by Mary Grow

The five China Budget Committee members at the Sept. 3 meeting unanimously endorsed the 56-page Third Amended Central Maine Power/China Lake Tax Increment Financing District and Development Program, which will be on the Nov. 5 ballot for voters’ action.

Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood summarized the changes from the second amendment, approved in 2021.

The major change is the addition of a new project on the west end of the causeway at the head of China Lake’s east basin. It will extend the existing sidewalk westward; add docks for fishing and swimming that will be separated from the docks at the boat launch farther east; and contribute toward improving the China Baptist Church parking lot, which provides parking space for people using the waterfront facilities.

The third TIF document deletes two underused and unused projects, a revolving loan fund for small businesses and a job training program. It adjusts funding for several ongoing projects.

China’s TIF program is funded through taxes paid by Central Maine Power Company on its transmission line through China and its South China substation. Hapgood explained that the revised town TIF document will ensure all of each year’s income is allocated, as the state requires.

If voters approve the revision, it will be submitted to the state Department of Economic and Community development for its review and hoped-for approval.

The Third Amended TIF document is on the town website, chinamaine.org., under the TIF Committee, which is under the heading Officials, Boards & Committees, and also on the Elections page.

China’s Nov. 5 voting will be in the former portable classroom behind the town office on Lakeview Drive. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Absentee ballots will be available beginning Monday, Oct. 7.

by Mary Grow

The four China select board members at the Sept. 9 meeting quickly and unanimously approved two business items on their agenda, a revised solid waste agreement with Palermo and a fire truck purchase by the Weeks Mills volunteer fire department.

The solid waste agreement changes were worked out primarily by China Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood and Palermo select board member Bob Kurek, one of his town’s two representatives on the China transfer station committee.

The main purpose is to update the original agreement, which was signed in June 2016.

A major change increases the “town fee” that Palermo pays China annually. It was set at $18,000 in 2016, with no provision for adjustment. The new agreement raises the fee to $43,000, still payable in quarterly installments. It provides for an annual adjustment “plus or minus to the nearest $500” based on annual changes in the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers for the Northeast.

The revised agreement also updates the section on access permits to reflect current policy. It adds a provision for dispute resolution that makes mediation the first recourse if the two towns’ officials disagree over the “meaning, performance, or enforcement” of the agreement.

At the Transfer Station Committee meeting the morning of Sept. 10, Kurek said the Palermo select board is satisfied with the revised agreement, but because of the increased town fee, it needs approval by voters at a special town meeting. He hopes the meeting will be scheduled in October.

Weeks Mills Fire Chief William Van Wickler previously approached China select board members at their Aug. 26 meeting about his department’s need for a new tanker truck (see the Aug. 29, 2024, issue of The Town Line, p. 2). Board chairman Wayne Chadwick offered to join him in inspecting a 1996 truck owned by Chelsea that Van Wickler had in mind.

Chadwick found no problems with the truck; he noted that its underparts are “pretty rust-free.” The truck is currently being inspected at Reliance Equipment in Vassalboro, Van Wickler said.

The fire chief said he had negotiated the price down from Chelsea’s initial $25,000 to $20,000. The department can provide half that; he asked select board members’ approval to use $10,000 from the fire department reserve fund.

That fund has about $152,000 in it, Hapgood said.

Select board members authorized the $10,000 withdrawal, unless Reliance’s inspection reveals unexpected problems. Van Wickler said he will let them know the inspection results.

One remaining question is whether the Chelsea truck will fit in the Weeks Mills fire house. Van Wickler said if he measured right, it will. If he measured wrong, he has arranged to swap it temporarily for a smaller one from the South China fire department, while he removes shelves in his building to make more space.

The next regular China select board meeting, on Monday, Sept. 23, will begin with a 6 p.m. apple crisp social and public hearing on the Nov. 5 local ballot questions

by Mary Grow

At their Aug. 26 meeting, China select board members approved the final version of a Nov. 5 local ballot that will include asking voters to adopt or reject several documents.

In a series of unanimous votes, board members approved asking for voters’ action on:

— A “High-Impact Electric Transmission Line Moratorium Ordinance” that, if approved, would ban new electric transmission lines through China for 180 days, renewable by the select board for another 180 days.
— Amendments to Chapter 2 of the Land Development Code, a 69-page section titled “Use Ordinance” that says it “shall apply to all land uses and structures within the Town of China with special emphasis on the shoreland area.”
— Amendments to Chapter 11 of the Land Development Code, titled “Definitions.”
— The development district map that relates to ordinance changes approved in June to conform to the revised state law on affordable housing.
— The third amendment to China’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Program.

The moratorium ordinance was inspired by the LS Power transmission line, proposed in 2022 to bring wind-generated electricity from Aroostook County to a substation near Windsor. The project is currently on hold.

A public hearing at the beginning of the Aug. 26 China meeting attracted half a dozen people. Select board and audience members agreed the moratorium is a good idea, and voters should have a chance to enact it.

It is intended to provide time to develop and approve a local ordinance that would set standards and guidelines for future electric utility lines in town. Several towns along LS Power’s proposed route have already approved moratoria and developed ordinances.

Joshua Kercsmar, of Unity, vice-president of Preserve Rural Maine, called such ordinances ways for towns to regulate transmission lines, not to ban them. For example, he mentioned national best practices that recommend burying lines wherever possible, and locating them along highways.

China resident Joshua LaVerdiere recommended new lines use existing transmission corridors.

Preserve Rural Maine is a nonprofit organization founded in the summer of 2023 in response to the LS Power plan. Kercsmar said its members help towns develop appropriate ordinances, and offered to provide copies China could adapt.

The land use amendments were prepared primarily by China Planning Board members, especially board chairman Toni Wall. The TIF amendment was drafted by TIF Committee member Jamie Pitney and endorsed by the committee. Select board member Brent Chesley led expressions of appreciation to Pitney for his many hours of work that “saved the town a boatload of money.”

A public hearing on Nov. 5 warrant articles is scheduled for 6 p.m., Monday, Sept. 23, in the town office meeting room.

In addition to election preparations, select board members talked again about the long-discussed new secure storage space for official town records. They, building committee chairman Sheldon Goodine (who was expected at the Aug. 26 meeting, but did not attend) and others have considered an addition to the south side of the existing office building, or a remodeling of the old garage behind the old town house.

At the Aug. 26 meeting, Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood said funds are available to pay for an addition to the town office, at the earlier price of $267,489. The bulk of the money would come from the federal ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) money that China needs to commit by the end of the year (or return it to Washington).

However, the price is probably outdated; and select board members are interested in potentially saving money by further exploring using the garage building. Hapgood said when she discussed with other staff members storing documents in a separate building across the parking lot, their reaction was, “Do you know how many times we access those records?”

Board members asked Hapgood to prepare up-to-date summaries of options and costs for a future discussion.

Weeks Mills Fire Chief William Van Wickler attended the Aug. 26 meeting to brief select board members on his department’s need for a new tanker. When their 1988 former oil truck was last inspected, the news was unexpectedly bad, he said – so bad that the department promptly sold it (for $2,000, having paid $3,500 for it).

Van Wickler is exploring one used-truck option, a 1996 vehicle currently owned by Chelsea. He intends to look into grant possibilities, though he said writing grant applications is not his specialty and he is not optimistic.

Nomination papers must be returned by Sept. 6

China’s local elections are Nov. 5. Signed nomination papers must be returned to the town office by the close of business Friday, Sept. 6, for candidates’ names to appear on the ballot.

China Town Clerk Angela Nelson reported Aug. 26 that there are still no candidates for a seat on the Regional School Unit #18 board of directors, or for three budget committee positions: District 2 (northeastern China), the secretary and the At Large representative (both elected from anywhere in town).

For three select board positions currently held by Blane Casey, Brent Chesley and Janet Preston, Edwin Bailey and Thomas Rumpf have turned in signed papers and Chesley, Tod Detre and Shawn McGlew are circulating papers.

Select board chairman Wayne Chadwick offered to join Van Wickler in an inspection of the Chelsea truck. Van Wickler intends to keep select board members updated on his search. Meanwhile, he said, his department still has two trucks, though it is without its main water supply.

In other business, Hapgood said she plans to end the 911 municipal sign program that provides residents with conspicuous house numbers by Nov. 30. Select board members approved.

The manager reminded those present that all town departments will be closed Monday, Sept. 2, for the Labor Day holiday.

The next regular select board meeting will be Monday evening, Sept. 9.