The unofficial returns from the November 7, 2023, municipal election for the town of China are as follows:
For select board: Chadwick = 931, Marquis = 810.
Planning board: District 3/ Mather = 996, Alternate At Large/Tripodi = 978
Budget Committee: Chairman/Rumpf = 1,037, District 1/Maroon = 1,062.
All races were uncontested.
All write in positions will be determined later in the week.
The China election saw a turnout of 1,303 voters.
Susan Collins
U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King and U.S. Representatives Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden announced that Maine has been awarded more than $38 million in funding for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance program (LIHEAP) in 2024.
Angus King
“Over 45,000 Maine households rely on LIHEAP to stay safe and warm during the winter,” said the Maine Delegation. “With home heating prices set to remain at near record levels in the coming months, it’s essential that this assistance continues to get to the families that need it most. Securing these resources has been a shared priority, and we remain committed to that mission so hard-working Maine families have one less thing to worry about as temperatures drop.”
Alongside $36 million in regular block grant appropriations, over $600,000 of the FY 2024 funding will come from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that the delegation championed and that Senator Collins negotiated with 9 of her colleagues.
Last year, Senator Collins and Representative Golden successfully led efforts to secure a total of $6.1 billion for LIHEAP in FY 2023.
Nationwide, an estimated 6 million households receive assistance with heating and cooling costs through LIHEAP, including over 45,000 Maine households. LIHEAP is administered by states and accessed through local Community Action Agencies. Eligibility for LIHEAP is based on income, family size, and the availability of resources.
by Mary GrowWith only two of three members present at their Nov. 2 meeting, Vassalboro select board members postponed action on several items; but they could not postpone the request to close the transfer station on Saturday, Nov. 11.
Because Veterans’ Day falls on a Saturday this year, state departments and agencies, municipalities and schools are mostly observing the holiday on Friday, Nov. 10. Vassalboro’s transfer station is not open on Fridays.
Station manager George Hamar, who is a veteran, asked for Saturday off. Select board members had two concerns: how to notify residents on short notice and how to reconcile the closing with the personnel handbook.
After almost 20 minutes’ discussion, chairman Chris French and Frederick “Rick” Denico, Jr., voted to close the transfer station on Saturday, Nov. 11, and in the future to adjust the personnel policy to accommodate such circumstances.
The transfer station will be open as usual from 6:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 12.
Continuing the experiments with ways to make select board meetings accessible to more residents, Michael Picher and David Trask recorded the Nov. 2 meeting, using Picher’s camera and Trask’s laptops that the two are willing to give to the town.
Town manager Aaron Miller listed additional equipment that would be needed if the Picher-Trask system replaced the one Laura Jones used for previous meetings. He plans to buy it with American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds.
Trask praised Jones’ work, and Jones said she is ready to hand over the job. French and Denico authorized Miller to spend up to $4,000 in ARPA funds.
A very much more expensive project, replacement of the Dunlap bridge over Seven Mile Stream, on Mill Hill Road, in southwestern Vassalboro, was discussed at length by officials, engineer and Vassalboro resident James Foster and audience members. Foster, a consultant to the state Department of Transportation (DOT), explained the problem and possible solutions.
Dunlap bridge is a town responsibility, Foster said. It consists of a large double culvert, which DOT inspectors found has deteriorated significantly.
Foster said a DOT posting committee will review the bridge report and, he expects, decide to post the bridge (limit the weight of vehicles using it), probably before the end of the year. The weight limit could be as high as 22 tons or as low as three tons, he said.
Meeting participants said there are three houses and a gravel pit beyond the bridge, before Mill Hill Road dead-ends. Foster said a posted bridge allows no exceptions; if a fuel truck, an ambulance or a fire truck is heavier than the weight limit, it cannot be driven across the bridge.
And, he added, the replacement project would need to include a temporary bridge, an additional expense. He gave no firm figures, but he and others cited other bridge projects in Vassalboro that cost up to $2.5 million.
Foster recommended board members appoint a committee to study options for a replacement, costs and possible funding sources.
Agenda items postponed were review of the personnel handbook; review of the recreation committee’s bylaws; and action on a proposal from Waterville officials to improve Vassalboro communications as they expand Waterville’s equipment on a Cook Hill radio tower.
Miller shared a letter from Vassalboro school superintendent Alan Pfeiffer thanking officials for allowing police chief Mark Brown to be at Vassalboro Community School for the beginning and end of school hours the week after the Lewiston shooting.
The next regular Vassalboro select board meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 16.
by Mary GrowAfter another 70 minutes’ discussion of the South China boat landing at their Nov. 6 meeting, China select board members again kicked the issue down the road (see The Town Line, May 25, p. 3; Aug. 3, p. 3; Oct 26, p. 2). This time, they added a road map.
On a 4-1 vote, with Janet Preston dissenting, board members approved a motion saying they, in cooperation with the China Lake Association, will continue investigating the town landing and will maintain it as a public boat launch, with improvements; if parking along the road contributes to erosion, they will ban parking; and they will adopt an advisory size limit on boats to be launched there.
The main issue with the landing is erosion into China Lake from Town Landing Road that leads to the lake. The road is gravel, the town-owned strip of land is not very wide and there has been inadequate ditching and other run-off diversion for many years.
Discussions have covered the value of a minimizing run-off into China Lake, which is a major contributor to area recreation and to China’s economy; neighbors’ concerns about traffic; the lack of room to park on the town property and of convenient other parking spaces; maintaining lake access for residents who do not own lakefront property and have used the South China landing for years; and providing access to a water source for volunteer firefighters and to the warden service for ice rescues.
Preston started the Nov. 6 discussion by presenting a summary of reasons to limit the landing to carry-in only, meaning people could launch only kayaks and canoes and vehicle traffic would be lessened.
Board chairman Wayne Chadwick and members Brent Chesley and Blane Casey disagreed with Preston, citing reasons to continue to keep the landing open to motorboats. Jeanne Marquis sided with Preston.
Chadwick invited audience members, present in person or virtually, to join the discussion, and several did.
The two sides disagreed over how large the boats are that currently use the South China landing and how congested China Lake’s other two landings are (that is, how much people currently using the South China landing would be inconvenienced by longer drives and longer waits).
There was agreement that run-off controls are needed, bolstered by opinions from two engineers. Town manager Rebecca Hapgood said the town had paid for a boundary survey of the town property, but the engineers had not cost taxpayers money.
There was also agreement that the landing should continue to be unpublicized. Opinion leaned toward paving the road, with appropriate slopes and diversions to prevent water from shooting down the pavement into the lake. A paved road would need less maintenance, several people said.
Select board members and China Lake Association representatives praised the past cooperation between the two groups and expressed willingness to continue to work together. After the vote, Hapgood said she will help organize their cooperation.
The Nov. 6 meeting began with two executive sessions with town attorney Amanda Meader. After the first one, select board members voted unanimously to direct her to draft a notice to Palermo town officials of China’s intention to end the two towns’ agreement letting Palermo residents use China’s transfer station (see The Town Line, Aug. 17, p. 3; Sept. 21, p. 3; and Oct. 26, p. 2).
After the second executive session, board members voted unanimously to reduce the fine for land use ordinance violations by Farmingdale construction company BHS, Inc., from $5,000 to $500.
In other business Nov. 6:
Because the meeting ran longer than usual, two agenda items were postponed, a report from Delta Ambulance and Chadwick’s recommended discussion of town-owned Bradley Island in China Lake’s west basin.
The next regular China select board meeting is scheduled for Monday evening, Nov. 20, probably at 6 p.m.
by Mary GrowChina resident Chris Harris presented a new proposal for his land on Route 3 to town planning board members at their Oct. 24 meeting. Board members advised on next steps, planning continued review in November.
At their June 27 meeting, board members unanimously approved Harris’s proposed self-storage units at 623 Route 3. Since then, Harris said, enough other self-storage businesses have opened to lead him to reconsider.
At the Oct. 24 meeting, he presented a preliminary plan to subdivide his property into four house lots. He already lives on one, plans a house on another and will postpone development on the remaining two.
Board co-chairman Toni Wall summarized some of the requirements in China’s subdivision ordinance, calling the application process “pretty extensive.” She and co-chairman James Wilkens agreed the area of the existing access driveway across Lot D to the Harris house needs to be deducted from Lot D’s lot area as the driveway becomes a right-of-way.
They also discussed the need to locate wells, septic system and probably house sites on each lot in a final plan. After the final plan is presented, board members will decide whether it is complete, and if it is, will decide whether to hold a public hearing.
The other major agenda item Oct. 24 was the draft revised Planning Board Ordinance, prepared by town attorney Amanda Meader.
Board members found much to like in Meader’s draft, but also had disagreements and questions.
Wall intends to redraft the ordinance to incorporate suggestions.
The next regular China planning board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday evening, Nov. 14. The agenda is likely to include a public hearing on Novel Energy’s application for a community solar garden on Parmenter Hill Road (see the Oct. 5 issue of The Town Line, p. 2). The hearing was originally scheduled for Oct. 10, but was postponed because the planning board had no quorum that evening.
by The Town Line staffAt the October 10 meeting of the Windsor Select Board, there was discussion of the truck/equipment schedule. Public Works Supervisor Keith Hall spoke to the time line and the notes he made on a handout for replacing each of the trucks and equipment. He informed the board that two trucks – #5 and #6 – are currently in the shop for repairs. He noted the parts are expensive and the dealereship seems to be having problems getting the parts. His plan is to have the trucks back in service before snow fall.
The select board noted that with the cost of parts and repairs, it may be time to look at increasing the budget line for the public works department in the future.
Hall also told the board the quote to replace the 2016 International dump truck with plow would be upwards of $160,000. The board said it would have to be included in the 2024-25 budget. More discussion is planned.
Town Manager Theresa Haskell gave out the monthly transfer station report. September was up from last year with $2,471.75, making the overall today for the year to $6,644.45.
Transfer station committee member Tom Reed spoke about the solid waste ordinance that the the committee has already approved, and he has a few additional updates to be made to the wording before the final print of the ordinance is approved by the select board.
In other business, the select board unanimously accepted the resignation of Sean Teekema from the Windsor Transfer Station. Hall said that he and Tim from public works have been helping at the transfer station due to the short staff in the department. The position will be posted on the town webpage and on the town office sign, with the hopes of filling the position soon.
Monique Crommett was present on behalf of RSU #12. Haskell inquired about the electric bus. Crommett said the bus is not yet here and they are still waiting for it.
Sandra Grecrenko asked the select board what the requirement is for a property to be considered a residence. The select board answered to the best of their ability giving the answer the property would need to have a dwelling, water, septic and electric present. Following more discussion, the board felt they didn’t have appropriate answers or information. The board suggested she set up a meeting with Codes Enforcement Office Arthur Strout for answers.
Crommett suggested it would be helpful to residents if Strout have available a list when residents come to him, explaining “A-Z” what is needed when someone is getting ready to build whether it is from ground up or simnply putting in a new septic system. She feels it would cut down on confusion and questions by a lot of residents if they had a simple check list to which to refer.
F. Gerard Nault inquired about the upcoming public hearing. The hearing will be to see if the town would enact a Maine Site Plan Review Ordinance, set for November 1, with a special town meeting slated for November 9, at 6:30 p.m., at the Windsor Town Hall.
The next meeting of the select board was planned for October 24, 2023.
by Mary GrowAt an Oct. 25 meeting, three members of China’s board of assessment review unanimously upheld the board of assessors (also the select board), who on Aug. 28 denied Marie Michaud’s application for a property tax abatement.
Michaud believes her shorefront lot on the west side of China Lake is overvalued. She said the lake bottom in front of her property is weedy and muddy and the water is shallow, making the area unfit for swimming.
Select board members denied Michaud’s abatement request on a 3-2 vote. Michaud appealed to the board of assessment review.
Assessor William Van Tuinen answered questions about how he – or any assessor – determines property values, based on the property’s characteristics and on area selling prices.
There are three categories of lake frontage, he said. The highest, A, is for properties with a good view of the water and usable frontage. A lot with a buffer – conforming to recommended water quality protection practices – that blocked the view, or with less usable frontage, would be rated B.
Michaud’s lot Van Tuinen rated C, the lowest category, indicating he shared her opinion that it was not among the most desirable lots on the lake. He calculated the valuation and resulting tax bill using that rating.
After considering Van Tuinen’s information and lists of “comps” – supposedly comparable properties – presented by both parties, board members voted unanimously that the assessment was appropriate.
The board’s meeting, the first since February 2021, began with re-election of chairman Dale Peabody and secretary Harold Charles.
Albert Church Brown Memorial Library in China Village.
Three of the six candidates on China’s Nov. 7 local election ballot attended the Oct. 28 candidates’ forum at the Albert Church Brown Memorial Library, in China Village.
Moderator Louisa Barnhart, chairman of the library’s board of trustees, asked about the candidates’ favorite charities, their reading preferences and their positions on local issues.
Mobilized Recovery explained
Mobilize Recovery is a national organization with a branch in Augusta. Its purpose is to deal with the national addiction crisis, including preventing addiction and helping people already addicted to survive and to recover.
The Maine Recovery Advocacy Project Facebook page says:
“We are thrilled about the level of support we have received by Kennebec County and our awesome volunteers. We are now beginning to see that our first year’s goal of visiting 5,000 homes is well within our reach. We want to thank the Kennebec County Commissioners who provided the grant to enable us to do this project and thank all the 3,882 homes we have visited so far.
“We are encouraged to see so many people realize the importance of carrying Narcan in their purses, back packs, brief cases or glove compartment of their cars – even if they don’t know someone who uses drugs. You’ll never know when you might be able to save someone’s life.”
It adds details about achieving the 2023 goal:
“So far this year, we visited 3,882 homes, trained 1,592 people to use Nar[c]an and distributed 3,510 boxes of Narcan.”
The Facebook page says the physical address is 59 Bangor Street, Augusta; the telephone number is (207)593-6251; and the email address is courtney@recoveryvoices.com.
Nonprofit groups she supports include local organizations (China Lake Association, the volunteer fire department and China for a Lifetime); environmental organizations (Nature Conservancy and Sierra Club); and addiction recovery organization (Maine Recovery Advocacy Project and Mobilize Recovery).
Her favorite living author is non-fiction writer Johann Hari. Her favorite writer is the late Toni Morrison, especially her poetry.
Mather’s charities include the American Diabetes Association, the Salvation Army and the Boy Scouts of America. Her favorite writer is Brad Thor, author of the Scot Harvath thrillers.
He also supports the Masons and is a member of two local lodges; and the Red Cross, including as a platelet and blood donor. He spends his working hours reading blueprints and has little time for leisure reading.
The two policy questions Barnhart asked were about the proposed LS power line and about a future public beach on China Lake. Candidates added two more issues, lack of volunteers for town boards and organizations, and the need to entice more businesses to locate in China.
None of the three supports the LS powerline. Rumpf’s principal objection is “the very sneaky way it came about – the landowners were all taken by surprise.”
Marquis and Mather were concerned about the effect on China’s rural nature and environment, especially the potential loss of good farmland. Marquis emphasized she was speaking personally, not for the select board. Mather said her decisions as a planning board member would be based on ordinances, not on her personal views.
No candidate had a plan for providing public beach access to China Lake. All agreed a town-owned beach would make more work for the town’s public works department and would require additional insurance.
Marquis praised the Four Seasons Club beach on China Lake’s east shore. It is open to club members for what the club website says is an annual $35 general membership fee.
All three regretted the lack of volunteers for town boards and local organizations. Rumpf praised the excellent volunteers who keep the Four Seasons Club active, and said if there were more, the club could add projects and events.
He raised the issue of attracting business, calling China “business-unfriendly” and naming businesses that have moved to other towns. China officials do not offer tax breaks to new businesses; and they collect the state-mandated personal property tax on businesses, a requirement he said some Maine municipalities ignore.
Rumpf’s main argument was that more businesses would increase the local tax base. He acknowledged the need for regulation to protect local values.
Librarian Miranda Perkins’ video of the forum is available on line for interested voters, via a link on the Albert Church Brown Memorial Library website.
No contests on China ballot
There are no contests and no new names on China’s Nov. 7 local election ballot, though there are lines for write-in candidates.
For the board of selectmen, Wayne Chadwick and Jeanne Marquis seek re-election.
For planning board District 3 (southeastern China), Elaine Mather, appointed in late August to finish Michael Sullivan’s term, is a candidate for re-election. There is no candidate for District 1 (northwestern China).
For the budget committee, chairman Thomas Rumpf and District 1 candidate Kevin Maroon are unopposed for re-election. There is no candidate for District 3.
The position of budget committee secretary is also open, Trishea Story having resigned some months ago. Because that term does not end until 2024, it is not on the ballot.
Anyone interested in serving in an unfilled position is invited to call the China town office at 445-2014.
On Nov. 7, China polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the former portable building behind the town office on Lakeview Drive.
by Jonathan StrieffOn Thursday, October 19, the Palermo Town Council heard a proposal from two residents interested in using charitable fundraiser proceeds to honor veterans from town. Representing the American Legion, Palermo residents Paul Hunter and Gary Jones approached the town council after being selected by the Palermo Friends and Neighbors ATV club as one of four recipients of an annual fundraiser. Jones and Hunter sought to utilize the Hometown Hero Banner Program to decorate all 59 utility poles on major roads in Palermo with custom made flags, each paying tribute to a different past or present military service member raised in Palermo.
The idea came from existing Hometown Hero banners on display in Benton and Fairfield. The council unanimously blessed the project, but encouraged Hunter and Jones to contact Central Maine Power for permission to use the utility poles. Palermo residents will have the opportunity to nominate family members or friends for recognition on one of the 59 flags. Details about the nomination process will be printed in the December newsletter from the Town Office.
Volunteer Fire and Rescue Chief, Roger Komandt, also addressed the council with his department report. Since January 1, Fire and Rescue has responded to 183 emergency calls: 119 EMS runs, 64 fire runs, and 12 calls for mutual aid to surrounding towns. At this pace, Komandt anticipates responding to well over 200 calls before the end of the year, significantly more that in 2022. Two new hires are moving through their training smoothly, beginning a pump class offered in Liberty. An annual test of all 15,000 feet of fire hose in use by the department found only three failing sections, totaling 250 feet. The failed sections of fire hose may be available to area farmers or crafters to put to use.
Komandt also described a difficult experience attempting to contact a former new hire from 2021. According to Komandt, the individual cut off all contact with members of the department very soon after joining Fire and Rescue. Komandt has attempted to reach out through phone, text, email, physical mail, and through family members but after a year of trying nothing has worked. The individual is in possession of $1,500 worth of personal protective equipment that could serve another member. The town council offered to send a notarized letter to the individual’s current address.
Jonasthan Strieff is a freelance contributor to The Town Line.
Vassalboro Community School (contributed photo)
Vassalboro school board members have decided on measures to minimize heat waves inside Vassalboro Community School (VCS), no matter what the weather outside does.
At their Oct. 17 meeting, board members unanimously approved two recommendations from Superintendent Alan Pfeiffer.
They will have ceiling fans installed in almost every room, as an interim measure; and they will find a consultant to do a comprehensive energy audit, to plan future improvements to cooling, heating and lighting in the building.
Pfeiffer had a bid for $27,740 for ceiling fans in all classrooms and most other spaces, a figure that includes installation costs. Postponed are the high-ceilinged spaces like the gymnasium, cafeteria and music room.
Principal Ira Michaud said after considering two types of fans, the recommendation is for Hampton Bay Industrial ceiling fans, because they move more air than the other type. He said he stood under one and can testify the moving air will not throw papers around.
Michaud said installation will begin during the Christmas break, with the top-floor classrooms first on the list. Next priority, probably during February and April vacations, will be the east-facing ground-floor classrooms that get a lot of sun.
Pfeiffer intends to use most of the rest of the school department’s federal CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act funds for the ceiling fans.
Shelley Phillips, director of maintenance and grounds for Vassalboro and Winslow schools, said the fans do not make much difference in the electric bill. Winslow High School has had fans since about 2012, she said; two have needed to be replaced so far.
All three administrators emphasized that the fans and the controls will be high out of reach of curious young students.
Pfeiffer summarized the process for an energy audit, which he said has not been done at VCS for 17 years. The school board would contract with an energy company, whose representatives would do an inspection and present a report. Board members would then select a company to make changes. After that company made a public presentation and the board accepted its plan, work could begin, possibly in the summer of 2024.
Vassalboro school department would incur no bills until the project was under way, Pfeiffer said – the audit would be paid for along with the work.
Phillips said because “a whole new world of new equipment that is very energy efficient” has been developed in the last 17 years, changes should quickly result in lower costs.
Superintendent Pfeiffer supported his recommendations with colorful charts showing the days over 90 degrees and over 80 degrees since 2018. The charts showed increasing warmth in May and June and, especially in 2023, September and early October. A staffer at the National Weather Service Office, in Gray, had enjoyed preparing the charts for him, Pfeiffer said.
The Oct. 17 meeting included an update on the daycare program at VCS by Jennifer Lizotte, who heads it. The program runs on school days from 6:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Lizotte said, and some parents need to use it at both ends of the day as they commute to out-of-town jobs.
There are currently 54 children enrolled, from pre-kindergartners to sixth-graders. A space rearrangement agreed with Michaud and assistant principal Tabitha Brewer will provide space for five more, to be taken from the waiting list.
Lizotte praised Michaud and Brewer for their help, and the Vassalboro Parent-Teacher Organization for including the daycare program in their fall festival.
Pfeiffer also praised Vassalboro’s “really awesome” PTO volunteers.
Michaud’s principal’s report included a photo of the new sandbox for the younger students. He thanked PTO members Julia Sidelinger, Chris Reynolds and Jandee and Kevin McLaughlin for getting materials and building the box, and said donated sand was due to arrive Oct. 19.
Among policies board members reviewed and updated (one of their on-going responsibilities) was the VCS homework policy. Michaud commented that teachers assign less homework than they used to, because parents – and older children responsible for younger siblings – are so busy.
Board member Erin “Libby” Loiko said there is less homework for high-school students, too, partly because of study halls during the school day. Michaud said the heads of Erskine Academy and Waterville High School have assured him VCS students are well prepared to enter their schools.
Pfeiffer observed that the Oct. 17 meeting was held during National School Bus Driver Appreciation Week, and praised Vassalboro’s drivers; other towns have had shortages, but “our folks are here every single day.”
The next regular Vassalboro school board meeting will be Tuesday evening, Nov. 14, the second Tuesday rather than the usual third Tuesday to avoid Thanksgiving week.