Waterville-Winslow Ticonic Bridge Construction Look Ahead

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Lane Closures:

The bridge will be closed from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m., from Sunday, November 19 -Thursday, November 23, for work requiring access to the entire bridge. During this time, all vehicles will be required to follow the posted detour route. Message boards will be used to warn drivers. Pedestrians should continue to utilize the posted detour route during these times.

Thursday, November 23, not a definite for closure 7 p.m. – 6 a.m. Announcement will be made as the date gets closer.

Drivers are encouraged to proceed cautiously, observe signage in the work zone, and obey reduced work zone speed limits.

URGENT SAFETY REMINDER:

It is unlawful and unsafe to traverse the river via the rail bridge. Pedestrians have been observed doing so and are reminded of the dangers of such activity. Pedestrians must utilize the Two Cent Bridge for foot traffic.

China election results (November 2023)

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The unofficial returns from the November 7, 2023, municipal election for the town of China are as follows:

For select board: Chadwick = 931, Marquis = 810.

Planning board: District 3/ Mather = 996, Alternate At Large/Tripodi = 978

Budget Committee: Chairman/Rumpf = 1,037, District 1/Maroon = 1,062.

All races were uncontested.

All write in positions will be determined later in the week.

The China election saw a turnout of 1,303 voters.

Maine delegation announces $38M in LIHEAP funding for Maine

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Susan Collins

U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King and U.S. Representatives Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden announced that Maine has been awarded more than $38 million in funding for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance program (LIHEAP) in 2024.

Angus King

“Over 45,000 Maine households rely on LIHEAP to stay safe and warm during the winter,” said the Maine Delegation. “With home heating prices set to remain at near record levels in the coming months, it’s essential that this assistance continues to get to the families that need it most. Securing these resources has been a shared priority, and we remain committed to that mission so hard-working Maine families have one less thing to worry about as temperatures drop.”

Alongside $36 million in regular block grant appropriations, over $600,000 of the FY 2024 funding will come from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that the delegation championed and that Senator Collins negotiated with 9 of her colleagues.

Last year, Senator Collins and Representative Golden successfully led efforts to secure a total of $6.1 billion for LIHEAP in FY 2023.

Nationwide, an estimated 6 million households receive assistance with heating and cooling costs through LIHEAP, including over 45,000 Maine households. LIHEAP is administered by states and accessed through local Community Action Agencies. Eligibility for LIHEAP is based on income, family size, and the availability of resources.

VASSALBORO: Only two members present causes postponements

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by Mary Grow

With only two of three members present at their Nov. 2 meeting, Vassalboro select board members postponed action on several items; but they could not postpone the request to close the transfer station on Saturday, Nov. 11.

Because Veterans’ Day falls on a Saturday this year, state departments and agencies, municipalities and schools are mostly observing the holiday on Friday, Nov. 10. Vassalboro’s transfer station is not open on Fridays.

Station manager George Hamar, who is a veteran, asked for Saturday off. Select board members had two concerns: how to notify residents on short notice and how to reconcile the closing with the personnel handbook.

After almost 20 minutes’ discussion, chairman Chris French and Frederick “Rick” Denico, Jr., voted to close the transfer station on Saturday, Nov. 11, and in the future to adjust the personnel policy to accommodate such circumstances.

The transfer station will be open as usual from 6:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 12.

Continuing the experiments with ways to make select board meetings accessible to more residents, Michael Picher and David Trask recorded the Nov. 2 meeting, using Picher’s camera and Trask’s laptops that the two are willing to give to the town.

Town manager Aaron Miller listed additional equipment that would be needed if the Picher-Trask system replaced the one Laura Jones used for previous meetings. He plans to buy it with American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds.

Trask praised Jones’ work, and Jones said she is ready to hand over the job. French and Denico authorized Miller to spend up to $4,000 in ARPA funds.

A very much more expensive project, replacement of the Dunlap bridge over Seven Mile Stream, on Mill Hill Road, in southwestern Vassalboro, was discussed at length by officials, engineer and Vassalboro resident James Foster and audience members. Foster, a consultant to the state Department of Transportation (DOT), explained the problem and possible solutions.

Dunlap bridge is a town responsibility, Foster said. It consists of a large double culvert, which DOT inspectors found has deteriorated significantly.

Foster said a DOT posting committee will review the bridge report and, he expects, decide to post the bridge (limit the weight of vehicles using it), probably before the end of the year. The weight limit could be as high as 22 tons or as low as three tons, he said.

Meeting participants said there are three houses and a gravel pit beyond the bridge, before Mill Hill Road dead-ends. Foster said a posted bridge allows no exceptions; if a fuel truck, an ambulance or a fire truck is heavier than the weight limit, it cannot be driven across the bridge.

And, he added, the replacement project would need to include a temporary bridge, an additional expense. He gave no firm figures, but he and others cited other bridge projects in Vassalboro that cost up to $2.5 million.

Foster recommended board members appoint a committee to study options for a replacement, costs and possible funding sources.

Agenda items postponed were review of the personnel handbook; review of the recreation committee’s bylaws; and action on a proposal from Waterville officials to improve Vassalboro communications as they expand Waterville’s equipment on a Cook Hill radio tower.

Miller shared a letter from Vassalboro school superintendent Alan Pfeiffer thanking officials for allowing police chief Mark Brown to be at Vassalboro Community School for the beginning and end of school hours the week after the Lewiston shooting.

The next regular Vassalboro select board meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 16.

China select board to continue looking at South China boat landing

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by Mary Grow

After another 70 minutes’ discussion of the South China boat landing at their Nov. 6 meeting, China select board members again kicked the issue down the road (see The Town Line, May 25, p. 3; Aug. 3, p. 3; Oct 26, p. 2). This time, they added a road map.

On a 4-1 vote, with Janet Preston dissenting, board members approved a motion saying they, in cooperation with the China Lake Association, will continue investigating the town landing and will maintain it as a public boat launch, with improvements; if parking along the road contributes to erosion, they will ban parking; and they will adopt an advisory size limit on boats to be launched there.

The main issue with the landing is erosion into China Lake from Town Landing Road that leads to the lake. The road is gravel, the town-owned strip of land is not very wide and there has been inadequate ditching and other run-off diversion for many years.

Discussions have covered the value of a minimizing run-off into China Lake, which is a major contributor to area recreation and to China’s economy; neighbors’ concerns about traffic; the lack of room to park on the town property and of convenient other parking spaces; maintaining lake access for residents who do not own lakefront property and have used the South China landing for years; and providing access to a water source for volunteer firefighters and to the warden service for ice rescues.

Preston started the Nov. 6 discussion by presenting a summary of reasons to limit the landing to carry-in only, meaning people could launch only kayaks and canoes and vehicle traffic would be lessened.

Board chairman Wayne Chadwick and members Brent Chesley and Blane Casey disagreed with Preston, citing reasons to continue to keep the landing open to motorboats. Jeanne Marquis sided with Preston.

Chadwick invited audience members, present in person or virtually, to join the discussion, and several did.

The two sides disagreed over how large the boats are that currently use the South China landing and how congested China Lake’s other two landings are (that is, how much people currently using the South China landing would be inconvenienced by longer drives and longer waits).

There was agreement that run-off controls are needed, bolstered by opinions from two engineers. Town manager Rebecca Hapgood said the town had paid for a boundary survey of the town property, but the engineers had not cost taxpayers money.

There was also agreement that the landing should continue to be unpublicized. Opinion leaned toward paving the road, with appropriate slopes and diversions to prevent water from shooting down the pavement into the lake. A paved road would need less maintenance, several people said.

Select board members and China Lake Association representatives praised the past cooperation between the two groups and expressed willingness to continue to work together. After the vote, Hapgood said she will help organize their cooperation.

The Nov. 6 meeting began with two executive sessions with town attorney Amanda Meader. After the first one, select board members voted unanimously to direct her to draft a notice to Palermo town officials of China’s intention to end the two towns’ agreement letting Palermo residents use China’s transfer station (see The Town Line, Aug. 17, p. 3; Sept. 21, p. 3; and Oct. 26, p. 2).

After the second executive session, board members voted unanimously to reduce the fine for land use ordinance violations by Farmingdale construction company BHS, Inc., from $5,000 to $500.

In other business Nov. 6:

  • Emergency management committee chairman Ronald Morrell and emergency management director Stephen Nichols presented copies of a 47-page emergency management plan the committee has worked on for years. They requested a discussion after board members have reviewed it.
  • Board members unanimously approved three equipment requests for the public works department and the transfer station, authorizing $2,114 for plow equipment, $11,930 for a new waste oil burner and $12,895 for a new demo (demolition debris) can (50-yard metal container). Hapgood said money will come from the respective capital reserve accounts.

Because the meeting ran longer than usual, two agenda items were postponed, a report from Delta Ambulance and Chadwick’s recommended discussion of town-owned Bradley Island in China Lake’s west basin.

The next regular China select board meeting is scheduled for Monday evening, Nov. 20, probably at 6 p.m.

China resident presents new plan for property development

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by Mary Grow

China resident Chris Harris presented a new proposal for his land on Route 3 to town planning board members at their Oct. 24 meeting. Board members advised on next steps, planning continued review in November.

At their June 27 meeting, board members unanimously approved Harris’s proposed self-storage units at 623 Route 3. Since then, Harris said, enough other self-storage businesses have opened to lead him to reconsider.

At the Oct. 24 meeting, he presented a preliminary plan to subdivide his property into four house lots. He already lives on one, plans a house on another and will postpone development on the remaining two.

Board co-chairman Toni Wall summarized some of the requirements in China’s subdivision ordinance, calling the application process “pretty extensive.” She and co-chairman James Wilkens agreed the area of the existing access driveway across Lot D to the Harris house needs to be deducted from Lot D’s lot area as the driveway becomes a right-of-way.

They also discussed the need to locate wells, septic system and probably house sites on each lot in a final plan. After the final plan is presented, board members will decide whether it is complete, and if it is, will decide whether to hold a public hearing.

The other major agenda item Oct. 24 was the draft revised Planning Board Ordinance, prepared by town attorney Amanda Meader.

Board members found much to like in Meader’s draft, but also had disagreements and questions.

  • They do not support her recommendation that planning board members be appointed by the select board, instead of elected as they are now. Using phrases like “an arm of the select board” and “dependent on the select board,” they recommended continuing with an elected planning board.
  • They also prefer to continue to have board members elected from four districts in town, rather than from the town at large. Wilkens, especially, praised a system that lets neighbors know who represents them on the planning board.
  • They approved the suggestion that terms be longer than the current two years, but recommended three years rather than the five Meader suggested.
  • Elaine Mather, the newest board member (who has a legal background), asked if phrases like “sufficient evidence” and “adequate notice” need additional definition.

Wall intends to redraft the ordinance to incorporate suggestions.

The next regular China planning board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday evening, Nov. 14. The agenda is likely to include a public hearing on Novel Energy’s application for a community solar garden on Parmenter Hill Road (see the Oct. 5 issue of The Town Line, p. 2). The hearing was originally scheduled for Oct. 10, but was postponed because the planning board had no quorum that evening.

WINDSOR: Trucks/equipment discussed at select board meeting

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by The Town Line staff

At the October 10 meeting of the Windsor Select Board, there was discussion of the truck/equipment schedule. Public Works Supervisor Keith Hall spoke to the time line and the notes he made on a handout for replacing each of the trucks and equipment. He informed the board that two trucks – #5 and #6 – are currently in the shop for repairs. He noted the parts are expensive and the dealereship seems to be having problems getting the parts. His plan is to have the trucks back in service before snow fall.

The select board noted that with the cost of parts and repairs, it may be time to look at increasing the budget line for the public works department in the future.

Hall also told the board the quote to replace the 2016 International dump truck with plow would be upwards of $160,000. The board said it would have to be included in the 2024-25 budget. More discussion is planned.

Town Manager Theresa Haskell gave out the monthly transfer station report. September was up from last year with $2,471.75, making the overall today for the year to $6,644.45.

Transfer station committee member Tom Reed spoke about the solid waste ordinance that the the committee has already approved, and he has a few additional updates to be made to the wording before the final print of the ordinance is approved by the select board.

In other business, the select board unanimously accepted the resignation of Sean Teekema from the Windsor Transfer Station. Hall said that he and Tim from public works have been helping at the transfer station due to the short staff in the department. The position will be posted on the town webpage and on the town office sign, with the hopes of filling the position soon.

Monique Crommett was present on behalf of RSU #12. Haskell inquired about the electric bus. Crommett said the bus is not yet here and they are still waiting for it.

Sandra Grecrenko asked the select board what the requirement is for a property to be considered a residence. The select board answered to the best of their ability giving the answer the property would need to have a dwelling, water, septic and electric present. Following more discussion, the board felt they didn’t have appropriate answers or information. The board suggested she set up a meeting with Codes Enforcement Office Arthur Strout for answers.

Crommett suggested it would be helpful to residents if Strout have available a list when residents come to him, explaining “A-Z” what is needed when someone is getting ready to build whether it is from ground up or simnply putting in a new septic system. She feels it would cut down on confusion and questions by a lot of residents if they had a simple check list to which to refer.

F. Gerard Nault inquired about the upcoming public hearing. The hearing will be to see if the town would enact a Maine Site Plan Review Ordinance, set for November 1, with a special town meeting slated for November 9, at 6:30 p.m., at the Windsor Town Hall.

The next meeting of the select board was planned for October 24, 2023.

China assessment review board denies abatement request

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by Mary Grow

At an Oct. 25 meeting, three members of China’s board of assessment review unanimously upheld the board of assessors (also the select board), who on Aug. 28 denied Marie Michaud’s application for a property tax abatement.

Michaud believes her shorefront lot on the west side of China Lake is overvalued. She said the lake bottom in front of her property is weedy and muddy and the water is shallow, making the area unfit for swimming.

Select board members denied Michaud’s abatement request on a 3-2 vote. Michaud appealed to the board of assessment review.

Assessor William Van Tuinen answered questions about how he – or any assessor – determines property values, based on the property’s characteristics and on area selling prices.

There are three categories of lake frontage, he said. The highest, A, is for properties with a good view of the water and usable frontage. A lot with a buffer – conforming to recommended water quality protection practices – that blocked the view, or with less usable frontage, would be rated B.

Michaud’s lot Van Tuinen rated C, the lowest category, indicating he shared her opinion that it was not among the most desirable lots on the lake. He calculated the valuation and resulting tax bill using that rating.

After considering Van Tuinen’s information and lists of “comps” – supposedly comparable properties – presented by both parties, board members voted unanimously that the assessment was appropriate.

The board’s meeting, the first since February 2021, began with re-election of chairman Dale Peabody and secretary Harold Charles.

CHINA: Only three of six candidates take part in forum

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Albert Church Brown Memorial Library in China Village.

by Mary Grow

Three of the six candidates on China’s Nov. 7 local election ballot attended the Oct. 28 candidates’ forum at the Albert Church Brown Memorial Library, in China Village.

Moderator Louisa Barnhart, chairman of the library’s board of trustees, asked about the candidates’ favorite charities, their reading preferences and their positions on local issues.

  • Jeanne Marquis, candidate for select board, lives on Neck Road and described her occupation as an organizer for Mobilize Recovery (see Box below).

Mobilized Recovery explained

Mobilize Recovery is a national organization with a branch in Augusta. Its purpose is to deal with the national addiction crisis, including preventing addiction and helping people already addicted to survive and to recover.

The Maine Recovery Advocacy Project Facebook page says:

“We are thrilled about the level of support we have received by Kennebec County and our awesome volunteers. We are now beginning to see that our first year’s goal of visiting 5,000 homes is well within our reach. We want to thank the Kennebec County Commissioners who provided the grant to enable us to do this project and thank all the 3,882 homes we have visited so far.

“We are encouraged to see so many people realize the importance of carrying Narcan in their purses, back packs, brief cases or glove compartment of their cars – even if they don’t know someone who uses drugs. You’ll never know when you might be able to save someone’s life.”

It adds details about achieving the 2023 goal:

“So far this year, we visited 3,882 homes, trained 1,592 people to use Nar[c]an and distributed 3,510 boxes of Narcan.”

The Facebook page says the physical address is 59 Bangor Street, Augusta; the telephone number is (207)593-6251; and the email address is courtney@recoveryvoices.com.

Nonprofit groups she supports include local organizations (China Lake Association, the volunteer fire department and China for a Lifetime); environmental organizations (Nature Conservancy and Sierra Club); and addiction recovery organization (Maine Recovery Advocacy Project and Mobilize Recovery).

Her favorite living author is non-fiction writer Johann Hari. Her favorite writer is the late Toni Morrison, especially her poetry.

  • Elaine Mather, planning board candidate, lives on Weeks Mills Road and is retired from her job as a prosecutor for misdemeanors in Henderson, Nevada. She moved to China to be near family members.

Mather’s charities include the American Diabetes Association, the Salvation Army and the Boy Scouts of America. Her favorite writer is Brad Thor, author of the Scot Harvath thrillers.

  • Thomas Rumpf, budget committee candidate, lives on Hanson Road and works as a bridge estimator. He devotes volunteer time – up to 60 hours a week, he said — to the China Four Seasons Club, of which he is president.

He also supports the Masons and is a member of two local lodges; and the Red Cross, including as a platelet and blood donor. He spends his working hours reading blueprints and has little time for leisure reading.

The two policy questions Barnhart asked were about the proposed LS power line and about a future public beach on China Lake. Candidates added two more issues, lack of volunteers for town boards and organizations, and the need to entice more businesses to locate in China.

None of the three supports the LS powerline. Rumpf’s principal objection is “the very sneaky way it came about – the landowners were all taken by surprise.”

Marquis and Mather were concerned about the effect on China’s rural nature and environment, especially the potential loss of good farmland. Marquis emphasized she was speaking personally, not for the select board. Mather said her decisions as a planning board member would be based on ordinances, not on her personal views.

No candidate had a plan for providing public beach access to China Lake. All agreed a town-owned beach would make more work for the town’s public works department and would require additional insurance.

Marquis praised the Four Seasons Club beach on China Lake’s east shore. It is open to club members for what the club website says is an annual $35 general membership fee.

All three regretted the lack of volunteers for town boards and local organizations. Rumpf praised the excellent volunteers who keep the Four Seasons Club active, and said if there were more, the club could add projects and events.

He raised the issue of attracting business, calling China “business-unfriendly” and naming businesses that have moved to other towns. China officials do not offer tax breaks to new businesses; and they collect the state-mandated personal property tax on businesses, a requirement he said some Maine municipalities ignore.

Rumpf’s main argument was that more businesses would increase the local tax base. He acknowledged the need for regulation to protect local values.

Librarian Miranda Perkins’ video of the forum is available on line for interested voters, via a link on the Albert Church Brown Memorial Library website.

No contests on China ballot

There are no contests and no new names on China’s Nov. 7 local election ballot, though there are lines for write-in candidates.

For the board of selectmen, Wayne Chadwick and Jeanne Marquis seek re-election.

For planning board District 3 (southeastern China), Elaine Mather, appointed in late August to finish Michael Sullivan’s term, is a candidate for re-election. There is no candidate for District 1 (northwestern China).

For the budget committee, chairman Thomas Rumpf and District 1 candidate Kevin Maroon are unopposed for re-election. There is no candidate for District 3.

The position of budget committee secretary is also open, Trishea Story having resigned some months ago. Because that term does not end until 2024, it is not on the ballot.

Anyone interested in serving in an unfilled position is invited to call the China town office at 445-2014.

On Nov. 7, China polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the former portable building behind the town office on Lakeview Drive.

Palermo residents propose using funds to honor veterans

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by Jonathan Strieff

On Thursday, October 19, the Palermo Town Council heard a proposal from two residents interested in using charitable fundraiser proceeds to honor veterans from town. Representing the American Legion, Palermo residents Paul Hunter and Gary Jones approached the town council after being selected by the Palermo Friends and Neighbors ATV club as one of four recipients of an annual fundraiser. Jones and Hunter sought to utilize the Hometown Hero Banner Program to decorate all 59 utility poles on major roads in Palermo with custom made flags, each paying tribute to a different past or present military service member raised in Palermo.

The idea came from existing Hometown Hero banners on display in Benton and Fairfield. The council unanimously blessed the project, but encouraged Hunter and Jones to contact Central Maine Power for permission to use the utility poles. Palermo residents will have the opportunity to nominate family members or friends for recognition on one of the 59 flags. Details about the nomination process will be printed in the December newsletter from the Town Office.

Volunteer Fire and Rescue Chief, Roger Komandt, also addressed the council with his department report. Since January 1, Fire and Rescue has responded to 183 emergency calls: 119 EMS runs, 64 fire runs, and 12 calls for mutual aid to surrounding towns. At this pace, Komandt anticipates responding to well over 200 calls before the end of the year, significantly more that in 2022. Two new hires are moving through their training smoothly, beginning a pump class offered in Liberty. An annual test of all 15,000 feet of fire hose in use by the department found only three failing sections, totaling 250 feet. The failed sections of fire hose may be available to area farmers or crafters to put to use.

Komandt also described a difficult experience attempting to contact a former new hire from 2021. According to Komandt, the individual cut off all contact with members of the department very soon after joining Fire and Rescue. Komandt has attempted to reach out through phone, text, email, physical mail, and through family members but after a year of trying nothing has worked. The individual is in possession of $1,500 worth of personal protective equipment that could serve another member. The town council offered to send a notarized letter to the individual’s current address.

Jonasthan Strieff is a freelance contributor to The Town Line.