OPINIONS: A “yes” vote urged on broadband ARPA warrant article

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COMMUNITY COMMENTARY

by Bob O’Connor
China Broadband Committee

The China Broadband Committee was formed in 2017 to find a way to bring the best Broadband internet solution to China. Last year we chose Axiom Fiber to build that system. The selectboard and townspeople voted down our proposal last November because of the risk that it could potentially adversely affect property taxes due to repayment of the $6 million bond if not enough townspeople signed up for this service.

As a committee, we went back to the drawing board to look at all possible solutions again. We reviewed proposals from our incumbent providers, Spectrum Charter, and Consolidated Communications. We found the Spectrum bulk proposal too financially risky for the town. Consolidated was not interested in expanding into China because we are in “Classic” China Telephone territory. The company might consider expansion in the distant future, seven or more years from now.

Unitel, of Unity, Maine, has been in the telephone business since 1904, about the same time that the China Telephone Company got its start. Unitel first offered fiber internet to the home in a limited area starting in 2015. Late last year, Unitel was acquired by Direct Communications, a larger family-owned company that offers fiber to the home in a few rural areas in a few US states.

Our broadband committee started working with Direct Communications (DC) shortly after they acquired Unitel last year. Unitel/DC are looking to expand to towns around Unity with the help of the current grants and funds. These grant funds can be spent to cover areas of our town that the Maine Connectivity Authority (MCA) defines as “Least Served” and “Unserved”. This includes about 25 percent of homes in China that typically have DSL or no service.

MCA now classifies the rest of town as “Underserved”, meaning that their service does not meet the minimum speed of 100/100 Mbps. This includes those with cable service from Spectrum. All new internet projects funded by MCA must be built to the minimum 100/100Mbps standard.

Our currently proposed project with Unitel/DC is to build a fiber backbone in town that is strong enough, that is, has enough fibers, to serve the whole town while initially serving the Least Served and Unserved areas. After this project is complete, Unitel/DC will continue to expand to the rest of the town, the underserved folks.

Town funding from this project is from the TIF fund of $30,000/year for 10 years for a total of $300,000. This expenditure was previously approved by the voters in 2021. Also, we are requesting $70,000. from a part of the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds that China has received.

Unitel/DC will match our $370,000 contribution to the project.

We are also applying for an MCA “Connect the Ready” grant for about $460,000. The total project is approximately $1.2 million dollars with the Town contributing 31 percent, Unitel/DC contributing 31 percent and the MCA grant covering the remaining 38 percent of the project.

We will only apply for this grant if the townspeople vote in favor of the $70,000 ARPA fund distribution on the Warrant Article on November 8, 2022.

The town selectboard unanimously (5/0) recommended a “yes” vote on this $70,000 Broadband ARPA Warrant article. The Budget committee also recommended a “yes” vote (5/1).

Neither the TIF nor the ARPA funds will raise property taxes, and Unitel/DC would fully own and operate this service with no requirement for involvement from town staff.

Fiber internet service by Unitel / Direct Communications will improve internet speeds and reliability, increase value of your home, encourage economic development in town, allow for online learning, education, work, telehealth, and entertainment at an affordable and competitive price.

We appreciate your support. Thank you.

Read more about China’s broadband initiatives here.

OPINIONS: Protecting a high quality and fully-funded public education system is vital

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COMMUNITY COMMENTARY

by Tom Waddell

The Supreme Court’s Casey vs. Makin decision all but forces Maine to fund private religious education. Now every state’s public school funding is under attack.

Bleeding public school budgets to fund alternative schools, such as private secular, religious, or for-profit charter schools, is often done through voucher programs that claim public taxes do not fund public school systems; they fund students, and the money follows the student to whichever school they choose.

Maine passed a bill last year requiring private schools that accept public funds to follow Maine’s Human Rights Act, the same human rights protocols that apply to Maine’s public schools. Those protocols ban harassment based on race, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or disability. Students with physical or learning disabilities must also be accorded the same learning environment as public schools. The bill initially included financial oversight of the annual $56 M taxpayer support Maine gives to private schools but was subsequently removed. Why?

Maine used to have financial oversight of the taxes it uses to fund private schools. However, requiring state-funded private schools to report how those funds were spent was removed from the Government Oversight Committee in 2011. Why would Maine not want to know how the $56 M it gives to private schools, or over half a billion in ten years, gets spent?

The Supreme Court ruled Maine, and every state must fund private religious instruction if they fund private non-religious education but that ruling only applies to states that exclude religious schools. Legislation is moving through Congress that will allow all for-profit charter schools nationwide to bleed every state’s public school budget through a voucher system and receive federal grants without reporting their finances.

When the federal Charter Schools Program proposed new rules that would prevent private, for-profit charter schools from receiving public grant money and require them to report their finances if they receive any public funds, the lobbyists for the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools opposed those regulations.

The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools wants for-profit charter schools to get public grants and state taxpayer funds and not have to report how those funds get spent. This will leave each state with zero financial oversight of what state-funded charter schools do with public tax dollars.

This is the same as Maine having no financial oversight of private school funding extended to every state and every public school system in America. As a result, public school budgets everywhere will be cut, and the quality of public education across the nation will suffer.

Two congressional candidates and one gubernatorial candidate in the November election support a fully funded public education system. The other congressional and gubernatorial candidates support an unregulated private education system funded by taxpayer school vouchers.

Two congressional candidates and one gubernatorial candidate support financial oversight of private schools and the other candidates do not see the necessity for the Maine Government Oversight Committee to oversee the $56 million Maine currently gives away to private schools every year or over half a billion over ten years.

Your vote will help determine if Maine continues to fund private schools, thereby requiring Maine to fund private religious schools. Your vote will also determine if Maine controls how the half a billion it gives away to private schools over ten years gets spent.

I urge you to make your vote count to protect a high-quality and fully funded public education system that all of Maine’s parents and students expect and deserve. Parents, students, and school faculty are counting on you.

OPINIONS: Let’s move as quickly as possible to renewable energy

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COMMUNITY COMMENTARY

by David Jenney
Vassalboro resident

Vassalboro will have a ballot item in November asking residents if they would like a 180-day, with conditions, moratorium on commercial solar arrays. I urge fellow residents of Vassalboro to vote no on the moratorium.

1.) Climate Impact

To me the one of the biggest and most profound issues facing us as residents of Vassal­boro, the state of Maine and the world as a whole is Climate Change/­Global warming. One of the ways to slow down the pace of this change (in my opinion) is to move as quickly as possible to renewable energy sources which do not pollute in their operation and do not contribute to an increase in carbon dioxide emissions. We are already way too late to address this problem as a species. To me postponing commercial solar array development in Vassalboro is similar to Nero fiddling while Rome was burning. The world is on fire – literally and figuratively. I think sometimes we don’t understand the urgency of this issue due to it at times not being directly in our face.

2.) Inconsistent regulation

Of course there are issues related to where the “best” place is to site commercial solar arrays as well as what to do with them at the end of their life. I would point out the same issue exists for any source of energy production – oil, wood, wind, natural gas, coal, etc… To me placing a moratorium on commercial solar arrays in Vassalboro is “having the perfect be the enemy of the good.” Our current standards for where to place them and how to deal with their waste when they reach the end of their useful life certainly can be improved. However, a moratorium on commercial solar arrays in order to have time to create some type of ordinance to address those issues is similar to telling a fire to stop burning, because we don’t have the perfect hose.

We don’t have town ordinances regulating gravel pits, or other extractive mineral operations. We don’t have town ordinances on the placement of gas pipelines, we don’t have ordinances on the placement of cell phone towers, power lines, phone lines, wind turbines, trailer parks, so what’s so special about commercial solar arrays? Please note that I am not ignoring state and federal regulations – just pointing out that we do not have local ordinances related to any of those.

So what’s so different about commercial solar arrays? My best guess is that now people can actually see them, and some people find them unattractive. That’s about the only thing I can think of that is really different. We are so used to seeing telephone poles, power lines, etc., that we almost don’t realize that they are there. With new commercial solar arrays they are often near roads. This makes sense because they are then close to power lines where they can send the electricity that they produce. Only one relatively smaill commercial solar array has been built in Vassalboro. That is the one on Main Street. In reviewing planning board minutes since 2020, it appears that about four to five additional projects have been approved. None of them is in operation, or have starting being built.

3.) Not in my backyard (NIMBY)

I’m guessing that people here in Vassalboro are reacting to something new that is a change which they instinctively don’t like. When I see commercial solar arrays, I see hope and progress. It’s so easy to think that gas which we use for our vehicles as coming from a gas station, because we don’t make gasoline in Maine. Or we may think of heating oil as something that comes from trucks (heating oil is the biggest energy source of winter time heating in Maine) rather than a fracking operation elsewhere in the United States, or a drilling operation in any part of the world.

We all drive or use vehicles that use oil and gas. We are all guilty of contributing to climate change and global warming, but when we are presented with a choice to be part of the solution, which commercial solar arrays are part of, we get upset. I think it’s because we can see the source of the electricity, while we can’t see it with other electricity sources.

We can often engage in black and white thinking – such as all our Maine farmlands are going to be converted to solar arrays, which is utter nonsense. I have yet to see a commercial solar array placed in Vassalboro take over a farm. I have seen a coexistence of a commercial solar array and farm in China at the Three Level Farm. A commercial (community) solar array was placed on the other side of an active farm. The commercial solar arrays that I have seen in Augusta and Waterville (and it’s quite possible I’ve missed some), have been placed on vacant land that wasn’t being used for farming.

4.) Regulating what individuals can and can’t do with their land, without a comprehensive plan

For the most part I do not want the town to make it more difficult for relatively large land owners in Vassalboro to be able to choose what they want to do or not do with their land, especially as it relates to commercial solar arrays. I own about 140-150 acres of land. I like to believe that I am a good steward of the land, the vast majority of it is in tree growth with a forest management plan. I have two hay fields that are used by my neighbor and a wild blueberry field that is rarely used for picking blueberries. If the town decides to say what large land owners can or cannot do with their land, have it done in a planned manner, rather then a reactionary one.

As a town we do not have a comprehensive plan or zoning. To me trying to define where commercial solar arrays can be placed is a backwards approach to zoning. If we are going to pick and choose how we go about deciding on how land is going to be used, then do it right. Look at the town as a whole, not as bits and pieces.

5.) Protecting our Natural Environment

I think our main responsibility in terms of the natural environment is to focus on air, land, soil and water – all of which are impacted by climate change and global warming. I think while we might like some type of regulation placed on commercial solar arrays, that commercial solar arrays be recognized for the positives that they provide for Vassalboro. The regulation/ordinance should not impede the implementation of new commercial solar arrays. I don’t see any compelling need to implement a moratorium on commercial solar arrays as there are so few (if any) active projects in Vassalboro, and I will oppose the moratorium related to commercial solar array development in Vassalboro.

OPINIONS: Who needs broadband? What can you do?

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Photo credit: Barta IV, https://www.flickr.com/photos/98640399@N08/9287370881

COMMUNITY COMMENTARY

by Amy Davidoff

Who needs broadband? We all do. Do we all have it? Undoubtedly not, but we don’t know and need to find out. A town broadband committee can encourage speed testing and get us the information we need.

Broadband availability and affordability are critical for the health and welfare of our town. What is broadband? Maine broadband standards are now 100 mbps download and upload speeds. Very few of us have that speed. There are federal funds available to build infrastructure and expand access to broadband, but we can’t tap into it without knowing what we need.

As we have learned through the past two years, access to the internet is critical for so much in our lives. It is critical for educational opportunities for kids and adults, for telehealth appointments and medical information, for attracting/retaining businesses, for improving citizen engagement. Some of us have adequate internet speeds, at least for now, while others have either slow speeds (underserved) or no internet at all (unserved). Whether it is available and whether it is affordable to our citizens are important questions to answer.

So, what can you do?

Take the internet speed test:

The Maine Broadband Coalition has the way to collect the data: https://www.mainebroadbandcoalition.org.

This will help us identify who has no internet access (by indicating that you have no service), and what internet speeds the rest of us have.

Want to do more?

The Vassalboro Select Board members agreed to form an ad hoc Broadband Committee. Your passion and/or expertise would be most welcomed. Want to know more? Please contact Amy Davidoff, (207) 284-3417, adavidoff@une.edu.

OPINIONS: Reduce Maine’s carbon footprint by restoring rails

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by John D. Koons

Let’s restore the existing rail right-of-way from Brunswick to Bangor and power rail service with now-available battery or hydrogen-fueled equipment.

Rail advocacy groups such as Trainridersne.org and Mainerailgroup.org have soldiered on for years largely out of the public eye with the hope of restoring efficient rail service on existing rail right of ways. Now is the time to take action.

Vehicular traffic is Maine’s single largest producer of greenhouse gases, accounting for 35-40 percent of its carbon footprint. Maine transportation has been stuck on cars and trucks for far too long. Two years ago, Maine Department of Transportation spent about 86 cents per person on public transit. The national average was about $5 per person—Vermont about $12 per person. Maine lags woefully behind in development of its public transit.

Restoring passenger rail service, i.e., moving potentially millions of bodies in the course of a year between Maine’s cities and towns would help shrink Maine’s carbon footprint to a pawprint. Expanding broadband together with passenger rail service would be an economic juggernaut.

Imagine rail service that connects Brunswick to Bangor and the cities and towns in between. The Opera House and Lockwood Hotel, in Waterville, Reny’s, in Gardiner, Cushnoc, in Augusta, Liberal Cup, in Hallowell, a beautiful and safe snowy ride along the mighty Kennebec River, visits with friends and family members, and hundreds more possibilities suddenly open up for people of all ages. People with disabilities, the elderly, and those who don’t drive could get around without a car.

College students from Bowdoin to Colby to University of Maine and more would be connected by rail.

Maine is often described as being one small town. With rail service, it truly would return to being as connected and accessible as it was over a half century ago.

Nearly every city and town along this rail corridor has been trying to revitalize their downtowns for years. The overlooked common denominator in their midst is the dormant, deteriorating rail line that could be revitalized using very green battery or hydrogen propulsion.

There is strength in numbers of communities linked by this wasted asset and it is way past time to use this existing infrastructure as designed for the common transportation good. Rail naturally links cities and towns together, which have existing infrastructure to handle it.

Travel and tourism would increase in-state and attract many more out-of-staters to inland destinations.

The state recently acquired the dormant Madison rail line. This is tremendous news for trail enthusiasts and would provide a substantial economic boost to central Maine. Trails add value to communities as has been demonstrated by individuals and organizations around the state. I’m one of them, having spearheaded the development of Quarry Road Trails, in Waterville, over a decade ago.

I agree with Mr. Jeremy Cluchey, of Merrymeeting Trails and the Maine Trails Coalition, who asserts in his letter (August 28, 2021, Kennebec Journal/Morning Sentinel) that “these corridors are languishing public assets, and it’s time to use them for the highest community benefit.” We disagree on the use. Not all unused rail corridors should be converted to trails.

Yes, pursue a trail for the Madison line, but in the case of the Brunswick/Augusta line, rebuild this as a modern train or tram line as originally designed with adjacent trail access where practical. Trails, while enhancing value in communities, serve one small slice of the population pie, while rail serves the entire population 365 days a year. Rail is at least an order of magnitude greater in economic multiplier effect. The question is how to do it reasonably and serve Maine’s markets to their fullest potential. There are answers.

The Maine Legislature authorized a study of rail service along the Portland-Bangor corridor (LD227), with a report due in 2023. This is essential but slow to happen. Why wait? Much can be extrapolated from a several-year-old Lewiston study.

Maine DOT has its hands full dealing with such a huge state full of deteriorating highways. It’s unlikely to wave the banner for rail as Governor Mills focuses on electric cars as a solution. We need more options. Fossil fuels enabled us to get to where we are and we are thankful for that, but we’ve obviously over done it. It is now our responsibility to go back to the future with battery – and hydrogen-powered passenger rail service.

Talk to your state and local representatives. Let’s make this happen for our economy, our towns, our people, and our planet.

OPINIONS: Is there a cynical plan to bankrupt USPS? Sen. Susan Collins’ response

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Susan Collins speaks to local media outside the McDonald’s in Winslow. (photo by Eric W. Austin)

Community Commentary

In last week’s issue, we printed a letter from Eugene Bryant, of Palermo, to Senator Susan Collins regarding the United States Postal Service. The following is her response:

Dear Mr. Bryant:

Thank you for contacting me to express your concerns about the United States Postal Service (USPS). I appreciate your taking the time to write this thoughtful letter.

I am a long-time supporter of the USPS. Especially in Maine, the Postal Service and its employees are a critical lifeline to our rural communities, connecting our loved ones and delivering crucial items.

I am an original cosponsor of the bipartisan Postal Service Reform Act (S. 1720), introduced by my colleagues Rob Portman (R-OH) and Gary Peters (D-MI). This legislation would eliminate the pre-funding requirement for health benefits, improve transparency, and increase accountability by mandating that USPS send biannual operational and financial reports to Congress. This would also require the Postal Service to maintain a delivery standard of at least six days per week. While this legislation includes reforms that are necessary to ensure the long-term financial liability of the Postal Service, I look forward to working with my colleagues on a bipartisan basis to protect the USPS. Please know that I have consistently opposed changes that would reduce service to the public or lead to privatizing the Postal Service.

The Postal Service Reform Act builds on the relief I helped secure for the Postal Service as part of a year-end legislative packager, which became law in December 2020. That bill forgives a $10 billion loan extended to USPS in the CARES Act.

As Congress debates how to best reform our postal system, I believe that putting the USPS back on a financially stable path cannot come at the cost of short changing service to the public. Again, thank you for contacting me.

Sincerely,

/s/ Susan M. Collins
United States Senator

OPINIONS – A letter to Sen. Susan Collins: Is there a cynical plan to bankrupt USPS?

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COMMUNITY COMMENTARY

by Eugene Bryant, of Palermo

This letter was sent to Sen. Susan Collins by Eugene Bryant, of Palermo.

Dear Senator Collins:

First, thanks to you and your staff for your ongoing service in these difficult times. Considering everything else that’s been going on, I’m writing about a somewhat less dramatic issue, the United States Postal Service.

One of the charges I heard leveled against you in the last election was that you had sponsored or supported the bill that mandates the USPS fund, in just a few years, the full retirement and health insurance costs for its employees out for an incredibly long period – is it 70 years? It seems that no other public or private entity has ever been required to do this. This utterly baffled me until I heard the contention that it represents a cynical effort to bankrupt the Postal Service so that private delivery companies such as FedEx and UPS can acquire the most profitable parts of it. If it were not for this unreasonable mandate, the USPS would apparently be showing a decent profit.

People sneer at “snail mail”. But we all take it for granted that the Postal Service will safely and securely carry an original document practically from door to door anywhere in the U.S., usually in three or four days, for little over 50 cents.

I have been the executor for both my mother’s and elder brother’s estates and have depended on first class mail for transferring legal documents and sometimes checks for considerable sums. I never had any problems, until fairly recently.

Since Donald Trump’s appointee took over the Postal Service there has been a noticeable decline in the quality of service. The hours at rural post offices were cut back so that it became more difficult to mail packages or purchase stamps. Then, it was on the news that letter-sorting machines had been arbitrarily removed from many busy regional mail centers, although some were later returned. I understand you helped with that. Thank you.

Last year, I sent a letter to an out-of-state address. Over a month later it came back here as undeliverable – the street number was incorrect. There are fewer than 15 houses on the road to which it was addressed, so I doubt the letter made it as far as the actual postal carrier on the ground. Without exception the men and women I have known who carry the mail the last few miles are dedicated and knowledgeable people who take pride in bringing our letters, periodicals, and packages to their destinations as expeditiously as possible.

Earlier this year I delivered several cases of produce to the Curra family farmstand in Knox – perhaps you know it – it’s just below Knox Four Corners and the (former) Ingraham farm equipment dealership. Peter Curra, who is in his 80s and still works full time on the farm, was out, but later sent me a check for several hundred dollars. He had misplaced my street number and just wrote “Banton Road” on the envelope. There are 20-some homes here on the Banton Road and I’ve been living in this particular one for 45 years. For most of those years, my address was simply RFD #1, Palermo.

About a month later, Pete called me to ask if I’d gotten the check since it hadn’t showed up as cashed on his monthly bank statement. I searched my records and messy desk but couldn’t account for it. Finally, almost two months after it was sent, the letter came back to him as “undeliverable”. Again, I doubt if it made it as far as the Palermo Post Office and our regular mail carrier, Kirby, who is incredibly competent and hard working, and was officially diverted somewhere upstream.

Now I hear that the standard for first class mail delivery is to be slowed by several more days. The lifelines of people who obtain medications and other vital goods and services through the mail will be threatened.

From the earliest days of our nation the postal service was created as one of the essential public functions to help knit together a large and diverse country. Next to Social Security, it remains just about the most popular governmental institution. Please explain, Senator Collins, your past votes on this issue and what you intend to do to ensure the future viability of the United States Postal Service.

(Editor’s note: A reply from Sen. Collins was received and will be printed in next week’s issue.)

OPINIONS: Plea to keep Bomazeen a scouting camp

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Chris “Montawagon“ Bernier at his lodge.

COMMUNITY COMMENTARY

by Chris Bernier

My name is Chris “Montawagon“ Bernier. I am a long time scouter from Winslow here in Pine Tree Council. I joined scouting in 1983. I received my Eagle Scout in 1994. Without scouting my life would have turned out drastically different. I was lucky to have both of my parents in our home growing up, however, my father worked a million hours a week it seemed. My two brothers and I got to see him often but not nearly as much as I wished growing up. I would say more than half of my male influences growing up came from scouting leaders. The other half my father.

My fondest memories in scouting were from summer camp. For me that was Camp Bomazeen. For some of the other youth in my troop it was a combination of Bomazeen and Camp Hinds. I was lucky enough to have attended Camp Hinds in 1989 for a week. I got to see both camps and participate in programs at both camps, however, my heart will always lay at Camp Bomazeen.

Many other youth, have made great memories at Camp Gustin, or Camp Nutter. Many at Camp Hinds. Pine Tree council is lucky enough for the moment to have four amazing non-replaceable assets. This is in danger of changing.

The council has incurred some debts and the national Scouts BSA lawsuits are requiring councils to fork over costs of damages. Yet another debt to our council. It is the responsibility of our council board to figure out how to pay those debts. Unfortunately, the executive board feels selling property (even if protected as a trust) is an option to pay those debts. I, as a Scout of 38 years and an adult leader/volunteer of 27 years feels that Pine Tree Council is about to jump off the cliff by the sale of Bomazeen, with Nutter and Gustin to follow.

That is why I am contacting you today. I would like to ask everyone in the district. Every Pack, Troop, and Crew member who wants to see this stay as a camp for Scouts in perpetuity, to write a personal letter stating why you think it is a bad idea to sell Camp Bomazeen, specifically. I would like to see leaders as well as youth include letters. I would ask you to personally sign it. Then either bring it to the roundtable where I will collect them and make sure they are used in a productive way to try to preserve our camps. If you cannot make it out to the roundtable, please mail them to me or you can scan them on your computer and mail them to me via email where I will print them out.

However, a signature is still strongly advised. I would like to put a deadline of getting these letters in my hand by December 15. At that time, I will take all the letters and make sure they get down to Pine Tree Council. Addressed to every board member and council employee. Think of this as a petition but with more bite as you are not just signing your name, you are explaining why you are signing your name. I would urge you to contact me about how you feel about this via email at circleofone555@hotmai.com.

I would ask that you contact your chartering organizational representatives. Encourage them to become active in what council does. Every Troop’s chartering organizational representative has the obligation to vote on who Pine Tree Councils board members are annually. The council hosts a January meeting with a list of board members. If a majority “Yes” vote is passed those people are that year’s board for council. If a majority “No” vote occurs council must wipe the slate clean and start over. I encourage a “No” vote. Our council is in desperate need of a new board of directors. Most people are not aware of this. It is crucial, even vital, now more than ever, that we let council know that selling irreplaceable property potentially protected in trust is not a good use of resources. A better use of their time should be focusing on membership, “quality” program at all four camps and capital campaigns. If done properly this council could easily recover from its debts. Something the current board clearly is not focused on.

You may or may not be aware of it but the attorney general’s office along with the Bomazeen Oldtimers Association 501(c)(3) is suing Pine Tree Council in an effort to protect the property. The deed of Doctor Averill, who gave the camp for use to central Maine scouts, states that the trustees of Camp Bomazeen govern it. If for any reason a Camp Bomazeen Trustee member leaves said board, the council, who has jurisdiction over Camp Bomazeen, “Shall appoint a successor from the vicinity of where the former Trustee resided.” The deed also states that the original Trustees of Bomazeen were all from the Central Maine, Waterville, Madison, Skowhegan area. The last time I heard there was a Camp Bomazeen board of trustees was more than 20 years ago. The council has failed in its duty to put in place successors.

The deed states “First: Said property is to be held by said Trustees for the use and benefit for members of the Boy Scouts of America, said premises to be at all times available for camping purposes to the troops and members of the Boy Scouts of America, and especially for the troops and members of the Boy Scouts of America in the central part of the State of Maine.” If the council were to sell, it is Pine Tree Council’s obligation that the money received be held in trust for Central Maine Scouting, not to pay debts for poor money management. Any sales of this trust are to be done to further the intention of the trust.

In recent years scouting has been on the decline. Covid struck and rapidly helped to disrupt scouting. The answer to debt is not selling stuff and hope membership rises. The answer to debt is increased membership and give as many opportunities to children within scouting, at as many places as possible. Without our well distributed camps, providing outstanding programs becomes that much more challenging. The current board of directors at Pine Tree Council has clearly lost its way. We the leaders of the packs, troops and crews on the ground sometimes need to remind them what they are voting on. This is one of those times as our packs, troops and crews are the larger bases of income to the council.

I want to thank you for your time and I hope you will consider sending before December 15.

Please, let’s band together as a council and help to protect these four great properties for every youth of scouting to enjoy for the next 100 years of scouting.

Send your letter to Preserve Camp Bomazeen Letter Drive, c/o Chris “Montawagon” Bernier, P.O. Box #2444, Waterville, ME 04903.

Reaction to announcement of possible closing of Albion Elementary School

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COMMUNITY COMMENTARY

by Katrina Dumont, Kara Kugelmeyer, Billy-Jo Woods

Dear Fellow Albion Resident(s),

Our town has had its own school(s) since its founding in 1804.

Today, we are faced with the reality that the MSAD #49 School Board has decided to close the Albion Elementary School, as part of the MSAD #49 new school construction project.

Closing our only school will have many impacts (listed below) on our town both socially and economically.

Fortunately, as citizens of Albion, we have many options that we can explore and take action on in response to this decision (options below). The purpose of this letter is to inform fellow residents of our options, and invite all Albion residents to join future discussions on what option(s) the town should pursue.

After discussion with the Albion Selectboard, the residents (listed below) have started a committee that has been exploring:

  • What realistic options does the town have in response to the school closing: keep school, close school, school choice, etc. (see options below).
  • What would be the impacts (positive and negative) on the students, residents, and town with the closing of the Albion Elementary school.

An overview of the information that we have gathered to date is below. Detailed information can be found at https://albionschoolfutures.squarespace.com/ Also sometime in the next few months there will be a special public meeting to discuss our options (to be scheduled).

Below is more about the school closing and options:

On March 18, 2021, the MSAD #49 School Board accepted the recommendation of the new school building committee to close the Fairfield Primary building, consolidate the elementary schools, and close the Albion and Clinton Elementary Schools. While the purpose of the new building has not been fully envisioned, it will house some if not all of the elementary grades.

The vote on the motion passed 10-2-1, with the Albion School Board members voting against the motion. The closing of our school, which does not need or have to happen, will be tied to a vote to fund the new school. The final vote to try and close our school, which is a district wide vote (so even if Albion votes no the school can still be closed), will most likely be held in June of 2022 (next year).

It is fair to say that receiving state funding for a new school can be seen as a win for MSAD49, yet it is equally true that closing the Albion elementary school will have many harmful and long term negative impacts on our residents, young students, and our town.

While the location of the new school has not been posted on the district’s school consolidation webpage, all evidence points to that it will not be in Albion or in Clinton. Also while a large part of the cost of the new school will be paid for by the state, the towns in the district will need to pay the remaining costs to build the new school. Finally, while our current school building in Albion is older, it’s still an adequate building for our students, even by the state’s ratings and standards.

So what does closing our school mean for our town?

Sadly the vast majority of studies (educational, social, and economic) on rural school closings conducted across the U.S., including in Maine, show that when a rural town loses its only school to consolidation, especially an elementary school, even when residents have access to a new school in a nearby town, the following negative outcomes occur.

  • For young children, longer bus rides and larger class size, often negatively impacts their overall academic performance, (reading, writing, and math), and lessens their connection to the people in their local community
  • The sense of community and town identity is hugely diminished for all residents and many people stop wanting to move to the town
  • For students and families who don’t live near the school, the ability to easily participate in school related extracurricular activities, like sports, becomes much harder
  • The future of the town as a inviting place to live and raise a family is hugely diminished, and the town’s population decreases, increasing the tax burden on the remaining citizens (you still have to pay school taxes no matter what)
  • In rural towns the farther a residence is from a school, the value homes and property decreases, as does the ability to attract future buyers for homes
  • Taxes increase as home and property values decrease
  • Local school related taxes (the biggest part of tax bills) increase regardless of cost savings with a new
    building, as the major portion of the school budget is salaries
    Fortunately, as citizens of Albion, we have options that we can explore and take action on. It is fair to say that all of these
    options have some upsides and downsides. Our options include:

    • Vote NO! When the district wide vote to close the school(s) happens next year, vote against closing the school(s). *This a district wide vote so all towns in the district get to vote on closing our school, so if Albion votes no and the rest of the towns vote yes, the school still closes.
    • Withdraw from the MSAD #49 district with three different possible options:
    1. Keep our elementary school (home rule) and have school choice (children can go to any schools in the area) for middle and high school. The school would have different leadership. Children could still go to Lawrence or Benton elementary. We can afford to do this at the current tax rate.
    2. Close our elementary school but have school choice (can go to any schools in the area, including MSAD #49) for all grades. Children can still go to Lawrence or Benton elementary. We can afford to do this at the current tax rate.
    3. Join another district and negotiate to keep our elementary school and school choice.
    • Stay in the district and support the closing of our elementary school.

You can learn more details about the options, the impacts, and the new school project at https://albionschoolfutures.squarespace.com/ If you wish to join the committee looking at the options, have questions etc. please email: albionschoolfutures@gmail.com.

Community Commentary is a forum The Town Line makes available for citizens to express their opinions on subjects of interest to our readers, and is not necessarily the views of the staff or the board of directors. The Town Line welcomes, and encourages, supportive comments, differing opinions, counterpoints or opposing views. Keep the rebuttals positive, and informative. Submissions containing personal attacks will be rejected.

OPINIONS: Potential Adams Memorial Park on Lakeview Drive

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The property in question, from Google Streetview.

COMMUNITY COMMENTARY

by Janet Preston

To sell or not to sell? That is the question you will be asked in Article 25 on China’s June 8 ballot. The property in question is on tax map 63, lot 008, located on the west side of Lakeview Drive, across from The Cabins.

Q: How did the town come to own the property?

A: The property was donated to the Town of China in 2016, when China residents voted to accept the land. The previous owners had separated the land from the cabins on the lakefront in order to subdivide it (see map) and sell individual lots separately. They were unable to sell any of the lots (it is very wet and not easily developable), and decided to offer it to the town.

Q: How big is the property?

A: The land is approximately 40 acres. The map shows the planned subdivision, which has expired. The property extends from Lakeview Drive all the way east to Hunter Brook.

Q: If we vote “no” and keep the land, what will become of it?

A: The land belongs to the taxpayers, so it makes sense to do something that serves the community. If the voters decide to keep the property, I would propose creating a park with a roadside picnic area and a system of walking trails throughout the property.

Q: What would we call it?

A: I would propose that we name it Adams Memorial Park after Albert and Muriel (“Mother”) Adams, who owned the land and ran Candlewood Cabins for almost 40 years. They were beloved members of the community and very involved and supportive of youth activities.

Q: How would we pay for creating this public area?

A: All the funding would come from TIF District funds and Maine grants.

TIF funds may be used for “Costs associated with the development and/or maintenance of new or existing recreational trails with significant potential to promote economic development. TIF Revenues may be applied to the design, construction, safety, handicap accessibility and ongoing maintenance of a trail system within China … The goal is to develop a recreational trail system which will be eventually interconnected within the Town…”

Also, among the numerous Maine grants designed to increase outdoor activity, the Recreational Trails Program (RTP) provides funds through the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands to develop and maintain recreational trails. (https://www.maine.gov/dacf/parks/grants/recreational_trails_program.shtml)

Q: How will a park help our community?

A: Green spaces have a significant positive effect on people’s health, the environment, and the economy.

Health: Outdoor exercise and experiences are good for us. Maine people know this and appreciate getting out in the fresh air in all seasons.

Environment: Vegetated and unpaved areas provide a free and efficient way of storm water collection, which is a huge environmental concern for China. Hunter Brook flows into China Lake, so protecting the property near the brook helps to protect water quality in the lake.

Economy: Studies have shown that public green spaces provide a net economic gain to a community. People driving through China would see an appealing place to stop, stretch their legs, or have a picnic. They will buy food and other items at our businesses, and they might even decide to move here because of the variety of recreational opportunities. The 2020-2024 Maine State Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP) recognizes and highlights that “outdoor recreation is a major engine of economic activity and an incredible asset as communities strive to be healthy, vibrant places where people are excited to live, work, and play.”

Q: We already have two parks – Thurston Park and the China School Forest. Why do we need another one?

A: This past year of COVID restrictions has inspired people to become more active outdoors. Thurston Park and the China Forest are wonderful resources for that purpose. However, the number of trails in these parks is limited, and as the town grows, we will need more trails to accommodate our outdoor recreational needs. One of the goals in China’s comprehensive plan is to “expand opportunities in parks, possibly through non-sport activities for adults, community gardens, and more community events.” Also, neither of these public spaces is visible from the road. The Lakeview Drive property has the potential to provide a visible, aesthetically pleasing green space with a view of China Lake.

Q: If we vote “yes” and sell the land, what will become of it?

A: We don’t know. Someone could buy the land and keep it as it is, or someone could develop it. If the town doesn’t own it, then we have no control over what becomes of it.

Q: How much tax revenue would the sale produce?

A: Revenues from taxes on the property depend on how the new owner uses it. Currently, the assessed value of the undeveloped land is $65,600. Based on the current mil rate, the taxes collected would be anywhere from about $970 (as is) to $40,000 (with a 13-lot development). A $20,000 addition to the town’s tax revenue amounts to about $5.75 per taxpayer. Of course, new development brings new costs as well, so any additional tax revenue would likely be absorbed by these or other costs.

Q: The Narrow Gauge snowmobile trail crosses the property. Will snowmobiles still be allowed to pass through the land? Will hunting still be allowed on the property?

A: If the town maintains ownership, then hunters and snowmobiles would continue to be welcome. If we sell it, the new owner would make that decision.

Personally, I am in favor of the town keeping the property. If we sell it, there is no turning back, and the public land is gone forever. If we keep it, we would have a nice tribute to the Adams family and a park that China residents could enjoy for generations to come.

If you have additional questions or would like to walk the property, please email me at janet.preston@chinamaine.org.