EVENTS: Learn more about loons and loon restoration at Sheepscot Lake Assn. annual meeting

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The Sheepscot Lake Association will be hosting Maine Audubon Biologist Ethan Daly at their annual meeting Thursday, July 25, to discuss the Audubon’s Loon Restoration Project. Ethan Daly will be discussing Loon Restoration. Ethan grew up in New Hampshire and moved to Maine in 2024. He attended Boston College where he studied environmental science. He’s been working with Maine Audubon’s Loon Restoration Project since March and thoroughly enjoys monitoring loons and working with volunteers. Outside of work he enjoys hiking, cycling, and his guitar.

Please bring a dessert to share at the potluck dessert table. The meeting will be held July 25, at 6:30, starting with a dessert potluck social. It will be held at the Palermo Consolidated School, on Route 3.

Planners begin discussions on two new proposed town ordinances

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by Mary Grow

China Planning Board members began discussion of two proposed new town ordinances at their July 9 meeting. Chairman Toni Wall expressed the hope that they would be ready for submission to town voters by the Nov. 5 state and federal election day.

One ordinance is tentatively titled a Mass Gathering Ordinance. The purpose is to regulate events that draw large crowds, to maximize safety and minimize risks and annoyances.

Board members had as a model an ordinance that Vassalboro voters rejected by a narrow margin in November 2021. Vassalboro officials prepared it because a resident had proposed hosting a country music show. It covers two types of topics, external effects and attendees’ health, safety and comfort.

The former includes things like requirements for notice to neighbors, not necessarily only direct abutters; traffic and parking management; and noise limits. The latter covers such issues as water supply, portable toilets and emergency response plans.

The second ordinance is a site review ordinance that Wall said would be the basis for reviewing non-residential development applications. Codes Officer Nicholas French said it would provide more specific definitions of criteria in current town ordinances.

Board members intend to continue discussion at their next meeting, scheduled for Tuesday evening, July 30 (postponed from the usual second Tuesday of the month).

China select board pays bills at abbreviated meeting

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Over half a million dollars in miscellaneous payments

by Mary Grow

China select board members met for barely over a quarter of an hour July 15, using the time to hear reports from town employees and spend more than half a million dollars.

The spending came first, when they approved two weeks’ worth of bills: more than $520,000 in miscellaneous payments plus over $42,000 for the town payroll.

Deputy Town Manager Jennifer Chamberlain shared five other employees’ reports.

— Kelly Grotton, assistant to the assessing agent, said select board members might have the figures they need to set the 2024-25 tax rate by their Aug. 12 meeting. Once board members approve a rate, office staff can mail out local tax bills. The first half payment is due by the close of business Monday, Sept. 30 (by town meeting vote).
— Director of Public Services Shawn Reed said the town public works crew has been repairing road shoulders washed out by heavy rains and preparing for summer paving. He announced that transfer station staff will inspect every vehicle at the entrance during the week of July 23, part of an effort to evaluate and improve enforcement of regulations.
— Codes Officer Nicholas French reported as of mid-year, he had issued 22 permits for new residences in China, compared to 30 for all of 2023. He plans to move back to China the end of July, and thanked Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood and Deputy Clerk Tammy Bailey for their help as he worked long-distance for the last several months.
— Summer intern Gracie Stagnito reported on economic development activities and plans for the annual China Days celebration, which begins Thursday evening, Aug. 1, with a walk in the China School Forest and ends Sunday afternoon, Aug. 4. Select board member Jeanne Marquis asked that Aug. 3 field events include a booth for board members to talk with residents, with a display on which to record comments and questions for public viewing.
— Town Clerk Angela Nelson said nomination papers for local elective offices will be available Monday, July 29. Signed papers must be returned by the close of business Friday, Sept. 6, for candidates’ names to appear on the Nov. 5 local ballot.

Nelson said the following incumbents’ terms end this year: on the select board, Blane Casey, Brent Chesley and Janet Preston; on the budget committee, Taryn Hotham (District 2), Timothy Basham (District 4) and Elizabeth Curtis, at-large member, and there is a vacancy for the secretary’s position, also elected from the town at large; and for one of China’s two Regional School Unit #18 board positions, T. James Bachinski.

In addition, Nelson said, there are vacancies on appointed boards: the planning board, board of appeals, board of assessment review, recreation committee and comprehensive plan implementation committee.

Residents interested in more information about any of these positions are invited to call or email the town office.

The July 15 select board discussion included one item not on the agenda. Before the meeting began, board chairman Wayne Chadwick displayed the diagram of the South China boat landing prepared for the state Department of Environmental Protection as part of an application to improve the access road (see the July 11 issue of The Town Line, p. 2). During the meeting, Blane Casey reported he had visited the landing two weekend afternoons recently and found it deserted.

The next regular China select board meeting is scheduled for Monday evening, July 29.

Vassalboro road discussions dominate select board meeting

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by Mary Grow

Two road projects dominated discussion at the Vassalboro select board’s June 27 meeting.

Town Manager Aaron Miller summarized Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) plans for work on two stretches of Route 32 (Main Street) this summer. Longer-range, board members shared information on replacing the Mill Hill Road bridge over Seven Mile Stream, in southwestern Vassalboro.

MDOT submitted requests to transport overweight equipment over municipal roads, if necessary, for two Route 32 projects. One begins 1.14 miles north of the Gray Road intersection and extends about three-quarters of a mile. The other begins about a quarter mile north of the Getchell Corner Road intersection and runs for a little more than two miles.

On Miller’s recommendation, select board members approved the overweight documents. The manager expects work to begin sometime after the July 4 holiday.

The failing culvert on Mill Hill Road has been discussed repeatedly. Select board members learned last fall that although it is MDOT engineers who are evaluating the culvert, replacing it is the town’s responsibility.

The state Department of Marine Resources is also interested, because an improved stream passage will benefit alewives and other migratory fish.

A letter to Miller from DMR Resource Management Coordinator Lars Hammer estimated the cost of replacing the culvert at $3.6 million. Hammer wrote that grants would be expected to cover 80 percent of the cost; another $721,940 would have to come from “the town or another non-federal source.”

Miller said the town is applying for grants. Two applications are due in July.

Three area residents attended the June 27 meeting. Their main concern is how long the dead-end road will be closed.

Vassalboro resident and DMR employee Nate Gray said the closure period would vary, and could be non-existent; the contractor might be able to keep the present road open while building beside it.

Gray does not expect the work to be done before 2026.

In other business June 27, board members set their summer meeting schedule. They will hold one July meeting, on Thursday, July 25, and one August meeting, on Thursday, Aug. 8.

Beginning Thursday, Sept. 5, they plan to go back to the usual two meetings a month.

China select board pays bills at short June meeting

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by Mary Grow

China select board members held a short special meeting Friday afternoon, June 28, to pay end-of-fiscal-year bills (a little under $66,000 worth), make a few more local appointments and do minor business.

Most of the appointments were reappointments left over from the board’s June 17 meeting.

Business including authorizing Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood to sign the annual contract with the City of Waterville for emergency services dispatching (approved and funded as part of the 2024-25 budget) and approving a transfer of funds from the old town hall maintenance reserve fund to cover work done in the fiscal year that ended June 30.

The board held a regular meeting Monday evening, July 1.

SELECTBOARD: South China boat landing topic of July 1 meeting

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South China boat launch. (photo by Roland D. Hallee)

by Mary Grow

China select board members and a dozen South China Village residents spent almost an hour and a half of the July 1 select board meeting discussing the South China boat landing.

The landing at the south end of the east basin is one of three public boat launches on China Lake. The others are at the head of the east basin near China Village, and near the west basin outlet, in East Vassalboro village.

South China’s lake access is by Town Landing Road, a gravel road running downhill that is a source of erosion into China Lake. Turning and parking space is very limited, and there is no room for expansion.

The landing is currently open to all watercraft, including, neighbors said, very large boats. A previous engineering study recommended limiting use to hand-carried canoes and kayaks.

Select board members reviewed a plan to pave the road, with the paving sloped toward ditches with riprap and vegetation that will absorb pollutants from run-off.

Several residents preferred the hand-carry plan; why, they asked, allow people, mostly out-of-towners, to continue to overuse an undersized area? Even if the run-off problem is solved, they said, limited room to launch boats and lack of designated parking remain problems.

Board chairman Wayne Chadwick said repeatedly his threefold goal is to enhance water quality, preserve access to the lake (which is owned by the State of Maine, he pointed out) and minimize future maintenance costs.

China Lake Association President Stephen Greene reminded board members that the association recently received a grant that includes money for the landing. He recommended a temporary closure until improvements are made.

Several people asked for a return to the carry-in plan, or continued study to come up with an alternative that would involve less intrusion on neighbors.

There was some support for signs limiting boat size or banning parking. Janet Preston, the select board member most vocal in expressing doubts about paving, thought people might heed them.

Neighbors agreed there should be no sign encouraging use by identifying the landing. However, board member Blane Casey’s suggested “Dead End Road No Turn-Around” drew an immediate offer of lawn space.

Casey believes if word spreads that people can launch their boats from trailers only by backing down a narrow road, use will decrease.

Board members voted 4-1, with Preston opposed, to forward their plan to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection with a request for approval.

In other business July 1, Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood summarized plans prepared by Recreation Committee chairman Martha Wentworth to use the town-owned lot at the corner of Lakeview Drive and Alder Park Road, south of the town office complex.

Wentworth’s plan includes moving the ice-skating rink there from its present location at the ballfields by China Middle School; fencing in a 30-foot-by-50-foot dog park; and perhaps adding amenities like a community garden or a lawn games area.

Select board members agreed unanimously to authorize Wentworth and Hapgood to seek cost estimates for a fence for the dog park.

Board members also unanimously hired Portland-based Purdy Powers and Company to audit the town’s books for another year.

Hapgood suggested board members consider having a booth at the Saturday, Aug. 3, part of the Aug. 2-4 China Days celebration, where residents could meet and talk with them.

The July 15 select board meeting is scheduled to start at 4 p.m. Hapgood anticipates a light agenda.

Former China Dine-ah to become daycare

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China Dine-ah on Lakeview Drive in China.

by Mary Grow

The former China Dine-ah, on Lakeview Drive (Route 202), which was closed by the pandemic in the spring of 2020, is moving toward becoming a daycare called Grace’s Busy Bees, directed by Grace McIntyre.

McIntyre, building owner Norman Elvin and architect David Landmann described plans to the China Planning Board at its June 25 meeting and received prompt and unanimous approval.

Board members considered the minimal external changes, the lack of impacts on neighbors and the local publicity the change has received and decided no public hearing was needed. They found the plan meets all ordinance requirements.

Board chairman Toni Wall issued the usual reminder that the decision is subject to appeal within 30 days.

The daycare will add a playground behind the building, away from Route 202. Elvin intends to build a six-foot cedar fence between the playground and the neighboring house.

Another change he plans is clearing brush along the road to improve visibility from the driveway.

Landmann said the fire alarm system has been upgraded and additional exits provided. He pointed out that state requirements the building met for a restaurant – like the septic system, which Elvin said had been thoroughly checked recently – were even more strict than requirements for a daycare.

The commercial kitchen in the building will be removed as part of a comprehensive interior renovation. Elvin said before the China Dine-ah opened, the building had been gutted, removing anything that might contain asbestos or lead.

The business needs approval from the state Department of Human Services and the state Fire Marshal. Landmann said both applications are pending.

McIntyre hopes to open Grace’s Busy Bees when school starts in the fall. She has applied for a maximum of 65 children to start, tentatively planning for up to 100 children in the future. Hours will be 6:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

The June 25 planning board agenda included review of two existing ordinances and proposals for three new ones. Board members postponed continued discussion of China’s Land Use Ordinance and an update of the town’s marijuana ordinance.

Also scheduled for future discussion, as Wall and others collect more information and samples from other Maine towns, are:

— A Condemning Places ordinance that would allow town officials to determine a building unfit for human habitation;
— A Mass Gathering ordinance to define and regulate temporary events that draw large crowds; and
— On town attorney Amanda Meader’s recommendation, a Site Plan Review ordinance.

The next China Planning Board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday evening, July 9.

Vassalboro school board hears positive reports for end of year

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Vassalboro Community School (contributed photo)

by Mary Grow

At their June 18 meeting, Vassalboro School Board members heard positive reports about the end of the current school year and continued planning for the next one.

Principal Ira Michaud said end-of-school events, including field trips, the spring concert, a field day and the eighth-grade promotion exercises, went very well. He and Superintendent Alan Pfeiffer thanked multiple non-school people who helped.

Michaud said three weeks of summer school are scheduled beginning July 8. Classes will run Mondays through Thursdays.

Pfeiffer, speaking for Finance Director Paula Pooler, said the 2023-24 budget is expected to be in the black when the fiscal year ends June 30.

Later in the meeting, board members gave final approval to the 2024-25 school budget that Vassalboro voters approved at their June 3 town meeting and re-approved in a June 11 referendum, in the amount of $9,522,114.82.

Board members started spending some of the money: they authorized Pfeiffer to negotiate and sign a letter of intent with Energy Management Consultants, Inc., of Portland “to perform an energy audit and HVAC [heating, ventilation and air conditioning] infrastructure analysis of the Vassalboro Community School,” for not more than $15,000.

Pfeiffer expects the work to extend over several years and to cover multiple aspects of energy use at VCS. The first changes might be made as soon as the next school year, he said.

School board members plan no July meeting. They voted to move their regular meeting night from the third Tuesday of the month (which ran into conflicts this past year) to the second Tuesday, and scheduled their next meeting for Tuesday evening, Aug. 13.

China transfer station committee still working out relations with Palermo

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by Mary Grow

At their June 18 meeting, China Transfer Station Committee members continued to work on three items: straightening out China’s relations with Palermo, enforcing regulations and promoting recycling.

Under a 2016 inter-town agreement, Palermo residents use China’s transfer station, with a proper pass and special blue bags for which they pay. Palermo also pays China an annual fee – $18,000, with no provision for inflation adjustment.

The transfer station committee includes Palermo representatives Chris Diesch and Robert Kurek.

China Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood has given Palermo the required year’s notice of China’s intent to end the agreement. Since then, she and Kurek have been negotiating about an amended agreement.

At the June 18 meeting, Kurek said they are making progress, to the point where he is drafting language for a revised agreement. Neither he nor Hapgood volunteered details or a timetable.

The main reason to enforce transfer station regulations is to bar unauthorized users, so China taxpayers do not subsidize waste disposal for people who make no contribution to costs. Other goals are to ensure that fees are collected for items that cost money to get rid of – mattresses, propane tanks, electronics, for example – and that no illegal items are left for attendants to deal with.

Committee members have considered inspection at the entrance, maybe a gatehouse. During the June 18 meeting, they and transfer station staff proposed a trial during which staff will stop and inspect each incoming vehicle, tentatively scheduled for the second or third week in July.

Following up on the previous month’s discussion of recycling, Diesch had drafted a recycling poster that brought praise and follow-up ideas. The plan is to emphasize to local taxpayers that recycling saves them money in two ways: no disposal fees are paid on recyclables not sent to a disposal facility, and some recyclables generate small amounts of income.

A related project is encouraging teachers in area schools to bring students to see how waste disposal and recycling work, after a successful visit by Manchester kindergartners (see the May 30 issue of The Town Line, p. 14). Committee chairman Christopher Baumann intends to talk with area principals and superintendents.

In other business June 18:

— Transfer Station Manager Thomas Maraggio said the installation of solar lights in the free for the taking building is almost done – one more light will finish the project. He has not yet been able to get “the cement guy” for the planned new pad under the compost pile.
— Maraggio and Hapgood said transfer station staff will no longer use their loader to load (free) compost for residents, because of potential liability. People coming for compost need to bring shovels.
— Hapgood shared the updated transfer station access policy approved at the June 17 select board meeting. Most changes clarify access passes for temporary residents.
Committee members scheduled their next meeting for 9 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 13, skipping the month of July.

Windsor select board deals with multiple agenda items

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by The Town Line staff

At the May 21, 2024 meeting of the Windsor Select Board, Road supervisor Keith Hall reported on several repairs being done to town equipment. Also select board member Tom McNaughton asked Keith for an update on the Amish signs. Keith said he had gotten prices on the signs and that is as far as he had gone with the project. Keith said he had not gotten the final answer to order signs. Moira Teekema added she had conversations with the Amish, they were happy with the selected locations discussed for placement for the signs. After some discussion, Thomas McNaughton made a motion to purchase five Amish signs and Chevron signs for the corner on Coopers Mills Road by Piper Road, seconded by Chester D. Barnes and approved 5-0-0.

From the transfer station, Keith reported the following:

a.) Freon units have been picked up from the Transfer Station.
b.) Maine Scale LLC will be coming to calibrate the scales at the Transfer Station on 5/30/24.
c.) Transfer Station employees Hunter, Allison, Dan, and Amelia, who covers for the transfer station, completed Core 1 training virtually. Core 1 training helps employees gain a better understanding of department regulations and concerns, learn methods of operation that achieve compliance and improve efficiency.

On behalf of animal control office Ryan Carver, town manager Theresa Haskell reported there is an issue on Rte. 105 of cows getting out. Ryan has been to the residences four times in 15 days. One time the cows made it all the way to Wingood Road. There were reports of the cows going head on with cars on Rte. 105. The owner says the deer keeps knocking his fence over. The town ordinance is a fine up to $500 payable to the town per call. Carver would like to know the select boards suggestion to enforce this. The select board will ask Carver to be available at a future meeting for more discussion.

In other business, Haskell reported the following.

– Theresa has a Certificate of Appointment for Greg Feltis for the position of E-911 Alternate Addressing Officer, to be effective until a new Alternate Addressing Officer is appointed. Chester D. Barnes Jr. made a motion to sign the Certificate of Appointment for Greg Feltis appointed as E-911 Alternate Addressing Officer effective until a new Alternate Addressing officer is appointed, seconded by Thomas McNaughton and approved 5-0-0.
– Ray Bates reviewed the Town Hall’s water results received by Water Quality & Compliance Inc. The water test results were normal.
– Theresa read aloud a letter from Lake Stewards of Maine requesting $500 in funds from the town to support water testing. Theresa will send back a response to the request.
– The Safety Grant Press Release will be posted on the website for the town to view.
– Friday June 28, 2024, is the last day of FY 2024. The town office will be closing at noon to get all reports and books closed for FY 2024. Andrew Ballantyne made a motion to close the town office at noon on June 28, 2024, for office staff to get all reporting and books closed by the end of day for FY year 2024.
– A handout was given to the Select Board regarding the Ridge Road property. There will be discussion at a later date when the select board has time to look over what the town’s attorney has drafted. There is currently no other information to give on the property.
– The Kennebec County budget began at 44.1 percent and after several meetings and discussion about the final budget it is now down to 28.9 percent.
– The select board was handed a copy of the Public Works monthly 4-day work week schedule. It was noted that public works will swap their day off if their day off falls on a holiday so they can still get paid for that holiday.

Tim had questions about signing the smoking policy. He asked for clarification before he signed anything. He would like to see it amended. The select board assured Tim that there was zero finger pointing intended when the memo and the smoking policy were sent to be signed by all employees.

The memo was initiated from a letter that was left anonymously by a resident. The select board thought at the time it was an opportunity to remind all employees of the smoking policy. Allison Wynot wanted to comment that confidentiality should not be broken. With no details, she said she believes that confidentiality has been broken to her in public.

Chester D. Barnes Sr. would like to arrange a Conservation Committee meeting sooner than later. Haskell and Chester looked at the calendar and a date of June 17, 2024, at 6 p.m. was set. They will reach out to other committee members with the date and time.

Haskell received a resignation letter from Moria Teekema, resigning from both the transfer station committee as secretary and resigning from the Conservation Committee. Chester D. Barnes Jr. made a motion to accept Moria Teekema’s resignation from both the transfer station committee as secretary and from the Conservation Committee, seconded by Andrew Ballantyne and accepted 5-0-0.

Tom Reed noted the walls upstairs at the town hall looked a mess. Discussion about town hall use and the cost it would take to keep fixing and painting the walls because residents put holes and peel the paint, also the cost of tables and chairs that get broken and need to be replaced. More discussion will follow at a future meeting about the town hall use policy and if that should be updated.

Tom McNaughton updated he has not seen a new contract come through from Delta Ambulance Service. He has also not heard any response regarding being on the board for Delta.

Andrew Ballantyne gave a brief update about the power line restarting their engine on Renewable Wind Energy. The best advice that is being passed around to towns is to be sure your ordinances are in place, and you have a strong comprehensive plan. William Appel Jr. said we will need to devote time to the comprehensive plan.