Vassalboro select board reviews draft of revised personnel policy

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by Mary Grow

Vassalboro select board members spent more than an hour of their May 24 meeting reviewing a revised draft of the town’s personnel policy, with comments from an interested audience of town employees.

The most discussed section deals with how time off – vacation time, sick leave, personal days, for example – is calculated. There were questions about when an employee begins to accumulate these benefits and how they are measured.

Related issues (like overtime) and possible future benefits (like family medical coverage) were also topics. Town Manager Aaron Miller will continue to work on the draft policy.

Before the policy discussion, select board members reviewed and made a few changes in the draft warrant for Vassalboro’s June 3 and June 11 town meeting. Miller hoped to have the annual town report for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2023, which will include the town meeting warrant, ready for the printer on May 20.

After the policy discussion, board members reviewed two ongoing projects, reorganizing the transfer station and slowing speeders on Route 32 in East Vassalboro.

The transfer station discussion has two branches, rebuilding in pretty much the existing footprint or expanding.

Absentee ballots available

Absentee ballots for the state primary election and Vassalboro local elections are available at the Vassalboro town office through Thursday, June 6. State primary ballots may also be requested through the Secretary of State’s website.

State law allows voters to apply for absentee ballots after June 6 only under special circumstances.

Board members reviewed three plans for a drive-through building on the current site, prepared by Senders science engineering and construction, of Camden. Each would accomplish the main goal, improving safety by eliminating the need for drivers to back up to the hopper to dispose of trash.

They also discussed the possibility of incorporating at least part of an adjacent 5.5-acre parcel on the eastern border of the transfer station lot, on which the town has foreclosed. Miller said discussions with the heirs to the property are continuing.

If the town were to acquire the land, its usefulness would depend on numerous factors, from the extent of wetlands on the property to state regulations.

Board member Frederick “Rick” Denico suggested Miller consult engineer Jeff Senders.

East Vassalboro resident Holly Weidner and Miller said an East Vassalboro group and state Department of Transportation officials propose experimental Route 32 traffic-calming measures.

The first step is to collect statistics on traffic speed, Weidner said. Then the experiment will begin; continued monitoring will show whether it slows drivers.

Select board members approved spending up to $6,500 in ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds for the project. Weidner said there might be a $1,000 grant available to reduce the cost to the town.

The next regular Vassalboro select board meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 30.

Vassalboro prepares for annual town meeting, election (2024)

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by Mary Grow

Vassalboro’s annual town meeting will be, as usual in recent years, in two sections.

Voters will assemble at 6:30 p.m., Monday, June 3, in the Vassalboro Community School gymnasium to vote on the first 41 articles of the 45-article town meeting warrant. The meeting will then recess until 8 a.m., Tuesday, June 11, when written-ballot voting begins at the town office on Articles 42 through 45 and for state primary elections.

Town Manager Aaron Miller expects veteran moderator Richard Thompson will run the meeting, if elected under Art. 1 of the warrant.

Much of the warrant deals with familiar topics.

Art. 2 asks voters to elect five members of Vassalboro’s Budget Committee for two-year terms. In past years the warrant has listed the budget committee members whose terms end. In 2024 they are not listed; Miller had legal advice against appearing to limit choices.

The annual town report for the year ending June 30, 2023, now available at the town office, says Frank Richards’, Douglas Phillips’, Richard Bradstreet’s and Nate Gray’s terms end this year. There is a vacancy, because Michael Poulin’s seat was not filled after he was elected to the select board last year.

Art. 5 asks voter approval to spend more than $2.9 million for 15 municipal departments or functions. Biggest proposed expenditures include more than $648,000 for the public works department, almost $630,000 for administration; and $570,000 for road paving. The smallest request on the list is $3,000 for general assistance.

As in past years, most of the rest of the warrant deals with other expenditures and with authorizing a variety of select board actions.

New articles this year include:

— Art. 12, asking voters to adopt an ordinance called “Ordinance Eliminating Quorum Requirement for Special Town Meetings.”

The article refers to a 1991 town meeting vote. The state Law and Legislative Reference Library’s digital on-line version cites a 1991 private and special law that requires at least 125 registered voters to be present for a Vassalboro special meeting.

This legislative act amended an earlier requirement that at least 10 percent of the number of voters participating in the previous gubernatorial election take part in any special town meeting. The requirement has discouraged select board members from calling special town meetings.

— Art. 21, asking voters to approve spending up to $20,000 from surplus to run the Red Cross emergency shelter at Vassalboro Community School, if it is needed.
— Art. 23, asking voters to reallocate $5,500 from trailer capital reserve funds to buy a trailer for a new skid steer. The skid steer, a much-discussed topic at select board and budget committee meetings, will be used in winter to plow the expected new North Vassalboro sidewalks, and in other seasons for work on trails and elsewhere.
— Art. 25, asking voters to raise and appropriate $10,584 for Conservation Commission and the Courtesy Boat Inspection Program (CBI), directed by the China Region Lakes Alliance. Conservation Commission member Holly Weidner explained to select board and budget committee members that the commission will oversee the CBI, which is intended to keep invasive plants out of town lakes.
Art. 20 again gives select board members an emergency fund, from surplus. Last year, the limit was $15,000; this year, it is proposed at $25,000.

The 2024-25 school budget is in articles 29 through 41.

In Vassalboro’s June 11 primary voting for the state and national legislatures, the only contest is on the Republican ballot for the District One Congressional seat. Andrew Plantidosi, of Cape Elizabeth, and Ronald C. Russell, of Kennebunkport, seek the nomination. The winner will run in November against Democratic incumbent Chellie Pingree, of North Haven, who has no opponent on the Democratic ballot.

In the State Senate primaries for District #15 (Augusta, Belgrade, China, Mount Vernon, Sidney, and Vassalboro), Republican Richard T. Bradstreet, of Vassalboro, and Democrat Raegan French LaRochelle, of Augusta, are unopposed.

In House District 61 (Vassalboro and most of Sidney) Republican Alicia Carol Collins, of Sidney, and Democrat Laura M. Jones, of Vassalboro, are unopposed.

State law says voters enrolled in a party may vote only on that party’s ballot; but unenrolled voters may request any one of the three party ballots.

The budget committee reviewed and made recommendations on financial articles. Its members agreed, often but not always unanimously, with the select board and the school board on all but Art. 8.

Art. 8 asks voters to raise and appropriate $126,936 for capital investments, for reserve funds and to buy the skid steer and trailer. The select board so recommends.

The budget committee recommendation is for $182,936, increasing the public works reserve by $6,000 and adding a $50,000 transfer station reserve.

Sample ballots for the June 11 meeting continuation can be seen on the town website, vassalboro.net, under “Elections,” which is under “Departments and Hours.”

The sample ballot headed “Municipal Election” has three questions, Articles 42, 43 and 44 of the town meeting warrant.

Art. 42 asks if voters want to approve an amended Solid Waste Ordinance, renamed the Solid Waste and Recycling Ordinance, with new provisions about recycling; use by commercial haulers and owners and occupants of multi-family buildings; and enforcement.

Art. 43 asks if voters want to approve an amended Marijuana Business Ordinance. It changes the word “marijuana” to the word “cannabis” throughout, and adds regulations for small medical growing operations, which, by state law, must be allowed in town. The new ordinance does not affect provisions of the current one that prohibit new commercial cannabis-growing operations.

Art. 44, the school budget referendum, asks if voters want to confirm the 2024-25 school budget that was approved at the June 3 open meeting.

The ballot for local municipal elections is the final article on the town meeting warrant. The only candidates listed are Christopher J. French for re-election to the select board and Jolene Gamage for re-election to the school board. There is space for a write-in candidate for each position.

China select board holds ice cream social, presents Spirit of America award

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by Mary Grow

China select board members began their May 20 meeting with their second ice cream social in two weeks, as an introduction to the presentation of 2024 Spirit of America awards.

The dozen residents recognized for their volunteerism this year are:

— Carol Boynton and Thomas Bilodeau, for service to the Project Linus chapter serving Hancock, Kennebec, Penobscot and Piscataquis counties. Project Linus, Boynton explained, is a national organization whose volunteers give handmade blankets to hospitals and service organization to distribute to sick or traumatized children. Boynton said she and Bilodeau have made 55 blankets in the 18 months they have been involved.
— Sheldon Goodine (who was unable to attend the select board meeting), for leadership in China’s Golden Agers senior program and service to the South China church, library, Masons and American Legion.
— Thomas Maraggio, transfer station manager, for creating appropriate flag disposal boxes for the China Transfer Station. Maraggio explained that he was distressed to find United States flags treated as trash; he could not find appropriate disposal boxes to buy, so he made some. When he reported accepting about five flags a week, there was a chorus of “Wow!” from the audience.
— Thomas Rumpf, president of the China Four Seasons Club for the past seven years, for leading the organization that provides recreational activities. Rumpf shared credit with “all the Four Seasons Club volunteers who make things happen.”
— Jeanette Smith, chairman of the Thurston Park Committee, for leading the small group of volunteers ensuring accessibility to Thurston Park in northeastern China, including clearing trails after storm damage.
— China Community Forest Committee members Larry and Nancy Lemieux, Elizabeth Swahn, Jessica Parlin, Peter Moulton and Susan Cottle, for countless hours maintaining the China Community Forest behind China Primary School.

China Community Forest Committee co-chairs Elaine Philbrook and Anita Smith received Spirit of America awards in 2022.

In other business May 20, select board members postponed continued discussion of town buildings until Goodine, who heads the town’s building committee, is present. He had drafted a plan for remodeling the interior of the old town garage on the north side of the town office lot.

The June 3 select board meeting tentatively includes a tour of the building.

On another ongoing issue, board chair man Wayne Chadwick reported that the South China boat landing “is getting looked at and worked on.” That morning, he said, he and fellow board member Brent Chesley, Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood and Director of Public Services Shawn Reed met there to discuss improvements intended to minimize run-off into China Lake.

Select board members appointed Thomas Maragliuolo to fill a vacancy on the town board of appeals.

They continued preparations for the June 11 elections, approving the Regional School Unit #18 school budget referendum warrant and appointing election officials.

In a separate meeting in their capacity as assessors, they approved five requests for local tax abatements. Two points came out of the discussion:

— Anyone planning to demolish a building needs a free demolition permit from the town. The record of the permit ensures that the building is removed from the tax rolls.
— Any property transfer should include accurately surveyed boundaries, to avoid many later complications.

Temporary changes in town office hours and related information

The China town office will be closed all day Monday, May 27, for the Memorial Day holiday.

In June, the town office will be closed all day Tuesday, June 11, for the annual town business meeting, school budget referendum and primary election. Absentee ballots are available until the close of business Thursday, June 5.

June 11 voting will be by written ballot in the former portable classroom behind the town office building. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. (after a moderator is elected at 6:45) to 8 p.m. The driveway off Lakeview Drive will be closed June 11; access will be from Alder Park Road, south of the town office complex.

On Friday, June 28, the town office will close at noon to allow staff to complete end-of-fiscal year tasks. The select board will hold a special meeting at 3 p.m. on June 28 to approve year-end payables.

The town office will also be closed on Saturday, June 29, because of the end of year process.

China select board holds hearing on town meeting warrant

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by Mary Grow

The ice cream social that preceded the May 6 China Select Board’s public hearing and meeting was enjoyed by board members and 10 people who attended the hearing.

The hearing topic was the warrant for the June 11 annual town business meeting, which will be by written ballot in the former portable classroom behind the town office. Voting begins with election of a moderator at 6:55 a.m.; polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

A recording of the May 6 hearing is available on the website, china.govoffice.com. A printed copy of the warrant was mailed out early in May; it is posted in public places around town and is on the website, with related documents, under the Elections tab on the left side of the main page. Absentee ballots are available as of May 13.

Questions May 6 were about financial items, mostly smaller ones, like appropriations for social service agencies (Art. 6); the revised Planning Board Ordinance (Art. 29); and the new Solar Energy Systems Ordinance (Art. 31).

Discussion also covered two broad issues, how to get more people interested and involved in town business and whether China should return to pre-Covid open town meetings.

Former select board member Joann Austin said she thinks lack of involvement has allowed the select board to act more like a town council, making decisions and, when appropriate, asking voters to ratify them. Perhaps, she suggested, it is time to ask voters if they want to convert local government from a select board to a council.

She and others who favor an open town meeting argued that voters attending have the opportunity to ask questions and amend articles, promoting informed decisions.
Written-ballot supporters replied that getting 120 or more voters together for a quorum takes too long; and many who sign in soon leave, so decisions are made by a very small minority.

Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood said voters were asked in a straw poll on June 14, 2022, whether they wanted an open meeting.

Poll results, reported in the June 30, 2022, issue of “The Town Line” were as follows: of 275 respondents (out of 660 residents who voted June 14), 162 preferred an open meeting, 111 preferred a written ballot, one asked for both and one recommended having select board members make decisions.

Building Committee chairman Sheldon Goodine and select board member Blane Casey sparked an unexpected discussion related to the final article in the June 11 warrant. Art. 32 asks if voters will approve two appropriations: up to $155,489 from federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money toward a new fireproof vault in an addition to the town office; and $70,000 from undesignated fund balance (informally called surplus) for a broadband project.

County sheriff’s deputy has messages for residents

Kennebec County Deputy Sheriff Ivano Steffanizzi had two messages for area residents at the May 6 China select board meeting, and board chair Wayne Chadwick added a third.

Steffanizzi said many thefts have been reported recently, including motors from unattended boats, packages from doorsteps and mail from mailboxes.

And he reminded people driving cars and trucks to share the road with motorcyclists, now that the weather is milder.

Chadwick added a request not to let lawnmower clippings fly onto paved roads; they make the surface dangerously slippery for cyclists, he said.

Building committee members have been discussing the vault since 2021. Goodine and Casey surprised the other four select board members with a new plan to rearrange use of town buildings.

As Goodine summarized, the plan involves moving paper records that the state requires be kept for seven years from the town office building into the white garage behind (east of) the old town office. The space the records now occupy could be converted to a fireproof vault.

Hapgood said she thought Goodine planned to move the Wednesday morning Golden Agers meetings to the garage, from the former portable classroom where they currently meet. Goodine said no, his current idea is to enlarge the bathroom and add a kitchen in the portable, to make it more convenient for the meetings and useable as an emergency shelter.

Austin asked that the China Historical Society by considered in any rearrangement. The organization has irreplaceable documents that need insect-proof storage with temperature and humidity controls.

Goodine offered to make a sketch plan of a redesigned interior for the old garage. The May 20 select board agenda is likely to include a “field trip” to inspect the building.

In other business, select board members approved a contract with Delta Ambulance for the 2024-25 fiscal year. At Casey’s insistence, Hapgood cannot sign the contract until after the June 11 town meeting, assuming voters approve Art. 7. The article appropriates $110,200 for Delta as part of the 2024-25 public safety budget.

Casey wanted a similar stipulation on Hapgood’s request to sign a three-year contract — $1,100 next year, $1,134 the second year and $1,156 the third year – with Time Clock Plus. His argument again was that until voters approve a new budget, the money is not available.

The other four board members, figuring they could find $3,400 somewhere, did not impose the condition. Casey voted against the appropriation.

Hapgood explained that Time Clock Plus is the program that records when employees sign in and out. It is especially useful for road crew members who work odd hours, board chair Wayne Chadwick commented.

Also on the May 20 select board agenda, Hapgood said, will be a second ice cream social, this one in recognition of China residents receiving 2024 Spirit of America awards for volunteerism. The meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. in the town office meeting room.

China planners unanimously approve two projects

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Grange hall apartments conversion welcome by neighbors

by Mary Grow

The two projects on the China Planning Board’s May 14 agenda got praise as well as unanimous approval.

Carrol White’s application to convert the former Silver Lake Grange Hall in China Village to four apartments was the subject of a short public hearing. Everyone who spoke at the hearing endorsed the change, including Main Street resident Ann Sylvester, whose daughter and son-in-law live in the house north of the Grange Hall, and Jennifer Clair, owner of the post office south of the Grange Hall.

Sylvester thinks the apartments will be “a nice addition to the town.” Clair called the reuse of the building “a wonderful idea.”

White intends to sell the building to another Main Street resident, Daniel Coleman. Coleman said he has experience with rehabilitating buildings and as a landlord, and intends to find tenants who will be good neighbors.

The other application was from Jeffrey Michaud. He and Mark Brown are doing selective cutting on a lot once owned by Henry “Hank” Dillenbeck on Lakeview Drive; they needed planning board approval to do some of the work in a resource protection area.

The two said the resource protection area extends 250 feet from the edges of a wetland that used to have more water, until a man-made dam was breached some years ago. Now, a stream runs through a marshy area.

Planning board members found Michaud and Brown met all requirements to encroach into the protected area. Board chairman Toni Wall commended their work.

Michaud said nearby landowners had asked him to do selective cutting on their woodlot. On their lot, too, he expects to take out some trees in a 250-foot resource protection zone.

Codes officer Nicholas French said Michaud will need another planning board permit and supporting documents, including another wading bird habitat report from the state Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

The next China Planning Board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday evening, June 25. Board members canceled their May 28 meeting; a June 11 meeting would have fallen on primary election day.

CHINA: Recycling main topic during transfer station committee meeting

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by Mary Grow

Recycling dominated discussion at the China Transfer Station Committee’s May 14 meeting, thanks mostly to committee member James Hsiang’s proposal for a contest to reward people who minimize their trash.

Hsiang suggested the idea at the April 16 committee meeting (see the April 25 issue of The Town Line, p. 3). He presented a plan May 14, proposing contests in which people who sign up deposit their non-recyclable trash in a separate area where it is weighed and the donors of the lightest bags win prizes.

Weighing and judging would be done partly by transfer station staff and partly by volunteers. Depending on which of two options Hsiang presented was used, he estimated costs – mostly staff time – at either $2,415 or $765 per contest. He envisioned four contests a year, each lasting three months.

Committee members were unable to support the plan. Transfer station manager Thomas Maraggio offered the first objection: “We don’t have time to do this.”

Even if enough volunteers could be found, they would need staff supervision, and Maraggio said staff are already overbusy.

There are liability issues involved in using volunteers on town property, Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood added. And, she pointed out, the committee has no authority to spend money.

Committee chairman Chris Baumann said when he brings his trash and recyclables to the transfer station, he wants “to get in and out,” not spend time having his bags weighed, labeled and recorded.

However, the discussion continued with other proposals for encouraging recycling, through, for example, publicizing recyclable items (one committee member had not known before the meeting that books can be recycled); emphasizing how much tax money recycling can save; and inviting school classes to tour the transfer station.

Hapgood promptly envisioned a new column in her monthly China Connected newsletters. She tentatively named it Tom’s Tips.

Maraggio raised a question related to another kind of recycling: what, if any, liability might the town incur as transfer station staff use their loader, on request, to fill residents’ trailers with compost? He mentioned a trailer overloaded – with the owner’s approval – that blew a tire almost as soon as the driver left, and wondered what would happen if the loader operator accidentally damaged a vehicle.

Hapgood said the question needs study. Meanwhile, she recommended China, Palermo and Albion residents taking the free compost use shovels and buckets.

Maraggio said the PaintCare program that lets the transfer station take unneeded paint at no charge has been expanded: staff can now give away unopened cans.

On ongoing issues on the May 14 agenda, committee members, Hapgood and other town staff reported little progress.

Hapgood said negotiations continue with Palermo over the contract between the towns that lets Palermo residents use China’s facility. Earlier this year, she sent the required year’s notice of China’s intention to end the contract, citing rules violations by some Palermo residents.

“Bob and I are talking,” Hapgood said, referring to Robert Kurek, one of Palermo’s two representatives on the committee. Kurek described their discussions: “We’re making some progress; we’ve still got a ways to go.”

Director of Public Services Shawn Reed said he is reviewing three price quotes for a water filter system and talking with people at the state Department of Environmental Protection, which will partly reimburse the expense. The system is intended to filter out PFAS, the “forever chemicals” that have contaminated groundwater nation-wide.

Maraggio said the new compost pile pad is waiting on “the cement guy.” New solar lights in the free for the taking building are almost ready.

Two new problems were discussed briefly.

Reed and Maraggio are working on developing a debris site, to meet state Department of Environmental Protection requirements. The site would provide temporary storage in case of major damage to structures, as from a tornado or wildfire. Such a site could have been used after the December 2023 wind- and rainstorm, Reed said.

Hapgood said people who rent Airbnbs in China are coming to the transfer station without the required passes. A solution might be to require dumpsters at short-term rental properties.

Because the second Tuesday in June is primary election day, committee members scheduled their next meeting for 9 a.m. Tuesday, June 18.

Vassalboro planners approve new business, review planned expansion of another

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by Mary Grow

At their May 7 meeting, Vassalboro Planning Board members approved a new business in North Vassalboro and reviewed preliminary expansion plans at Sidereal Brewery, at 771 Cross Hill Road. Sidereal owner James D’Angelo is likely to present a formal application at the board’s June 4 meeting.

Ray Breton, owner of two small commercial buildings on the east side of Main Street in North Vassalboro, presented Paula Stratton’s application to use 913 Main Street as a studio for her business, Passion Photography Maine.

Board members unanimously approved the application, which explained that Straton planned no exterior or other changes that would affect neighbors or the neighborhood.

Breton initially applied on behalf of Stratton at the March board meeting. Board members rejected the application as lacking specific information.

Following up on that experience, board member and former codes officer Paul Mitnik recommended the board be more strict about requiring applicants to fill out forms as directed in town ordinances. For example, he said, each application should have a scale drawing of what is proposed; many do not.

Codes officer Jason Lorrain said he would help applicants meet requirements by reviewing applications with them and pointing out deficiencies.

D’Angelo, accompanied by sons and employees, came to the meeting by request, in response to reports of changes on the Sidereal Brewery property.

He explained that he was seeking the board’s “guidance” on his proposed “master plan” for the Cross Hill Road business, which opened in October 2022. He described the present set-up, which includes the brewery building, a residential building, an outdoor firepit area and a bocce court.

Proposed changes include:

— Moving outdoor activities – the bocce court (around which he plans to plant fruit trees) and the firepit with chairs around it – to a graded area behind the brewery;
— Extending the driveway to a site where he wants to build a second house and a four-bay storage garage for tractors, other equipment and brewery supplies;
— Creating a turn-around for travel trailers at the end of the driveway;
— Renaming the driveway Sidereal Road, so that on-line directions can identify it and customers will no longer mistakenly turn into neighbors’ driveways; and
— Applying to the State of Maine for a full kitchen license to allow indoor cooking, without enlarging the existing building, David D’Angelo said.

Making the driveway a road is a 911 issue, not in the planning board’s jurisdiction, Mitnik said. Discussion of the rest of the plan revolved around the definition of “expansion” in town ordinances. Expansion requires an amended permit.

D’Angelo said he wants to relocate the firepit and bocce court immediately, for this summer’s trade. Fearing delay, he offered to scale back the plan to something board members could approve promptly in June.

Board chairman Virgina Brackett urged him to apply for the whole plan. “We’re not putting limits on your business; we just want to know what’s going on,” she told D’Angelo.

Neighbors Peter and MaryBeth Soule said conditions on the original brewery permit have been ignored. The required buffers do not exist, though trees have been planted, died and been replanted; and a required noise report has not been done.

The Soules asked for copies of the paperwork D’Angelo submits for the June 4 board meeting. D’Angelo said he would provide them. Brackett said there will be time for public comment when the board reviews D’Angelo’s application.

MaryBeth Soule asked whether the board can approve amendments to a permit before all original conditions have been met.

The June 4 meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in the town office meeting room.

China committee begins work on revising TIF document

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by Mary Grow

Four members of China’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Committee started on their planned revision of the town’s TIF document at a workshop session May 13.

The group deliberately postponed any decisions, partly because some of the financial information they need is not yet firm, partly to give themselves time to consider the different points of view expressed.

One figure needing confirmation is how much TIF money is available to be allocated to projects, continuing and/or new. The amount currently expected to be on hand at the June 30 end of the fiscal year is more than $530,000.

The other important figure is how much income to expect from the TIF in 2024-25. The answer depends mostly on the 2024-25 tax rate, which has not yet been set.

For what is TIF money used, and from where does it come

The purpose of a Maine TIF (Tax Increment Financing) program is to expand employment, broaden municipal tax bases and “[i]mprove the general economy of the State of Maine.” Municipal programs need approval by the state Department of Economic and Community Development.

China’s TIF program was established by town vote on March 21, 2015, and amended on June 8, 2021. The current program extends to June 30, 2045, although funding for some of the specific activities in the program expires sooner.

Money for China’s program comes from taxes paid on Central Maine Power Company’s north-south power line through the town and, since the 2021 amendment, on its South China substation. The program estimates annual revenue declining slowly, from $366,209 in 2020 to $249,325 by 2045.

The 60-page TIF document, found on the website china.govoffice.com, under the TIF Committee under Officials, Boards & Committees on the right side of the main page, is the document current TIF Committee members are reviewing as they consider updates.

Most of the workshop session was spent discussing whether the amount in each of the categories into which TIF funds are divided should be increased, decreased or left alone. In the current TIF document, funding amounts in some categories have deadlines after which they disappear or decrease; the deadlines, too, were discussed.

Two categories, funding for economic development activities and for maintenance of recreational trails, are consistently spent each year. Committee members are considering recommending more money.

The activities account contributes to two events that bring people to town, China Days in August and China Ice Days in February. Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood said if she had time and money, she has lots of ideas for more events that would publicize the town and help local businesses.

For example, she said, with a portable stage and money to pay entertainers, there could be music festivals and similar events all summer.

The trails account supports maintenance work by the Four Seasons Club, on town snowmobile and four-wheeler trails, and the Thurston Park Committee, on trails in the park. In recent years, the two groups’ requests have exceeded the total in the account.

Several accounts are never or seldom used, including money for job training; the revolving loan fund intended to help businesses; and matching grant funds. Defunding them might not be a good idea, however.

Committee members Jamie Pitney and Mickey Wing pointed out how little publicity the job training program has had, suggesting it might be used if people knew about it.

From the audience, Four Seasons Club President Thomas Rumpf proposed converting the loan fund to a small grant fund, to which a town business could apply, for example, to pay for a new sign. And the Four Seasons Club might ask for matching grant funds for a major trail rebuilding project, he said; not this year, because the state grants that would be matched are being used to repair storm-damaged trails.

Reviewing on-going projects, committee members foresee continuing to use TIF money for the South China boat landing. They anticipate requests from the environmental improvements fund as proposed work in China Lake and its watershed takes shape.

The “causeway project” that made major changes to the road, sidewalks and boat launch at the head of China Lake’s east basin is finished. However, committee members and Hapgood and Rumpf recommended improvements: a second dock and buffers on the docks to minimize damage to wind-blown boats; expanded parking where boat trailers neither block access to the four-wheeler trail or impede traffic on Causeway Street; and extended sidewalks.

A related question, not answered, was whether TIF money could be used for maintenance of TIF-funded projects, like putting in and taking out the boat docks.

Pitney, who is a lawyer, compared China’s TIF document and Maine’s TIF law and found several unclear areas. For example, he said, there is no definition or description of the kinds of grants that TIF funds can match; should someone apply for a match, he believes the application would need state review.

The next TIF Committee workshop is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 29.

Copies of annual town report now available at town office and other public places

Copies of China’s annual town report for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2023, are now available at the town office and in other public places around town.

Vassalboro select board looks at VSD finances in hour-long discussion

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by Mary Grow

The May 2 Vassalboro select board meeting featured an hour-long discussion among board members, Town Manager Aaron Miller, Vassalboro Sanitary District trustees and Megan McDonough and other VSD customers, with frequent references to information supplied by or to be sought from attorneys.

The goal is to find ways to manage VSD finances, especially repayment of the debt from connecting the Vassalboro sewer system to Winslow, without making already-high sewer bills even higher.

NOTE: The May 2 Vassalboro select board meeting again included an hour-long executive session with the town attorney, during which the recording of the meeting shows the empty meeting room. After a little more than two-and-a-half hours from the beginning of the meeting, board members returned for another quarter of an hour.

The agenda on the town website, www.vassalboro.net, includes a 29-page document titled “Outline of May 2 VSD-TIF-Discussion.pdf,” available for viewing or downloading.

The VSD serves about 200 of Vassalboro’s about 2,700 households, select board chairman Chris French said. Its lines run along Route 32 (Main Street) from East Vassalboro through North Vassalboro to the Winslow line, and along some side streets off Main Street.

The first topic was whether some of Vassalboro’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF) funds could be allocated to the debt repayment. Miller and select board member Frederick “Rick” Denico, Jr., said Vassalboro’s TIF document says money must be spent in town; but they have not been able to get from VSD trustees an accurate figure on what proportion of the lines is in Vassalboro and what proportion is in Winslow.

Engineer Richard Green, representing the consultant that operates the VSD system, said the question shows a lack of understanding of how funding agencies work. Funds are allocated by purpose, not by geography, he said.

After more discussion of legal advice, TIF requirements, the difference between construction and debt service and related topics, Green said he could provide the information town officials initially requested in February.

Miller and select board members agreed they still need the town auditor’s input. A meeting of town and VSD officials and the auditor is tentatively scheduled for the end of May.

A second issue was how VSD trustees are chosen. Denico pointed out that the VSD charter allowing board members to elect new members contradicts state law.

State law, he and Miller said, requires an open election by sanitary district residents; they cited Title 38, Chapter 1105, in the Maine Revised Statutes. Denico said the town would cover the cost of VSD elections along with municipal election costs.

Trustee Rebecca Goodrich said VSD’s attorney thought the charter did not need amending. She planned to talk with the attorney again the next day.

After their executive session with the town attorney later in the meeting, select board members voted unanimously to ask the trustees to change their method of election as soon as possible.

The third major topic was other funding sources. Select board members suggested two: joining the Kennebec Valley Council of Governments to get grant-writing assistance, and creating housing districts to encourage residential (and associated commercial) growth in North and East Vassalboro, so more sewer users would share the costs.

McDonough urged acceptance of both ideas. Neither would provide prompt relief, everyone agreed.

The May 2 select board meeting began with a short presentation by Matthew Weaver, of Damariscotta-based First National Wealth Management, who said Vassalboro’s investments are doing well. The conservative investment portfolio had an overall return rate of 9.66 percent in the previous year, he said.

The other major topic for which select board members had time before the executive session was review of Miller’s draft warrant for the June 3 and June 11 town meeting. Select board members suggested minor changes.

After the executive session, Miller summarized a Delta Ambulance report for the first three months of 2024. The service responded to 97 percent of Vassalboro’s 911 calls, a total of 117; in 19 percent of the calls, no one was transported (and Medicare did not reimburse Delta for the call). Average response time was 14 minutes, 15 seconds.

Board members unanimously nominated Miller to serve another term on the Maine Municipal Association’s Legislative Policy Committee.

The next regular Vassalboro select board meeting is scheduled for Thursday evening, May 16. Two topics postponed from May 2 are likely to be on the agenda: review of plans for the transfer station redesign, and updates to the town personnel policy.

CHINA TIF COMMITTEE: One of two applications meets funding requirement

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by Mary Grow

China Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Committee members found only one of two applications submitted to their April 29 meeting met the requirements for TIF funding.

Both requests, from the South China public library and The Town Line newspaper, were submitted under Project C.3 in China’s TIF plan, titled “Marketing the Town as a Business Location.”

Committee members recommended funding for The Town Line, but not for the South China library.

Committee member Jamie Pitney was unsure why either qualified as an example of marketing. Both are valuable assets to the town, he said, but neither does any active marketing; “they just sit there.”

After discussion among committee members and Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood, a majority agreed that some of what the newspaper does, without charging the town, could count as marketing. They mentioned the unpaid advance publicity for major events like China Days in August and China Ice Days in February, and the weekly lists of town events.

They therefore recommended to the select board a $3,000 appropriation for The Town Line operations. The vote was 4-0-1; Pitney abstained, saying he would like the town attorney’s opinion before making a decision.

The library’s request for $30,000 to complete work on its new building, at 27 Jones Road, was received with sympathy. “Nobody wants to make a motion to turn down a library,” Pitney commented.

Committee members tried to fit the request into some category eligible for TIF money, but they failed. They voted unanimously not to recommend TIF funding for the library.

As Pitney pointed out, TIF disbursements are governed by the state’s economic-development-based standards. The local committee’s options are therefore limited.

China’s current TIF document was approved by town voters on June 8, 2021, and by the state Department of Economic and Community Development on Nov. 18, 2021. Pitney suggested it is time for the committee to consider revisions. These could include recommending removing programs that are no longer used, adding programs included in updated state TIF standards and reallocating funding.

Committee members scheduled work sessions to consider revisions for 6 p.m., Monday, May 13; Wednesday, May 29; and Monday, June 10.

An amended TIF document would need approval by China voters, perhaps at the Nov. 5 elections, and by the state.