CHINA: No progress on Neck Road Fire Pond

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Neck Road fire pond.

by Mary Grow

China selectmen had a short meeting with no major decisions March 19, their last before voters act on their proposed budget for 2018-19 and related items at the March 24 town business meeting.

Town Manager Daniel L’Heureux reported no progress on the fire pond on Neck Road because landowner Tom Michaud is out of state. At their earlier March meeting, board members approved a draft memorandum of agreement for Michaud’s review. Board members voted unanimously March 19 to spend no more money on the pond until they have a satisfactory plan in place.

On another ongoing issue, they directed the manager to ask the state Department of Transportation to conduct a speed study on the causeway at the head of China Lake’s east basin, where the town plans to spend Tax Increment Finance funds to replace the existing bridge and enhance recreational use of the area.

Board Chairman Robert MacFarland said the legal speed limit is 45 miles an hour, in spite of a 25 mile an hour sign on one end of Causeway Street (which runs from Main Street in China Village to Lakeview Drive). Resident Paul Lucas suggested selectmen invite non-resident taxpayers to a meeting in the summer to give them information on where their tax money goes, let them ask questions and help them feel part of the community. Selectmen liked the idea; discussion will be continued at a future meeting.

The annual town business meeting begins at 9 a.m. Saturday, March 24 (if there is a quorum of 120 registered voters) at China Primary School, off Lakeview Drive behind China Middle School.

Copies of the 2016-17 town report, which includes the 43-article warrant for the meeting, are available at the town office and on the town web site. The warrant is also available on website at townline.org/china-town-warrant-2018/.

The next regular China selectmen’s meeting will fall on Monday, April 2.

Alewife restoration project to receive grant award

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Kennebec River (source Maine Rivers)

Maine Rivers, as part of the Alewife Restoration Initiative, has been awarded $200,000 from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundations’ (NFWF) New England Forests and Rivers grant program. The New England Forests and Rivers Fund strives to restore and sustain healthy forests and rivers that provide habitat for diverse native birds populations, as well as freshwater and diadromous fish populations. Since its founding in 1984, NFWF has supported more than 16,000 projects that protect and restore our nation’s fish and wildlife species and the habitats they need to thrive.

The goal of the Alewife Restoration Initiative is to remove impediments or install fish passages at the barriers that prevent native alewives from accessing China Lake’s spawning habitat. The project will improve the connectivity between China Lake, the Sebasticook River and the ocean, and is expected to restore an annual run of between 800,000 and 950,000 adult alewives. The restoration of the Vassalboro’s nearby Webber Pond alewife run already provides revenue to the town of Vassalboro, in 2017 this totaled more than $18,000. The China Lake run is expected to be at least twice the size of the Webber pond alewife run.

For more information about the Alewife Restoration Initiative: Landis Hudson, landis@mainerivers.org phone: 207-847-9277.

CHINA: Central Church to open in May in old Fairpoint building

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Central Church (previously known as Kennebec Community Church) will be opening its doors on May 6, in the old Fairpoint Building, on Rte. 3, in South China.

The church is all about three things. Loving Jesus, loving others, and helping others love Jesus. The services are fun to go to. Most people, when they think of a church service, think of a lot of old songs played on an organ and a lecture from someone exceptionally boring.

Hannah Gow, creative director at the church, says, “Our services are alive. You come in and listen and sing along with our band worshiping our Lord and Savior.”

And then the congregation get to hear from their dynamic speaker and lead pastor Dan Coleman. “I promise, he’s funny and not boring to listen to,” said Gow. “He’s very clear and says what needs to be said. We don’t shy away from the truth here but we make sure how we communicate is easy to understand.”

They are not a church only reserved for a Sunday morning experience. “We love our community,” explained Gow, “and are constantly putting on events to show the community we are there for them. Some of these events include a free soccer camp, an Easter Egg Hunt event, a halloween Trunk or Treat event, and more!”

The Easter Egg Hunt event in China will take place on Saturday, March 24.

“I have never felt so connected to my community until I came and got plugged into this church,” said Gow. “It’s as if the church becomes a hub for the community. A safe place for people to connect but more importantly grow in their faith.”

And that’s what they want to bring to China. Something that is alive and a place that the community can come together.

China planners hear application on camp for teens

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by Mary Grow

China Planning Board members are scheduled to review one application at their March 27 meeting.

Wesley and Susan Horton have applied to use a building at 24 Pond Hill Road, at the north end of Three Mile Pond, as a leadership development camp for teenagers. The building was formerly a company retreat, according to the planning board agenda; the property is partly in shoreland and resource protection districts.

After discussion of the Hortons’ application board members intend to return to consideration of potential amendments to local ordinances.

The Planning Board meets at 6:30 p.m. March 27, in the town office meeting room.

Vassalboro selectmen change meeting time

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

Vassalboro selectmen have changed the starting time of their Thursday, March 22, meeting to 5:30 p.m., in order to accommodate a long agenda, including a 6 p.m. public hearing on building permit ordinance amendments, before they meet with the budget committee at 7 p.m. The meetings and hearing will be held in the town office meeting room.

China selectmen re-discuss Neck Road fire pond

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The Neck Road Fire Pond, in China. Photo by Roland D. Hallee

by Mary Grow

After an executive session that lasted more than an hour, China selectmen spent most of the rest of their March 7 meeting re-discussing the fire pond on Neck Road.

The executive session was called to consult with counsel and on a personnel issue. No action was taken afterward.

The fire pond was proposed by China Village Fire Chief Tim Theriault and endorsed by landowner Tom Michaud to give firefighters a source of water close to the end of Neck Road. After voters in November approved $8,500 for the project, an existing pond was enlarged, with the original plan amended to limit the work to Michaud’s land.

The almost-completed work was criticized sharply in late 2017 and early 2018. Selectmen and others said the steep sides, which made it impossible for a person or animal who fell in to get out, were dangerous; they were also unstable and would erode, perhaps threatening the shoulder of Neck Road.

Board members discussed fencing, redesign and other possible fixes.

They had also failed to get a written agreement with Michaud, leaving the town’s right to be on his property and any liability issues that might arise in doubt. The result was that at the March 7 meeting selectmen described the project as “out of whack” (Jeffrey LaVerdiere) and “somewhat of a real fiasco” (Chairman Robert MacFarland) as they discussed a draft memorandum of understanding with Michaud.

The non-final draft they asked Town Manager Daniel L’Heureux to forward to Michaud proposes that the town and Michaud agree on a sale, lease or easement giving the town the right to build and maintain the pond, if voters approve and if voters appropriate more money for additional costs. The additional costs are estimated at a minimum of around $25,000, not including paying a general contractor to oversee future work, as suggested by Selectman Donna Mills-Stevens.

The warrant for the March 24 town business meeting does not include any article related to the fire pond.

The warrant does include, with the annual appropriations for the fire departments and China Rescue, a request that voters authorize lump sum payments to the fire departments, as allowed under a new state law sponsored by Rep. Theriault.

L’Heureux said if voters approve, each department’s treasurer should be bonded. China Village department treasurer Dale Worster told selectmen he had submitted his bonding application; board members asked the manager to remind the other two departments.

L’Heureux asked selectmen’s permission to buy a new copier with money from the current year’s budget. They asked him to look into leasing instead of buying and postponed action until they have comparative prices.

China’s town report for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2017, was available at the meeting. Selectman Irene Belanger praised the committee reports, which she said should save time at the March 24 business meeting by answering many of residents’ questions. Budget committee member Wayne Chadwick objected that the town report includes too few details, especially on expenditures.

The next regular China selectmen’s meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday, March 19, with the Broadband Committee scheduled to meet simultaneously. Recently, however, China selectmen have repeatedly changed their announced meeting time, usually moving it earlier.

The board of appeals meeting postponed from March 8 due to snow is rescheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday, March 22. Ralph Howe, owner of Bio Renewable Fuels on Dirigo Road, has asked board members to reconsider their Feb. 15 dismissal, on procedural grounds, of his earlier appeals of actions by Codes Officer Paul Mitnik.

CHINA: Historic preservation, infrastructure needs top town meeting warrant

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by Mary Grow

China voters will have an unusual number of specific decisions to make at their annual town business meeting, scheduled for 9 a.m. Saturday, March 24, at China Primary School (off Lakeview Drive behind China Middle School).

A quorum of 120 registered voters is required to open the meeting.

Most of the new issues involve historic preservation and local infrastructure needs. With 2018 the 200th anniversary of the incorporation of the Town of China, Selectman and Bicentennial Coordinator Neil Farrington and others organized a Feb. 5 celebration, have plans for more activities in the summer and are trying to arouse interest in preserving tangible reminders of China’s history.

The town has already lost at least one historic church and one Masonic Hall; most of its one- and two-room schoolhouses and the two buildings that housed China Academy, one after the other; the tracks and most of the buildings associated with the Wiscasset, Waterville and Farmington narrow-gauge railway; and recently the Dinsmore mill in Branch Mills. The once-active China Historical Society has not met regularly for years.

At the March 24 meeting, voters will be asked to hear a report from Farrington and to appropriate funds for his work, for continued maintenance of the old town house and Weeks Mills schoolhouse and for two specific projects: installing water and septic systems in the Weeks Mills schoolhouse to make it useable for community purposes, and buying the Branch Mills Union Church. The schoolhouse project (Art. 25) is expected to cost up to $20,000. The price for the church is $100; the belief is that town ownership will make it easier to get grants and donations – Art. 41 asks that up to $80,000 be authorized – to preserve the building.

The proposed infrastructure projects are the purchase of a precrusher/compactor and a new forklift for the transfer station, at a maximum cost of $80,613 (Art. 17) and two specific road projects, repaving the north end of Dirigo Road and replacing a large culvert under Bog Road, at an expected cost of up to $200,000 (Art. 19).

Voters are also asked to appropriate up to $20,000 in Tax Increment Finance (TIF) funds for the LakeSmart program, which helps lakefront landowners control run-off (Art. 34), and to appropriate up to $22,000 from TIF funds, if applicable, or Unassigned Fund Balance (surplus) to update China’s comprehensive plan (Art. 43).

Selectmen and budget committee members recommend approval of all proposed expenditures, not always unanimously. Budget committee member Wayne Chadwick dissented on requests for up to $50,000 in TIF funds for administrative work (Art. 6); the transfer station purchases in Art. 17, joined in dissent by Tom Rumpf; and the schoolhouse waste and septic systems in Art. 25. Chadwick also opposed the $4,500 request from the Albert Church Brown Memorial Library, but endorsed the article (Art. 26) because it includes the same amount for the South China Library.

The budget committee splintered on the proposal to buy the Branch Mills church: Chairman Robert Batteese, Valerie Baker and Secretary Jean Conway voted to recommend it, Chadwick and Rumpf voted not to and Tim Basham and Kevin Maroon abstained.

The March 24 decisions do not include the 2018-19 school budget, which will be voted on later in the year.

Download the China Town Warrant from the Town Office website or click here!

 

Vassalboro public hearing on budget set for March 22

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

The Vassalboro public hearing, selectmen’s meeting and Budget Committee meeting postponed from March 8 due to snow are rescheduled for Thursday evening, March 22, with the public hearing at 6 p.m. followed by the selectmen’s meeting and the Budget Committee scheduled for 7 p.m. (ep)

The public hearing, held jointly with the Planning Board, is on proposed amendments to Vassalboro’s Building Permit Ordinance. Information on the proposed changes is on the town’s web site. (ep)

The selectmen’s agenda includes a discussion with Codes Officer Richard Dolby of dealing with violators of town land use regulations; a discussion with Kim Lindlof of the benefits of joining the Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce; a potential appointment to the Conservation Commission; a discussion with Leon Duff and others who propose naming the Vassalboro Community School gymnasium in memory of James Mitchell; a review of responses to the request for proposals for alewife harvesting and perhaps awarding of the harvesting contract; a review of tax-acquired properties and discussion of disposal options; and preliminary plans for the 2017 town report. (ep)

The Budget Committee planned to spend most of its March 8 meeting in discussion with town department heads. (ep)

There is one vacant seat on the Budget Committee, to be filled at the June 4 town meeting. People interested in the position are invited to attend Budget Committee meetings or to submit their names to the town office.

Voters approve dissolving AOS #92 by large margin

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Vassalboro Community School. (source: jmg.org)

by Mary Grow

AOS (Alternative Organi­zational Structure) #92 will soon be history.

In a March 13 referendum vote, all three member municipalities voted by wide margins to terminate the arrangement: in Vassalboro, the vote was 81 yes to 13 no, in Waterville, 183 yes to 58 no, and Winslow 122 yes to 62 no.

A majority vote for dissolution in any of the three member municipalities ends the AOS arrangement, AOS Superintendent Eric Haley said at Vassalboro’s March 6 public hearing in advance of the vote.

Haley explained to about 30 attendees that the change from an AOS to a proposed contracted-services arrangement will make little difference to Vassalboro students, school staff or residents.

The plan the school board is considering calls for Vassalboro to hire its own superintendent, perhaps a retiree or a superintendent shared with another school, to work the equivalent of one day a week for approximately $25,000 a year. One day a week is usually flexible, Haley said – the part-timer might divide eight or 10 hours among several days, as needed.

Central office functions like payroll and accounting, curriculum coordination, special education, transportation, buildings and grounds, student record-keeping and technology would continue to be done from Waterville or Winslow, with Vassalboro paying for its share of services based on the AOS cost-sharing formula.

That formula, Haley said, uses the three-year averages of the number of resident students and municipal valuation. It changes only slightly from year to year, and has worked well for the nine years of the AOS. Dissolving the AOS will have no effect on school choice, Haley said – “school choice won’t go away.”

Vassalboro Community School will have a new principal because Dianna Gram is retiring in June, not because of the AOS vote. School board members discussed hiring one person as principal and superintendent, but decided against it for several reasons, Haley said. For example, the dual role pits the principal-as-superintendent against his or her own teachers in contract negotiations, and it leaves no administrative avenue of appeal against a principal’s decision. School Board Chairman Kevin LeVasseur added that sometimes a second point of view is useful.

The AOS office projected that Vassalboro would save about $45,000 in central service charges by changing from AOS membership to contracted services. In addition, each member town will receive its share of the AOS’s undesignated fund, with Vassalboro getting almost $52,000 as a one-time payment.

The superintendent emphasized, however, that the central services budget is only a small part of the total school budget. School board members have begun budget review and will continue at their March 20 meeting; Vassalboro Budget Committee members will review the school board’s figures, and voters will make the final decision at the June 4 annual town meeting.

China Planners prep for comp plan update and possible proposed land use amendments

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by Mary Grow

China Planning Board members used their Feb. 27 meeting to continue preparations for updating China’s comprehensive plan and to work on possible amendments to the town’s land use ordinance.

An article in the warrant for the March 24 town business meeting asks voters to appropriate up to $22,000 from either unassigned fund balance (formerly called surplus) or the Tax Increment Financing fund, if appropriate, to develop and implement a revised town comprehensive plan. The money would be spent mostly for a professional consultant’s services.

The budget committee unanimously endorsed the expenditure.

China’s present plan is valid through the summer of 2020. Planning Board Chairman Tom Miragliuolo said at earlier meetings that an update is not required, but municipalities without valid plans are disadvantaged in various ways, including losing points on applications for state grants.

There are already a small number of applicants to serve on a new Comprehensive Planning Committee. Board members hope to recruit more at town meeting. Volunteers should call the town office.

Reviewing a section of the definitions in the land use ordinance, board members found that most seem satisfactory; a few clarifications were recommended.

Any changes in the ordinance will need voters’ approval. There are no proposed ordinance amendments on the March 24 meeting warrant.

The next regular planning board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday evening, March 13.