China’s comprehensive planning committee wrapping up duties

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by Mary Grow

On Oct. 23, China Comprehensive Plan Committee members held what might be their final meeting until they review a draft revised comprehensive plan early in 2020.

The Oct. 23 topics were natural resources, farmland and forestry. Two chapters in the 2008 plan remain to be reviewed, those dealing with public facilities and recreation.

Committee members agreed that Kennebec Valley Council of Governments consultant Joel Greenwood should review the final chapters and if he recommends major changes, bring them to a Dec. 4 meeting. If events in the last 11 years don’t justify significant rewording, committee members asked Greenwood to add the chapters to the previously-reviewed sections to complete a draft plan.

The draft would be re-reviewed by the committee and shared with residents. Next, Greenwood said, several state agencies look at the plan before it comes back to the committee to approve a final version to be submitted to town voters.

Topics discussed Oct. 23 included China Lake and other water bodies, deer yards, critical natural areas, farmland, forestry, invasive species (on land and in the water) and regional cooperation to protect natural resources. The China Region Lakes Alliance was cited as an example of regional cooperation.

Committee members Carlaine Bovio and Jeannette Smith said regulations protecting China Lake should be better explained and better enforced. “Some things have been a little bit lenient, and we need to look at that leniency,” Bovio said.

Several topics came back to a point made in earlier meetings: the easiest way to treat different areas differently, when appropriate, would be zoning, but China voters have a reputation for opposing anything involving “the z word.” Other Maine towns have created zones to protect natural resources, residential centers, farmland, forests and other areas where voters think proposed changes need to meet specific standards.

CHINA: Firefighters’ stipend argument continues; LaVerdiere walks out, resigns

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by Mary Grow

The argument over volunteer firefighters’ stipends that China selectmen have conducted intermittently for a year and a half continued at their Oct. 15 meeting, culminating with Selectman Jeffrey LaVerdiere announcing he was tired of arguing, resigning from the board and walking out.

As of Oct. 22, Town Clerk Becky Hapgood, who attended the meeting in the temporary absence of Town Manager Dennis Heath, was unable to reach LaVerdiere to find out whether he intends to confirm his resignation in writing.

At the March 2018 town meeting, voters approved $40,000 to be distributed equally among China Rescue and the three volunteer fire departments and used as stipends to help encourage new members to join emergency services groups. Selectmen and firefighters were to sign a memorandum of agreement setting forth rules for sharing the money among volunteers.

A draft memorandum has been repeatedly discussed. Heath sought reactions from the state labor department, and after approval there from the federal labor department. Hapgood said despite weekly telephone calls the manager has been unable to get a federal opinion.

At the Oct. 15 meeting, selectmen had a warrant – a request to pay – for the $40,000. Selectman Ronald Breton said fire department representatives have not signed the memorandum and the $40,000 should not be handed over until they do.

LaVerdiere said other towns’ officials told him they did not think any memorandum was needed. He argued the selectmen should show their trust in the firefighters by signing the check without further delay.

Board Chairman Robert MacFarland said the issue is not trust, but bookkeeping: municipal officials should have a signed contract with any private entity, including a fire department or rescue service, that performs services for the town.

Breton said he was not ready to vote on expending the funds until federal labor officials approved. At that point LaVerdiere left and the remaining board members tabled the question.

The next evening they held a brief special meeting where, Hapgood reported, they signed the warrant approving payment of the $40,000 when fire department representatives sign the memorandum.

The Oct. 15 meeting was preceded by two public hearings, one on the Nov. 5 local ballot questions and one on proposed amendments to appendices to the General Assistance Ordinance. Three residents attended. Neil Farrington asked general questions about the ballot questions and no one commented on the General Assistance Ordinance.

Selectmen told Farrington the five questions asking if residents want to allow medical marijuana operations in town will have no effect on Nathan White’s Route 3 business, which opened before the Dec. 2018 deadline for “grandfathering.”

The final ballot question asks voters to choose between two extra-hours proposals for the town office (the current Saturday morning, or Thursday evening until 7:00). A note says the question is advisory only, but MacFarland assured the audience the Selectboard will abide by the popular will.

During the meeting, selectmen approved the General Assistance Ordinance changes, which adjust maximum amounts allowed for assistance categories.

TIF (Tax Increment Financing) Committee member Tom Michaud reported on work to improve three fire roads that is partly funded by TIF money. He invited other China residents who believe their fire roads need work to reduce run-off to contact him, Peter Caldwell or Bill Powell.

Michaud established that when he (or any other resident) is out of town and wants to comment at a selectmen’s meeting, he should look at the agenda, posted on the website a few days before the meeting, and email or otherwise send comments to which board members can respond.

Selectmen unanimously appointed Edward Brownell a member of the recreation committee.

They unanimously set fees for after-the-act permits issued by the codes officer or planning board at twice the amount the fee would have been if the application had been filed before the work started.

The next regular China selectmen’s meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 28.

CHINA: Two-sided local ballot for November 5

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by Mary Grow

China voters have a two-sided local ballot to fill out Nov. 5: local elections on one side, local referendum questions on the other.

The first four referenda are intended to comply with state law requiring municipalities to “opt in” before anyone may open a new medical marijuana facility. The questions ask if China voters want to allow “medical marijuana registered caregiver retail stores,” “medical marijuana registered dispensaries,” “medical marijuana testing facilities” or “medical marijuana manufacturing facilities.” Definitions of the terms are in state law, Title 22, Chapter 558-C.

The fifth question asks if voters want to require a minimum 1,000-foot distance between the property line of any of the above, if approved, and a pre-existing public or private school.

The final question asks voters to choose between two possible three-hour extensions of town office hours: staying open until 7 p.m. Thursdays, or continuing to open from 8 to 11 a.m. Saturdays. A note says the question is advisory only and selectmen are not bound to implement either schedule.

There is a single contest on the election side of the ballot. Two selectmen’s terms are expiring, Irene Belanger’s and Robert MacFarland’s, and three residents have returned nomination papers, Belanger, Wayne Chadwick and Todd Tolhurst.

Ranked choice voting is not used in China’s 2019 local elections.

There are no listed candidates for three planning board seats, District 1 (Kevin Michaud’s term ends), District 3 (Ralph Howe’s term ends) and the alternate position elected from anywhere in town (currently vacant).

For the budget committee, Chairman Robert Batteese and District 1 representative Kevin Maroon are unopposed for reelection. There is no name on the ballot for the District 3 seat that Chadwick currently holds.

China polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 5, in the portable building behind the town office. Residents may vote in advance, at the town office or elsewhere, until Oct. 31. After that date, state law says absentee ballots may be issued only if the voter is unexpectedly out of town the entire time the polls are open, has a physical disability or is confined to home or a “treatment facility” due to “incapacity or illness.”

VASSALBORO: CMP presents revised easement proposal; town counter offers

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by Mary Grow

Vassalboro selectmen discussed an unusually varied list of issues at their Oct. 17 meeting, postponing action on most of them.

Keltie Beaudoin attended the meeting with a proposal from Central Maine Power Company (CMP) to revise its easement allowing a power line to cross town property near the Webber Pond outlet dam. After she explained how CMP arrived at a proposed $10,000 payment to the town for the revision, selectmen, encouraged from the audience by former town manager Michael Vashon, counter-proposed $12,500. Beaudoin will present the counter-offer to her superiors.

Beaudoin explained that the new document will clearly state that the easement is 100 feet wide. CMP will keep it cleared; part of it goes through the boat landing parking lot, and she pointed out that neither the town nor the company wants trees in the parking lot.

When she said some existing trees “would probably go,” Town Manager Mary Sabins reminded her of limits on cutting trees in the shoreland zone. When she said CMP planned to replace existing poles with taller ones, Vashon pointed out the need to consider Charles Cabaniss’ nearby private airstrip.

CMP will pay for deeds and any other costs associated with the easement revision, Beaudoin said.

School Superintendent Alan Pfeiffer told selectmen the school year has started well, with an enrollment of 419 students, an increase of nine. He and school board members plan to work with the town’s new solar committee on possibilities of a shared solar project, and with the selectmen and budget committee as school board members begin developing a multi-year strategic plan.

Sabins said Gary Coull has resigned from Vassalboro’s Board of Appeals because he is moving out of town. Other board members are also ready to resign, she said. Any resident interested in joining the board is invited to contact the town office.

Selectmen had invited planning board members and a representative of the Central Maine Growth Council to the Oct. 17 meeting, but schedule conflicts changed the plan. Now, Sabins said, a Growth Council representative intends to come to the Nov. 12 planning board meeting (postponed from the usual first Tuesday of the month because of Election Day).

The manager announced that Police Chief Mark Brown and the Vassalboro Fire Department have received grants to buy most of the new radios they need and are looking for funding sources for the rest.

Selectmen made two decisions during the Oct. 17 meeting. After a very short public hearing that brought no comments, they approved amendments to the General Assistance Ordinance appendices, adjusting aid levels. And they approved a catering permit for Robert Laster, doing business as Crostini’s Catering, in Winthrop, for an Oct. 26 retirement dinner at St. Bridget’s Center, in North Vassalboro.

The next regular Vassalboro selectmen’s meeting would have fallen on Halloween. It has been rescheduled two days earlier, for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 29.

Progress on China Middle School expansion (October update)

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Construction continues on the addition to the China Middle School as masons have begun to apply the brick work on the outside of the building. Work remains on schedule. The $1.5 million project will add storage for cafeteria tables, redoing the gym floor and upgrading the HVAC system, along with repairing the roof and other fire code improvements to meet compliance of new laws. (Photo by Roland D. Hallee)

Undetermined origin

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Photo by Roland D. Hallee

Smoke can be seen billowing from Winslow’s McCormack Building Supply, on Lithgow, from the Waterville side of the river, on October 11. The state fire marshal’s office has concluded that the cause of the fire to be undetermined. Accord­ing to Steve McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety, fire investigators said the fire started near a building in the back of the complex, known as the pine shed, where white pine lumber was stored.

The monetary loss from the fire will exceed $4 million. Investigators interviewed about 25 people who were in or near the buildings when the fire broke out about noon on Friday. Those interviewed included employees, customers, and employees of a paving company which was paving on the property. Investigators said they could not rule in or out any one source for the fire because of the extensive damage.

Vassalboro selectmen’s October meeting rescheduled

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Vassalboro selectmen have moved their next meeting from the usual Thursday, which would be Halloween, to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 29, so that board members can fulfill any Halloween obligations.

China board votes to give Buckshot Power Sports $25,000 loan

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Buckshot Power Sports in China. (image source: Facebook)

by Mary Grow

After the Oct. 10 China selectmen’s special executive-session meeting, Town Manager Dennis Heath reported the four board members attending voted unanimously to give Buckshot Power Sports a $25,000 loan.

The loan will come from China’s TIF (Tax Increment Financing) fund’s revolving loan fund. The loan was recommended by the TIF Committee’s loan subcommittee and by the TIF Committee.

Kennebec Valley Council of Governments assists the China committee managing loans, and a consultant working with KVCOG was involved in reviewing the loan application. Heath said the final document incorporates recommendations from the consultant.

Selectmen’s approval was the last step in the application process. Heath expects Buckshot Power Sports owner Mike Rackcliffe and KVCOG personnel will now finish the paperwork so Rackcliffe can get the money.

TIF funds come from taxes paid by Central Maine Power Company on its north-south power line through China and its substation in South China. Under state law and regulations, TIF funds may be used for a variety of economic development purposes.

More information on China’s TIF, including application forms for TIF grants and revolving loans, is on the town website.

China TIF committee OKs funds for causeway project

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Would need voter approval if selectmen agree

by Mary Grow

China’s TIF (Tax Increment Financing) Committee members agreed on several recommendations to selectmen at a workshop session Oct. 14. One involves spending TIF money (and will need approval from voters if selectmen approve it). The rest are plans for reallocating money among projects to better balance needs with approved funds.

The spending recommendation is to add $250,000 to the $750,000 voters allocated in 2017 for the causeway project, the new bridge and related improvements at the head of China Lake’s east basin. Town Manager Dennis Heath, who oversees finances for the committee, estimates that much will be needed to finish the work.

If selectmen approve, the additional money could be moved for bookkeeping purposes from the category of matching funds for grants (none has been spent in four years).

The exact amount needed for the causeway work is uncertain; Heath and committee members are waiting for engineering plans for walkways, replacement railings, shoreline improvements and other amenities.

There was agreement that the committee should oversee finishing the causeway work as soon as possible and move on to other projects.

One potential project, committee members decided, could be expansion of internet service, or, considering the speed of technological change, its successors; they named the new category “digital communications technologies.” The Maine legislature recently approved adding broadband and related communications to TIF-eligible projects, so China voters will need to approve adding the new category to the town’s TIF document.

Other proposed rearrangements would increase annual allotments for China Community Days, recreational trail work, Thurston Park and the China School Forest. The increases don’t require offsetting decreases, because the TIF account had unallocated money, Heath said.

The allotments do not automatically spend money. Organizations submit applications that TIF committee members review and, on the committee’s recommendation, selectmen review. Town meeting voters then approve or reject annual TIF spending recommended by selectmen.

Tod Detre submitted an application of behalf of the Broadband Committee at the Oct. 14 workshop, and Four Seasons Club President Tom Rumpf said his application for trail work is ready. The next regular TIF Committee meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 4.