Codes apprentice position to be re-advertised

by Mary Grow

At a brief Dec. 21 meeting, China selectmen agreed unanimously to re-advertise the position of codes enforcement apprentice, offering more hours, to try to attract more candidates.

Town Manager Dennis Heath told board members the original search for a person to work limited hours at a comparatively low rate brought four applications. The two people he considered best qualified declined the position; Heath concluded the town was proposing “too many constraints to get quality.”

He recommended, and selectmen approved, offering a 24-hour-a-week position, which would qualify the new person for benefits, with hours likely to increase with the new fiscal year beginning July 1, 2019. Selectmen agreed to let Heath negotiate a pay rate.

Heath said current codes officer Paul Mitnik intends to retire at the end of calendar year 2019. The new person is expected to acquire the necessary certifications to succeed him.

In the only other business Dec. 21, selectmen decided not to buy an extended warranty on the town’s new Ventrac tractor.

The next regular China selectmen’s meeting is currently scheduled for Monday evening, Jan. 7, 2019. Heath said he intends to have a draft 2019-2020 budget ready for review.

Final farewell to Killdeer Lodge

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)

Planners to send proposed land use revision to selectmen

by Mary Grow

The three China Planning Board members present at the Dec. 11 board meeting voted unanimously to forward proposed revisions to the town’s Land Development Code to selectmen and to recommend selectmen put the revisions on the warrant for the March 2019 town business meeting.

Planners need more time to work on two other sets of changes that might also be presented to voters in March, amendments to shoreland zoning standards to bring town requirements into conformity with state standards and revisions to the list of definitions in the Land Development Code.

Codes Enforcement Officer Paul Mitnik recommended the Land Development Code changes primarily to eliminate inconsistencies between different sections. The proposed amendments to definitions, too, are primarily to make them consistent and clear.

Board members asked Mitnik to draft language for revising the shoreland guidelines. They discussed draft definition changes, approving some and postponing final action on others.

Board members intend to hold a public hearing next year to explain any changes that will appear on the town meeting warrant.

Because the next regular planning board meeting date was Dec. 25, board members skipped it and scheduled their next meeting for Jan. 8, 2019.

Windsor town office to close early on Christmas Eve

The Windsor Town Office will be open at 9 a.m. on Monday, December 24, but will close early, at 12:30 p.m., in observance of the Christmas holiday. The town office will be closed Tuesday, December 25, and Wednesday, December 26, and reopen on Thursday, December 27, at 9 a.m.

The transfer station will be open 3 – 8 p.m., on Wednesday, December 26.

Holiday hours at China Town Office

The China Town Office will be closed Monday, December 24, and Tuesday, December 25, in observance of the Christmas holiday. The office will be closing at noon on Monday, December 31, and will be closed on Tuesday, January 1, 2019.

The transfer station will be closed Christmas day and New Year’s day.

Police chief’s job description finally approved

by Mary Grow

At their Dec. 6 meeting, Vassalboro selectmen finally approved the police chief’s job description they have been revising for the last couple months, with one final revision.

They also approved Town Manager Mary Sabins’ plan for a town staff pre-Christmas party.

Otherwise, they continued discussion of ongoing items, like emergency services dispatching, the role of the Budget Committee and potential solar power development and added a new – and expensive – topic, the Public Works Department’s aged grader and other needs.

The dispatching issue matters to emergency services in most Kennebec County municipalities because of proposed changes at the county and state level. Sabins expected to have more information for the selectmen’s Dec. 20 meeting, after a Kennebec County Commissioners’ meeting and a county town managers’ meeting at which she hopes the issue will be discussed.

At previous meetings, selectmen have been given preliminary information suggesting that in 2019-20 the cost of dispatching fire, rescue and police services could double, from about $30,000 a year to about $60,000 a year.

Public Works Foreman Eugene Field told selectmen the town’s 1991 grader needs a major repair that will cost around $23,000, plus $1,400 trucking to the repair shop, and should have another $5,000 to $10,000 worth of minor repairs while it’s being worked on.

A new grader would cost around $240,000, he said, a used one from $50,000 up, rental a little over $3,000 a week if a rental grader were available when the town crew needed it. Field and crew members use the grader for unpaved roads spring and fall, and it serves as a back-up for the plow trucks in case one breaks down.

Field also warned selectmen two large culverts need major work, either replacement or repair.

The discussion ended with selectmen commenting that Fields’ problems are even more expensive than the dispatching services they’ve been worrying about.

Budget Committee Chairman Rick Denico asked how that committee’s role is defined, pointing out that last year’s pre-town-meeting discussions strayed into policy issues, like considering whether to abolish the local police department rather than merely how much it should cost.

Vassalboro residents apparently established the committee many years ago without a job description or other rules, Sabins said.

Board member John Melrose has been looking into the possibility of installing solar panels on the roof of the Riverside Fire Station. He said he received one proposal that afternoon.

Melrose suggested selectmen ask town meeting voters for authorization to proceed with exploring the topic. If voters approve, he wants to look into more than one option, as competition appears to be developing.

The next regular Vassalboro selectmen’s meeting is scheduled for Thursday evening, Dec. 20.

Selectmen vote to not appeal decision on property

by Mary Grow

The four China selectmen at a Dec. 5 special meeting voted unanimously not to appeal a legal decision involving a property on Three Mile Pond.

Town office staff foreclosed on the property because of unpaid 2015 taxes. Owner Stacey O’Connor filed suit claiming she was not properly notified of the impending foreclosure. Kennebec County Superior Court Justice William Stokes upheld her position.

Town Manager Dennis Heath explained to selectmen that initial notices went to an address in Maine. After O’Connor notified the town that she now lives in Arizona, a subsequent notice was sent by certified mail to her Arizona address and was returned unclaimed. Office staff therefore used the Maine address for the final notice; it too was returned to the town.

Town Clerk Rebecca Hapgood testified at an earlier hearing that she also sent two notices to the Arizona address by regular mail. Neither was returned to the town. In her experience, Hapgood said, people are more likely to pick up regular mail for which they do not have to sign.

Justice Stokes, citing Maine Law Court decisions, ruled that the town should have used certified mail sent to the Arizona address, even though it appeared not to have worked, in order to satisfy legal requirements for foreclosure with the strictness required by law.

Town office staff acted in good faith, Stokes wrote. But state statute requires strict compliance, and strict compliance meant sending a notice to the last known address – Arizona – by certified mail. He therefore voided the foreclosure.

Heath said the law does not require proof that a notice was received, but merely evidence that it was sent in proper form. Henceforth, he said, town office staff will follow the form.

The manager said O’Connor will be given 30 days to redeem the property by paying 2015 taxes and charges.

Selectman Ronald Breton interrupted discussion of the O’Connor case to ask whether it was proper for board Chairman Robert MacFarland, who was absent, to have appointed Jeffrey LaVerdiere acting chairman. The board responded by electing LaVerdiere chairman for the meeting.

Since then Breton has proposed creating a selectmen’s ordinance that would cover issues like choice of a temporary chairman. Board members voted unanimously after the November election that Robert’s Rules of Order will govern their proceedings.

Selectmen adopt mailbox policy; ask for opt out on business equipment tax

by Mary Grow

China selectmen made numerous decisions as they went through a long and varied agenda at their Dec. 10 meeting, and still have topics left over for future discussion.

They unanimously adopted the mailbox policy discussed at their Nov. 26 meeting, which sets standards for placing mailboxes along state and town roads and says that if a plow truck damages a mailbox, the owner, not the town, is responsible (see this article from Nov. 29).

They unanimously approved Town Manager Dennis Heath’s wording of a resolution to the Maine legislature asking that municipalities be allowed to opt out of collecting personal property taxes on business equipment, an action authorized by voters in November (see this article from Nov. 8).

Heath’s request emphasized the personal property tax as a disincentive to business in Maine and urged legislators to promote business by amending state law to make collecting it optional.

Selectmen appointed Rebecca Hapgood to two positions that she already fills, human resources director for an indefinite term and registrar of voters for two years beginning Jan. 1, 2019.

They approved hiring Dawn Kilgore, of Sidney, as secretary to the planning board and board of appeals. Heath said Tracy Cunningham, who has been the frequently-commended planning board secretary, is resigning the position.

Selectmen reviewed Heath’s rankings of four candidates for the new position of apprentice to the codes officer and authorized him to offer the position to the highest-ranked.

The apprentice will work 18 hours a week, Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, at a pay rate of $15 an hour, and will be on probation for the first six months, Heath said. When the idea of an apprentice was proposed, he or she was seen as a potential successor to Codes Officer Paul Mitnik when Mitnik is ready to retire.

Heath wants to replace the current across-the-board annual raises for town employees with merit raises and bonuses. As a step in that direction, he asked for and received selectmen’s approval for $2,400 in holiday bonuses.

The manager is also revising China’s personnel policy, with input from town employees. Selectmen scheduled a special workshop meeting on the policy changes, which need their approval, for 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 27.

Another change Heath recommended was sending his draft of the 2019-2020 budget to the budget committee by mid-January and having the budget committee forward it to selectmen, instead of starting with the selectmen as in past years. After discussion of the reversal and of the pre-March-town-meeting timetable, Selectman Jeffrey LaVerdiere suggested, and his colleagues and Heath agreed, that the two boards should review the proposed budget simultaneously and hope they reach the same recommendations.

The next regular China selectmen’s meeting is currently scheduled for 5:30 p.m., Friday, Dec. 21, because it would normally have fallen on Christmas Eve. By then Heath hopes to have more information on the extended warranty on the public works department’s new Ventrac tractor, which public works head Gary Cummings expects will be delivered before Christmas.

Fiberight recycling plant set to go online in April

Construction on the new recycling facility from earlier this year. (photo from fiberight.com)

by Eric W. Austin

For those towns waiting for the new Fiberight recycling facility in Hampden to come online, the end is nearly in sight. At an October 24 meeting with the Municipal Review Committee (MRC) Board of Directors, Fiberight CEO Craig Stuart-Paul presented a new construction schedule for the Material Recovery Facility that sees it opening in early April, nearly a year later than the original estimates.

“We’ve now issued a revised construction schedule that shows completion of construction by March 31,” said Stuart-Paul to the MRC Board in Brewer. “We’ve provided an on-boarding plan to the MRC which shows some amount of waste on a start-stop basis coming in by the end of January, probably single stream,” he explained. “Because our ramp-up plan is parallel to the construction, we’ll start our commissioning plan as certain parts of the site are handed over to us. Our hope, then, is in April to be able to accept waste on a continuous, ongoing basis.”

The $69 million project, first conceived of in July 2016, has faced numerous delays, most notably after last year’s windstorm which set construction back for months.

Irene Belanger, China selectman and member of the MRC Board of Directors, when asked about the likelihood that the new April date would be met, said, “I am very confident in the Fiberight/Coastal plant. The company has its financing all set and approved. There is a new construction company working 24 hours a day to catchup after several delays.”

Although the plant should be operating at full capacity by April 2019, Belanger added, “As with any big project like this, the startup could have some glitches that would need fine-tuning, so the first towns to send their items will be towns nearest the facility.”

Town likely to adopt new mailbox policy

by Mary Grow

CHINA — Mailbox owners, take heed: China selectmen are likely to approve a mailbox policy at their Dec. 10 meeting that says the town has no responsibility for mailboxes damaged by snowplows, even if the box is installed according to the recommendations in the policy.

Town Manager Dennis Heath emailed a copy of the proposed policy from the state Department of Transportation to board members before their Nov. 26 meeting, but since not everyone had time to read and consider it, a decision was postponed.

The policy includes suggestions for proper mailbox installation, a process that needs to meet postal service and Americans with Disabilities Act requirements. It has two warnings, in addition to the statement that the owner is responsible if the box is damaged:

  • If a box is not installed according to highway department standards and a snowplow is damaged or a driver injured, the box owner might be held responsible; and
  • If a box is embedded in concrete or otherwise made immovable, it can be considered a Deadly Fixed Object. The owner can be asked to redo the installation; if the request is refused, the state transportation department can remove it and bill the owner for the cost.

In addition to the proposed mailbox policy, discussion at the Nov. 26 meeting covered a range of topics, including Regional School Unit (RSU) meetings, transfer station services and local policing.

Neil Farrington, one of China’s two representatives on the RSU #18 board of directors, encouraged selectmen to start attending RSU meetings to find out first-hand what the school department is doing and how its annual budget is determined. The next meeting is at 6 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 29, at Messalonskee Middle School. Heath and at least two selectmen indicated they plan to be there.

Heath said China will not participate in the annual household hazardous waste disposal program in Winslow for the next two years. This fall only eight residents signed up, making the cost per person too high.

Selectboard Chairman Robert MacFarland wants the sand bin at the transfer station from which residents are allowed to take up to two buckets of sand at a time more accessible. Transfer station employee Shawn Reed and others said if the bin is outside the gate, people take pick-up loads rather than bucket-loads.

Selectman Ronald Breton recommended bringing the issue to the Transfer Station Committee, scheduled to meet Nov. 27, before selectmen continue discussion.

Oakland and China police officer Tracey Frost reported November had been a more normal month, after a lot of calls in September and October. He and fellow officers are checking summer camps, if owners left a request and if the camps are accessible, and will check people’s homes on request when homeowners take a winter vacation.

The town manager said he is already working on China’s 2019-2020 municipal budget and hopes to have a draft ready by early January.

He reported that the new causeway bridge is open to traffic. He and Selectman Donna Mills-Stevens emphasized that the entire project is not done; phase two will extend the lakeside walkway.

After the regular meeting, selectmen reviewed Heath’s job performance for the first six months in executive session. The result was satisfactory, and they voted afterward on his compensation package.

The next regular China selectmen’s meeting is currently scheduled for Monday evening, Dec. 10.