,500 for the pond in November 2017. The money has been spent, mostly for a contractor to enlarge an existing pond on Tom Michaud’s land into a fire pond that is too steep-sided to be safe and so close to Neck Road that selectmen fear its crumbling walls could eat into the road shoulder.
Board members have been considering guard rails, at an estimated cost of $6,000. At the June 11 meeting Town Manager Daniel L’Heureux had an estimate of $3,500 to survey the area, including establishing the boundary with the neighbor’s property and share of the former, smaller pond, and to design a safer pond.
The manager estimated legal costs at around $2,500 so far, and suggested making a safe pond could cost another $20,000.
Selectman Neil Farrington moved to abandon the project and fill the hole, with L’Heureux and his successor, Dennis Heath, to get Michaud’s consent and a cost estimate and deal with any other legal or administrative issues.
The clay that was dug out to make the pond has been spread on one of Michaud’s fields and is not available for fill. Nonetheless, selectmen believe filling is the less expensive choice. The four board members present, Farrington, Irene Belanger, Donna Mills-Stevens and Chairman Robert MacFarland, voted unanimously to undo the pond.
Neither Michaud nor China Village Fire Chief Timothy Theriault was at the meeting. MacFarland said he had made clear to Theriault his concerns about and displeasure with the pond.
In other business, Farrington said Hussey Communications, of Winslow, will conduct the planned test of current broadband access next week. The plan is to put temporary equipment on two towers on either side of China Lake’s long basin and measure signal strength at various locations, especially along the shore.
Farrington invited people who would like to be included in the test to call the town office.
Belanger said managers of the new Fiberight trash facility in Hampden are inviting municipal officials for tours. Non-official residents are also welcome if space permits; anyone interested should call the town office. The next tour appears likely to be in early to mid-July.
After discussion with Highway Department Manager Gary Cummings and the outgoing and incoming town managers, selectmen accepted bids for winter sand, materials and equipment for summer road work and paving, choosing the low bidder in each category.
They authorized Cummings to buy a plate compactor, essential for installing culverts, instead of continuing to rent one, figuring the new machine will pay for itself in less than three years. The expected $3,592 cost will come from China’s equipment reserve fund.
Selectmen and Cummings also talked about replacing the town’s 2012 pickup truck, which Cummings said has 140,000 miles on it, and the 20-year-old loader. Selectmen asked for more information on both proposed purchases.
Frank Soares, Four Seasons Club President, recommended approval of a $41,000 bid for an ATV and snowmobile trail from Lakeview Drive near the town office and Four Seasons clubhouse to the Central Maine Power Company line that runs from south to north the length of China. Selectmen unanimously approved, with money to come from the TIF (Tax Increment Finance) Fund, as previously approved by voters.
According to the China website, the next selectmen’s meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday, June 25.
Bicentennial Committee Chairman Neil Farrington explains the history of the town of China. (Photo by Eric Austin)
The obilisk that will stand near the China Town Office until the time capsule is opened on the first day of summer 2118.
On June 9, Neil Farrington, chairman of the China Bicentennial Committee, along with selectmen Bob MacFarland, Irene Belanger and new town manager Dennis Heath and his wife Mary, together with a small crowd of local citizens, formally dedicated the China Bicentennial Monument to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the incorporation of the Town of China.
Originally established as Jones Plantation in 1774, two years before the writing of the Declaration of Independence, the area was eventually incorporated as the China township in 1818. The name of Bloomville had initially been proposed but was dropped after citizens of nearby Bloomfield objected to the similarity in names. Japheth Washburn, a local representative to the Massachusetts’ legislature, chose China instead, taking the name from one of his favorite hymns. (The town of Bloomfield no longer exists. It has since been incorporated into other towns but lives on in the name of Bloomfield Elementary School, in Skowhegan.)
Harlem, what is now South China and Weeks Mills, was incorporated into China township in 1822, two years after Maine became a state. The Gore, a narrow tract of land bordering Palermo, was incorporated in 1830.
Board of Selectmen Chairman Bob McFarland gets ready to place the time capsule in the base of the monument.
The Bicentennial Monument, a four-sided granite obelisk six feet in height, set on a two-foot concrete pedestal, is engraved with these location names and the dates of their incorporations. At the dedication, Farrington said: “It took 12 years for China to be complete, and it wasn’t an easy task. This monument is a testament to that history, and a symbol of the process it took for China to be whole.”
On the front-side of the monument is engraved: “A time capsule has been buried under this monument and is to be opened on the first day of summer 2118.”
Contained in the time capsule, Farrington explained, is a paper scroll six feet long, on which students from China Middle School have written about “what life is like today, and what it might be like a hundred years from now.”
The dedication was followed by a chicken barbeque and a “meet and greet” with China’s new town manager, Dennis Heath and his wife, Mary.
Among items China selectmen discussed at their May 29 meeting was the planned replacement of the causeway bridge at the head of China Lake’s east basin, a project they expect will create considerable temporary disruption in the area.
The work is scheduled for late September through mid-November, TIF (Tax Increment Finance) Committee member Tom Michaud told selectmen. It will involve building a coffer dam to divert the stream flowing into China Lake, taking out the existing bridge and replacing it with a larger, higher one.
Michaud said permits still need to be obtained. Bids were scheduled to go out the week of May 29. When Town Manager Daniel L’Heureux reminded Michaud that selectmen needed to approve bid specifications, they decided that engineer Joe McLean from Wright-Pierce would email them to the manager to share with the board. Selectmen pointed out there is limited space for large trucks to maneuver near the bridge. The next day, L’Heureux emailed a list of potential impacts on emergency services, local residents, commuters, visitors and people attending services and programs at China Baptist Church. He proposed extensive notice focused on area residents, including public informational meetings, electronic signs and notices to as many affected parties as people can think of.
Board Chairman Robert MacFarland added that people with boats in China Lake needed to be notified that access to the boat landing east of the bridge is likely to be disrupted as the contractor starts stockpiling materials.
Michaud said Mark McCluskey of A. E. Hodsdon engineers is doing preliminary design work on the second phase of the project, involving sidewalks, fishing platforms and similar changes along the lake. MacFarland asked for a cost estimate for McCluskey’s work.
Another project selectmen found eligible for TIF funds is expanding broadband service in China. Peter Hussey from Hussey Communications, in Winslow, proposed a study to see how much of the shoreline of “the long skinny part” of China Lake is covered by existing towers.
Selectmen unanimously authorized spending up to $3,000 from TIF funds earmarked for preliminary work on potential TIF projects. Resident Wayne Chadwick reminded them “There’s a lot more to this town than the lake.”
In other business, selectmen appointed Carlaine Bovio as member of the Comprehensive Planning Committee.
They unanimously authorized L’Heureux to order a new forklift for the transfer station, to be paid for when the new fiscal year starts in July.
They planned to advertise for bids for a roof over the north (basement) entrance to the old town house, with MacFarland to draw up specifications, and for quotes for a an Americans with Disabilities Act compliant bathroom in the former portable classroom between the town house and town office, with L’Heureux to prepare specifications.
They postponed action on bids for equipment and materials for summer road work, waiting for samples from bidders who want to supply sand.
They also postponed further discussion of the already-much-discussed fire pond on Neck Road, because they lacked a cost estimate for new design work. Michaud said the excavated clay had been spread, at no cost to the town, and the field it had occupied was planted to corn.
According to the town website, the next selectmen’s meeting will be at 6:30 p.m., Monday, June 11, in the town office.
June 12 voting will be in the portable classroom, with polls open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. All registered voters may vote on the Regional School Unit #18 budget and on the state referendum question on ranked-choice voting. Registered voters enrolled in a political party may vote in the party primary.
Local educator and Maine Master Naturalist, Anita Smith, will be offering several day camps and family forest activities at the China School Forest. All programs start at the China Primary School bus circle, 763 Lakeview Drive, China. For more information or registration form, contact Anita Smith at 968-2255 or chinaschoolsforest@gmail.com
For updates and to RSVP, see https://www.facebook.com/chinaschoolsforest/
Day camps are for children entering grades 2-6. Space is reserved once your registration form and fee are received and you receive a confirmation email. Each day camp is limited to 10 students. Camps run rain or shine. Cost is $30, per child, per camp.
June 26-28 – Pond Explorers Day Camp: We will use dip nets and learn about pond plants and animals, play games and meet some fascinating critters. Prepare to get wet! 12:30 – 3:30 p.m.
August 7-9 – Pirate Day Camp: Ahoy, Matey! Make “treasure” maps & dig for buried “treasure”, create your own pirate treasure chest and learn to talk like a pirate at this fun adventure-themed camp. 12:30 – 3:30 p.m.
August 21-23 – Nature Explorers and Nature Games Day Camp. Learn about different plants and animals that live in the forest by playing fun games and hands-on activities. 12:30 – 3:30 p.m.
Family activities are for all ages, even our littlest friends! An adult must accompany the child for the activity.
Please RSVP on our facebook page or by email so we have enough materials for all participants. Family Forest Activities are free, but donations are gratefully accepted the day of the event to help cover the cost of materials. If we have to cancel, it will be posted on our facebook page the day before the event.
June 2 – Family Forest Fun: Butterfly, Oh My! Learn about butterflies, make a butterfly craft and play a butterfly game. Costumes are optional. For all ages. Suggested donation $5, per child to cover materials. 9:30 – 11a.m.
June 29 – Family Forest Fun: Pond Explorers. Come explore the pond using dip nets and see who lives here. For all ages. Suggested donation $5, per child to cover materials. 9:30 – 11a.m.
July 7 – Family Forest Fun: Nature Walk, Fairy Houses and Toad Homes Learn about Fairy Houses, gather natural forest materials and build fairy houses in our school forest. Suggested donation $5, per child to cover materials. 9:30 – 11 a.m. Please RSVP on our facebook event page or email to register. August 10 – Family Forest Fun: Pirate Adventure Search for buried treasure, look for gems, and play a pirate game. Come dressed in your favorite pirate garb! Suggested donation $5, per child to cover materials. 9:30 – 11 a.m.
Pictured are, from left, food pantry director Ann Austin, and two food pantry volunteers. (Contributed photo)
The volunteers at the China Food Pantry express their appreciation for all those in the community who gave non-perishable food items during the annual Post Office Food Drive. The shelves are currently well-stocked thanks to the many residents who gave so generously.
Selectmen Neil Farrington (left) and Bob MacFarland (right) shake hands with China’s new town manager Dennis Heath (middle).
At their May 14 meeting, the China Selectmen introduced Dennis Heath, of Oklahoma, as the new town manager. He will begin appearing at the town office on May 29, and will take over from retiring town manager Dan L’Heureux, on July 1.
From left to right, State Sen. Scott Cyrway, Lt. Col. John-Paul Cote, Tami Cote, Noelle Cote, and State Sen. Rosen. (Contributed photo)
Senator Scott Cyrway congratulated Lt. Col. John-Paul Cote, of China, following a unanimous vote by the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee to confirm him as the next Chief of the Maine State Police.
“Lt. Col. Cote has dedicated much of his adult life to law enforcement in the state of Maine, and we on the committee are honored that he will be continuing that work with the Maine State Police,” said Sen. Cyrway.
Lt. Col. Cote will be finally confirmed following a vote in the Maine Senate.