China select board hears proposal for street radio installations

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by Mary Grow

China select board members’ main topic at their Dec. 2 meeting was a proposal by Tom Kroh, Regional Director, Site Acquisition and Deployment, for Ubicquia, Inc., based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. His company would like to contract with the town to attach street radios to town streetlights, to improve residents’ telephone and internet service.

Attaching the Ericsson street radios, Kroh explained in an on-line presentation, would provide residents with better cellular service; would bring the town a small amount of income; and would have no negative effects.

The street radios are small devices, 16 inches by nine inches by three inches high, that sit on top of streetlights, almost invisible from the ground. Ubicquia would be entirely responsible for installing them and signing up communications companies; the companies, not the town, would handle any maintenance issues. Ubicquia currently deals with AT&T, T-Mobile and U. S. Cellular, Kroh said, but not with Verizon.

Ubicquia would reimburse Central Maine Power Co. for electricity used. It would pay China $30 a month for each streetlight with a radio on top. The town’s contract would allow Ubicquia access to all streetlights, but, Kroh said, select board members could approve or disapprove use of specific ones.

Contracts are normally for five years, renewable, but Kroh said a three-year contract would be possible.

Holiday hours

The December holiday schedule for China town departments is as follows, according to Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood:

— Tuesday, Dec. 24, all town departments close at noon.
— Wednesday, Dec. 25, and Thursday, Dec. 26, all town departments closed.
— Friday, Dec. 27, and Saturday, Dec. 28, all town departments open as usual.
— Tuesday, Dec. 31, all town departments close at 2 p.m.
— Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, all town departments closed.

Kroh summarized: China would be making money off its existing streetlights and improving telephone and internet connectivity for residents, at no cost to the town.

What, board member Edwin Bailey asked, does Ubicquia get out of it? Kroh replied that Ubicquia sells use of the street radios to the carriers.

He listed other Maine towns in which his company has installed street radios or is negotiating installations. In Rumford, he said, there are reports of better coverage, fewer dropped calls and faster download and upload times.

Kroh will send a draft contract to Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood. Select board members intend to do more research, review the contract and have the town attorney review it before they make a decision.

Once a contract is signed, Kroh said, pre-installation procedures normally take from four to six months, installation another two or three weeks.

In other business Dec. 2, board member Blane Casey reported requests for bids had gone out for different pieces of the work of building the new records storage vault. He and Hapgood said some bids have already been received. Bid deadlines are staggered, up to Dec. 10.

Board members continued the review of town policies they began in November. Hapgood presented seven more policies, six with no or minor changes and a new one recommended by the Maine Municipal Association. Board members approved all seven unanimously.

Hapgood shared reports from other town departments, including:

— A reminder that dogs need to be licensed before the end of the year;
— A reminder that 2025 transfer station stickers are now available at the town office and at the transfer station;
— A report that the skating rink has been relocated from the school grounds to the lot south of the town office, north of the intersection of Alder Park Road with Lakeview Drive; and
— A report that the new building at the transfer station to house the sandpile for China residents needing winter sand is finished.

The next regular China select board meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday, Dec. 16.

China planners hear residents’ concerns to South China boat landing upgrades

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by Mary Grow

The China Planning Board’s Nov. 26 meeting included public hearings on two applications. The first, on the long-discussed document storage vault to be attached to the southeast end of the town office building, was short, and was followed by approval later in the meeting.

The second hearing, on the town’s application to move more than 100 cubic yards of fill on Town Landing Road, the access to the South China boat landing, lasted over an hour. More than a dozen people spoke, some on line and some in the meeting room.

Board members postponed action to their Tuesday, Dec. 10, meeting, deciding they needed time to consider the information and opinions presented.

A third application, for a new retail store on Route 3, in South China, in the South China Development District, was found to be complete. Board members scheduled a public hearing on that application for 6:30 p.m., Dec. 10

At the hearing on the town office storage vault, Municipal Building Committee chairman Sheldon Goodine briefly re-explained the plan, and committee member Scott Pierz emphasized the need.

The vault will be attached to the south side of the building, near the east end. The two men assured planning board members it should provide enough more storage space for several decades. It will be fireproof, and will have temperature and humidity controls to protect documents that the state requires a municipality to keep forever.

Board members unanimously approved the permit.

The boat landing application asks for an earth-moving permit for the purpose of erosion control on Town Landing Road. Former select board member Brent Chesley recommended planning board members authorize moving up to 400 cubic yards.

The plan, he said, is to replace “highly erodible material” – gravel – with materials like stone and pavement. He and others talked about the pavement being sloped toward ditches and the ditches designed to slow water flow.

Chesley said the town is waiting for boat ramp planks to be available to schedule the work next year. He said the state Department of Environmental Protection has approved a DEP permit.

Much of the discussion was over a broader topic, use of the landing. Many of the neighbors would like it to be limited to carry-in only, kayaks and canoes. This use, they said, would not require the trucks and boat trailers that either back down the 500-foot-long, narrow road or turn in residents’ driveways, and that have to go well into the lake to unload and load boats.

Carry-in would also be more compatible with swimming at the landing, they said.

Planners review application for new retail store at site of former Grace Academy

The China Planning Board has scheduled a public hearing for 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 10, on a conditional use application for a new retail store at 363 Route 3, in South China.

Engineer Steven Govoni, president of Skowhegan-based Wentworth Partners & Associates, spoke for the developer, Calito Development Group, of Torrington, Connecticut, at the Nov. 26 board meeting.

The developer plans to tear down the building on the site, most recently the home of Grace Academy Learning Center until it closed in June 2022, and replace it with a store selling, in Govoni’s words, “general merchandise.”

The new building will be 9,100 square feet, larger than the present one, with a smaller parking area. The result is to reduce phosphorus run-off, Govoni said, because paved parking areas are a larger phosphorus source than roofs.

Board members discussed the existing building’s varied commercial history. Codes officer Nicholas French said the septic system, updated when the building became a restaurant, is adequate for the proposed use.

Board members voted that the application was complete and scheduled the Dec. 10 public hearing.

Bob Hargadon, whose family has summered on nearby Jones Road for five generations, set the tone for neighborly objections to the proposal.

He said the China select board had mostly ignored area residents, “people most concerned about the lake,” and had ignored an earlier engineer’s report that recommended a carry-in landing.

Hargadon and other speakers questioned the accuracy of the application for the planning board permit. For example, one said, the application mentions a 25-foot vegetated buffer at the foot of the roadside ditch, but no buffer appears on the accompanying plan.

Another objected to the application’s saying if the project had any effect on adjacent property values, it would increase them by providing “quality access to the lake.”

Hargadon pointed out the lack of data to support statements in the application.

He and others doubt that China Lake needs three boat landings – the same number, he said, as for much larger Moosehead Lake.

Another speaker noted that the landings at the head of the east basin, outside China Village, and near the outlet of the west basin, in East Vassalboro Village, offer port-a-potties and adequate turning and parking space, not available in South China.

Chesley and others said erosion from the boat landing has impacted water quality for years, and controlling it is a high priority in the watershed management plan. Chesley explained that the vegetative buffer is not on the plan because DEP officials requested it during their review; it will be added.

The properly sloped paving, well-designed ditches and boat ramp planks with spaces between should minimize run-off and absorb contaminants, Chesley said. He accused the neighborhood residents of “just wanting to preserve their little piece of the pie.”

Margot Crosman, member of another family long established in the neighborhood, called Chesley’s assumption insulting. “The boats keep getting bigger and bigger,” she commented.

After planning board chairman Toni Wall closed the hearing, she reminded those present that the application to the board is only for earth-moving.

In other business Nov. 26, board members unanimously accepted Elaine Mather’s offer to become board co-chairman, running meetings when Wall is absent. They voted unanimously to cancel their second December meeting, which would have fallen on Christmas Eve.

State Rep. LaRochelle withdraws recount request for Senate District 15

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Raegan LaRochelle

by Lauren McCauley
Maine Morning Star

Richard Bradstreet

On Saturday, the Office of the Maine Secretary of State confirmed that the recount for Senate District #15, initially scheduled for Monday, had been officially withdrawn.

Election night tallies had Demo­cratic outgoing state Rep. Raegan LaRochelle trailing Republican Richard Bradstreet 10,621 to 10,820 votes. The seat, previously held by Repub­lican state Sen. Matt Pouliot, who announced in January that he wouldn’t seek reelection, was among those that Democrats had tried aggressively to flip.

The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, the national party’s arm that focuses on winning state legislatures across the country, contributed roughly $95,000 to Maine’s Senate Democratic Campaign Committee and spotlighted LaRochelle’s bid. Senate District #15 covers Augusta, Belgrade and China, in Kennebec County.

 

 

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Vassalboro planning board approves site review application by public works dept.

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by Mary Grow

Vassalboro Planning Board members held a special meeting on Nov. 19 at which they unanimously approved a site review application from the town’s public works department.

The action will let groundwork begin for the proposed 50-by-100-foot pole barn on the public works lot on Bog Road.

Planners rejected the proposal at their Nov. 12 meeting, because they had only a building application, not a site review application (see the Nov. 14 issue of The Town Line, p. 2).

The next regular Vassalboro Planning board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday evening, Dec. 3.

EVENTS: Small Business Saturday is Nov. 30

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Small Business Saturday is this coming Saturday after Thanksgiving, Nov. 30, 2024. Are you interested in writing a story on the holiday shopping season or want to arrange an interview with a small business advocate in the area? The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the nation’s leading small business association, is here to help. NFIB State Director David Clough is available to discuss the importance of Small Business Saturday to the local economy and how shopping small benefits consumers, employees, and business owners alike.

NFIB State Director David Clough can be reached at (207) 807-4900, and you can contact Senior Media Manager Mike Donohue at (202) 525-9835.

“In addition to creating good-paying jobs and strengthening the local economy, small businesses shape our communities by volunteering their time and financially supporting charitable organizations,” said Clough. “A recent NFIB report highlights how small business owners and their employees benefit their communities, beyond operating their businesses. As we kick off the holiday season, I encourage all Mainers to shop small, especially on Small Business Saturday, and thank a small business owner for how they enrich your community.”

Sandwiched between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Small Business Saturday began in 2010 as a way to help local stores and restaurants recover from the Great Recession. It has quickly transformed into a Thanksgiving weekend tradition, becoming one of the busiest sales seasons for small business owners nationwide.

Windsor select board recommends abolishing Conservation Commission Committee

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by The Town Line staff

At their October 22 meeting, the Windsor Select Board voted unanimously to recommend a warrant article to abolish the Conservation Commission Ordinance at the June 2024 town meeting.

Adrian Prindle, chairman of the Conservation Commission Committee reported they were going through the process of the ordinance and there is legal technology within the ordinance that is confusing and is causing the committee members to have many questions..

The conservation commission committee members are entertaining to have the ordinance abolished and then create a Belle Grove Parke Advisory Committee. The same members of the conservation commission would want to be part of the Belle Grove Parke Advisory Committee and would submit by-laws/rules.

They are meeting on Tuesday, December 10, at 6 p.m., and will suggest the process of forming a new group. Chester D. Barnes Jr. said the legal terms of this ordinance are for them to maintain a list of wetlands public and private property and he feels the town does not have the authority to do that, commenting, “We are not DEP.”

In other business:

– Town Manager Theresa Haskell said she has two letters from the assesdor’s agent regarding abatements and an abatement denial. The board approved an abatement in the amount of #3,761.88 for errors in building valuations for the Hysom, Shelia, heirs of $439; Carver, Ryan and Loralee of $958.62; Castle, Marcella and Collins, Matthew of $701.04; Bradbury, Joseph and Debra of $153.74 and Shorey, Timothy of $851. The board also approved the recommendation of the assessor’s agent for the denial at 139 Casey Road which lacks supportive documentation to substantiate what the assessment should be and is unclear as to how they calculated the reduced assessment.
– Public Works Supervisor Keith Reed reported on multiple issues with town trucks. He said the new truck was shipped November 14. Also, truck #5 needed to have transmission lines replaced at a cost of $3,000; when asked about what the future is going to bring for plow truck drivers, he said everyone that drives wants $30-plus per hour. He said, “we’ll have to go with what we have since we have not had many applicants.”

On the backhoe, locking pins, control switch and wiring had to be replaced at a cost of around $2,000.

– It was reported the medical marijuana petition will need to be formally voted and denied by the select board and for them to state the reason. The Maine Municipal Association recommends that it’s OK to have an ordinance ready before any vote. It was approved by the board on Select board member Allison Whynot’s motion to deny the petition as the wording is not a specific warrant question.
– Haskell handed out an updated Windsor Educational Foundation and Reed Fund Statment of Investment Policy for the select board to review until tne next meeting, and having someone from Kennebec Wealth Management attend the meeting as well.
– Haskell said the June 30, 2023, audit is complete and will be receiving the final audit soon.
– Finally, Haskell received a request from Aaron Ready to allow his truck to be parked in the town’s parking lot because he comcommutes to his job at Bath Iron Works with another driver. The select board said they had no issue at this point but would suggest they do not utilize the parking lot during snowstorms.

The next meeting of the select board was held on November 5.

EVENTS: China flag retirement ceremony set for Dec. 5

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by Mary Grow

A flag retirement ceremony is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 5, at the Boynton-Webber American Legion Hall, in South China. Transfer station safety officer Cheyenne Houle said it will honor the more than 300 worn-out United States flags that have been left in the flag disposal boxes provided at the transfer station, plus others from Boy Scouts and other local groups.

The event is open to the public. Anyone with a worn-out or damaged flag is welcome to bring it to be added to the ceremony, Post Commander Neil Farrington said.

An on-line document from the National Flag Foundation describes a typical procedure for this ceremony, which honors the used flags. One is selected as representative of all: it is hoisted to the top of a flagpole by a color guard, saluted by the audience, who then recite the pledge of allegiance; and respectfully lowered and folded.

The best-known way to dispose of used flags is by burning them and burying the ashes. Farrington said the Dec. 5 ceremony will use an alternate method, cutting flags in half vertically and again horizontally, without damaging the block of 50 stars. The pieces are returned to the transfer station.

Vassalboro transfer station committee reviews changes manager claims are overkill

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by Mary Grow

At a Nov. 13 meeting, Vassalboro transfer station task force members reviewed plans for changes at the transfer station that new station manager Adam Daoust thinks may be overkill.

Presently, users disposing of municipal solid waste (MSW) at the Lombard Dam Road facility have to back up to the waste hopper. Occasional accidents led to a select board decision last fall to work toward a new plan that would eliminate the need to drive backwards.

The proposed alternative is drive-through area. It would have a roof, to keep water out of the waste, and open ends, to prevent build-up of gases.

In January, Vassalboro select board members contracted with Senders science, engineering & construction, of Camden, to design the new building, after company head Jeff Senders visited the facility and met with task force members.

Senders presented three slightly different plans. In addition to the new building, part of the plan is having separate entrance and exit driveways instead of the present single driveway.

Task force members reviewed the plans and talked about costs, needed permits and approvals, accommodating commercial haulers as well as individual residents, traffic issues on Lombard Dam Road and disruptions of service during construction, among other issues.

Select board and task force member Chris French pointed out that voters have supported putting away money for the project for two years. Perhaps, he said, Vassalboro could contract to use China’s disposal facility during the change-over.

Daoust suggested taking down the tower that now rises above the facility; putting a cover over the MSW hopper and another over the separate bulky waste hopper; and leaving the traffic pattern as it is. He thinks the proposed changes would do little to improve traffic flow and might increase waiting time.

Town Manager Aaron Miller asked task force members to send their suggestions to Daoust, and Daoust to write up a response and his ideas.

Task force members tentatively scheduled their next meeting for 5:15 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 12, before that evening’s select board meeting.

Vassalboro school board listens to plans for school building upgrades

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Vassalboro Community School (contributed photo)

by Mary Grow

At their Nov. 12 meeting, Vassalboro School Board members heard and watched on screen a presentation from three representatives of their consultant on building upgrades, Energy Management Consultants (EMC), of Portland.

President Thomas Seekins and engineers Adam Hodgkins and Erik Rodstrom had created an on-line program that describes work they recommend be done at Vassalboro Community School. Projects include everything from complex technical rearrangements to replacing current incandescent lights with LEDs (light-emitting diodes) and fixing a small hole in the basement wall (after finding out what caused it).

The EMC representatives had three main reasons for their suggestions.

First, they pointed out that although VCS has been well maintained, much of it is now 32 years old, and the life-time of many components is 25 years or less.

Second, some of the original equipment is so out of date that replacement parts are hard to obtain and technicians are no longer trained to work with it.

And third, many of the suggested changes will save enough energy to reduce costs.

The EMC presentation included suggested priorities, based partly on need, like replacing things most likely to fail due to old age, and partly on advantages, including easier use, increased comfort and convenience and energy savings. School board members plan to propose their own priority list after they have had time to review the EMC report.

Superintendent Alan Pfeiffer said 2025-26 budget deliberations will begin early in 2025, so decisions on projects for next year (if any) should be made promptly. Until the board approves a plan, no cost or savings estimates can be made.

In other business Nov. 12, board members discussed traffic problems as parents drop off and pick up students before and after classes. Consensus was that given the number of cars and the procedures needed to ensure student safety, school staff are doing a good job of managing the twice-daily congestion.

Board members approved several appointments, including Cheryl Coffin as half-time fifth-grade science and social studies teacher.

They accepted the resignation of school nurse Molly Carter. Pfeiffer said Carter has accepted another position that offers more hours. She plans to stay at VCS until the Christmas vacation; applicants for the position will be interviewed starting soon.

The superintendent reminded board members that VCS is a designated Red Cross emergency shelter. A dozen people have signed up to volunteer if the shelter has to be opened; more are welcome, and can sign up by contacting Town Manager Aaron Miller or Town Clerk Cathy Coyne at the Vassalboro town office.

The next Vassalboro school board meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 10, at the school.

Vassalboro select board ponders changing bank, town attorney

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by Mary Grow

The Nov. 13 Vassalboro select board meeting included two phone-ins, as board members debated whether to change the town’s bank and the town attorney.

After the discussion of switching banks, with Jennifer Seekins, of Bar Harbor Bank & Trust, they postponed a decision. Board member Chris French said he wanted more options to consider.

When board chairman Frederick “Rick” Denico asked why switch, the principal reason was that the town’s bank accounts are currently not fully insured. Bar Harbor offers complete FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) coverage.

The second telephone conversation was with Patrick Lyons, of the law firm Eaton Peabody. Board members voted unanimously to hire him as Vassalboro’s town attorney, effective Jan. 1, 2025.

Lyons is based in Eaton Peabody’s Ellsworth office; he serves as an Ellsworth city councilor. His family camp is in Vassalboro, off Seven Mile Stream, so he is familiar with the town. He specializes in municipal law, which he likes for the variety of issues it offers, and he enjoys meeting municipal office staff around the state.

Lyons said he would come to Vassalboro when necessary, including for an introductory in-person meeting. He is comfortable with zoom meetings and telephone calls.

Other decisions the select board made in a lengthy Nov. 13 meeting included:

— Adding to the fee schedule for marijuana growing operations in Vassalboro, $250 annually for medical marijuana operations (which the state allows municipalities to regulate, but not to prohibit). Denico said other Maine municipalities charge from $250 to $1,000 a year; depending on how much of the codes officer’s time these operations require, the board might change Vassalboro’s fee.
— Approving a contract with Calderwood Engineering for design work on the Dunlap Bridge replacement on Mill Hill Road, now that voters have approved funding for the project. The first question on the Nov. 5 local ballot asked permission to spend up to $360,000 in existing funds for the project; 1,383 voters said yes, 1,169 were opposed.

Board members spoke favorably of continuing to hold town voting at Vassalboro Community School instead of at the town office. Town Clerk Cathy Coyne said the town office meeting room makes an awkward voting area, and after the Nov. 5 experiment at VCS, she “heard nothing but good things” about using the school gymnasium.

Denico said VCS has a form that groups can fill out asking to use a school space. He recommended the town start using it.

Three decisions were postponed.

— Board members opened two bids from people asking to be Vassalboro’s new alewife harvester. They intend to review references and make a decision at their Dec. 12 meeting.
— They need more information on acquiring a larger propane tank for the Riverside fire station, after a discussion of sizes, leasing versus buying and costs.
— Town Manager Aaron Miller wants time to make sure of the proper procedure to create a handicapped parking space at Hair Builders, at 653 Oak Grove Road, in North Vassalboro. He said the business requested one; state transportation officials said it was a town decision; he is in favor, but wants to do it right.

The next Vassalboro select board meeting is currently scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 12.