by Mary Grow

China select board members will hold a second public hearing on the proposed changes in the Board of Appeals section in the Land Use Ordinance (see The Town Line, May 11, p. 2) before their May 22 meeting.

Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood explained in an email after the May 8 board meeting that there were errors in the marked-up version of the ordinance available that evening. The final version of the amendments on which voters will act June 13 was correct, she said; and corrected versions of the explanatory marked-up version are now on the town website in two places, under the Elections tab on the left side of the page and on the select board page under Officials, Boards & Committees.

On May 22, beginning at 6 p.m., in the town office meeting room, select board members will host two public hearings. Residents are invited to comment on the Four Seasons Club request to use part of Bog Brook and Pleasant View Ridge roads as an ATV trail (see The Town Line, April 27, p. 2) and on the proposed ordinance amendment.

The select board meeting will follow the hearings.

by Mary Grow

The China select board’s May 8 public hearing on warrant articles for the June 13 town business meeting attracted a small audience – five residents – with an hour’s worth of questions and comments.

The focus was on two issues: the meeting format, and the revised Board of Appeals Ordinance that is the 32nd and final warrant article.

Sheri Wilkens raised the format question, asking why China hasn’t gone back to the pre-pandemic open town meeting, where voters could discuss issues and amend warrant articles. By select board decision, the June 13 meeting will be by written ballot only.

Wayne Chadwick, select board chairman, said he prefers the written-ballot format because more people vote. No one had exact figures, but in the past, it was often difficult to get a quorum, about 125 people (four percent of the registered voters at the beginning of the year), to start an open meeting; and attendance dwindled as the meeting went on.

In November 2022, by written ballot, China voters approved lowering the quorum to 100 voters. According to the Nov. 17, 2022, issue of The Town Line, the vote for the lower requirement was 1,015 in favor and 965 opposed.

Discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of both forms of meeting left select board members considering a November 2023 ballot question asking voters to choose.

Wilkens also asked about increases in the legal budget. Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood said recent cases had generated larger expenses. She could not predict what might happen in future budget cycles, but thinks it prudent to have funds available if needed.

Per-hour legal fees have also gone up, Hapgood said. Wilkens suggested bidding out legal services; Hapgood said other towns are paying “significantly more” than China.

Wilkens began the discussion of the revised Board of Appeals ordinance (Chapter 9 of China’s Land Use Ordinance) by referring to its origins with the select board early in 2023. After a recapitulation of discussions among select board and planning board members and other residents, Thomas and Marie Michaud chimed in with questions about the content of the ordinance presented to voters.

The ordinance is on the town website, china.govoffice.com, under the Elections tab on the left side of the page, in two forms: the eight-page version that voters will accept or reject, titled “Proposed Chapter 9 Appeals Ordinance; and a 10-page, multi-colored draft titled “Chapter 9- V3 Combined Mark-ups,” showing changes between the current and proposed versions.

Absentee ballots available May 15

Absentee ballots for China’s municipal voting – the 32-article warrant that includes the 2023-24 municipal budget, authorizations for select board actions, two amended ordinances and other questions – will be available May 15 through the town office.

The 2023-24 Regional School Unit #18 will be approved by voters from the member towns (Belgrade, China, Oakland, Rome and Sidney) at a meeting on Thursday, May 18, at 6 p.m., at the Messalonskee High School Performing Arts Center, in Oakland.

Absentee ballots for the June 13 vote on affirming or rejecting the RSU #18 budget approved at the May 18 meeting will be available May 19 through the China town office.

China’s voting will be Tuesday, June 13, in the portable building behind the town office, with polls open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Those present at 6:55 a.m. will elect the meeting moderator.

On Tuesday, June 13, the China town office will be closed. The Lakeview Drive entrance to the town office complex will also be closed; voters should use the Alder Park Road entrance.

by Mary Grow

Olivia Kunesh from the Kennebec Valley Council of Governments (KVCOG) explained the state-wide Community Resilience Partnership (CRP) program at an April 24 meeting in China.

The entire select board and another 10 or so residents attended the presentation, some in person at the town office and some participating virtually.

Kunesh said the state-funded program involves:

• A municipality, like China, applying to its regional group, like KVCOG, to become a community resilience partner for a two-year term, renewable.
• Town officials and residents, with KVCOG assistance, defining and prioritizing projects to increase resilience in town and applying for state grants to fund the projects.
• Assuming project approval, the state awarding money both to the town for its project(s) and to KVCOG to cover its expenses helping the town.

The concept of resilience projects is aimed at reacting to climate change, but is broadly defined. Select board member Janet Preston, China’s representative to KVCOG, said projects could include transportation, building modernization, clean energy, protection for natural resources and the environment, public health, engaging businesses in these activities and clean-up after flooding.

Ideas Preston had already received included improving the boat landing at South China; providing transportation for senior citizens (or public transportation for all residents, a meeting participant suggested); replacing culverts to handle more water; building sidewalks in China Village; setting up electric vehicle charging stations; adding energy-saving measures for municipal buildings; and expanding Thurston Park.

Several audience members live near the South China boat landing and endorsed improving it. Phillip deMaynardier, for the Thurston Park Committee, recommended seeking a grant for maintenance and improvements in the park.

Christopher Hahn asked if broadband service expansion could be covered; Preston added it to her list. Thomas Rumpf suggested solar energy for the building in the China School Forest.

Select board members asked who would be responsible for maintaining grant-funded projects, like electric vehicle charging stations. Kunesh replied that the CRP program is too new for the question to have arisen.

Grants are awarded twice a year, so a municipality joining the program could apply for up to four grants during its two-year membership, Kunesh said. The maximum grant is currently $50,000 for one town; a multi-town partnership could request up to $125,000.

The April 24 public meeting was the first step in applying to join KVCOG’s CRP. The next step is for the select board to vote to apply; members seemed to be leaning in favor.

If China joins the program, the select board would involve residents in setting priorities. Board members briefly discussed ways to inform residents of the pros and cons of possible projects and to collect opinions.

by Mary Grow

Transfer station staffer Cheyenne “CJ” Houle reported on several projects she is working on. The one completed at the end of March was getting the water at the transfer station tested: it is potable, Houle reported.

However, it still has an unpleasant odor that she and Director of Public Services Shawn Reed called “undescribable.” They think it comes from the water heater.

Asked about the water, Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood said, “I will not be drinking it nor requiring them to drink it.”

Houle is working on ways to make the RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) system more useful. If she cannot increase its value to town staff, she will consider alternatives.

She is also pursuing a possible grant, through the Maine Municipal Association, that would provide a solar lighting system for the free for the taking building. Again, if grant money is not available, she has an alternative in mind.

When Palermo representative Robert Kurek suggested a different grant program that might help develop a small waste-to-energy generation system at the China transfer station, Houle offered to investigate it.

Committee members praised Houle for her many activities.

Lucas and Reed discussed the possible reopening of the waste-to-energy plant in Hampden, financed by China and 114 other Maine municipalities and inactive for almost three years. The Municipal Review Committee (MRC), the group representing member towns, had scheduled an April 13 virtual meeting to discuss a new partnership, Lucas said.

Hapgood said she and Kurek had adjusted the cost of the trash bags Palermo residents need to dispose of household trash at China’s transfer station. The new prices are $2.80 for large bags (or $14 for a “sleeve” of five bags) and $1.60 for small bags.

The fee for trash Palermo residents bring in non-official bags will rise from $3 to $4.

The committee adjourned without setting its next meeting date.