CHINA: Most residents agree with $2 stickers at transfer station

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by Mary Grow

China transfer station staff and Palermo representatives on China’s Transfer Station Committee agree that the majority of residents of both towns are cooperative about paying $2 for their 2025 transfer station windshield stickers.

As usual, some complain, they reported at the committee’s Jan 14 meeting.

The point of requiring the stickers on the windshields of vehicles registered in China or Palermo is to prevent China taxpayers from paying to dispose of out-of-town trash. Palermo and China have an agreement under which Palermo contributes money annually to the China facility and Palermo residents use special trash bags that they pay for.

China Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood explained that the sticker requirement sometimes gets complicated. A not uncommon case, she said, is when an older China resident (and taxpayer) has an out-of-town family member – whose vehicle is ineligible for a China sticker – transport the resident’s trash.

Committee member Benjamin Weymouth asked how often these sorts of issues arise.

“More than you’d expect,” Hapgood replied.

Transfer station manager Thomas Maraggio agreed, estimating irregular situations several times a week.

Before vehicle stickers were reinstated, transfer station users had placards to hang on their rearview mirrors, which could be removed and shared. Maraggio said trash volume went down after the change to stickers.

Stickers are available at both town offices and at the transfer station. Town office staff can look up vehicle registrations; transfer station staff cannot, and need to see the document.

Hapgood and Maraggio mentioned pending projects, possible grants to help fund some of them and preliminary suggestions for the 2025-26 budget request.

Maraggio said the station’s scales, used to weigh demolition debris and brush, are 20 years old and have an expected lifetime of 20 years. He has no cost estimate for new ones.

Hapgood said the transfer station staff consists of three full-time employees and one part-time employee. Public works staffers help when needed.

She and committee chairman J. Christopher Baumann emphatically rejected the apparently-overheard comment that employees “stand around” doing nothing. Baumann said he stops by frequently, and always finds them busy.

Director of Public Services Shawn Reed praised employees for keeping the transfer station clean and saving taxpayers money, for example by taking furniture apart to salvage recyclable metal parts.

“They do an amazing job,” Reed said.

Palermo representative Chris Diesch suggested the committee review the transfer station mission statement, last updated in the fall of 2021. After a brief discussion, the issue was postponed to a future meeting.

On Baumann’s recommendation, the China town office later sent committee members a list of half dozen ordinances, policies and other relevant documents that are on the town website, chinamaine.org.

The next China Transfer Station Committee meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 11, in the town office meeting room.

Winslow council repeals public safety department

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by Jonathan Strieff

In a first reading of the ordinance at the January 13, Winslow town council meeting, council members voted 4-3 to repeal the Winslow Public Safety Department adopted on November 21, 2022, and reinstate the previously separated Police Department and Fire and Rescue Department.

The ordinance, sponsored by the newly-appointed Council Chairman, Fran Hudson, seeks to address staffing shortages, high rates of overtime pay, and the lack of cross training of officers promised by transitioning to the public safety model adopted in 2022.

“Since adopting the Public Safety Department, Winslow has lost six police officers and eight firefighters,” Hudson cited for pursuing the restructuring. “If I were a new graduate from the police academy or the firefighters academy, I would be looking for a job at a Police or Fire Department, not a Public Safety Department.”

Hudson also referenced other Maine municipalities like Gardiner and Old Town that transitioned to Public Safety Departments only to revert back to more traditional models after a few years.

Council members in favor of preserving the Public Safety Department, like Second District Council Member Dale Macklin and Councilor-at-Large Jeffery West, noted that overtime pay was on pace with what the council had budgeted for the fiscal year and that personnel disputes, common when the Police and Fire Departments had been managed separately, seemed to have disappeared since adopting the unified Public Safety Department’.

Public Safety Director, Leonard McDaid, and Deputy Fire Chief, Michael Murphy, both spoke favorable about the operations of the Public Safety Department, but both acknowledged that they, “serve at the will of the council,” and will run organize the departments accordingly.

The council also heard a presentation from Winslow Town Sexton, Jason Fitch, about the potential to expand McClintock Cemetery. Fitch shared that an abutting landowner has offered to sell the town up to two acres of land for new burial and cremation plots, but the Sexton needed to receive council approval to even sit down to negotiations with him. Fitch estimated the additional land would meet the towns needs for 10 years of burials and pointed out that there is currently no inventory available for burial or cremation plots in Winslow.

At the council meeting, Deputy Fire Chief Murphy also awarded Captain Adam Burgess with the award of Firefighter of the Year for 2024 and recognized retiring firefighter Paul DuCett for 28 years of service.

Vassalboro school board discusses major work at school

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Vassalboro Community School (contributed photo)

by Mary Grow

The Jan. 14 Vassalboro School Board workshop and meeting included more discussion of plans for major work on the Vassalboro Community School (VCS) building, a presentation on the Gifted and Talented Program and a discussion of board members’ stipends.

The official meeting was preceded by a workshop presentation by engineer Erik Rodstrom, of Portland-based Energy Management Consultants (EMC). EMC representatives have attended prior meetings to talk about updating the building, which opened in 1990.

Rodstrom shared a spreadsheet that helps board members establish priorities, consider what projects might be combined and estimate costs.

He discussed criteria for selecting items to be done first. One is obsolescence: if an operating unit is so old neither replacement parts nor skilled technicians are available if it breaks down, it should be high on the list.

The amount of a project’s energy savings is another consideration; work that saves more money should be prioritized when practical. And the importance of the unit is a consideration: for example, Rodstrom said the VCS boiler is only about 12 years old, but if it should break down, the school would have to close.

Board members intend to review EMC’s multi-page report and make priority recommendations to be discussed at their February meeting.

When the school board meeting convened after Rodstrom’s presentation, Gifted and Talented (GT) teacher Rod Robilliard talked about his program, which has 40 VCS students enrolled. The purpose, he said, is to provide individualized learning that emphasizes each student’s talents and strengths.

“They want to stretch. They feel proud when they take on a challenge and succeed,” Robilliard said of his students.

When board member Jessica Clark asked if Robilliard needed anything, he said he might need minor funding, for example for transportation – but perhaps parents or the Parent-Teacher Organization will step up.

Robilliard’s half-time position is new and has expanded the GT program. Principal Ira Michaud praised Robilliard’s work, calling him a “phenomenal asset” to VCS.

A survey of GT students brought two main responses, Michaud reported: some said the program is perfect, others wanted longer and/or more frequent G/T classes.

Board chairman Jolene Gamage proposed discussion of board members’ stipends, for the first time in the dozen years she has been on the board. Given the lack of people willing to run for this and other town boards, she wondered if more money would help.

Probably not, she and other board members concluded; people serve on the school board because they want Vassalboro to have an excellent school, not for $400 a year. Several members did not know there was a stipend until the first check arrived.

Gamage did recommend that the board chairman – starting with her successor – be given extra money for extra time. Superintendent Alan Pfeiffer agreed; he communicates with the board through the chairman, he said, and frequently calls Gamage.

The issue was tabled for more information, including about other Maine school boards: how many members do they have, and how much are members paid?

In other business, Pfeiffer reported several pieces of good news, like ongoing cooperation with the town’s public works department under new director Brian Lajoie and a sound financial report from Director of Finance Paula Pooler.

Pooler was too busy preparing 2025-26 budgets for Vassalboro, Waterville and Winslow schools to attend the meeting, Pfeiffer said. He plans to present some parts of Vassalboro’s proposed budget at the board’s February meeting.

Board members accepted the resignation of special education teacher Kathleen Cole, effective at the end of the school year. Pfeiffer said Cole is retiring, after teaching at VCS since 2000.

The next Vassalboro school board meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 11, preceded by another 4:30 p.m. workshop discussion of building work.

Thurston Park group continues talks on south entrance

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Hikers on Bridge in Thurston Park (Photo courtesy: Town of China)

by Mary Grow

China’s Thurston Park Committee members spent part of their Jan. 16 meeting talking again about the possibility of opening a southern entrance to the 400-acre park in northeastern China.

The unpaved Yorktown Road runs north from the Mann Road, in China, through the park and across the Albion town line. Town voters discontinued the road in March 1956, but they kept an easement allowing public use.

The current entrance to the park from the north is down a steep hill, partly in Albion, that needs frequent repair. Albion does not maintain it; committee chairman Jeanette Smith explained that China money can’t be used outside town limits.

The southern end of Yorktown Road is Maurice “Steve” and Dawn Haskell’s driveway. The Haskells prefer not to have the road repaired and maintained for park access.

When Smith proposed last fall that committee members confer with the Haskells, Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood recommended they first consult select board members. At the Dec. 20, 2024, select board meeting, board members unanimously approved committee members reaching out to all landowners near the Yorktown Road at the south end of the park (see the Jan. 2 issue of The Town Line, p. 3).

Two of those landowners, Jerry Smith and Kathryn Kellison, came to the Jan. 16 meeting. They said they are reluctant to have access to their property improved, fearing trespassers and vandalism.

Jeanette Smith said road improvements would consist of adding gravel, ditching and where necessary installing culverts. The road would not be paved.

Opening a south entrance would not create through traffic on Yorktown Road. As at the north end, there would be a parking lot and a gate just inside the park boundary, she said.

Park hours are dawn to dusk, Smith said. There are no plans to plow the south entrance in the winter.

An alternative to improving the Yorktown Road as a southern entrance has been discussed: making a new right-of-way. Smith said that would be a complicated and costly undertaking.

She assured Jerry Smith and Kellison she would keep them informed of developments that might affect them

Jerry Smith and another guest, China Historical Society member Tim Hatch, mentioned other former roads, no longer maintained or even traceable, that might have run into the park, including one from Palermo. Smith concluded she needs to talk with more people.

The meeting included Hatch’s presentation on the history of the park, which opened formally on May 31, 2014. The town had owned much of the land since the 1950s.

The first parcel was a gift from Everett Thurston, because, Jeanette Smith said, when he and his family were down on their luck, town officials helped them out. More land was acquired through tax foreclosures, Hatch said, and one small piece was purchased.

Some of the landowners in what is now the park were members of China’s Black population. The Talbot cemetery, one of two identified Black cemeteries in China, is just outside the eastern end of the southern park boundary, at the Palermo town line.

Voters who responded to a pre-2014 survey and then approved the park did not want it to increase taxes, Smith said. Consequently, funding has come from grants, occasional fund-raising efforts and China’s TIF (Tax Increment Financing) money. Much of the labor of creating and maintaining trails and other facilities has been volunteer, including Eagle Scout projects.

Smith is waiting to find out whether the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) approves funds for repairs after the December 2023 storms, before she proposes a 2025 TIF fund request.

She is researching other funding sources, including the new $30 million trail fund Maine voters approved in November 2024.

A top priority project is designing and building a handicapped trail near the north end of the park and adding a handicapped toilet. Smith has approached the builder of the park’s other toilet facilities about taking on the new project.

On another topic, committee members briefly discussed plans for China’s Ice Days, Feb. 14 through 16. Smith said the park will host an Owl Prowl the evening of Friday, Feb. 14, and, if snow conditions permit, sledding the morning of Saturday, Feb. 15.

The next Thurston Park Committee meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 20, in the portable building behind the China town office on Lakeview Drive.

China planners approve permits for retail store, rebuilding boat landing

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by Mary Grow

China Planning Board members approved both applications on their Jan. 14 agenda, the one from the town after an unusually complex discussion.

The meeting began with a short public hearing on a proposed retail store at 363 Route 3. There were no comments from anyone present or on line, and codes officer Nicholas French, attending virtually due to illness, said he had received none.

After action on the town’s application, board members reviewed the Route 3 application, presented by engineer Steven Govoni, president of Skowhegan-based Wentworth Partners & Associates. Govoni was speaking for the developer, Calito Development Group, of Torrington, Connecticut.

Govoni made an initial presentation at the board’s November 2024 meeting. The public hearing was first scheduled for Dec. 10, but a snowstorm led board chairman Toni Wall to cancel the meeting. Govoni thanked her, saying driving had been dangerous Dec. 10.

Board members compared plans for the store with the 15 criteria in China’s ordinance, found that the criteria were met and unanimously approved a permit, with the usual reminder that there is a 30-day appeal period.

The single-story, 9,100-square-foot steel building will replace the two-story wooden building that most recently housed Grace Academy Learning Center (closed in June 2022). Govoni said the store will use the existing septic system and a new well, which requires state approval.

There will be two bathrooms, one for staff and one for the public.

Planners asked if town would support homeless veterans housing

At the Jan. 14 China Planning Board meeting, resident and former select board member Robert McFarland and his business partner, Darren Desveaux, of Waterville, asked whether board members think the town would support a housing project for homeless veterans, including a vocational rehabilitation facility.

The two have organized a nonprofit organization, yet to be named, and are considering buying land on Pleasant View Ridge Road, at the McCaslin Road intersection. MacFarland said their project would replicate one near the Togus Veterans Administration Medical Center.

Codes Officer Nicholas French said more than three individual housing units would constitute a subdivision, even if the land were not divided into lots.

Govoni said the Central Maine Power line across the back of the property limits placement of buffers from neighboring properties, so they will be the existing lawns, not the trees often required. Because the neighbors are also commercial establishments, board members were satisfied.

In reply to the criterion about hazardous materials, Govoni said there will not be enough to require preventive measures under state law.

He said the store is part of a “national brand” that has its own safety standards and protocols, sometimes stricter than state laws.

He did not name the “national brand.”

The application from the Town of China was to move more than 100 cubic yards of earth. The earth-moving is part of rebuilding Town Landing Road in South China.

The plan select board members have endorsed involves paving the short road that runs to the boat landing on China Lake, with the paving sloped to send run-off into ditches with check-dams, and at the lake a buffer strip and an improved launching area.

As directed by the town manager, codes officer French had filled out the application, because, he said, he was the most knowledgeable person except for those who will do the work. At the Jan. 14 meeting, he answered planning board members’ questions virtually. The application asked for evidence that the project met the same 15 criteria applicable to the Route 3 retail store.

Rebuilding the road is intended to minimize run-off into China Lake. French reminded planning board members the town has been legally required to take action for 20 years. Selectboard members have discussed the landing at several meetings in the last couple years.

French had left blank the reply to the first criterion, whether the project meets all applicable laws and rules. He said the town has a state Department of Environmental Protection permit by rule, and the project meets town requirements.

Board member Michael Brown objected to leaving an answer blank, leading to a 15-minute discussion of whether the application should have been presented by the town manager or a select board member, instead of the codes officer.

Replies to other criteria included references to the proposed check-dams in the proposed ditches and other planned work beyond moving more than 100 cubic feet of earth. For example, French wrote that the project would enhance the value of neighboring properties, and in discussion mentioned the paved road – not part of the work applied for, protested board member Dwaine Drummond.

In another answer, French referred to crushed rock to be placed near the lake. Again, not relevant, Drummond said. With French’s approval, Wall deleted the reference from her copy of the application.

After almost an hour, the permit was approved, conditional on a required flood hazard application that French said he needs to create. The ordinance requires a flood hazard document only for structures, not for road improvements, he explained.

During the public comment period at the end of the Jan. 14 meeting, several abutters who had watched on line objected to some of the board’s conclusions. They reminded planning board members of the requirement to prepare detailed written findings supporting their decision.

At previous meetings and hearings, neighbors have urged select board members to limit the landing to hand-carried canoes and kayaks, minimize signage and otherwise try to keep their neighborhood quiet.

The next regular China Planning Board meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 28, in the town office meeting room.

U.S. Attorney’s Office, AARP Maine, and Maine Council for Elder Abuse Prevention Launch Elder Fraud Program

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The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maine has announced an innovative new elder fraud awareness program that will utilize the inherent relationships of pharmacists and their customers to reach older Mainers. The Maine Rx Elder Fraud Program is a collaborative effort between the U.S. Attorney’s Office, AARP Maine, and the Maine Council for Elder Abuse Prevention.

“Pharmacists are consistently ranked among the most trusted health care providers, and with approximately nine out of 10 people over age 65 having at least one regular prescription, pharmacists will be a key partner in our efforts to inform this population,” said U.S. Attorney Darcie N. McElwee. “That trust and regular contact makes pharmacies an ideal conduit to reach older Mainers, as well as their family members or caregivers.”

The program, which is designed to educate Mainers on common signs of scams and how to report elder fraud, will begin at Hannaford Supermarkets’ 60 in-store pharmacies across Maine. Informational brochures will be attached to prescription bags for distribution to Hannaford pharmacy customers.

“We recognize older individuals, as well as their caretakers, make up a large portion of our customer base, and that we are uniquely positioned to help reach this audience directly through our pharmacy services as a trusted source for health and safety information,” said Sara Lane, Manager of Pharmacy Clinical Services, Hannaford Supermarkets. “We are always looking for opportunities to make a positive impact in the communities we serve and by making this information available to our pharmacy customers in all corners of our state, our goal is to help reduce the number of elder fraud incidents in Maine.”

Elder fraud is a growing problem across the nation. Last year, more than 101,000 Americans aged 60-plus were defrauded out of $3.4 billion through an ever-growing variety of scams. According to the FBI, that number included 397 Mainers who filed fraud complaints last year for losses totaling more than $7.1 million, and many others go unreported. While some scams can have negligible losses, recent sophisticated scams have robbed victims of their life savings.

“There are so many different types of scams in circulation, it can be difficult to recognize them all. Add in technology, and it becomes even more difficult,” said Jane Margesson, Communications Director for AARP Maine. “Increasingly, the scams are more sophisticated and with multiple layers, even multiple scammers playing different roles. As the schemes have become more complex, the potential losses have increased as well. Those losses can be especially devastating for victims nearing or in retirement. Some of the stories we hear are absolutely heartbreaking.”

“The actual losses are likely considerably higher than reported,” said Andrew McCormack, Assistant U.S. Attorney and Elder Justice Coordinator for the District of Maine. “For a variety of reasons, older individuals are often hesitant to report when they’ve been scammed. While it is normal to feel embarrassed when you’ve been tricked, it is important to remember that the criminals who take advantage of people are absolute pros at what they do. Older Americans are not the only victims – people of all ages and backgrounds fall prey to scams every day – but after a lifetime of saving and perhaps not being online as often and therefore as current on recent scams, they are a common, and frankly favorite, target for some of the most insidious types of fraud.”

“We are grateful to all the organizations that have worked together to make this program possible. Our collective aim is to reduce the number of people in Maine who are victimized by these cruel schemes,” said U.S. Attorney McElwee. “Sadly, there are always going to be criminals who try to take advantage and steal your hard-earned money. Recognizing red flags can help prevent you, or someone you love, from becoming a victim.”

For information about the Maine Rx Elder Fraud Program, email usame.outreach@usdoj.gov or call the U.S. Attorney’s Office at 207-780-3257.

R. L. Mercantile & Trading Post gets board approval, with conditions

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by Mary Grow

Vassalboro Planning board members have approved a site review permit for R. L. Mercantile & Trading Post, with conditions.

Brea Willette, speaking for the business at 134 Brann Road, described it as an expanded farm market, selling products from the family farm and other local farms. Retail sales contribute needed income to help small farmers keep farming, she said.

The 10-by-24-foot building housing the market is already in place, and Willette said there is ample off-road parking. No water is planned.

Lighting will consist of two lights “like porch lights” by the door and one more over the deer hanger, where hunters can weigh deer during hunting season. Neighbors are not close, and trees screen them from the business.

Information attached to the application explains that the farm has been in the family for four generations. The store sells dairy products, meat, bread and local grains, soap and other products.

The “Trading Post” in the name means “if you don’t have money, bring us something you do have,” the document explains. Some people provided labor in return for food: “They learned something new and we got some stuff done.”

The farm sponsors occasional farming-related events, without music, Willette told planning board members.

Several neighbors attended the Jan. 7 meeting. When board chairman Virginia Brackett said to Willette, “Sounds like you’re good neighbors,” some nodded.

Willette replied, “We try to be.”

The unanimous board approval came with three conditions:

— R & L Mercantile must designate a handicapped parking space (Willette said a handicapped ramp is already being planned);
— Public works director Brian Lajoie must be asked to make sure there is adequate sight distance for vehicles turning out of the parking lot; and
— When events are held, no vehicles will be parked on Brann Road.

A side issue mentioned briefly was the farm’s ducks and geese that wander onto Brann Road. The descriptive document with the application says, “Don’t worry, their coops are going up as we speak.”

The second Jan. 7 agenda item, continued review of the proposed Hidden Acres subdivision on Seaward Mills Road, took up most of the meeting, as board members wrestled with the town’s revised planning board ordinance.

They had reviewed a sketch plan at their Dec. 3, 2024, meeting (see the Dec. 12, 2024, issue of The Town Line, p. 2), and found one step omitted. They invited a final sketch plan and a preliminary plan for Jan. 7, to be followed by a final plan in February. Surveyor Adam Ellis and landowner Jeremy Allen presented the preliminary plan, with supporting documents.

The 50-page town subdivision ordinance has a long list of requirements. One says if the subdivision has more than five lots (Allen requests seven) and is in the watershed of a great pond (the land is in the Webber Pond watershed), the application needs to include a stormwater management plan that meets state phosphorus control standards, and a maintenance plan for the phosphorus control measures.

Allen protested that the land to be subdivided is nearly enough level so water will soak in, not run off. He and Ellis pointed out that all run-off will be onto neighboring properties or into the ditch along Seaward Mills Road.

Nonetheless, board members said, the requirement’s in the ordinance. They and Ellis proposed various ways to meet it; they suggested Ellis consult an expert; and they considered whether they had authority to waive the requirement.

The hour and a half discussion ended with Ellis agreeing to send a proposed solution in advance of the February meeting.

Board members then unanimously approved the preliminary application, subject to the additional information that will go into the final application.

The next Vassalboro Planning Board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday evening, Feb. 4, in the town office meeting room. Board members agreed by consensus to change the meeting time to 5:30 p.m., an hour earlier than in past months.

VASSALBORO: Action postponed on rate increase for large items at transfer station

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by Mary Grow

Vassalboro select board members disposed of three issues on their lengthy Jan. 9 meeting agenda.

By unanimous votes, board members:

— Agreed that the state-required wage deduction to support the new paid family medical leave program will be split 50:50 between employees and the town; and
— Agreed to buy new propane tanks for the town office and the Riverside Fire Station from M. A. Haskell, of China, the only bidder.

Board members also finished reviewing the town’s personnel policy, half of an agenda item that also calls for updating Vassalboro Recreation Committee bylaws. Town Manager Aaron Miller will have a revised personnel policy draft ready for their Jan. 23 meeting.

Select board members and transfer station manager Adam Daoust again considered whether to increase fees charged for some of the large items, like mattresses, that residents can dispose of at the transfer station. Board members postponed action.

From the audience, Douglas Phillips said the Vassalboro Historical Society has traditionally had transfer station fees waived. A year ago, he said, the select board renewed the waiver for one year.

The current board promptly and unanimously repeated the action.

The request for a handicapped parking spot at Hair Builders, a business on Oak Grove Road, first came up at the board’s Nov. 13, 2024, meeting, when Miller said he needed time for research:

After receiving guidance from the New England Americans with Disabilities Act Center, as well as legal advice, Miller recommends a “pretty simple” ordinance amendment.

The manager plans to have legally approved language ready for review at the board’s Jan. 23 meeting. Assuming acceptance, the mandatory public hearing could be held at the Feb. 6 board meeting.

Another previously-discussed issue is combining elections for the Vassalboro Sanitary District (VSD) board of trustees with municipal elections. At previous meetings, board members believed only voters living in the area VSD serves could vote for trustees.

On Jan. 9, however, Miller said VSD’s attorney said all town voters could vote for the trustees, just as they vote for select board members.

Board chairman Frederick “Rick” Denico, Jr., thought the limitation on voters was state law. If it is, he said, a town cannot broaden a state mandate.

Board members asked Miller to get another legal opinion.

Board member Chris French recommended increased funding for Vassalboro First Responders in the 2025-26 budget and future years, looking ahead to the time when the group would need a rescue vehicle.

Currently, members use their private vehicles; if transport is needed, Waterville-based Delta Ambulance responds. French is concerned about Delta’s long-term financial stability.

Board member Michael Poulin proposed amending Vassalboro’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF) policy to allow additional uses of TIF money. The TIF account is fed annually by taxes paid on the gas pipeline that runs through Vassalboro from Augusta to Winslow.

Vassalboro’s current TIF ordinance (found online under Documents) establishes a 9.5-acre TIF District along Route 201, where the natural gas pipeline runs, and along VSD lines, including a connection to Winslow. It limits major projects to the expansion of Vassalboro’s sewer system to connect with Winslow, which has been done, and “eventually” contributing to a phosphorus removal plan for China Lake, in collaboration with other groups.

Poulin recommended adding more projects with which TIF funds could assist, including work on the Webber Pond dam and the Mill Hill Road bridge replacement. Discussion will continue.

Miller reported he met with representatives of Maine Rivers and other groups working on the Webber Pond dam. They have funding for a major rebuilding planned for the summer of 2025, he said.

The current plan, being discussed with residents, requires closing the north end of Dam Road, near Webber Pond Road, from mid-July through September, rerouting traffic from Hannaford Hill Road over McQuarrie Road, Miller said. That way, large equipment, like an excavator and a crane, can work at the dam site.

The next regular Vassalboro select board meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 23.

VASSALBORO: Erosion control cost estimate higher than expected

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by Mary Grow

Vassalboro Conservation Commission members re-discussed a main topic from their Dec. 18 meeting on Jan. 8, after they got a higher than expected cost estimate for their December plan.

They agreed in December to improve buffering along the China Lake shoreline in East Vassalboro’s Monument Park, with the goals of increasing erosion control and providing an educational example of a buffer.

At the Jan. 8 meeting, commission member Steve Jones, owner of Vassalboro’s Fieldstone Gardens, presented a $3,084 cost estimate for about four dozen perennial plants. Commission Chairman Holly Weidner and member Matthew Pitcher pointed out other costs, like special mulch and ongoing maintenance.

Commission member Paul Mitnik urged planting trees instead, spaced far enough apart so they wouldn’t block views of the lake. They’d be less expensive and, he said, as effective.

Mitnik’s idea got more objections than support during a debate that ended with Weidner suggesting he talk with Jen Jesperson, the Ecological Instincts consultant who is advising on China Lake water quality issues.

In other business Jan. 8, commission members agreed they will not apply for a 2025 grant from the state program called Project Canopy to plant trees. The program paid for trees in the town’s new Eagle Park on Route 32 and Outlet Stream.

Pitcher said he does not have time to write a grant application this spring. Peggy Horner said the commission hasn’t chosen places to plant trees. Jones is still angry about some Project Canopy trees that were cut down last spring; he opposes asking for any more “till the town ‘fesses up.”

Project Canopy is a good program, they said, and if the town wants to apply, that’s fine.

Commission members agreed by consensus to partner with the Webber Pond Association as it seeks a grant to deal with blue-green algae, also known as cyanobacteria, in the lake water.

Wiedner said she had a request to support the grant application from Mary Schwanke, whom she later identified as lead biologist on the water monitoring and sampling team for the tri-watershed based management plan project that includes Webber Pond.

Commission members again expressed appreciation for the Vassalboro public works department’s help with Eagle Park landscaping. They need to discuss with Public Works Director Brian Lajoie and Town Manager Aaron Miller how much more work is planned – parts of the ground are still very rough, they said

Pitcher had talked with Rob Lemire, owner of Maine Adirondack Chairs, on Holman Day Road, about picnic tables. He reported Lemire is offering six-foot white cedar tables unfinished for $269, or with a natural finish for an additional $150.

Weidner thinks the to-be-constructed Eagle Park pavilion should have room for up to three tables. Commission members agreed they need to consult with Lajoie, for example about winter storage, and to see how their budget looks.

They had intended to discuss the commission’s 2025-26 budget request at the Jan. 8 meeting, but needed detailed updates on 2024 funding and expenditures first. Weidner intends to have more information at the next meeting, scheduled for 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 12, in the town office meeting room.

China select board begins preparing for annual town meeting

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by Mary Grow

China select board members have started preparing for the June 10 annual town business meeting, and it will not be a return to the pre-Covid open meeting that some residents would like to see.

China’s official town meeting, by state definition, is in November, when voters elect town officers by written ballot. The annual June meeting is usually referred to as the town business meeting.

Until Covid, voters assembled to discuss and vote on multiple articles, mostly dealing with expenditures, policies and procedures. Since Covid, the June meeting, too, has been by written ballot.

Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood shared a pre-meeting schedule at the board’s Jan. 13 meeting. It assumes a June 10 written-ballot vote, and select board members supported the assumption.

Their main reason is that more people vote when written ballots are used. Board chairman Wayne Chadwick and other members want lots of residents’ opinions.

Resident Sheldon Goodine spoke in favor of an open meeting. His view is that if most people don’t come, “those who do can run the town.”

Hapgood recommended that one June 10 article asks voters to repeal China’s quorum ordinance. She has received legal opinions that state law does not allow China to have such an ordinance. The ordinance, adopted before 1990, currently requires at least 100 registered voters be present to start an open meeting.

According to Hapgood’s schedule for this spring, the select board and budget committee will meet jointly Monday, Feb. 3, for an initial presentation on the proposed 2025-26 town budget. Select board members need to approve a final set of ballot questions at their April 7 meeting.

At the Jan. 13 meeting, board members appropriated funds and approved a committee to keep the proposed community garden project moving forward. At the request of James Hsiang and his wife, Judith Chute Hsiang, they allocated $200 from their contingency fund to pay for lumber for the raised beds, and transferred $1,033 left in the China for a Lifetime Committee account to garden funding.

They also revitalized the committee, appointing as its members both Hsiangs, Eric Austin, Saige Bird, Sandra Isaac, Marie Michaud, Karen Stankis and, as an advisory member, select board member Jeanne Marquis.

In other appointments, select board members made Bird a member of China’s recreation committee and Milton Dudley a planning board member.

Another expenditure approved Jan. 13 was $11,220 for Bryan Moore, of Pro Tree Service, Inc., of Vassalboro, to take down most of the Reading Tree in the China School Forest behind China Primary School, leaving a 30-foot stub. Storm damage has made the tree a potential liability for the town, Hapgood said.

Hsiang considered the price high and asked board members to seek another estimate. Chadwick explained the complexity of the project requires a crane. Moore’s estimate includes $4,350 for 10 hours work with a crane, at $435 an hour.

Hapgood said the $11,220 will come from the community forest reserve fund, which currently has about $34,000.

Broadband Committee chairman Robert O’Connor reported on an arrangement with Direct Communications, formerly Unitel, in Unity, and the Waldo Broadband Group that will result in a new fiber line running for 17 miles through China and offering a fiber broadband connection to 584 “locations.”

In return, China will contribute the already-approved $370,000 in TIF (Tax Increment Financing) money.

The bulk of the TIF money was to be spread over 10 years. Hapgood assured select board member Edwin Bailey that the fund can afford to spend it immediately.

O’Connor said this project is scheduled for the spring of 2025. It might be followed by a second phase that would improve broadband service throughout China, if a Direct Communications application for a state grant is successful.

As the Jan. 13 meeting ended, Hapgood reminded everyone that China municipal services will be closed Monday, Jan. 20, for the Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday.

Select board member Thomas Rumpf summarized town-wide events planned for China Ice Days, beginning Friday, Feb. 14, and running through Sunday, Feb. 16. The schedule will soon be publicized widely.

The next regular China select board meeting is scheduled for Monday evening, Jan. 27.