by Mary Grow

China selectmen acted on one of two ongoing issues on their April 2 agenda, but need more information and warmer weather to deal with the other.

By a unanimous vote, board members granted Codes Officer Paul Mitnik’s request to have the town attorney seek a court order requiring Ralph Howe, owner of Bio Renewable Fuels (BRF), to cease operations at his Dirigo Road property and clean up the property.

China Village Fire Chief Timothy Theriault told the board he and the two landowners involved are satisfied with the Neck Road fire pond that selectmen have talked about spending more money on, though he agrees a guard rail is needed. The contractor who dug the pond will return to finish the job after the ground thaws and Tom Michaud, the major landowner involved, returns from Florida.

The dispute between Howe and the town goes back to the summer of 2017, when Mitnik determined Howe needed a permit for his expanded commercial use. Howe declined to apply for one and appealed Mitnik’s notice of violation to the Board of Appeals, which twice denied his appeal. Mitnik said since Howe closed down his operation in Fairfield he has moved trailers and tanks onto the Dirigo Road property, in no apparent order and without spill containment under the tanks. Neighbors have complained, he said.

Howe said he has only consolidated his waste tanks; he is not doing any new business, has not made biofuel in a long time, is not treating the waste (because Mitnik threatened to fine him for operating without a permit) and does not need a new town permit.

Selectmen told Howe he should go to the planning board. Board member Donna Mills-Stevens asked repeatedly for a business plan; Jeffrey LaVerdiere said Howe’s business should be run properly with respect for neighbors or should stop.

When LaVerdiere asked Howe if a cease-and-desist order would lead to a protracted legal battle, Howe replied, “Yes.”

The Neck Road fire pond also dates back to 2017. Voters approved $8,500 to create the pond in November; Theriault said after the first contractor pulled out, he found a second contractor who dug the pond late in November.

The original plan was to expand an existing pond on two properties, Michaud’s and that of a neighbor who was not named in the discussion. The neighbor asked for legal documents, including an easement or right of way letting the town use the property. Instead, his part of the pond was walled off and the work done entirely on Michaud’s property, with Michaud’s support, Theriault said.

Selectmen have questioned legal and liability issues and the safety of the steep-sided 15-foot-deep pond. They talked about spending up to another $25,000 on improvements they consider necessary.

“We love the pond. I’ve used it,” Theriault said at the April 2 meeting. Availability of water provides additional fire protection for the area, he said. He does favor a guard rail, and said rocks from Michaud’s land can be used to stabilize eroding areas.

Theriault said once Michaud returns, he expects the two neighbors to agree on uniting what are now separate ponds and the contractor to do whatever more is needed to make the pond permanent and safe.

In other business April 2, selectmen scheduled a public hearing for 6:15 p.m. Monday, April 16, before their next meeting, on Michael Marois’ application for a liquor license for his MJEK restaurant on Lakeview Drive.

Theriault, in his capacity as District #79 State Representative, presented former Selectman Joann Austin an award from the 128th Maine Legislature recognizing her 25 years of public service.

Selectmen appointed three committee members: Neil Farrington to the Historic Preservation Committee, Raigan Messier to the Recreation Committee and Simeon Blake Brown as Palermo’s second representative on the Transfer Station Committee. Board member Irene Belanger distributed new Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce brochures describing the greater Waterville region, including China. Copies are available in public places.

Belanger gave selectmen copies of the proposed RSU (Regional School Unit) #18 budget for 2018-19, which voters in the member towns (Belgrade, China, Oakland, Rome and Sidney) will approve or reject at the polls June 12.

She announced a drug take-back day at the China transfer station, scheduled for Saturday, April 28, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Asked the effect of the 2018-19 budgets on the tax rate, Town Manager Daniel L’Heureux replied that he expects a decrease on the municipal side and an increase on the school side will approximately balance, leaving the Kennebec County budget the factor that will determine the tax rate. “There is a very good possibility it will stay where it is,” he summarized.

After adjourning their meeting, selectmen went into executive session to open what L’Heureux and board Chairman Robert MacFarland said were 17 applications from people seeking to succeed L’Heureux when he retires at the end of June.

by Mary Grow

The China Planning Board has scheduled an April 10 public hearing on a proposal to convert a former corporate retreat on Pond Hill Road to a leadership development camp for teenagers.

Pond Hill Road is between Route 3 and Three Mile Pond. The property has frontage on the pond as well as a tennis court, baseball field and half basketball court, owners Wesley and Susan Horton said.

The planing board’s initial review of the proposal, held March 27 with only three of the six board members present, drew nine neighbors with questions and concerns. Given the interest, board members willingly accepted several audience members’ recommendation they hold a public hearing.

The Hortons, who also run the Ironwood Maine facility, in Morrill, explained the Pond Hill Road camp is for young people, mostly between 16 and 18, who are recovering from problems like anxiety and depression, have been in treatment and are ready for a transition back to family life, college or another destination.

They plan to have no more than 10 residents at a time, with at least two staff people supervising at all times. The focus will be on life skills and character development – dealing with emotions, reconnecting with family members, finding purpose, establishing routines. Youngsters typically stay three months; the camp operates year-round.

Their clients do not have criminal records, and they are not ordered to the facility by a court or other agency. Referrals come mostly from parents, who are “part of the equation,” Wesley Horton said, and sometimes from school counselors.

“They’re good kids,” said Susan Horton, who is a psychotherapist specializing in adolescent development.

Wesley Horton added that the camp operates on a two-strike system: a second infraction of rules, like smoking, keeping an untidy room or arguing with staff about chores, means the youngster is out.

Neighbors had questions about traffic, interaction with neighborhood young people and the degree of supervision – the last raised by Anita Whittaker, considering the snow-sculpted penis she sees from her windows. The Hortons said the clients do not drive and are supervised at all times. The facility has a 10 p.m. curfew.

As the discussion drew to an end, neighbor Raymond Gosselin said the camp has been operating since the Hortons bought the property in October 2017, and asked why they are only now applying for a planning board permit.

Codes Officer Paul Mitnik said he was unaware of the Hortons’ use of the property until they asked him for an occupancy permit. He assumes they did not know they needed a change of use permit from the planning board.

The April 10 hearing is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in the town office meeting room.

See our related story: China public hearing planned on proposed teen camp

by Mary Grow

China voters approved all but one of the 43 articles in the warrant for their March 24 annual town business meeting.

Art. 41 was defeated on a written vote of 38 in favor to 48 opposed. The article asked authorization to spend $100 to buy the Branch Mills Union Church and up to another $80,000 from donations, grants and if applicable China’s Tax Increment Finance (TIF) fund to maintain the historic building. The proposal came from Selectman and Bicentennial Coordinator Neil Farrington, who stressed the importance of preserving tangible pieces of China’s past. He also urged treating China’s four villages equally, pointing out that the town is financing causeway improvements near China Village and the one-room schoolhouse in Weeks Mills and has installed sidewalks in South China.

Hugh Krajewski, one of the church directors, said Branch Mills residents support preserving the church as a multi-purpose secular community center and consider tearing down the building “not a viable option.” The town would have a better chance of getting preservation grants than would the church directors, he said.

Click the picture above to download the China Town Report for 2018 in pdf format.

Budget committee member Wayne Chadwick said preservation should be done by the China Historical Society or another private entity, not by taxpayers. He pointed out that in the Palermo half of Branch Mills Village are a newer church and a Grange Hall that could serve as community centers.

Former Selectman Ronald Breton said the TIF Committee had not been consulted on the possible use of TIF money. He added that “a selectman” – he declined to say which one – told him repairs and maintenance would be likely to cost $200,000 rather than the $80,000 in the warrant article.

Another historic preservation proposal, the request for up to $20,000 to install water and a septic system at the Weeks Mills schoolhouse, also generated debate, but was approved, not unanimously, by a show of hands. Farrington said the work would make the building usable as a community center for Weeks Mills or, now that it has internet, as a virtual school.

Chadwick opposed this expenditure, too, questioning the need for local centers now that transportation is easy, citing the shortage of land for a septic system and for parking and asking whether the additions would fit the building’s historic character.

Farrington said parking could be at the church across the road and that a neighbor is willing to share part of his land. Town Manager Daniel L’Heureux added that the Weeks Mills Water Company has agreed to extend a line to the building, and that when it was a school it had running water and a “primitive waste system.”

The other request approved only after debate was for a new precrusher-compactor for demolition and debris at the transfer station (Art. 17). The equipment would cost more than $56,000; Chadwick and others questioned whether it was a good investment.

Members of the Transfer Station Committee, which endorsed the proposal, said the new equipment would be used mostly to crush bulky items like sofas and mattresses so that each load shipped out for landfilling would have more in it. Since the town pays by the load, increasing the tonnage in each load from about six to about 10 tons would save money.

The new compactor would also save wear and tear on the loader that transfer station staff now use as an improvised crusher, would save staff time and would be safer, Paul Lucas and Linda O’Connor said. It would be a back-up for busy days or if the main compactor had a problem. Since the current hopper dates from around 1990, Farrington called a back-up a good idea.

There was disagreement over how long it would take the equipment to pay for itself, with opponents claiming up to 17 years and supporters saying if quantities of debris continue to increase and hauling costs rise the payback could be five or six years.

Art. 17 also included a little more than $24,000 for a new forklift. Transfer Station Committee Chairman Frank Soares said the one now in use needs $3,000 worth of repairs and would still be of doubtful reliability.

Another new proposal that voters approved was to spend up to $22,000 to update China’s comprehensive plan, with the understanding most of the money would be used to hire a consultant. Residents interested in serving on a committee to oversee the project are invited to contact the town office.

The business meeting began with election of Richard Thompson as moderator for, he said, about the 13th year. Voters heard brief presentations from state Senate candidates John Glowa, of China, and Matthew Pouliot, of Augusta; state House candidates Dawn Castner and incumbent Timothy Theriault, both of China; and gubernatorial candidate Mary Mayhew, of China.

During a scheduled break in business, Selectman Irene Belanger asked for audience appreciation of China’s firefighters, rescue unit members and police officers and announced Spirit of America awards for volunteerism to one individual and one group.

She recognized L’Heureux’s retirement after 22 -1/2 years as China’s town manager and said he deserves the Spirit of America award for all the extra time he has put in. The audience gave him standing applause. The other Spirit of America recipients were those overseeing and organizing programs in the China school forest behind China Primary School: Tim Basham, Elaine Philbrook and Robin Tobey, all of China, and Claire Heffernan, school health coordinator for Regional School Unit (RSU) #18.