China select board continues prep work for June 11 town meeting

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by Mary Grow

At their March 25 meeting, China select board members continued preparations for the June 11 annual town business meeting. They scheduled a special meeting Monday evening, April 1, to review the town meeting warrant (if Brent Chesley, who was absent March 25, is able to attend); their regular meeting April 8 is the deadline for a final warrant.

As of March 25, the draft warrant includes three ordinance revisions: amendments to the Planning Board Ordinance; changes to chapters 2, 3, and 11 of the Land Development Code, prepared by town attorney Amanda Meader to meet new state affordable housing requirements; and a new solar ordinance that, if approved, will become chapter 8 of the Land Develop­ment Code.

As of March 25, the draft warrant includes three ordinance revisions: amendments to the Planning Board Ordinance; changes to chapters 2, 3, and 11 of the Land Development Code, prepared by town attorney Amanda Meader to meet new state affordable housing requirements; and a new solar ordinance that, if approved, will become chapter 8 of the Land Development Code.

In other business March 25, select board members awarded the bid for a new storage vault attached to the town office to the lower of two bidders, Ralph McNaughton Construction, of Corinna, Maine, for more than $267,000.

Sheldon Goodine, chairman of the building committee, reminded board members that the high price includes a lot of “mechanicals” to keep the addition lighted and heated.

Board chairman Wayne Chadwick commented that delaying a decision would not bring the price down. Goodine said the project has been under discussion for four years.

Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood said the town does not have $267,000 to spare at the moment. She and board members discussed funding sources, like the board’s voter-approved contingency fund; the town’s undesignated fund balance (informally called surplus); or perhaps, with voter approval on June 11, reallocated Tax Increment Financing (TIF) funds.

Board members authorized Hapgood to discuss with the McNaughton company reducing the cost by having China’s public works crew do some of the groundwork.

Hapgood warned board members of another large pending expenditure: the proposed 2024-25 Kennebec County budget would raise China’s county tax by 39 percent, an increase of $238,000.

The public hearing on the draft county budget was scheduled for Wednesday evening, March 27. Hapgood planned to attend; Chadwick said he would if he could.

Board members postponed action on two agenda items, a request from the Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office (KSO) to put an antenna on the radio tower at the China town office and a proposed easement over land at the Branch Mills dam.

Hapgood said attorneys were discussing liability issues that might come up if KSO shared the town’s tower. She proposed offering use of the tower for free, since expanding KSO’s range would be a public service. Chadwick and fellow board member Blane Casey, with the proposed county budget fresh in their minds, leaned toward asking for payment.

The manager said there were still unanswered questions about the proposed easement.

In addition to final action on the June 11 meeting warrant, Hapgood expects the April 8 meeting agenda to include a presentation on the town’s valuation from assessor William Van Tuinen.

A gathering year for the improbables (April Fool’s story 2024)

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by Mary Grow

Few humans understand that a year in which two digits in our current Gregorian calendar add up to a third digit – like 2024, because 2 +2 = 4 — is a Gathering Year for the Improbables.

The last such year was 2013 (2 + 1 = 3). The next will be 2035 (2 + 3 = 5).

No human understands what criteria the Improbables use to choose their gathering place. There have been many theories and surmises over the centuries; none has had predictive value.

It is clear, however, that this year the small town of China, Maine, has been honored.

The earliest sighting, in late January, was of a pair of unicorns just off Maple Ridge Road, near the Winslow town line. The person who saw them did not report the sighting until this week.

“I’d had a couple beers, and I thought I was seeing things, like white horses with branches somehow stuck on their heads,” he confessed. “Couple beers don’t usually bother me. Couple unicorns, now, that’s a different story.”

A strange Yeti-like creature captured by a game camera near China Lake with China Baptist Church in the background.

The first Himalayan Yeti (also called the Abominable Snowman) was photographed by a game camera at a home on the northeast side of China Lake, apparently sampling suet from a bird-feeder. Two nights later, he or she returned with two other adults and a youngster. The homeowners took down the feeders and the camera.

In Thurston Park in February, cameras put up to deter vandals spotted 11 Bigfeet (Sasquatches), probably Canadian, and 11 Yowies from Australia playing a game that seemed to be similar to cricket. A park volunteer who studied the film said the Yowies won by a substantial margin, despite being less accustomed to winter weather in Maine.

A Deer Hill resident swears the animal who loped across Deer Hill Road in front of her car late one night was a werewolf. “I watch lotsa horror movies; I know one of them things when I see it,” she explained.

The werewolf was heading west, she said – “probably going down to the river hopin’ to find runnin’ water so’s he could get a drink.”

As word of unusual appearances began to spread, more people came forward to tell their tales. They include:

— The bird-watcher who is convinced he saw a roc over Three Mile Pond – “No, it was definitely not a big eagle. Not even big eagles come that big.”
— The Weeks Mills woman who did not dial 911 when a dozen centaurs filed down her driveway. “I’m a part-time 911 dispatcher myself, and I know what I’d be thinkin’ if I got a call like that,” she explained.
— The South China resident who watched a troop of elves hold an archery contest in his yard. “Man, those little guys can shoot – right into the bulls-eye every time, and so fast you couldn’t hardly believe it,” he said admiringly.
— Two China Village residents who interrupted their morning jog to see why the ducks in the open water by the causeway were agitated: they watched Poco, the 50-foot-long water snake from Pocomoonshine Lake, in Washington County, welcoming Champ from Lake Champlain, in Vermont, and Nessie from Loch Ness, in Scotland.

If past Gatherings are a guide, the Improbables will meet and greet in China until April 1. That evening, they will return to their homes until April Fools Day 2035.

China planners approve solar farm on Windsor Rd.

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by Mary Grow

After a lightly attended March 12 public hearing, China planning board members approved Perennial Sand Pit Solar’s planned community solar farm in a gravel pit on the west side of Route 32 (Windsor Road) in southern China (see The Town Line, issues of Feb. 22, p. 3, and March 7, pp. 2 and 3).

Before the unanimous decision, board chairman Toni Wall read an email from abutting landowner David Orr opposing the project. Applicants Nick Lacasse, of Perennial Sand Pit Solar, in Hallowell, and Andrew Johnston, of Atlantic Resource Consultants, in Freeport, answered questions from board and audience members.

On another issue, Chris Harris attended the March 12 meeting to talk again about his proposed subdivision on the north side of Route 3. Board members found his application complete and scheduled a public hearing for their March 26 meeting.

The March 26 meeting will include another public hearing, on proposed changes to China’s Land Use Ordinance to incorporate relevant parts of the new state housing law, commonly called LD 2003. Wall commented that town attorney Amanda Meader “did a really nice job” revising the ordinance.

Codes officer Nicholas French explained that with voter approval, the ordinance will allow up to two more “dwelling units” on some lots with single-family houses. One of the new units must be inside or attached to the original building; the other can be separate.

Turning to the proposed solar ordinance, planning board members unanimously approved the only change recommended by select board members at their March 11 meeting. The result is deletion of the sentence requiring that solar energy systems with more than two acres of panels “be further buffered such that they are not visible year-round from public roads.”

Members of both boards agreed that the requirement would be impossible to meet in some places in town; and that because of other buffering requirements, it is unnecessary.

The March 26 planning board meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in the town office meeting room.

Vassalboro planners OK repairs to boathouse; two other applications postponed

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by Mary Grow

Vassalboro planning board members approved one of the three applications on their March 12 agenda and postponed the other two.

Approved were repairs to David Low’s boathouse at 8 Norton Road, in the shoreland zone on the southwest side of Webber Pond. It was damaged when a tree fell on it during a recent windstorm.

Elwin “Al” Gero, who is in charge of the repairs, explained plans to board members. Board chairman Virginia Brackett told Giroux he also needs a building permit from codes officer Jason Lorrain.

Mark L. Brown presented preliminary information on his plan to develop a remote campground on part of his property on Taber Hill Road. Board members and Brown discussed the beaver dam that has created a wetland on part of the property; the different state agencies whose regulations and standards are involved; and what documents Brown should submit for a local permit.

The third application was from Paula Stratton, to open a business at 913 Main Street, in North Vassalboro, in one of two buildings owned by Raymond Breton. Neither Stratton nor Breton was at the March 12 meeting, and board members found the application incomplete.

They tabled the application and asked Lorrain to ask the applicant to answer its questions in more detail.

Several retail businesses have been in and out of this building and its neighbor in recent years.

In other business, Lorrain said Tim and Heather Dutton’s permit to re-open the East Vassalboro store was issued Feb. 7, 2023. He was unsure how much progress the Duttons have made.

Brackett recommended he invite them to apply for a six-months extension (which can be followed by a second six months, if needed), to make sure the permit does not expire.

Board member Douglas Phillips shared the select board’s proposed amendments to Vassalboro’s Marijuana Business Ordinance. If the amendments are submitted to and approved by voters at the June town meeting, the planning board will have some responsibility for implementation, he said.

Board member Paul Mitnik proposed the board prepare a local ordinance to increase water quality protection in Vassalboro’s lakes. After others suggested possible methods, he offered to have a preliminary draft at the board’s April 2 meeting.

Windsor select board opens three sealed heat pump bids; postpones decision

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by The Town Line staff

At the February 27 meeting of the Windsor  Select Board, Ray Bates, Select Board Chairman, opened three sealed heat pump bids/RFPs. A bid was submitted by RJ Energy Services, Inc. The proposal included three options. A bid was submitted by C.B. Haskell Fuel Co. Inc.

The proposal included three options. A bid was submitted by Augusta Natural Gas. The written proposal included five options. The bids were reviewed. Discussions and questions were asked to John Ramsey representing RJ Energy and owner/operator of Augusta Natural Gas, Miles Hafner, both were present to answer questions about their induvial quotes as well as other questions the Select Board had. The select board discussed having reference checks done and having an opportunity to discuss the bids with the absent select board member prior to making the decision. William Appel Jr. made a motion to table making a final decision to do reference checks and discuss the bids with the fifth select board member, the select board will reconvene in two weeks to discuss more regarding heat pump bids, and possibly make a decision at that time seconded by Thomas McNaughton and approved 4-0-0.

Town Manager Theresa Haskell reviewed updates made to the transfer station brochure. The brochure and price changes were discussed at the November 21, 2023, select board meeting. A few of the changes include an increase in tire charges. Passenger car/light truck tires up to 20 inches are now $5 each. Truck Tires are now $25 each. skidder tires are now $100 each. TV Monitors, Laptops under 25 inches are now $12 each. TV monitors, laptops under 25 inches are now $25 each. The transfer station will now accept propane tanks up to 20 lbs. at a cost of $5 each and will accept propane tanks 21 . lbs – 100 lbs. at a cost of $25 each. Residents can see the new brochure posted on the website. The select board approved the changes 4-0, with select board member Andrew Ballantyne absent.

Darcy Aronson, a Windsor resident who owns land off Griffin Road asked the select board why they allowed her road to be named by another town resident without her knowledge. Aronson stated Windsor residents Chris and Johanna Oberg and Paul Bernier have a right-of-way through her land to their property. She explained she owns approximately 700 feet of the said Road that was recently named Landworks Lane. The road begins off Griffin Road and Aronson reported that she owns the beginning section of the road. The other residents only have a right-of-way. Chris Oberg spoke on behalf of himself, his wife, and his father-in-law Paul Bernier. They are the landowners that have the right-of-way through Darcy Aronson’s property.

Chris Oberg handed the select board a written layout to include mapping of what his plan could and would be pending a decision of the select board regarding the naming of the road. Chris Oberg made it known that he, his wife, and Paul were not aware that it was a problem to name the road. They began building their new home on the property and were told by the town that they had to give the road a name by Arthur Strout, Codes Enforcement Officer. They came up with several names and ultimately decided on Landworks Lane.

Arthur Strout, Codes Enforcement Officer, sat in on the discussion and he confirmed that he did let the Oberg’s know that the road did need to be named. After much discussion, all parties agreed they would have a discussion among themselves to try and come to an agreement. If more town involvement is needed, the residents will be in contact with the appropriate officials. The name of the road will stand at Landworks Lane for all purposes including the E-911 system at this time.

Moira Teekema, a resident of Windsor, spoke with the select board regarding cost and placement of road signage around the town. Discussion ensued about Amish carriage signs and the cost of the signs and where they could and should be placed. It was brought up that there were Amish carriage signs in the town of Whitefield donated. It was brought up in discussion by another resident in the audience that the speed limit should be reduced in a couple areas around town where here are sharp corners and blind drives. Theresa responded that speed limits are not something the town can control. Haskell noted speed limits are controlled by Department of Transportation. The D.O.T. increases and decreases speed limits as they deem necessary.

In other business, Haskell reported that Katie Yates, Program Manager, from Central Maine Power attended the meeting to discuss and answer any questions the select board may have regarding the agreement CMP has with the town of Windsor and surrounding towns to repair any damage done to the town’s roads while CMP is traveling on them to do their work while the towns have them posted. The roads that will be most used by CMP in the town of Windsor at this time are Vigue Rd., Doyle Rd., Divine Rd., Griffin Rd., Maxcy’s Mill Rd., and Baker Rd. The out-of-state contractor CMP is contracted with is Ironwood Heavy Highway LLC and M.J. Electric LLC. They would be responsible for repairing any damage done to the town’s roads per the agreement.

– Haskell noted Delta Ambulance was planning to attend the meeting. Delta contacted her to let her know they had to cancel. Delta will be placed on the agenda at a future date.
– Ray Bates shared parts of an email sent to him from State Representative Katrina Smith. Smith highlighted key points around Delta Ambulances’ finances and encouraged towns to ask Delta Ambulances to provide financial records moving forward.
– Haskell reported that Windsor will post on the website information regarding FEMA disaster assistance including a number to call with questions about disaster relief. The number is 1-800-621-3362. Haskell also added the Manchester Fire Department will be open for walk-ins Monday – Saturday 8 a.m.-6 p.m., if anyone has questions about the FEMA disaster assistance from the December 2023 storm.
– McNaughton reported that the IRS has extended the tax due date to June 17, 2024. The Internal Revenue Service announced tax relief for individuals and businesses in parts of Maine affected by severe storms and flooding that began on December 17, 2023. People can contact the IRS with questions.
– Haskell reported a vacancy for a Democratic Election Clerk. Kelly McGlothlin has asked to appoint Terry Bailey as Democratic Election Clerk effective through April 30, 2024. William Appel Jr. made a motion to appoint Terry Bailey as Democratic Election Clerk effective through April 30, 2024, seconded by Chester D. Barnes Jr. and approved 4-0-0.
– Haskell reported as of December 5, 2023, the E-911 assistant has changed and updated 45 addresses in the E-911 system. Greg Feltis is still working on address updates. This is very important for emergency services. Although this may be frustrating and a hardship for some residents if an address change is made, it is necessary for emergency services. He will continue fielding calls as any concerns about address changes come up.
– Haskell reported that civil papers have been served on the Ridge Road property. Next steps will be taken if necessary.
– Haskell reported the new fire truck has arrived at the Windsor Volunteer Fire Station.
– Haskell extended an invitation to the select board, on behalf of the Windsor Volunteer Department to their annual meeting on Saturday, April 6, 2024, at 5:30 p.m. The meeting will include dinner for the select board members and a guest who chooses to attend. The select board is to let Haskell know as soon as possible.
– Chester D. Barnes Jr. made a motion to increase Timothy Coston’s hourly wage and overtime wage to be what the Public Works Road Supervisor’s wage is as he is now handling the supervisory role while the supervisor is out.

Animal Control Officer Ryan Carver reported he has contacted all but about ten people on his door-to-door list for unregistered dogs. If the residents that have received their 10-day notice do not get their dogs registered, they will receive the 14-day notice and after that they will be issued a summons for keeping an unregistered dog.

The next meeting of the select board was scheduled for March 12.

Northern Light Inland Hospital welcomes new members to board of trustees

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Northern Light Inland Hospital is pleased to welcome the following community members to the Waterville hospital’s board of trustees.

Kelly Huggins, CPA, MBA, from Belgrade, is a certified public accountant and Tax director at One River CPAs in Oakland and has held similar positions in tax accounting since 2011. She earned her Master of Business Administration and Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Thomas College. Huggins is also a board member with Waterville Creates!. She enjoys kayaking around the Belgrade Lakes region with her family.

Bert Languet, CFP, MBA, lives in Belgrade Lakes and has been a certified financial planner with Golden Pond Wealth Management, in Waterville, for 28 years. Languet is president of the Belgrade Lakes Association, Class of 1988 gift chairman for Colby College, is a co-founder of the Maine Pond Hockey Classic. He is past president of the Augusta Kiwanis Club and has served on many local boards. He received his MBA from Thomas College and his BA from Colby College, both in Waterville.

Tonya Philbrick-Labbe is from Sidney. After retiring from the State of Maine Department of Health and Human Services, she started a second career as a product owner for Gainwell Technologies. She is a valued thought leader in Child and Family Services. Philbrick-Labbe received her associate degree from Mid-State College in Applied Science and a BS in Business Management from Thomas College, in Waterville. She is the treasurer, membership chairman, and grant writer for the Sidney Trail Riders Snowmobile Club.

Katie Spencer White, from Brunswick, serves as the president and CEO of the Mid-Maine Homeless Shelter and Services and was appointed by Governor Janet Mills to serve on the Maine Statewide Homeless Council. Prior to her work in nonprofits, she was a lawyer in the United Kingdom (UK)where she focused on the higher education, healthcare, and charities sectors. She holds a BA in Women’s Studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz; Postgraduate Diplomas in English Law and Legal Practice from the University of Law (UK) and Staffordshire University (UK); and a Master of Science in Nonprofit Management, as well as a Doctorate in Law and Policy, both from Northeastern University, in Boston, Massachusetts. Spencer White and her family enjoy visiting the coast and trails of Maine.

Catherine Kimball, DO, continues her almost 25-year board membership with Inland. She is a retired family medicine physician with Northern Light Primary Care in Waterville. Kimball was a beloved local doctor throughout her nearly 40-year healthcare career; also serving as chief of staff of Inland Hospital for more than 20 years. Kimball, from Waterville, was president of the American Academy of Osteopathy and as a national and local leader, helped strengthen and promote osteopathic care and Inland Hospital for decades. She is an avid knitter.

Select board gets 2024-25 budget ready for budget committee review

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by Mary Grow

Vassalboro select board members spent most of their March 7 meeting continuing to discuss the 2024-25 town budget, getting it in shape for budget committee review.

The Vassalboro Budget Committee is scheduled to meet Tuesday evening, March 19, Town Manager Aaron Miller said.

Select board members suggested a few more changes. They and Miller still await answers to some of the questions raised at earlier meetings, like an opinion from the town’s auditor on how some money can be rearranged (see the March 7 issue of The Town Line, p. 3).

Road work for next year was again a major topic. Public works department staff provided information on needs for equipment, paving and other work and discussed preferred ways to meet them.

Vassalboro nomination papers available

by Mary Grow

Nomination papers for Vassalboro elective officials are now available at the town office.

Two positions are open this year: Christopher French’s term on the select board and Jolene Clark Gamage’s term on the school board end. Town Clerk Cathy Coyne said as of March 11, both French and Gamage were circulating nomination papers for re-election, and Burton Miller was circulating papers for the select board position.

Members of each board serve three-year terms.

Signed papers must be returned to the town office by 5 p.m. Tuesday, April 16, with 25 signatures of registered Vassalboro voters, for candidates’ names to appear on the June 11 ballot.

The draft municipal government budget after the March 7 meeting, plus Miller’s estimate of the Kennebec County tax, totals $3.872 million, an increase of more than $300,000 over the current year.

In other business March 7, select board members approved spending up to $6,000 from unappropriated ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) money to finish paying for two additional heat pumps at the town-owned former East Vassalboro school building, now the Vassalboro Historical Society headquarters and museum.

Miller and board member Frederick “Rick” Denico, Jr., said they are still waiting for information on what, if anything, can be done to help Vassalboro Sanitary District (VSD) customers as they face another rate increase April 1.

Miller has been consulting the town’s attorney. Denico said Laurie A. Stevens, northern New England regional director for RCAP Solutions, submitted a report and recommendations, but he awaits answers to follow-up questions.

Stevens attended a discussion on the problem in December 2023, where she explained that her organization helps small towns with water and wastewater needs. RCAP Solutions is federally funded, so neither VSD nor the town is charged for services.

“Still in a holding pattern, unfortunately,” Miller summarized.

Board members postponed discussion of the town’s personnel policy to their March 21 meeting. Miller said staff members have given him suggestions for changes.

The March 21 meeting will include a public hearing on revisions to Vassalboro’s Marijuana Business Ordinance.

Budget committee agrees with select board on budget items except one

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by Mary Grow

Five of the seven China Budget Committee members met March 5 and reviewed the select board’s 2024-25 municipal budget recommendations, agreeing with all but one (see the March 7 issue of The Town Line, p. 3).

The $3,000 issue over which the two boards differ is a donation to The Town Line newspaper, one item in the $77,000 request for community support organizations.

At the March 4 select board meeting, board chairman Wayne Chadwick and member Blane Casey objected to China taxpayers supporting the newspaper when no other town contributes. Brent Chesley added that China provides office space in the basement of the old town house and pays for advertisements (of public hearings, for example).

Joann Austin, a member of the paper’s board of directors, replied that efforts to get contributions from nearby towns have never succeeded. Select board member Jeanne Marquis reminded board members they are required to advertise hearings, and any alternative might be more expensive; and said having the old town house used regularly is a benefit.

Chadwick’s motion to delete the $3,000 was approved on a 3-2 vote, with Casey, Chadwick and Chesley in favor and Marquis and Janet Preston opposed. A revised recommendation of $74,000 for community support organizations went to the budget committee on a 4-1 vote, with Marquis opposed.

The main discussion at the March 5 budget committee meeting was not over whether to support The Town Line, but where funds should come from. Committee chairman Thomas Rumpf advised Austin to apply for TIF (Tax Increment Financing) money.

After consideration of timing and whether to recommend an appropriation only if TIF money was not available, budget committee members voted 4-1 to recommend adding $3,000 for the newspaper back into the community support organizations budget. The majority consisted of Rumpf, Timothy Basham, Elizabeth Curtis and Trishea Story; Michael Sullivan was opposed.

Other items in this account include support for historic buildings and grants to the China Lake Association, China Rescue, the three volunteer fire departments, the two libraries and the Golden Agers group that meets weekly in the former portable classroom behind the town office.

Sullivan also voted against the recommendation of $84,220 for town boards and committee. Votes to approve the rest of the select board’s recommended budget were unanimous except when a budget committee member abstained to avoid a possible conflict of interest.

As of March 5, Hapgood calculated the select board’s recommended 2024-25 municipal budget at a little over $4.8 million, almost $160,000 less than the department requests submitted and over $360,000 more than the comparable figure for the current fiscal year.

The budget committee could not review the 2024-25 Kennebec County tax or the school budget request, because Hapgood had no figure for either.

Before the meeting adjourned, Rumpf pointed out that the town’s Budget Committee Ordinance (adopted in 2006, and referring to the latest known previous version approved in 1947) is out of date.

Select board discusses a wide variety of topics

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by Mary Grow

China select board members discussed a wide variety of topics at their March 11 meeting and made three decisions (in addition to the routine ones, like approving expenditures).

Without dissenting votes, board members:

— Agreed to apply for a Community Resilience Grant to be used for a new trail in Thurston Park;
— Accepted proposed draft ordinances for forwarding to voters in June, conditional on planning board approval when that board met March 12; and
— Accepted the revised 54-page Emergency Preparedness Plan presented by the Emergency Preparedness Committee.

Emergency Preparedness Committee chairman Ronald Morrell and member Stephen Nichols presented the emergency plan. As part of implementation, Morrell said, committee members are arranging for China firefighters and rescue members to tour facilities like the Friends Camp on Lakeview Drive.

The China schools have their own emergency plans, coordinated with the town plan, Morrell said.

The preliminary warrant for the June 11 town business meeting includes the repeatedly-discussed Solar Ordinance; amendments to Chapter 2 of China’s Land Use Ordinance, drafted by town attorney Amanda Meader to implement the 2022 state housing law known as LD 2003; and amendments to the Planning Board Ordinance.

Select board members did not put the warrant in final form. Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood said she might have a final version ready for action at the March 25 board meeting.

Hapgood advised planning board chairman Toni Wall that, according to Meader, the planning board should hold a public hearing on the additions to Chapter 2 of the Land Use Ordinance, but not on the other two items. That hearing is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday evening, March 26.

All proposed warrant articles must be submitted to the town office by Friday, April 12, Hapgood said. The select board will hold a public hearing on the entire warrant; that hearing is not yet scheduled.

Board member Janet Preston, who represents the board to the Kennebec Valley Council of Governments (KVCOG) shared again results of a 2023 survey of China residents’ priorities for a Community Resilience Grant.

Board members said the China Lake Association already has grant money for the top priority, erosion control at the South China board landing. They were unenthusiastic about the second priority, providing transportation for senior citizens (Preston suggested buying an electric car and hiring a driver).

The third priority was building a planned new trail in Thurston Park, the town-owned recreation area in northeastern China. Board members voted to apply to KVCOG for a grant for that project.

Board chairman Wayne Chadwick, seconded by Brent Chesley, had one objection to the whole process: they wish grants would help fund maintenance of existing facilities, instead of providing new ones for local taxpayers to maintain.

“You got to look at the whole picture, not just the initial cost,” Chadwick summarized.

In other business March 11, Morrell told select board members boat trailers parked at the east end of the causeway by the boat landing hang out into the roadway, sometimes interfering with traffic.

At the west end of the causeway, he said, boaters park in the church parking lot, especially during bass tournaments on China Lake. They are welcome, except on Sunday mornings and when the church is hosting a wedding or other event.

Morrell would like a system to make people aware they are using church property, and with tournaments to require advance notice. Select board members could see no way the town could help, but they offered individual suggestions, from posting signs to arranging to have vehicles towed away.

Hapgood said public services director Shawn Reed hopes the public works crew will have time to put in the docks at the boat landing by April.

The manager listed dates to remember: a select board meeting at 6 p.m. Monday, March 25; a road committee meeting at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, March 26; a planning board meeting at 6:30 p.m. March 26; a board of appeals meeting at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, March 28; and the second half of 2023-24 property taxes due by the close of business at 4:30 p.m. Friday, March 29.

Albert Church Brown library receives handicapped access grant

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Albert Church Brown Memorial Library in China Village.

by Mary Grow

The China Library Association (CLA) has received a $10,000 grant to improve handicapped access at the Albert Church Brown Memorial Library in China Village.

Librarian, Miranda Perkins, and CLA president, Louisa Barnhart, shared the news early in March.

The grant is from the American Library Association (ALA), under a program called Libraries Transforming Communities (LTC): Accessible Small and Rural Communities.

The goal is to “begin or continue projects that will improve library access for thousands of library users,” a March 4 ALA letter says. Typical projects make it easier for residents with physical or intellectual disabilities to use library services.

Gerry Boyle, speaking for the CLA’s building committee, said the money will support the trustees’ handicapped access plan, which starts with “a symmetrical handrail and half wall to the front of the building,” connecting to a platform in front of the front door, level with the floor inside.

There will be a ramp, built to Americans with Disabilities standards, on the south side of the platform and steps on the north side. “An electric door is on the wish list,” Boyle added.

Interior renovations are to include widening doors to allow wheelchair access and, in the future, a handicapped-accessible bathroom and an emergency exit with a ramp, tentatively from the south side of the ground floor.

Barnhart credited assistant librarian, Karel McKay, with helping the trustees investigate grant possibilities. McKay, Barnhart and CLA treasurer Thomas Parent developed the application; Barnhart is the grant administrator.

“We are delighted everyone will be able to access community and library services,” Barnhart said.

According to the March 4 ALA letter, the grant was part of $3.6 million the organization awarded to 310 small and rural libraries in 45 US states. The letter said 62 percent of the libraries receiving grants serve communities of fewer than 5,000 people.

Fifteen other small Maine libraries, scattered all over the state, received grants similar to China’s. This was the second round of these grants; a third round opens in the fall.