by Mary Grow

At a Jan. 11 meeting, China Town Manager Dennis Heath presented selectmen and budget committee members with proposed municipal budget articles for the April 6 town business meeting.

The manager’s draft rearranges expenditure requests into what he sees as logical categories. One result is fewer articles.

For example, instead of a warrant article asking voters to appropriate funds for insurance (Art. 15 in the 2018 warrant), insurance costs are listed as part of each department’s expenses, as a line item in requests for the police department, public works, fire and rescue services and transfer station.

Town boards and committees are together in one proposed article. It includes a new parks committee, based on Heath’s recommendation to rename the Thurston Park II Committee and give it jurisdiction over both Thurston Park and the school forest behind China Primary School.

Out-of-town social services are combined in one article, in-town “Community support organizations” in another.

Street signs and street lights, which had a separate article in past years (Art. 20 in 2018), are listed under public works. Heath said a proposed increase in street light expenses from $7,200 to $10,000 is in anticipation of additional lights on the causeway at the head of China Lake’s east basin and in “other parts of town where appropriate.” Heath also advises changes in both the use of TIF (Tax Increment Finance) money and the presentation of TIF warrant articles. One article deleted after many years is the request to give part of the snowmobile registration tax refund from the state to the China Four Seasons Club (Art. 21 in 2018). Heath said since town money is not being appropriated, he thinks the article is unnecessary.

In an introduction to the budget document, Heath explained that he asked heads of town departments to help develop it.

He predicted the effect of the proposed municipal budget on the tax rate will be a small increase, about 35 cents for each $1,000 of valuation, but quickly added that until the school and county requests are known, no accurate prediction is possible. The town meeting warrant is also likely to include proposed ordinance amendments presented by the planning board. A public hearing on the changes is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 29.

Future budget discussions include a selectmen’s workshop at 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 17, and a budget committee meeting at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 23. The next regular selectmen’s meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 22.

Selectmen and budget committee members discussed two other changes in the town meeting warrant.

They agreed the selectmen’s and budget committee recommendations that follow articles will give the number of votes in each group – instead of saying simply “Select Board recommends yes,” the line will add the number of board members voting yes and no.

They are considering eliminating or moving to the end of the warrant the speeches and presentations that delay the start of voting and often duplicate information in the annual town report.

by Mary Grow

The China Planning Board’s Jan. 8 meeting was canceled due to weather conditions.

The board is scheduled to meet Tuesday evening, Jan. 15, to finish proposed ordinance amendments to be submitted to voters at the April 6 town business meeting. A public hearing on the proposed changes is scheduled for Tuesday evening, Jan. 29.

The board normally begins meetings at 6:30 p.m.

None see expenses increase over next year

by Mary Grow

As part of the planning process for China’s 2019-2020 budget, Town Manager Dennis Heath met briefly the evening of Jan. 2 with four of 17 committee chairs.

Heads of the planning board, cemetery committee, China for a Lifetime committee and Emergency Preparedness committee were present. Heath said three others sent regrets.

His goal was to find out whether any committee chairman anticipated unusual or special expenditures during the next fiscal year. None did.

Heath suggested, for example, that the Cemetery Committee might want to acquire software to computerize cemetery records. They are currently only in paper form, he said.

He said the proposed administration budget includes $4,000 for a new system to notify interested parties of pending events. The Emergency Preparedness Committee might find the system useful, he suggested, but since it is multi-purpose it will not be part of the committee’s budget.

Heath recommends changing the Thurston Park Committee to the Parks Committee and extending its jurisdiction to include the town forest behind China Primary School.

The manager plans to convene a joint meeting of the board of selectmen and the budget committee to begin review of the draft budget by mid-January. He expressed the hope that committee heads would attend.

China voters will make final decisions on 2019-2020 expenditures at the annual town business meeting, likely to be held late in March.

source: http://www.vassalboro.net/

by Mary Grow

Vassalboro selectmen spent the first third of their Dec. 20 meeting again discussing options and future costs for dispatching services for the town’s policeman, fire departments and first responders. They concluded they still lack enough information about county and state intentions to make a decision.

“We’ve all been at meetings all week long,” Town Manager Mary Sabins said, summarizing efforts to get more information from county commissioners, other town managers at an area meeting and the Regional Communications Center in Augusta.

Board Chairman Lauchlin Titus repeated that Vassalboro is looking at a significant increase in dispatch fees with the current proposed changes. First Responders are concerned about life-threatening delays if connecting different parts of the system is not simplified.

The other major topic Dec. 20 was whether to convert to LED (light-emitting diode) streetlights. Selectmen have considered a proposal from one of several companies offering LED lights; Central Maine Power Company recently joined the list, and Sabins likes their plan because it does not transfer maintenance responsibility to the town.

Selectmen authorized her to sign an agreement with CMP, after an inventory to find out how many lights Vassalboro has, whether all are necessary and whether any more are needed.

Vassalboro is supposed to have 113 streetlights, Titus said. However, board member John Melrose said, CMP’s lists have been found not to be entirely accurate in other towns. He and Titus suggested a GIS map showing the lights and creation of a small committee to locate them and advise on additions or subtractions.

In other business, Sabins said the Vassalboro Historical Society’s representative signed the proposed lease with the town for the former East Vassalboro schoolhouse. Selectmen also signed.

Selectmen unanimously reappointed Catherine Coyne as registrar of voters for another two-year term.

The next regular Vassalboro selectmen’s meeting is scheduled for Thursday evening, Jan. 10, 2019.

Daniel Constanzer, a China Village firefighter, monitors a controlled burning of what remains of the old Killdeer Lodge. (photo courtesy of Mary Ann Constanzer)

The fireplace stands alone as the lodge burns. (photo courtesy of Mary Ann Constanzer)

(Read our story on the history of Killdeer Lodge here.)

On December 15, China Village Fire Department conducted a controlled burning of the old Killdeer Lodge, on Lakeview Drive, in China. The structure that housed memories of a time gone by was burned to the ground and, as so many endings we experience, we are grateful for the memories that can never die or simply go up in smoke. Fire chief Tim Theriault, and volunteer firefighter Daniel Constanzer, left, were on site throughout the day assuring it was done in a safe manner.

Despite a brief period when a bit of wind presented itself, all went well. Middle photo, the famous fireplace stands in the background of the smoldering remains. Below left, inside Killdeer Lodge in its heyday. Below, Joan Ferrone can be seen, in 1995, dressed in a costume in front of the lodge when it housed her husband Jim’s model train business.

Killdeer lodge with its front porch intact (photo courtesy of Jim Ferrone)

The inside of Killdeer Lodge (photo courtesy of Jim Ferrone)