China Comprehensive Planning Committee continues work on revised plan

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by Mary Grow

Three members of China’s Comprehensive Plan Committee continued work on a revised plan for 2020 at an Aug. 28 meeting, focusing on housing and historic resources.

Kennebec Valley Council of Governments staffer Joel Greenwood presented a map showing the proposed development district along Route 3 recommended at the group’s July meeting before turning to the new topics.

Discussion considered goals, policies to achieve them and ways to carry out the policies. For example, under the housing topic members suggested continuing the emphasis on providing affordable housing that is in the 2008 China Comprehensive Plan and recommending ways to do it.

The historic resources section requires cooperation with at least two other entities, the state historic preservation program and the town’s now-inactive Historic Preservation Committee (since the nonprofit China Historical Society is also inactive). Greenwood had a list of areas and buildings already designated as historically significant and a map of areas that might be significant archaeological sites (defined, he said, as containing relics from the 1600s and earlier).

Topics for the next committee meeting, scheduled for Wednesday evening, Sept. 25, are economy and transportation.

Interested residents are welcome to attend committee meetings. The text of the 2008 Comprehensive Plan (126 pages) is on the town of China website under “Ordinances, Policies and Orders.”

China local ballot shows one contest, four vacancies

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by Mary Grow

China’s Nov. 5 local election ballot will show one contest and four vacancies.

Incumbent Irene Belanger, Wayne Chadwick and Todd N. Tolhurst are candidates for two seats on the Board of Selectmen. Incumbent Robert MacFarland is not seeking another term.

There are no candidates on the ballot for any of three planning board positions: District 1 (the northwestern part of town; Kevin Michaud is the incumbent); District 3 (the southeastern part of town; Ralph Howe is the incumbent); and the alternate-at-large position, whose representative can come from anywhere in town and which is currently vacant.

For the budget committee, Chairman Robert Batteese and District 1 representative Kevin Maroon are unopposed for re-election and there is no name on the ballot for the District 3 position Chadwick currently holds.

Dawn Marie Castner is unopposed for re-election as a Regional School Unit (RSU) #18 director from China.

China selectmen and planning board and budget committee members are elected for two-year terms. RSU #18 directors serve for three years.

Legal questions arise from revised medical marijuana application

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Location of proposed medical marijuana operation on Route 3 in South China. (photo from Google maps streetview)

by Mary Grow

Three China Planning Board members spent an hour and a half Aug. 27 discussing Clifford Glinko’s revised application for a medical marijuana operation in the commercial building on Route 3 in South China that housed Mainely Trains and other businesses in the past.

The focus was on preliminary legal questions and the meaning of state law and local ordinance definitions. Board members had an opinion from town attorney Amanda Meader, but were informed she plans to supplement it, and they thought of additional legal questions. Glinko was accompanied by attorney Christopher McCabe, of MacCabe Law, LLC, which describes itself on its website as “Cannabis Law Firm” specializing in issues like Glinko’s.

Board members started to discuss the criteria that will determine whether they can approve the application, but got hung up on the first one and discontinued the discussion until their Sept. 10 meeting.

The first question was whether the revised application was amended or new. The three members present agreed it is a new application. Toni Wall’s motion for a new public hearing was not seconded.

Questions about state law included definitions of terms and how large the separation must be between a school – Grace Academy is on the south side of Route 3 almost opposite the proposed facility – and anything related to marijuana.

Neighbors John and Carol Boynton had questions about waste disposal and about the impact of the “opt in” provision in current state law. On Nov. 5, China voters will act on a local ballot asking whether they want to allow medical marijuana operations in town. Board Chairman Tom Miragliuolo said as of Aug. 27 he had not seen the wording of the ballot questions.

The new application describes two “suites” in the building, one to grow and package marijuana for medical use – Glinko is a licensed caregiver entitled to conduct such activities – and the other to sell cannabis smoking materials. Glinko said the two operations will be separate.

He plans to have manufacturing, which he and McCabe described as extracting oils from the plants and turning them into saleable products, done off-site. There will be little waste, he said; it will be disposed of off-site by contract with a specialist in marijuana waste disposal.

China selectmen approve local referendum questions

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by Mary Grow

China selectmen dealt with a wide variety of issues at their Sept. 3 meeting, including approving local referendum questions for Nov. 5 voting and reviewing recommendations from town committees and organizations.

The Nov. 5 local ballots will include elections for the Board of Selectmen, Planning Board and Budget Committee; five questions dealing with medical marijuana businesses; and a voters’ choice question on town office hours.

Under the latest state law, a municipality must “opt in” to allow anyone to open a medical marijuana facility covered by the law. China’s ballot has questions drafted to match state definitions, asking if voters want to allow:

  • Medical marijuana registered caregiver retail stores;
  • Medical marijuana registered dispensaries;
  • Medical marijuana testing facilities; or
  • Medical marijuana manufacturing facilities.

The final related question asks whether, if any of the previous four questions passes, voters want to set a minimum 1,000-foot separation between property lines of the medical marijuana facility and any pre-existing public or private school.

The last ballot question asks voters to choose between two proposed three-hour extensions of town office hours: Saturdays from 8 to 11 a.m. (the current schedule) or Thursdays to 7 p.m., three hours beyond the usual 4 p.m. closing time.

In other business:

  • Selectmen unanimously accepted the budget committee’s recommendation that town funds be moved from two separate financial institutions (one handling the Doris L. Young Scholarship Fund, the other managing other town funds) to Bar Harbor Bank and Trust.
  • They unanimously accepted the lower of two bids for trail work for the Four Seasons Club, $24,500 from Chadwick Construction, of China. Money comes from Tax Increment Financing (TIF) funds.
  • They postponed a decision on the Revolving Loan Fund subcommittee’s recommendation to approve a loan to Buckshot Power Sports, operated by Mike Rackcliffe, until they get a financial assessment report from Kennebec Valley Council of Governments, whose staff help implement loans. Two residents praised Rackcliffe’s Tobey Road recreational-vehicle business.

Selectmen again discussed the question of volunteer firefighters’ stipends, which they and China’s three fire chiefs have debated for almost two years. Weeks Mills Chief William Van Wickler thought the issue was settled after he submitted a stipend calculation formula to the Maine Department of Labor. Department officials called China’s plan “not contrary to the intent” of Maine’s wage and hour laws, he said.

However, Town Manager Dennis Heath is still waiting for a reaction from the federal Department of Labor, and Selectman Ronald Breton has questions. Heath proposed the chiefs and the two selectmen who worked on the issue schedule another meeting; Van Wickler said he will coordinate it.

Heath reported that tax bills would be mailed the first week in September and were on the town website (which says they were mailed Sept. 5, as promised). By town meeting vote, the first half payment of 2019-2020 taxes is due by Friday, Sept. 27.

The manager also announced a survey about transfer station use, to run through September. It too is on the China website.

The next China selectmen’s meeting is scheduled for Monday evening, Sept. 16.

The 2020 census comes to central Maine

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by Eric W. Austin

Some of you may have noticed a strange man or woman snooping around the neighborhood with a briefcase. Do not be alarmed. This is not a new type of high-class burglar brazenly scoping out your house for a midnight break-in.

Adrian Cronkhite, a partnership specialist with the United States Census Bureau, recently stopped by the China for a Lifetime Committee meeting to explain what they are up to. “We’re starting to conduct address canvasing – that’s determining where to count,” he said. “We send our address canvasers out to check to see if an address is still there.” Around ten percent of the U.S. population moves each year, which makes this preliminary step essential to conducting a successful census.

In most cases, said Cronkhite, address canvasers will not even need to knock on a door. They are simply trying to determine if an address has someone living there, and this can often be determined without bothering the homeowner. Address canvasers will be carrying an official badge identifying them as a government employee.

Nearly 14,000 Mainers are being enlisted in the effort to conduct the 2020 Census, and many positions are still available. Anyone looking for a short term job — typically lasting for 8-10 weeks — is encouraged to visit 2020census.gov/jobs. Most positions pay $16.50/hr and $0.58/mile.

Cronkhite also cautioned that people should be on the lookout for scammers. “If someone comes knocking on your door and they’re asking for a credit card, or they’re asking for money or anything like that, that’s fraud,” he said. “That’s not the census. The Census Bureau will never ask you for money. They won’t ask for your credit card number. They won’t ask for your social security number.”

Adrian Cronkhite took a roundabout path to his own position as a partnership specialist with the Census Bureau. Growing up in Dexter, he went to the University of Maine at Machias before enlisting in the military where he served for 14 years as a Green Beret in the Special Forces. That was followed by 12 years as a defense contractor and another eight years working directly for the federal government. Returning to Maine recently from Colorado, he bought the old Dexter shoe factory, closed in 2000, which he is in the process of renovating. He hopes to turn it into a shelter for homeless veterans when he retires following his current work for the 2020 Census.

The United States Census is required by Article 1, Section 2 of the Constitution, which states: “[An] Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct.” The first meeting of Congress was in 1789, with the first nationwide census conducted in 1790. This will be the 23rd census in the history of the United States.

An accurate count is essential, Cronkhite explained, in order to correctly apportion more than $675 billion in federal funding, of which around $4.1 billion is headed for the State of Maine. Census data is also used to define legislative districts, school districts and voter precincts.

The census will officially kick off on April 1, 2020. Each household will be sent a postcard with 10 questions. Everyone is required by law to complete the questionnaire. Answers can be completed by mail, over the phone by 800 number, or online using a unique security code provided by the Census Bureau.

According to Cronkhite, 17 percent of China residents did not complete the census in 2010. “If you don’t respond,” he said, “someone will come knocking on your door, and nobody wants that.”

Cronkhite emphasized that information the census collects is completely confidential. Census Bureau employees like Cronkhite are barred for life from revealing any information under Title 13 of the criminal code. “We cannot share the information with anybody,” Cronkhite explained. “If I was to share someone’s personal information, I can be fined $250,000 or five years [in federal prison].”

The census’ electronic infrastructure also has some of the best security in the world. “Sixteen hundred times a day someone tries to break into the census data,” said Cronkhite, “and no one’s been successful yet. We have our own standalone system. Your information is not going to be shared with the world.”

The personal information of individuals is never provided to anyone outside the Census Bureau – not the Congress, not even the President. Only statistical breakdowns are given to the legislative and executive branches of government. In fact, this same statistical information is available to the public and can be browsed by going to the web address factfinder.census.gov.

Maine presents a special problem to the Census Bureau. “Maine is a different animal,” Cronkhite said. “Maine and Alaska. There’s a lot of people living in northwest Maine that don’t even want to be recognized or found, so they are actually using satellite footage now to track down residents — [to find out] where people are living or staying – and I’ll have to get on a snowmobile or four-wheeler to go up there next April.”

On December 31, 2020, the president will receive the results of the census as a statistical breakdown. By March 31, 2021, towns will receive their counts and will be notified if the results of the census require redistricting.

So, if you see a stranger prowling around your property, don’t shoot! It might just be a 2020 census employee.

Windsor selectmen reduce tax rate to 12.7 mils

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by Sandra Isaac

Windsor selectmen decided to lower the tax rate to 12.7 mils ($12.70 for each $1,000 of valuation) at the August 20 meeting. Last year’s rate was 12.9 mils or $12.90 for each $1000 of valuation.

Assessors Agent, Vernon Ziegler, CMA, met with selectmen to set the 2019-2020 mil rate. Ziegler explained the process in great detail for those attending the meeting. “Windsor tax bills are approximately equal to what the town needs to run, but must include overlay to cover expenses and to make sure there is enough cash flow to keep the town running,” said Ziegler. The state mandates that municipalities shall not exceed five percent overlay.

Currently, the town of Windsor collects over $4 million in taxes, of which $759,000 is needed for the town to function. Approximately 80 percent of taxes collected is allocated to the county and schools.

Other factors that were considered included the revaluation of real estate that will be happening later this year. The last revaluation was completed in 2006. Further discussion topics included comparisons of surrounding towns rates and the four utility companies which currently pay a large portion of the town’s tax receipts.

After reviewing the data and listening to Ziegler’s recommendation, selectmen approved a 12.7 mil rate by a unanimous vote. Town Manager Theresa Haskell scheduled printing of the tax bills for later that evening and expected postal delivery to town property owners starting the last week in August.

In other news, the Ladies Aide was recognized by town officials with the Spirit of America award for its members’ dedication of time, aid and service to the town of Windsor and beyond. In addition to the plaques, the ladies are being invited to the Spirit of America award celebration later this year in Augusta.

During the town manager’s report, Haskell said the auditors completed their visit and that it all went well, but Haskell has yet to receive the final report. The auditor recommended carrying over $59,920 from major road construction to the major road/bridge and culvert replacement reserve, stating the difference is merely a formality to stay consistent with the current wording as approved by voters. Haskell also requested approval to take $10,000 from the bridge reserve account from 2018 that didn’t get transferred, and use it to open a certificate of deposit account (CD) that will mature in July 2020 to coincide with other maturing CDs. The selectmen approved the request.

The next regularly scheduled Windsor selectmen’s meeting will be on Tuesday, September 3 at 6 p.m.

China TIF members get preview of potential requests

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by Mary Grow

China Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Committee members got a preview of potential requests for TIF funds for the 2020-2021 fiscal year. After additional presentations, committee members will make funding recommendations to the selectmen, who will in turn submit requests they approve to voters at the spring 2020 town business meeting.

Scott Pierz, president of the China Lake Association and the China Region Lakes Alliance, summarized both groups’ major projects, including the LakeSmart program that helps shorefront property owners add buffers to limit run-off into the lake; the Youth Conservation Corps, whose members do the physical work of creating run-off controls; and the new CLGRRP (China Lake Gravel Road Rehabilitation Program), intended to repair fire roads around the lake, starting with three identified in a Kennebec Water District survey as contributing the most run-off into the lake.

Initial CLGRRP work has been put out to bid, Pierz said, with bids due this fall. The outcome of the bid process will be significant in calculating funds needed.

Pierz said volunteer Marie Michaud would like to reduce the time she spends on LakeSmart activities. Marie Michaud’s husband Tom Michaud, a TIF Committee member, said his wife would continue to assist, but does not want the full-time job the project has become.

The lakes groups are considering contracting with a program manager, Pierz said. Much of the preliminary work – locating sites and agreeing with landowners, developing plans – can be done in the fall so the work can start the next spring.

Briefer presentations came from:

  • Elaine Philbrook, discussing plans for a small building in the school forest behind China Primary School. She envisions electricity and a heat pump, porta-potties rather than a septic system – enough to provide shelter during year-round nature activities for schoolchildren and adults.
  • Tod Detre, speaking for the Broadband Committee, describing plans to work with Hussey Communications to provide wireless broadband service to all China households, including those now excluded because they are low along the lake or among hills away from towers. A tentative plan calls for doubling the number of towers, from three to six, at a cost somewhere around $800,000. Town Manager and Treasurer Dennis Heath talked of asking town meeting voters to spend the money immediately from town assets and repay it from TIF funds at $80,000 a year, once the TIF program is enlarged to cover broadband as recent legislation allows.
  • Tom Rumpf, president of the China Four Seasons Club, with plans to request another TIF allocation for continued work on snowmobile and four-wheeler trails on the east side of China Lake.

The other major action at the Aug. 26 meeting was unanimous endorsement of the Revolving Loan Committee’s recommendation to approve a loan to Buckshot Power Sports. This action also goes to the selectmen with a recommendation that they forward it to the Kennebec Valley Council of Governments, which helps with loan management.

Revolving Loan Committee Chairman Amy Gartley said there are no other loan applications pending.

The causeway project at the head of China Lake’s east basin was not discussed. Heath said the state Department of Environmental Protection is reviewing needed applications for further work.

The next TIF Committee meeting is scheduled for Monday evening, Sept. 23.

VASSALBORO: Back to school issues dominate board’s meeting

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by Mary Grow

Not surprisingly, Vassalboro School Board members spent most of their Aug. 20 meeting discussing back-to-school issues. A preliminary result of their deliberations about the school lunch program appeared in the packets sent home to parents as school opened Aug. 27.

The welcome-back packet included a survey asking parents how often their children ate school-provided food, what they liked and disliked and especially what the meals program could do to encourage participation. Survey results will be anonymous and confidential. Information is also on the new website, vcsvikings.org.

Board members and Superintendent Alan Pfieffer stressed the importance of student participation in the meals program, which includes breakfast and lunch. The state, using federal funds and guidelines, reimburses schools for free and reduced-price meals served to students whose families meet income requirements. Yet, Pfeiffer said, many families eligible for the program do not apply.

As a result, the Vassalboro Community School lunch program, like many others in Maine, runs a deficit, and Vassalboro doesn’t receive federal money for which it could be eligible.

Board members also voted to join the Kennebec Alliance Service Center, which is a totally different thing from the former AOS (Alternative Organizational Structure) #92.

The service center, Pfeiffer said, is a more organized version of the informal cooperation among school officials that has existed for decades in such forms as regular superintendents’ meetings, shared staff and cooperative purchasing among different schools and school units.

RSU (Regional School Unit) #18 Superintendent Carl Gartley has been a major proponent of increased cooperation, Pfeiffer said. New state legislation encourages the idea with financial incentives; Pfeiffer expects when the state contribution to local school budgets is calculated in the spring of 2020, Vassalboro will get about $33,000 added as a result of service center membership.

The Kennebec Alliance already includes schools from the Skowhegan area (School Administrative District #54) through Waterville to China, the easternmost RSU #18 member.

Vassalboro is also in the second year of a three-year contract to continue to use the services of former AOS #92 staff members, several of whom regularly attend Vassalboro board meetings. Each of the three former AOS members has its own superintendent. Pfeiffer said he, Eric Haley, in Waterville, and Peter Thiboutot, in Winslow, continue to work together.

In other business Aug. 20, board members unanimously appointed five new staff members at Vassalboro Community School and accepted three resignations.

The meeting was preceded by the first of several proposed long-range planning discussions aimed at evaluating current conditions and developing recommendations for building on strengths and overcoming weaknesses.

The next regular Vassalboro School Board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday evening, Sept. 17.

Windsor officials discuss ways to save money to help pay for diesel fuel tank

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by Sandy Isaac

At the August 6 Windsor selectmen’s meeting, board members and Public Works Supervisor Keith Hall discussed ways to save money in order to help pay for the planned new diesel fuel tank. The 1,000 or 2,000 gallon tank alone, which town officials hope to have installed before winter, is estimated to cost between $10,000 and $13,000. Since the retirement of John Moody, who provided round the clock fueling in the past, was announced after the 2019-2020 budget was created, funding for the proposed tank installation was not included. The diesel tank would enable trucks to refuel after hours or overnight as needed during snow storms.

Selectmen will be entertaining bids for a new public works garage, which was included in the voter-approved budget. Once that process is completed, selectmen will review the final cost and, they hope, shift some funds over to the diesel tank project.

In the case of an unforeseen emergency, the town manager and the selectmen can request a meeting with the budget committee and seek approval for any cost over $25,000. The selectmen, along with Hall and Town Manager Theresa Haskell, think they should be able to diverge enough money to get the tank installed. The process however, will be contingent upon the garage construction cost. If garage bids come in at full priced authorized, town officials will have to look at alternative funds for the diesel tank installation.

Hall also recommended cutting costs by holding off on installing heat in the proposed new garage until next year. He suggested the 1,000 gallon tank option, stating that any company would be willing to come in to refill the tank when necessary.

Town officials are putting up for sale two trucks, the 2003 International and the 2010 Ford F550. Sealed bids will be due by 5 p.m. Tuesday, September 3, and will be opened during the selectmen’s meeting that evening. Proceeds from the sales will go into the Public Works Truck Reserve Account, as approved at the town meeting.

In other business, Cemetery Sexton Joyce Perry, reported a generous anonymous donor contributed $5,000 to the Veterans Memorial, bringing the fund raising efforts up to 77 percent of the goal of $45,000. The fundraising group will continue to offer concrete or granite pavers for sale, which will be placed at the Veterans’ Memorial site, to help raise money for the efforts.

China selectmen approve eight questions for November 5, 2019 ballot

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by Mary Grow

At their Aug. 19 meeting, China selectmen approved an eight-question ballot to present to voters on Nov. 5. They also voted non-unanimously to buy the excavator for the public works department that they have discussed since June.

On Nov. 5, China voters will be asked to elect a moderator for the day (Art. 1); choose members of the Board of Selectmen, Planning Board and Budget Committee and a representative to the Regional School Unit #18 board (Art. 2); approve or reject five questions related to operation of medical marijuana facilities in town (Arts. 3-7); and decide whether they want to continue current town office hours, including 8 to 11 a.m. Saturdays, or move three hours to Thursday, so the office would be closed Saturdays and open until 7 p.m. Thursdays (Art. 8).

Signed nomination papers for the local offices are due at the town office by the close of business Friday, Sept. 6.

The medical marijuana questions, which Town Manager Dennis Heath said were drafted with advice from the Maine Municipal Association, ask voters to act separately on retail facilities, registered dispensaries, testing facilities and manufacturing facilities. Each, if approved, would need to meet state requirements.

Art. 7 asks voters to approve a 1,000-foot separation between any property with a medical marijuana facility and any property with a pre-existing school.

Voter approval of any or all of articles three through six would meet the state “opt in” requirement and allow the planning board to review applications, using state standards until planning board members had time to develop a local ordinance and voters approved it.

Action on the Nov. 5 questions would have no effect on China’s current ordinance banning recreational marijuana clubs and related non-medical activities, Heath said.

The planning board is scheduled to hear a revised application from Clifford Glinko, a Fairfield resident who wants to open a medical marijuana facility on Route 3 in South China, at the Aug. 27 planning board meeting.

The question about town office hours was proposed by Robert MacFarland, chairman of the selectboard, after board members received complaints about their July 8 decision to eliminate Saturday hours beginning Nov. 1.

The July 8 decision revised hours to keep the office open until 5:30 Tuesdays and Thursdays; Heath later changed the plan to continue closing at 4 p.m. except 7 p.m. Thursdays. Action was based on a survey asking residents why they used Saturday hours. Heath said the goal of considering closing on Saturdays was “to improve efficiency.”

Selectmen Jeffrey LaVerdiere and Donna Mills-Stevens said the survey confused people, who did not realize their answers might lead to ending Saturday hours. Ronald Breton thinks there were too few responses to be significant.

“We’re here to serve the public,” LaVerdiere said. He and Mills-Stevens agreed Saturdays are usually busy enough so they have to wait for service.

Board members voted unanimously to add to the Nov. 5 ballot an eighth question asking voters whether they want to continue Saturday morning town office hours or to have the office open until 7 p.m. Thursdays.

A public hearing on the local ballot questions will be held before the Nov. 5 vote.

The decision to buy an excavator for the town followed Mills-Stevens’ negotiation of an $8,250 price reduction from the already-lowered price Public Works Manager Shawn Reed had reached and yet another long discussion. The price approved on a 4-1 vote, with LaVerdiere opposed, is $164,600, including a trailer, a three-year extended warranty and on-site training as needed for a year.

The Aug. 19 discussion focused on pay-back time, which involved trying to calculate how much owning an excavator will save over leasing one as needed. Selectmen and audience members argued over estimated past costs versus estimated future costs of operation, maintenance, insurance and other factors.

Board and audience members talked about using the excavator for more than road work, rather than letting it sit idle. Suggestions included possible uses at the transfer station and for work in Thurston Park, the town-owned recreational area in northeastern China.

Belanger and Breton pointed out the value of having an excavator available for emergencies. LaVerdiere remained unconvinced the investment was in taxpayers’ interest.

Money will be taken from three capital reserve funds, including $16,000 from the transfer station reserve in anticipation of the excavator being useful there.

The next regular China selectmen’s meeting will be Tuesday evening, Sept. 3, to avoid the Monday Labor Day holiday. Before then, selectmen are scheduled to hold a special meeting Wednesday evening, Aug. 28, to set the 2019-2020 tax rate, Heath said.

The calendar on the town website lists a budget committee meeting Thursday evening, Aug. 29.

Over the holiday weekend, the town office and transfer station will be closed Saturday, Aug. 31, and the town office will be closed Monday, Sept. 2.