Vassalboro select board has not been asked to sell transfer station

by Mary Grow

Vassalboro select board members have not been asked to sell the town transfer station, merely to consider sharing a small part of it.

The suggestion from the board’s April 3 meeting that Municipal Wastehub might want to buy or lease the transfer station was changed at the April 17 meeting, when Mike Carroll, head of the Hampden disposal/recycling facility, spoke with board members.

Carroll explained the hub-and-spoke system he’d like to organize among member towns to increase efficiency and save them money.

Instead of each municipality individually having its different kinds of waste – Carroll mentioned tires and mattresses as examples – hauled directly to disposal sites, nearby towns would combine their collections in a trailer Wastehub provided at one transfer station. Full trailers would be taken to disposal sites.

In response to select board members’ concerns and questions, he said:

Current local employees would stay. If questions arose about their benefits, they would be resolved, with the goal of keeping employees whole.
A trailer would sit wherever the host town’s staff wanted it.
Wastehub’s associated services would include analyzing traffic flow, finding resources and helping negotiate any necessary contracts.

“You don’t lose [your transfer station],” he said.

The project won’t start unless enough of Wastehub’s 115 member towns participate. Carroll gave no number for “enough.”

Meanwhile, he said, the Hampden facility, where he was hired in 2019 to start this sort of plan – before the venture folded in May 2020 – is reopening. It is run by a company called Resource Recovery, with Municipal Wastehub a 10 percent partner.

Plans are to sort municipal solid waste to extract many more recyclables, like soiled cardboard and plastic; feed the remaining “miscellaneous fiber” into an anaerobic digester that will produce natural gas; and use the “grit” residue for projects like covering landfills.

If the new facility becomes profitable, Carroll said, it might be able to reduce tipping fees, or give municipalities rebates, or since Wastehub’s members are 10 percent owners, offer profit-sharing.

In other business April 17, select board members reviewed bids for door openers for the new public works building and for 2025 paving, unanimously choosing the low bidder for each job.

Paving bids were shared with the Town of China, to get a lower price by providing more work. The low bidder was Hagar Enterprises, of Damariscotta, at $85.50 a ton for paving mix. Town Manager Aaron Miller said China and Windsor had used the company before, though Vassalboro had not.

Acceptance of the bid was conditional on the contract forbidding Hagar from sub-contracting out work. The condition was proposed by board member Chris French, who remembered a past subcontracting problem.

Board members reviewed a history of Vassalboro’s Boston Post Cane, prepared by the Vassalboro Historical Society and available on the society’s website, under the heading “Vassalboro’s Oldest Resident.” Current holder of the honor – in the form of a replica carved by resident Raymond Breton, not the original 1909 cane – is Mrs. T. Lois Bulger, born, the website says, April 24, 1922.

At their May 1 meeting, board members plan to consider candidates for Vassalboro’s 2025 Spirit of America award, recognizing community volunteers. Anyone wanting to nominate a candidate is invited to contact the town office or any select board member, Frederick Denico, Jr., Michael Poulin or Chris French.

Select board members appointed Michael Phelps to the Vassalboro Recreation Committee.

The April 17 meeting was preceded by a 35-minute executive session and included further discussion of the draft 2024-25 budget. It ended with French insisting the board schedule a special April 24 meeting to approve the warrant for the June 2 and June 10 town meeting, if by then the Vassalboro School Board has made its final budget recommendations.

Miller was sure that signing the warrant at the next regular meeting May 1 would suffice, but French persuaded him and the other two board members to add the conditional April 24 meeting to their schedules.

The school board scheduled a special budget meeting April 22, Superintendent Alan Pfeiffer reported later.

Vassalboro’s annual town meeting will be, as usual, in two parts. On Monday, June 2, interested voters will assemble at 6:30 p.m. in the Vassalboro Community School gymnasium to elect a moderator and discuss and act on 41 (as of April 17) articles, including the 2025-26 municipal and school budgets.

On Tuesday, June 10, polls will be open in the town office from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. for local elections. As of April 17, the draft warrant had two more June 10 articles, a request to amend the town’s solid waste ordinance and an affirmation or rejection of the school budget approved June 2.

VASSALBORO: Conservation commission looks at three different projects

by Mary Grow

At their April 9 meeting, Vassalboro Conservation Commission members continued planning work at two town parks; talked about the pending three-lake watershed survey; and rediscussed the contentious subject of cemetery trees.

Chairman Holly Weidner added information on a record tree in town, a slippery elm measured in 2014 and listed as the largest in Maine on the Maine State Big Tree Registry. It is in the road right-of-way, near a house whose owner says the insurance company wants it cut.

Weidner said in January a Project Canopy inspector said the tree is healthy. She plans to talk with state highway officials who can see about getting it marked and advise the homeowner.

Commission members, with generous help from Vassalboro’s public works crew, plan significant improvements at Eagle Park, between Outlet Stream and Route 32 north of East Vassalboro Village, this spring.

Weidner and commission member Steve Jones met with public works director Brian Lajoie to discuss roofing the pavilion, improving the parking area and grounds and building a second jetty to allow more room to fish in the stream.

Commission members plan to buy three picnic tables, one adapted for use from a wheelchair, from Rob Lemire’s Maine Adirondack Chairs, on Holman Day Road. Lajoie and Lemire agree the chairs can be left in the pavilion over the winter without harm, Weidner said.

Commission members voted unanimously to ask Town Manager Aaron Miller to buy three tables, two regular and one wheelchair-accessible, using money from the Conservation Commission budget.

Commission member Paul Mitnik, formerly Vassalboro’s codes officer, suggested some of the work near the water might need planning board approval. John Reuthe recommended checking with current codes officer, Eric Currie.

The issue at Monument Park, in the south end of East Vassalboro near the China Lake boat landing and dam, is erosion control along the shoreline: where it is needed and on whose property and what kinds of plantings are appropriate.

After another discussion, commission members again defined their objectives as protecting water quality and preserving views of the lake (thus limiting placement of trees and tall shrubs) while avoiding excessive initial and maintenance costs.

They intend to cooperate with the Kennebec Water District on the shoreline KWD owns. Weidner will look into a grant to help put in $3,000 worth of plants Jones suggested at the Jan. 8 commission meeting. Jones will provide an estimated maintenance cost.

Mitnik reported on a planning meeting he attended on the watershed survey scheduled for May 15, 16 and 17 around Webber, Threemile and Threecornered ponds. (See Mary Schwanke’s article on the front page of the April 10 issue of The Town Line for more information.)

Commission members are still not sure about responsibility for trees in cemeteries, an issue they’ve been discussing indirectly with Vassalboro Cemetery Committee members since last fall. (See the March 20 issue of The Town Line, p. 8, and references therein).

They decided they should attend the next cemetery committee meeting and, after pre-town meeting budget work is finished, consider approaching the select board. The cemetery committee meeting was then scheduled for April 21; the town website calendar later said it is rescheduled to 6 p.m., Monday, April 28.

The next Vassalboro Conservation Commission meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 14.

China transfer committee members present list of goals

by Mary Grow

China’s Transfer Station Committee members put revisions to the 2021 vision statement for the facility in near-final form at their April 8 meeting.

The single-page document is a list of goals. Much of the discussion was about how to help China residents, and those in Palermo who use China’s facility, realize how much money recycling saves for local taxpayers.

One aspect of recycling is the swap shop: people are invited to drop off household items, clothing, shoes and other things that other people could use, and to bring home things that appeal to them.

Committee member Rachel Anderson, a swap shop volunteer, asked if items that went through the shop got counted as recyclables. Transfer Station Manager Thomas Maraggio and Public Works Director Shawn Reed said yes: the state has a formula that lets them calculate approximately how much weight is removed from the waste stream.

At the previous committee meeting, Anderson raised the problem of donated shoes getting separated from their mates. Committee member James Hsiang said he had donated metal clips to hold pairs together; but people who took shoes kept the clips, despite a sign asking them not to (which soon disappeared).

Hsiang plans to try again with less expensive clips and a more permanent sign.

A paragraph in the vision statement deals with generating power at the transfer station. A waste incinerator was mentioned at previous meetings, solar panels on April 8.

Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood said select board members are not presently interested in exploring power-generating options.

Committee members again discussed transfer station users who ignore rules. Bob Kurek, one of Palermo’s two representatives on the committee, is following up on one scofflaw. Hapgood plans to talk with another, a China resident who was rude to attendants.

Several committee members praised Maraggio for his new informational signs, and all staff members for keeping the facility clean and for their hard work and courtesy. Benjamin Weymouth commented that every visit to the facility is “a positive experience” for him.

Maraggio and Reed expressed regret at the resignation of part-time transfer station employee Timothy Hatch. Finding and training new staff is time-consuming and expensive, they agreed. On May 6, Hapgood and available committee members plan to visit the Hampden disposal and recycling facility, now managed by an entity named Municipal Wastehub (formerly Municipal Review Committee). Used by many Maine municipalities until it closed several years ago, since struggling to reopen, Hampden is now coming back to life.

Maraggio said it reopened as a transfer station for a limited number of towns on April 7. Reed said recycling is scheduled for next fall and later a more ambitious waste-to-energy plan.

The next China Transfer Station Committee meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m. Tuesday, May 13.

CHINA: No new ordinance changes proposed for June 10 town meeting

by Mary Grow

China Planning Board members devoted their April 8 meeting to review of town ordinances, with references to the town comprehensive plan. They decided a joint meeting with China’s comprehensive plan implementation committee would be a useful next step; chairman Toni Wall will invite that committee’s members to the May 13 planning board meeting.

No more ordinance changes are proposed for the June 10 annual town business meeting warrant. Voters will be asked to act on any additional ordinance changes in November, at the earliest.

The June 10 warrant includes four questions dealing with ordinances (see the April 10 issue of The Town Line, p. 2). The only one needing a planning board recommendation is Art. 31, asking voters to amend sections of the Land Development Code. Select board and planning board members unanimously recommend approval.

Wall, some other board members and codes officer Nicholas French would like to see open space subdivisions allowed in China (see the April 3 issue of The Town Line, p. 3). Wall had distributed copies of Arundel’s and Belfast’s ordinances on the topic.

After discussion, Wall volunteered to draft open space subdivision regulations to add to China’s subdivision ordinance, for review at a future board meeting.

A second pending ordinance would regulate electric transmission lines through China. In November 2024 voters approved a 90-day moratorium on such lines, renewable by the select board for another 90 days, to give officials and voters time to create and approve an ordinance.

Wall had a copy of Benton’s, titled “Electric Transmission Facilities and Corridors Ordinance,” which generated questions and comments from board members. She intends to prepare a draft intended specifically for China.

The third ordinance discussion was about a significantly revised cannabis ordinance that would allow retail sales for recreational use. Wall said China now allows retail businesses for medical cannabis only; French said there are currently two in town.

If a majority of China voters have changed their minds since June, 2017, when they approved “An Ordinance Prohibiting Retail Marijuana Establishments and Retail Marijuana Social Clubs in the Town of China,” local regulation would require an expanded local ordinance.

French said the state regulates both medical and recreational cannabis facilities. Local regulations can be stricter than the state’s as long as they are not unreasonable.

Wall shared sample ordinances from Newport and Rumford.

Planning board members will not hold a second April meeting. The next regular planning board meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 13.

Vassalboro planners give approval to Novel Energy’s planned solar farm

by Mary Grow

Vassalboro Planning Board members approved Novel Energy’s planned community solar farm, at 2235 Riverside Drive, at their April 7 special meeting, despite last-minute surprises from neighbors (see the April 10 issue of The Town Line, p. 9).

Novel representative Ralph Addonizio brought the additional information board members requested at their April 1 meeting, an updated map showing required buffers and larger copies of the site plan, to accompany the two-inch-thick application.

With those additions, planning board members found the application complete. They then spent more than an hour and a half comparing the application to Vassalboro’s ordinance criteria for commercial developments in general and solar projects specifically.

They added three conditions to their approval of the project: construction of a turn-around outside the gate (at fire chief Walker Thompson’s suggestion); provision of a drawing of the planned solar panels; and planting a buffer of at least two dozen trees on the southwest corner.

The new buffer is intended to meet objections raised by Alison Thompson: she and her husband plan to build a retirement home on a knoll from which they will be able to see the solar panels.

Alison Thompson claimed that only solar developers like solar panels; she thinks they are “cluttering our state.”

Planning Board chairman Virginia Brackett doubted the ordinance required the board to consider nearby future developments when reviewing an application. Addonizio, citing Novel’s desire to be a good neighbor, was willing to add the buffer.

The second issue Alison Thompson raised, as the meeting drew toward a close, was that she and her husband had not received a certified letter notifying them before the first planning board discussion of the project. Nor, Walker Thompson said, had he – he came to the second meeting because a neighbor told him about it.

The ordinance requires – requires, Alison Thompson emphasized – notice to abutters by certified mail. Walker Thompson added that the neighbor who informed him is not an abutter, but he got a notice.

The reason for the notice, Brackett said, is to make sure people know about projects on properties adjoining theirs. The Thompsons knew; the purpose was achieved.

But only, Walker Thompson protested, because of his neighbor. He insisted the board should follow the ordinance – otherwise, why have one?

Codes officer Eric Currie said he relied on inaccurate town records in making the list of abutters for Novel to notify. Board member Paul Mitnik, formerly Vassalboro’s codes officer, said he had had similar problems.

Board members agreed a mistake had been made. But they saw no point in going through the review process again, as they expected the result would be the same.

Board member Dan Bradstreet pointed that both Thompsons came to board meetings, and board members heard their concerns and addressed them as best they could. Looking at accurate information on town tax maps, Bradstreet and Currie found no other abutters who had not received notice.

Board member Douglas Phillips doubted another review would bring a different result. Dissatisfied parties can appeal to Superior Court, he told the audience.

Brackett, Bradstreet and Phillips voted to approve Novel’s application, with the three conditions. Mitnik said he could not vote to approve it, because the notice provision had not been followed.

Vassalboro school board initiates plans if school is needed for voting

Vassalboro Community School (contributed photo)

by Mary Grow

Before they began discussing the proposed 2025-26 school budget at their April 8 meeting, Vassalboro School Board members dealt with monthly business items. Major topics were how to prepare in case November voting is at Vassalboro Community School, and how to provide financial aid to families of students attending the Maine School of Science and Mathematics.

School and town officials are likely not to know until fall whether state officials will allow continued voting in the Vassalboro town office. If the town office is considered too small, the school gymnasium is the alternative – an alternative school board chairman Jolene Gamage said state officials favor.

VCS Principal Ira Michaud said if the school is a voting site, a majority of teachers would like to have a remote day, when students physically stay home but are virtually in school.

A remote day will take planning, Michaud said; staff do not plan to copy Covid remote days. If remote learning works for election day, it could be used in the future if VCS uses all its allowed storm days and snow keeps coming.

One important point, Superintendent Alan Pfeiffer said, is to send home meals for students the day before. That way VCS will not lose a day’s state school meals subsidy – even one day’s subsidy is a sum worth noticing, finance director Paula Pooler commented.

Gamage encouraged school staff to develop a plan to try this year if it is needed.

The Maine School of Science and Mathematics, in Limestone, has one VCS student, Judson Smith, who is completing his freshman year. Eighth-graders Savannah Judkins and Agatha Meyer have been admitted for next year.

The state pays the students’ tuition, but not their room and board, which cost around $11,000 a year.

School board members and the students’ families discussed the issue in March. Board members at the time thought they did not have a policy relating to possible town help with room and board.

By April 8, they had found one. Gamage apologized to the Judkins and Meyers families for the period of anxiety, and she and Pfeiffer agreed that under the formula described in the policy, each of the three families is entitled to $5,303 in aid.

The amount could change, if factors in the formula change, Pfeiffer said. Board members voted to approve $5,303 per student, with Zachary Smith, Judson Smith’s father, abstaining on the vote.

In other business April 8, Pfeiffer introduced Judy-Ann Bouchard, who will succeed Tanya Thibeau as special education director next year. He predicted the two will have frequent conversations in the next few months.

Michaud praised Rod Robilliard and the six student teams he prepared for local Odyssey of the Maine competition. Two teams brought home trophies and went on to the state level, an accomplishment Michaud called spectacular for novice teams.

(The state Odyssey of the Mind website describes it as a creative problem-solving program that supports educational goals.)

Assistant Principal Tabitha Brewer said she is in touch with town officials about maintaining cooperative recreational programs without the town’s community program director, who was the liaison between town and school until she resigned last month.

Pfeiffer has a meeting scheduled with Town Manager Aaron Miller and Public Works Director Brian Lajoie to talk about afternoon traffic congestion as parents arrive to pick up VCS students.

The school board met again April 9 to continue budget discussion, and an hour later met with the budget committee. The next regular school board meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 13.

Fairfield launches planning initiative

Fairfield Town Manager Michelle Flewelling.

The Town of Fairfield’s Economic and Community Development Committee (FECDC), in collaboration with the Central Maine Growth Council (CMGC), has launched a planning initiative focused on the redevelopment and revitalization of Fairfield’s downtown area. A key phase of the planning efforts include participation from Fairfield residents and business owners to collect public input, which will inform the downtown plan. Included in the public input strategy is a digital survey, and public workshop.

Fairfield’s Downtown Plan Public Workshop was held on Tuesday, April 15, at the Fairfield Community Center, located at 61 Water St. Presented by CMGC, the workshop featured interactive and informational boards that highlight progress on the Downtown Plan, allowing residents and business owners to visualize proposed concepts and provide valuable input. CMGC presented an overview of what the town has accomplished from the previous plan, and provide updates on the proposed and planned timeline for developing a new set of goals and priorities. This hands-on opportunity for the public to interact with committee members and Town leadership ensured that community members can engage directly with the planning process and influence the next stages of downtown development.

The survey is designed to solicit feedback on various aspects of downtown development, including land use, housing, transportation, waterfront enhancements, economic growth, and community amenities. The results will provide the FECDC, CMGC, and Fairfield Town Council with critical insights to guide the allocation of resources, prioritize capital investments, and create a vibrant, thriving downtown that meets the evolving needs of residents and business owners.

“Our goal is to engage the community and ensure that the future of Fairfield reflects the needs and values of our residents,” said Fairfield Town Manager Michelle Flewelling. “This survey, combined with the interactive public workshop, is an important opportunity for community members to directly influence how we shape the growth and development of our downtown. Their input will help us create a stronger local economy, increase job opportunities, and improve the quality of life for everyone in Fairfield.”

The survey invites participants to provide input on a wide range of topics, including:

Prioritizing new business development, public green spaces, and housing opportunities.

Evaluating opportunities for enhancing the downtown waterfront with parks, trails, and gathering spaces.

Identifying transportation improvements, such as cycling infrastructure, public transit options, and enhanced walkability.

Assessing the types of housing and business developments that should be encouraged in various zones of the downtown area.

CMGC is providing technical support and expertise throughout the planning process, leveraging its regional development knowledge to help shape a sustainable and dynamic future for Fairfield. The FECDC and CMGC will use the survey results, along with the feedback gathered during the public workshop, to prioritize investments, support business growth, and ultimately, craft a plan that is reflective of the shared needs and vision for growth of Fairfield’s residents and businesses.

Gabe Gauvin

“These proactive planning activities Fairfield has initiated, establish the foundation that future municipal initiatives will be built upon” stated CMGC Assistant Director of Economic Development and Strategic Projects, Gabe Gauvin. “Gathering public input is a vital stepping stone to developing the policy, investment, and operational priorities which will reinvigorate the downtown. We look forward to discussing the community’s needs and vision for the downtown at our upcoming workshop.”

All residents and business owners are encouraged to participate in the survey, which is available online through the Town of Fairfield’s website.

The FECDC is a citizen advisory committee comprised of residents, business owners, and educators who are dedicated to fostering community growth and development in Fairfield. The committee holds monthly public meetings at the Fairfield Community Center. More information on the committee can be found at Fairfieldme.com.

Central Maine Growth Council (CMGC), located in Waterville, Maine, is a public-private collaborative regional economic development partnership funded by municipalities and businesses who share a common vision of economic prosperity for our region. CMGC is committed to fostering a robust regional economy. Our belief is that the standard of living and quality of life of our citizens is best served by a vibrant, healthy economy. This is accomplished with a strong successful business community. To find out more about how CMGC can help your business succeed, give us a call at (207) 680-7300 or visit centralmaine.org.

Vassalboro planners review Novel Energy’s proposal, again

by Mary Grow

Vassalboro Planning Board members again reviewed Novel Energy’s proposed community solar farm at 2235 Riverside Drive at their April 1 meeting (see the March 13 issue of The Town Line, pp. 2 and 3).

Novel representative Ralph Addonizio gave each member a copy of an application almost two inches thick. Board members found it was missing necessary information: the updated site plan did not show the expanded buffers they had required at the initial review.

Addonizio said the change was in his notes; he did not know why it had not been shown, but he could quickly have it added.

He asked whether the board could approve the application and make adding to the plan a condition for beginning work. No, they said. Board member Dan Bradstreet (who is Waterville’s Codes Enforcement Director) explained that Vassalboro codes officer Eric Currie needs an exact plan, so he can make sure work done matches it.

Board members also requested a larger copy of the site plan, which Addonizio will provide. After their quick review of the submission found no other omissions and no obvious problems, they scheduled a special meeting April 7.

Two couples who live near the solar farm site attended the April 1 meeting, but did not continue the objections to the project that dominated the March review.

Michael and Doris Lyons talked about unpleasant experiences with other solar companies. Addonizio assured them Novel Energy has never been fined or shut down for failure to comply with permits. The Minnesota-based company was started by a farming family to benefit rural populations, he said.

Neighbors Walker and Alison Thompson had no comments.

The next regular Vassalboro select board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday evening, May 6.

Vassalboro plans being set for June town meeting

by Mary Grow

Vassalboro select board members discussed multiple on-going issues at their April 3 meeting, many related to plans for the June 2 and June 10 annual town meeting.

The only decision they made settled one long-discussed issue. Unanimously, board members voted to sell part of the tax-acquired property on Lombard Dam Road “back to the Estate of William H. Spaulding while retaining a portion of the property for use by the Town using a process for both parcels consistent with 36 M.R.S. § 943-C.”

(The state law requires municipalities to return the proceeds of any sale of tax-acquired property to the former owner or heirs, after deducting all costs the municipality incurred. Town Manager Aaron Miller has had the property surveyed; he is waiting for an appraiser’s report on its value.)

Miller had prepared a draft warrant for the town meeting. It begins at 6:30 p.m., Monday, June 2, at Vassalboro Community School, with an open meeting at which voters will discuss and decide 40 or more questions, including 2025-26 municipal and school budgets.

The meeting continues with written-ballot voting on Tuesday, June 10, at the town office, with polls open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The current draft of the June 10 part of the warrant includes amendments to the town’s solid waste ordinance and marijuana business ordinance; approval of the school budget adopted June 2; and local elections.

Select board members April 3 discussed some budget items, though neither the budget committee nor the school board has made final 2025-26 budget recommendations.

Resident John Melrose, founder of the business consulting service Maine Tomorrow, made a presentation on the fund balance policy developed by a town committee in 2019. In sum, the policy recommended the town keep in reserve in its unassigned fund balance (formerly known as surplus) an amount equal to 12 to 16 percent of its annual expenses, in the event of a financial disaster or an unexpected major expenditure.

The amount needed varies with factors including:

the stability of the tax base (Vassalboro’s diversified, mostly residential economy is safer than a local economy that relies on a single major taxpayer);
the stability and reliability of state and federal revenues;
comparable (to area municipalities’) tax rates;
the municipal debt level (the higher the debt, the more need for an ample fund balance); and
the overall economy and housing prices.

Select board chairman Frederick “Rick” Denico, Jr., said as the town budget increases, board members should increase the fund balance, not dip into it to cover expenditures. Melrose agreed.

Board members talked about whether to recommend funding a recreation director’s position in the 2025-26 budget; the anticipated expenditure to replace the deteriorated Dunlap Bridge, on Mill Hill Road; the adequacy of the proposed stipend account for volunteer firefighters; a request to use money from the alewife fund to match a grant for work at Webber Pond; and Miller’s request for a $2,600 camera to monitor the water level at the Outlet Dam, in East Vassalboro, so public works employees need not check it.

In other business April 3, board members unanimously appointed Tim Connelly to the Sanitary District board of trustees, to serve until June 10 elections.

Conservation commission chairman Holly Weidner asked why the commission’s funding, unlike that for other town boards and committees, is listed separately in the town meeting warrant. She pointed out that cemetery committee funds are in the cemetery committee account, the trails committee funds in the recreation account, for example.

This year’s conservation commission request for $10,650 includes $10,000 for the China-based Courtesy Boat Inspection (CBI) program that the commission will oversee and $650 for other commission expenses. Miller explained that the problem was the $10,000; select board member Chris French said if the commission hired CBI, it was a procurement that should be bid out.

Wiedner replied bidding would be pointless, because no one else offers the service. Nor, she said, should CBI be listed as one of the outside agencies town voters fund annually.

Denico suggested finding a place for the commission in the warrant article that includes the administration account.

“Then we’re changing some accounts around” in the computerized bookkeeping system, Miller said resignedly.

Denico asked him to go ahead if the rearrangement is simple, skip it if not.

The final business of the evening was a brief discussion with cemetery committee chairmanj Savannah Clark, who had waited through two hours of other business, about the disagreement between members of her committee and the conservation commission over cutting trees in town cemeteries.

Last fall, Miller proposed having an arborist survey cemetery trees and mark ones needing removal. At their March meeting, cemetery committee members asked that work done in two cemeteries be redone with clearer markings (see the March 27 issue of The Town Line, pp. 2-3).

Clark said her committee members recommend no trees in cemeteries. Even healthy ones can be blown down in storms; damaging or destroying gravestones wastes volunteers’ time and wipes out evidence of town history.

Denico pointed out that the cemetery committee, not the conservation commission, is in charge of town cemeteries.

The next regular Vassalboro select board meeting is scheduled for Thursday evening, April 17.

China budget committee, select board meet over 2025-26 budget

by Mary Grow

The article in the warrant for China’s June 10, 2025, annual town business meeting that was not recommended by the budget committee on April 2 (see related story, p. 3) came back at April 7 meetings of the budget committee and the select board.

Six of seven budget committee members met first to reconsider their April 2 vote. The reworded article, numbered Art. 14, that Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood gave them asked voters to raise and appropriate not more than $770,000 from TIF (Tax Increment Financing) money, in accordance with the third version of China’s TIF program that voters approved in November 2024.

There was agreement that budget committee members did not intend to recommend voters allocate no money for TIF projects for the 2025-26 fiscal year. The April 2 committee majority objected specifically to the appropriation for the China Broadband Committee, intended to fund a cooperative program with Direct Communications and its Unity-based Maine subsidiary, Unitel.

Broadband committee chairman Robert O’Connor and member Jamie Pitney explained from the audience that until Unitel succeeds in getting a federal grant, the plan remains in limbo and no China money will be invested.

After half an hour’s wide-ranging discussion, budget committee members reversed their April 2 decision and voted 5-1 to recommend voters approve Art. 14. Timothy Basham, Taryn Hotham, Jo Orlando, Jane Robertson and Michael Sullivan were in favor; chairman Brent Chesley was opposed, on behalf, he said, of absent member Kevin Maroon.

An early item on the agenda for the select board meeting immediately following the budget committee meeting was an article-by-article review of the town business meeting warrant.

The June 10 warrant includes four questions dealing with town ordinances.

By mostly unanimous votes, select board members recommended voters approve each article – except Art. 14. Chairman Wayne Chadwick and member Jeanne Marquis voted to recommend the article; Edwin Bailey and Blane Casey voted not to; and Thomas Rumpf abstained. Rumpf is president of the China Four Seasons Club, which annually applies for and receives TIF funds for trail maintenance.

During the rest of the meeting, select board and TIF committee members continued discussion at intervals, with Pitney borrowing Hapgood’s office to work on revisions to Art. 14.

Much of the discussion was over how to explain that the $770,000 was in two parts: a request to raise and appropriate $265,000 in 2025-26 TIF funds, and a request to reallocate to broadband $505,000 that had previously been set aside for other projects, like, Pitney said, the discontinued revolving loan fund and job training program.

The result was a rewritten Art. 14 asking voters a) to raise and appropriate $265,000 in TIF funds for purposes listed in the TIF document; and b) to approve expenditure of not more than $505,000 previously raised and appropriated for the TIF program.

This article was recommended by select board members on a 4-0-1 vote, with Rumpf again abstaining, with thanks to Pitney.

The June 10 warrant includes four questions dealing with town ordinances. Select board members unanimously recommended approval of all four.

Art. 30 asks voters to repeal China’s ordinance Prohibiting Retail Marijuana Establishments and Retail Marijuana Social Clubs in town. State law has made it unnecessary, Hapgood said.

Art. 31 asks voters to approve amendments to three sections of China’s Land Use Ordinance. The article says a copy of the ordinance is posted with the warrant and an electronic version is on the town website, chinamaine.gov, under the Elections tab.

Art. 33 asks voters to repeal China’s quorum ordinance for special town meetings, because, Hapgood said, the town attorney says it violates state law.

Art. 34 asks if voters will amend the town’s Budget Committee Ordinance. The major proposed change is to restore a seven-member committee, instead of the five-member committee in the current ordinance.

A public hearing on the warrant for the June 10 meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., Monday, May 5, in the town office meeting room. That evening’s select board meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m.

In addition to these pre-town-meeting activities, China select board members heard a presentation by Regional School Unit #18 Superintendent Carl Gartley, accompanied by China’s representatives on the RSU board, Dawn Castner and John Soifer.

Gartley said China’s share of the RSU budget for 2025-26 will increase by about $324,500. Much of the increase is because the insured value factor, the extra local money for private schools like Erskine Academy for facilities maintenance, has risen from 6 percent to 10 percent of the tuition rate for next year.

The superintendent shared charts comparing China with 13 other area school units. China is near the bottom in per-pupil costs, at or near the top in academic performance.

Recent improvements at China schools include generators in both buildings, Gartley said. China Primary School, which dates from the 1990s, is slated to get new windows this summer.

Replying to Chadwick’s questions, Gartley said the school department paid for most of the riprapping along Route 202 in front of China Middle School, because most of the ditch is outside the road right-of-way; and the flashing signs warning drivers to slow down when school is opening and closing have been on order for months and are expected before classes start in the fall.

Select board members also:

Approved a TIF allocation for the current year, $3,414 for the community garden project led by James and Jude Hsiang, to be located on the lot south of the town office complex.
Agreed to send letters supporting requests for federal funds to Sen. Susan Collins’ office on behalf of Waterville’s and Augusta’s emergency dispatch centers and Delta Ambulance.
Hapgood reported for town departments:
All departments will be closed Monday, April 21, for the Patriots’ Day holiday, and that evening’s select board meeting will be moved to 6 p.m., Tuesday, April 22.
Timothy Hatch has resigned from the transfer station and public works department as of March 29.
The transfer station will host a drug take-back day on Saturday, April 26, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.