Vassalboro board OKs TIF funds for VSD

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by Mary Grow

Vassalboro select board members began their June 13 meeting by electing Frederick “Rick” Denico, Jr., board chairman, succeeding newly re-elected member Christopher French.

After a very sparsely attended public hearing on Vassalboro Sanitary District (VSD) Treasurer Rebecca Goodrich’s request for Tax Increment Financing (TIF) funds, board members unanimously approved:

— An allocation of $200,000, of which at least $124,000 will be put toward repaying debts for the VSD’s connection to Winslow and the remainder used for other expenses; and
— Reallocation of $100,000 approved in 2019 to current needs.

Town Manager Aaron Miller said the VSD’s proposed uses of the money meet TIF requirements.

On a related issue, board members appointed Lisa Miller (no relation to Aaron Miller) a member of the VSD board. One pending issue is a rewrite of the district’s charter, slated to include provisions for electing VSD board members at the same time as municipal elections.

Only VSD customers would be eligible to become, or to vote for, board members. Town Manager Miller said town officials will need to prepare a separate VSD voter list.

Also pending is a long-term solution that will provide VSD with sufficient operating funds without bankrupting its approximately 200 customers who live in and between East Vassalboro and North Vassalboro villages.

French recommends housing projects in the villages to spread the costs among more people. Denico, saying that solution will take too long, proposes Vassalboro join the Kennebec Valley Council of Governments (KVCOG) and ask its experts to apply for grant funding for the VSD.

The June 13 select board meeting began with a presentation by Kennebec Water District (KWD) General Manager Roger Crouse and Water Quality Manager Robbie Bickford. They explained KWD’s plan to discharge excess process water from the Vassalboro treatment plant into Outlet Stream.

The plant is on the west side of the stream, on Route 32 (Main Street) a short distance north of East Vassalboro village. Bickford said it has been treating China Lake water since 1993. It has a capacity of 12 million gallons a day, but processes only about 3.5 million gallons a day, he said.

The process water washed filters in the plant. It is clean enough, Bickford said, so that federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidelines allow a small percentage to be added to the plant’s output.

KWD would like to discharge some or all of the process water, part of an ongoing effort to reduce chemical use to help save rate-payers money.

Bickford and Crouse made two main points. The process water varies from the water already flowing in Outlet Stream in only one respect; it contains slightly more aluminum – “the most common metal on earth,” Bickford said. And the amount of water the outfall will add to the stream will be so small that neither the aluminum concentration nor the water level will be affected.

Bickford said KWD is getting necessary local, state and federal permits this spring, aiming to have a final plan and a chosen contractor in time to begin construction in the summer or fall of 2025.

Town and KWD officials touched briefly on a question raised by the high water level in China Lake earlier this spring: should some entity other than the Town of Vassalboro manage the Outlet Dam, in East Vassalboro? Crouse said KWD would like to stay involved in discussions of dam management.

Miller intends to schedule a workshop meeting with interested parties.

In other business June 13, select board members followed up on some of the actions voters authorized at the annual town meeting June 3 and made preparations for the new fiscal year that begins July 1.

In the first category, they:

— authorized Miller to proceed with buying a new skid steer;
— approved the lowest of three bids for removing tiles containing asbestos at the former East Vassalboro school building, from New Meadows Abatement, Inc., of Bath, for $10,310; and
— discussed first steps for a new building on the public works lot.

For 2024-2025, they approved a long list of appointments and reappointments to town boards and committees. Miller announced vacancies on the planning board (John Phillips is resigning, he said); the Conservation Commission (he commended retiring member David Jenney for many years of service); the cemetery committee; and the trails committee.

Board members reaffirmed their prior decision to close the town office at 3 p.m. on Thursday, June 27, to give staff time for end-of-year record-keeping. If necessary, staff members will return Friday morning, June 28.

The next regular Vassalboro select board meeting is scheduled for Thursday evening, June 27.

China select board tours Thurston Park, makes appointments

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Hikers on Bridge in Thurston Park (Photo courtesy: Town of China)

by Mary Grow

China select board members and Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood began the June 17 select board meeting with a motor tour of Thurston Park, in northeastern China.

Afterwards, board member Blane Casey expressed approval of the way the park is being maintained. Others agreed.

In the town office meeting room, board members:

— Allocated an additional $1,000 from the fire department reserve fund to help pay for the South China Volunteer Fire Department’s planned addition of a three-phase converter at the fire station on Route 32;
— Approved minor clarifications to the transfer station access policy, dealing with temporary passes for renters; and
— Acted on a long list of re-appointments to town boards and committees before the new fiscal year begins July 1.

Hapgood explained that town office staff had asked each board or committee member whose term ends June 30 if he or she would serve again. Those who said no, and those who did not reply, were not on the appointments list.

In an unusual move, board members declined to re-appoint board of appeals chairman Spencer Aitel, who has held the position for at least a decade. A motion to re-appoint him failed for lack of a second. No one offered an explanation.

In addition to the vacancy on the board of appeals, there are openings on the comprehensive plan review committee, which has one member, and the recreation committee, which has two. All other committees that lost members kept at least five.

There are also two vacancies on the town planning board, which, under the new ordinance voters approved June 11, consists of five regular members and one alternate appointed by the select board. Planning board appointments were not on the June 17 list.

Board members re-appointed Hapgood to eight positions. They re-appointed town clerk Angela Nelson; codes officer Nicholas French; animal control officer Joshua Barnes; superintendent of cemeteries Adam Ellis; and China’s three fire chiefs, Richard Morse (South China), Joel Nelson (China Village) and William Van Wickler (Weeks Mills).

Votes were not all unanimous. Select board members who serve (mostly in non-voting capacities) on a committee being re-appointed abstained; and board chairman Wayne Chadwick voted against committee lists that included non-resident members – on principle, he stressed, not because he objected to any individual.

The next regular China select board meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday, July 1.

China TIF committee completes recommendations on revising document

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by Mary Grow

At their June 10 meeting, China’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Committee members completed recommendations on revising the document that governs the use of TIF funds. (See also the June 6 issue of The Town Line, p.8.)

They recommended deleting two accounts: the revolving loan fund intended to help businesses in town, which has been used only once, and the job training account, which has never been used.

They proposed adding an account, a second project at the causeway at the head of China Lake’s east basin. TIF money paid for previous improvements there: rebuilding the bridge across the lake’s major inlet stream, adding sidewalks and parking spaces and improving the boat landing.

The new project tentatively includes extending the sidewalk westward on the south (lake) side of the road, adding a floating dock from which people can fish and making improvements at the boat docks. Cost will be determined as soon as possible.

Committee members are aware that there is too little parking area for vehicles hauling boat trailers, but there is not space to expand the parking.

Committee members recommended increased funding for two existing projects that have regularly used all their allotments.

— The project named “Environmental Improvements,” which includes China Lake water quality, was listed to receive a maximum of $30,000 for each of the fiscal years 2024, 2025 and 2026. No amount was listed thereafter. Committee members recommended $50,000 a year until the TIF ends in 2045.
— The “Trails” project, which has funded trail work by the Four Seasons Club townwide and by the Thurston Park Committee in Thurston Park, was to receive not more than $65,000 a year through 2045. Committee members recommended $80,000 a year.

Funds to match grants, a different category from the projects, have not been spent, but committee members said they could be. That account has been accumulating at $15,000 a year; its allocation is scheduled to end June 30, 2026. Committee members recommended extending it to 2031.

The TIF enabling legislation says grants to a municipality or a plantation can be matched. One candidate for a match is the China Lake Association, its president, Stephen Greene, said. Committee member Jamie Pitney, a lawyer, is unsure whether the state Department of Economic and Community Development, the TIF program’s overseer, would approve a grant to an organization.

Committee members know approximately how much unallocated, and allocated but unspent, money is in the TIF program now. They calculated how much money they recommend transferring from unused accounts to overused ones. Combining the figures, they decided their recommendations for additional funding are financially feasible.

They further discussed estimates of FY 2024-25 TIF income. The income comes from taxes Central Maine Power Company pays on its transmission line that runs north-south through China and on its South China substation.

Each year’s TIF income therefore depends on two factors: the valuation of the CMP properties and the town’s tax rate, or mil rate (the amount of tax for each $1,000 of valuation). The valuation waits on completion of a review by the town’s assessor; after that work is finished, the assessor will recommend a range of tax rates to generate money to cover projected 2024-25 expenses.

Select board members will then set the rate. In 2023, they made the decision at their Aug. 28 meeting, setting the current 12.26 mil rate ($12.26 for each $1,000 of valuation).

TIF committee members scheduled their next meeting for Monday evening, Aug. 5. They expect by then to have firmer numbers on most of the program, even without the 2024-25 tax rate.

Their goal is to present a revised TIF document to China voters at the polls on Nov. 5. If voters approve it, the appropriate state officials’ approval is also needed, a process likely to take several months.

China town building issues dominate select board agenda

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by Mary Grow

The China select board’s June 3 meeting was mostly spent on building-related issues. Board members totally redesigned the plan for their long-discussed storage vault at the town office, and awarded bids for other town projects.

Over the past several years, board members, building committee chairman Sheldon Goodine and others have talked about adding a fireproof vault in a small building attached to the south side of the present office on Lakeview Drive.

At their March 25 meeting, board members awarded a bid to build the addition to the lower bidder, Ralph McNaughton Construction, of Corinna, for $267,489.20.

At the board’s May 6 meeting (see the May 23 issue of The Town Line, p. 3), Goodine and select board member Blane Casey proposed a different plan: convert part of the large garage behind the old town office into dry storage; move some of the papers from the back storage area in the town office building to the garage; and move miscellaneous items from the present fireproof storage area off the town office’s meeting room to make more space there.

Goodine prepared a draft plan for the garage before the May 20 board meeting, but wasn’t able to be there to discuss it.

At the June 3 meeting, he pointed out how much money the town is likely to save if this plan works. After inspecting the garage, board members voted to ask McNaughton and engineer Keith Whittaker, of B. R. Smith Associates, of Presque Isle, to make their own inspections.

Goodine was honored with a Spirit of America award on May 20, “for leadership in China’s Golden Agers senior program and service to the South China church, library, Masons and American Legion.” On June 3, Casey added Goodine’s 65 years with the South China Volunteer Fire Department.

Board members awarded the 2024 roadside mowing contract to Pierce Works, LLC, of China, for $10,300 for two mowings, plus $4,280 for roadside brush-cutting. Mileage is listed as 47.29 miles. Hapgood said the company has had the contract in the past and the work has been satisfactory.

Construction bids were awarded as follows.

— To install a PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) water testing and water filtering system at Frank Soares’ near the China transfer station, EverClean Water & Radon Technologies, of Fairfield, $4,940, after a discussion of options with company owner Shane Reitze. State testing found Soares’ water contaminated, presumably from leachate from the closed landfill just north of the transfer station.
— To reroof the barn near the town office, Williams Construction Company, of Brewer, for $16,630.
— To reroof part of the town office building, again William Construction Company, for $23,560.

Williams’ figures are to be negotiated, since the company has two projects on the same site.

In other business, Hapgood read two letters. One was from someone having a new home built in China, praising the town office staff. The other was a letter of introduction from China’s new summer economic development intern, Gracie Stagnito.

The next regular China select board meeting is scheduled for Monday evening, June 17.

EVENTS: Vassalboro select board to hold public hearing

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by Mary Grow

The Vassalboro select board will hold a public hearing at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, June 13, in the town office meeting room, to discuss allocating Tax Increment Financing (TIF) funds to the Vassalboro Sanitary District.

For more information, contact Town Manager Aaron Miller at 872-2826 or email amiller@vassalboro.net.

The hearing will be followed by a regular select board meeting.

VASSALBORO: Sidereal Farm approved for expansion with conditions

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by Mary Grow

After a long discussion at their June 4 meeting, Vassalboro select board members unanimously approved all but one piece of an expansion plan for Sidereal Farm Brewery, at 772 Cross Hill Road. They added two conditions to the approval, based on neighbors’ concerns.

Brewery owner James D’Angelo presented a nine-item plan. The ninth part, his plan to apply for a state restaurant license, is probably not a planning board issue; the board did not act on it.

Planning Board chairman Virginia Brackett explained that Sidereal’s current state license allows preparing food outdoors only; a Department of Health and Human Services restaurant license would allow an indoor kitchen. DHS will want input from “municipal officers,” a term Brackett thinks means select board members.

D’Angelo said the first four parts of his plan involve the entrance road off Cross Hill Road. First, he said, he already has approval from the E911 emergency numbering agency to have the road named Sidereal Way, so customers will stop mistakenly turning into nearby Glidden Lane.

He asked to extend the road; to add a cul de sac to provide parking and space for recreational vehicles to turn around; and to install downward-facing LED lights.

One of the planning board conditions is that parking be prohibited along the road. Board members also proposed a traffic pattern at the end designed to minimize headlights shining toward neighbors’ houses. D’Angelo was receptive to the idea.

Board and audience members and D’Angelo had a long discussion about additional screening to block headlights. After much consultation over maps, they agreed on the second condition, a 100-foot-long, six-foot-high cedar fence in a specified place, with trees planted 10 feet apart on the inside.

Once the trees grow enough to provide screening, D’Angelo is allowed to remove the fence.

Discussion covered the exact location of the screening; whether noise and light studies D’Angelo had done were adequate; and what kinds of trees grow best in different soils and how soon they should be big enough to be a buffer.

At the brewery building, D’Angelo proposed relocating a fire pit and bocce court from the front to the rear; extending the outdoor cooking area and adding a roof and curtains so it can be used in the winter; and using one bay in a nearby garage to store equipment used in the business.

His request to extend operating hours generated another discussion. Currently, the brewery is open from noon to 9 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and noon to 6 p.m., Sunday.

D’Angelo asked to stay open until 10 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 8 p.m. Sunday. Board member Marianne Stevens thought the extension “as little unfair to the neighbors.” When fellow board member Dan Bradstreet interpreted the new hours as taking effect after the restaurant opens, Stevens proposed delaying a decision until that happens.

Brackett replied that longer hours would be necessary for a restaurant to be commercially viable. She disagreed when neighbor Peter Soule suggested the restaurant was getting preferential treatment.

Since Vassalboro has no zoning, Brackett said, commercial establishments can be located anywhere, and the planning board must in each case balance abutters’ needs with the needs of the business.
Board members unanimously approved the extended hours. The 11 p.m. deadline to have Sidereal’s lights off will remain.

In response to neighbors’ comments about a 24-hour light in the top of the building, D’Angelo said he will talk with employees about installing a timer that will darken the entire brewery at 11 p.m.

Neighbors Richard and Terry Dawson and Peter and MaryBeth Soule presented two main issues. First, they said, their peace and privacy have been lost, with traffic, noise, lights that shine into their houses and brewery customers who can, and do, watch them.

Second, D’Angelo failed to comply with buffering requirements on his original permit, granted in 2019. Soule said a town official, whom he did not further identify, agreed a year ago that what D’Angelo had done was inadequate.

Dawson and Soule asked what guarantee they have that this year’s buffer requirement will be met promptly and adequately.

D’Angelo offered two replies. He agreed to comply with “reasonable” planning board requirements, and did not object to any part of the board’s decision.

He defended Sidereal Farm Brewery as a valuable asset to Vassalboro. The business has a $280,000 payroll and five full-time and five part-time employees; it uses local food and local contractors and supports local charities, he said.

Before taking up the Sidereal Farm Brewery application, planning board members unanimously approved Robert and Clara Dyason’s application to add a covered porch to their existing building at 72 Branstrom Road, in the Three Mile Pond shoreland zone. The addition will be on the side away from the water, Robert Dyason said.

The next regular Vassalboro Planning Board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday evening, July 2.

China TIF members continue talks on proposed changes

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by Mary Grow

Members of China’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Committee met May 29 to continue discussing proposed changes in China’s TIF document.

Focus was on the different projects for which TIF funds are appropriated, specifically which ones are not spending their full appropriations and which ones need more money.

Committee members got through five items before several members had to leave, ending discussion. Their recommendations are:

— For expanding and improving broadband service, continue at $30,000 a year.
— For the South China boat landing, continue at $7,500 a year.
— For the cost of funding town-created economic development programs, a reduction from $35,000 a year to $25,000 a year. The program spends under $15,000 a year, mostly to hire a summer intern who focuses on economic development.

If the time town office staff spend on TIF-eligible work were charged to TIF, more money would be needed. Committee members discussed the additional record-keeping that would be necessary; when the town manager attended a two-hour TIF-related meeting, simple to note and prove, but what about brief phone calls spaced through the week?

— For economic development events (mostly China Community Days and China Ice Days), increase from $15,000 to $25,000 annually, to allow for additional events.
— For marketing China as a business location, delete the currently-scheduled reduction from a maximum of $25,000 annually to $5,000 annually beginning July 1, 2026; instead allocate $20,000 a year from 2026 through the end of the TIF in 2045.

In cases where a project had a substantial unspent balance, committee members recommended putting left-over money back in the program development fund, the section that committee member Jamie Pitney called “the common pot.” The money would then be available for re-allocation to a project that has been spending all its TIF money and needing more.

The committee will meet again Monday, June 10, at 6 p.m., in either the town office meeting room or the nearby former portable classroom. Remaining topics include environmental improvements; the revolving loan program; job training; trails; and matching money for grants.

The list from which committee members are working is pages 28 through 36 of China’s 2021 Second Amended TIF Program. It is on the website china.govoffice.com, under the Tax Increment Financing Committee, which is under Officials, Boards and Committees.

KWD lake levels info now online

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The China Lake Association has posted about monitoring China Lake levels, with historical levels, on Facebook: Kennebec Water District (KWD) recently added a China Lake water level information page to their website. You will find the current level of the lake, along with the most recent Department of Environmental Protection lake level directives.

The link is: https://kennebecwater.org/water-quality/lake-level-info/.

China voters to be presented with three ballots on June 11, 2024

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by Mary Grow

China voters will be presented with three ballots at the polls on June 11: the annual town business meeting, the school budget referendum and a choice of state primary ballots. All ballots can be previewed on the town website, china.govoffice.com, under the Elections tab on the left side of the main page.

Voting will be in the portable classroom behind the town office on Lakeview Drive. After a moderator is elected at 6:45 a.m., polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The warrant for China’s annual town business meeting has 32 articles. Voters will act on authorizations to spend town money on listed purposes (and set the fall 2024 and spring 2025 tax due dates to collect some of the money); grant authority to select board members to carry out official functions; and accept or reject three amended or new ordinances (Arts. 29, 30 and 31).

There are no local elections. They will be held Nov. 5.

Select board and budget committee members debated many of the June 11 articles at multiple meetings, sometimes with input from audience members. A May 6 public hearing on the warrant was sparsely attended.

Some of the articles discussed were:

— Art. 4, administration expenses, $1,184,525, which includes a 3.2 percent cost of living increase plus one percent merit raises (the same increases are in other budget lines that include town employees).
— Art. 5, town boards’ and committees’ expenses, $84,220. For the second year, this article includes no compensation for select board members.
— Art. 7, public safety, increased to $420,931, mostly because Delta Ambulance’s fee has risen from $15 per resident this year to $25 per resident in 2024-25.
— Art. 9, public works, increased to $1.848 million, including planning for truck replacements, but no additional staff.
— Art. 10, $74,000 for community support organizations (China Historical Society, two libraries, two lake associations, Golden Agers, China Rescue, supplemental funds for the three volunteer fire departments, veterans’ markers and Memorial Day expenses).
— Art. 28, authorizing the select board to contract for ambulance services, in case the contract with Delta Ambulance falls through.
— Art. 32, authorizing up to $155,489 from federal ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) money for the long-discussed records storage vault at the town office and $70,000 from undesignated fund balance (surplus) for a broadband project, the latter to be spent only on (future) town meeting approval.

The budget committee recommends voters approve all proposed expenditures. At their April 3 meeting, budget committee members supported select board members’ plan to spend up to $296,715 for a new town truck, provided that the select board gets at least a second price quote before signing a contract.

* * * * * *

Three articles propose ordinance amendments. These, too, are on the website under the Elections tab.

Art. 29 asks voters to replace the current Planning Board ordinance, dated 2008.

If voters approve the new ordinance, the six planning board members (five regular, one alternate) will be appointed by the select board, instead of elected; and the four planning board districts will be abolished, so that a resident of any part of town can fill any vacancy.

Board members’ two-year terms, their compensation ($25 per meeting with a maximum of $700 per year) and their responsibilities would be unchanged.

Art. 30 asks if voters want to amend parts of three chapters of China’s Land Development Code. Two documents are on the website, one including explanations of the changes.

Substantive changes are mandated by the new state affordable housing law, known as LD 2003 and titled “An Act To Implement the Recommendations of the Commission To Increase Housing Opportunities in Maine by Studying Zoning and Land Use Restrictions.” China’s town attorney advised on wording.

Major changes include creation of a South China Development District and its description and regulations. Its purpose is to “provide for the siting and construction of affordable housing, and resources and services in a clustered (higher density) land area.”

The district, described in an appendix, is the area around South China Village and along Route 3 and Route 32 South (Windsor Road) that was recommended as a development district in China’s 2020 comprehensive plan. It goes west to the Vassalboro line and south on Route 32 just past the Weeks Mills Road intersection.

A map titled Future Land Use Map, page 14 of appendices to the China Comprehensive Plan, shows the area. This map is found on the town website under Ordinances, Policies and Orders, named Comprehensive Plan Appendices – March 2022.

A second major change allows for accessory dwelling units on residential lots. Provisions allow a house-owner to add a separate unit or a separate building to provide additional housing.

A third provision required by the state amends the subdivision ordinance in the Land Development Code to add what are named affordable housing developments.

Art. 31 asks voters to accept the long-discussed Solar Energy Systems Ordinance as a new Chapter 8 in the Land Development Code.

This ordinance, if approved, will set standards for large ground-mounted solar energy systems. Large means any system with more than an acre of panel area; some requirements – height limit, setback and screening requirements — apply to systems with more than 5,000 square feet of panel area.

The ordinance includes requirements for decommissioning a system after its useful life ends, with a required pre-construction guarantee of decommissioning funding in the form of a “surety bond, letter of credit or other form of financial assistance.”

The select board and the planning board recommend that voters approve all three ordinances.

* * * * * *

A separate ballot has only one question, asking if China voters want to approve the Regional School Unit #18 budget that was adopted at a May 16 RSU meeting.

Information on the RSU #18 website says the proposed 2024-25 school budget totals $44,377,494.71, an increase of $1,459,447.19 over the current year’s budget.

The income section of the budget shows how much each member town is asked to contribute. For China, the amounts are: under “Local EPS” (Educational Programs and Services), $3,487,526.34, an increase of $216,273; and under “Local Additional,” $2,166,576.72, an increase of $228,274. China’s total share is $5,654,103, an increase of $444,547 over the current year.

In addition, RSU 18 Superintendent Carl Gartley said in an email, there is a $10,716.20 assessment for the adult education program.

The EPS figure, Gartley explained, is the amount “the state deems necessary for all students to achieve Maine’s Learning Results.” State officials calculate each EPS based on the municipal valuation, population, number of students and other factors. Each municipality must raise the amount the state calculates to be eligible for its full state subsidy, Gartley said.

Member towns in RSU 18 are Belgrade, China, Oakland, Rome and Sidney.

* * * * * *

In China’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 Piantidosi, 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.

There is also a Green Independent ballot, with no candidate’s name.

In the Maine 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 #62 (China, Palermo, Somerville, Windsor and Hibberts Gore), Republican incumbent Katrina Smith and Democrat Pamela Swift are unopposed. Both are Palermo residents.

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. All primary ballots have a line for a write-in candidate.

Vassalboro select board seeks ways to relieve VSD financial crunch

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by Mary Grow

Vassalboro select board members began their May 30 meeting with a discussion with Vassalboro Sanitary District trustees about ways to relieve the VSD’s financial crunch. Auditor Ron Smith, of Buxton-based RHR Smith and Company, joined the discussion virtually to offer his advice.

A major problem for the VSD is interest payments on the loans the district took out to fund connecting the original in-town treatment system to Winslow’s sewers, whence waste goes to Waterville’s treatment system. Winslow’s recent rate increase has added to the need for funds.

A major problem for the VSD is interest payments on the loans the district took out to fund connecting the original in-town treatment system to Winslow’s sewers, whence waste goes to Waterville’s treatment system. Winslow’s recent rate increase has added to the need for funds.

The May 30 group discussed uses of Vassalboro’s TIF (Tax Increment Financing) money to help cover some VSD expenses. They said $100,000 was previously allocated from the TIF fund to the VSD to help fund the connection to Winslow, but was not used.

As at a prior discussion, Town Manager Aaron Miller said he needs to know what money was spent in Vassalboro (and is therefore TIF-eligible) and what was spent across the Winslow town line. And to make proposed use of additional TIF funds legal, Miller needs more information on other expenditures.

VSD Treasurer Rebecca Goodrich promised figures as soon as she can assemble them from records, perhaps in time for the June 13 select board meeting.

In addition to money questions, Smith agreed with earlier recommendations to amend the VSD charter. Goodrich said a revised draft is already with the VSD’s attorney.

After Smith signed out of the discussion, select board member Frederick “Rick” Denico, Jr., asked if the group had done anything to bring rate-payers immediate relief. There was no affirmative answer.

The other time-consuming issue at the May 30 select board meeting was, again, the town’s personnel policy (see the May 30 issue of The Town Line, p. 3). Half a dozen town employees contributed to the discussion. The topic will be continued.

Select board members signed a proclamation honoring Vassalboro sixth-grade student Sarina LaCroix, a state winner in the Elks Club’s Americanism Essay Contest (see the April 25 issue of The Town Line, p. 1).

They continued consideration of keeping part of a foreclosed property adjoining the transfer station on Lombard Dam Road, to enlarge the transfer station property.

Miller said two pending projects should be done by the end of June, rearranging the fuel pumps at the public works garage and repaving the parking lot at the former East Vassalboro schoolhouse.

Board members accepted Miller’s preliminary recommendation to close the town office at 3 p.m., Thursday, June 27, so staff can do necessary end-of-year bookkeeping before the fiscal year ends Sunday, June 30. The closing time might be changed at the board’s June 13 meeting.