CHINA: One incumbent, two newcomers elected to China select board

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by Mary Grow

China Town Clerk Angela Nelson reported the following voting results early Wednesday morning, Nov. 6.

For the local select board, with five candidates for three seats, voters re-elected one incumbent and added two newcomers.

Incumbent Blane Casey was top vote-getter with 1,409 votes. Added to the board were Thomas Rumpf, with 998 votes and Edwin Bailey, with 927 votes. Incumbent Brent Chesley lost his seat, receiving 818 votes; Tod Detre got 538 votes.

Incumbent budget committee member Timothy Basham was re-elected unopposed, with 1,654 votes.

Other budget committee positions and one position on the Regional School Unit #18 board had no candidates on the ballot. Write-in winners will be declared after town office staff tabulate votes and make sure apparent winners are willing to serve.

Voters approved all five local referendum questions, as follows:

— Question 3, amending the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) program, yes 1,688, no 671;
— Question 4, a revised Budget Committee Ordinance, yes 1,840, no 513;
— Question 5, adding a map of the Development District, yes 1,747, no 599;
— Question 6, amending the Land Development Code, yes 1,691, no 630; and
— Question 7, creating a moratorium on electric transmission lines, yes 1,688, no 673.

China voters’ presidential votes were as follows: Donald Trump, 1,498; Kamala Harris, 1,059; Jill Stein, 34; Chase Oliver, 19; and Cornel West 11.

For United States Senator, incumbent Independent Angus King edged out Republican challenger Demi Kouzounas, 1,218 votes to 1,112 votes. David Allen Costello got 175 votes, Jason Cherry 86.

For United States Representative from Maine’s First District, China voters gave Republican Ronald Russell 1,355 votes, incumbent Democrat Chellie Pingree 1,062 votes and Ethan Alcorn 134 votes.

For state Senate District #15, Republican Richard Bradstreet, of Vassalboro, got 1,480 China votes to 1,042 for Democrat Raegan LaRochelle, of Augusta. For state House District #62, incumbent Republican Katrina Smith got 1,537 votes to 961 for Democratic challenger Pamela Jo Swift.

Elizabeth Mitchell, of Vassalboro, running unopposed for re-election as Kennebec Judge of Probate, got 1,778 votes.

China votes on five state-wide questions were as follows:

— #1 (citizen initiative to limit political contributions): yes, 1,849; no, 666.
— #2 (bond issue for technology): yes, 1,211; no, 1,294.
— #3 (bond issue for historic preservation): yes, 1,178; no, 1,338.
— #4 (bond issue for trails): yes, 1,327; no, 1,176.
— #5 (changing the state flag): yes, 840; no, 1,714.

EVENTS: Palermo planning board to meet November 13, 2024

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The Palermo Planning Board will meet at the Palermo Town Office, at 6 p.m., on Wednesday, November 13, 2024, to review the preliminary documentation for a proposed subdivision on Hostile Valley Rd.  The property is shown on Palermo Tax map R-11, lot 27C.

Vassalboro select board brings back workshops, hoping to revive tradition

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by Mary Grow

Vassalboro select board members held a workshop meeting on Oct. 30, hoping to revive the annual tradition after several years’ break. The purpose is to begin prioritizing issues they plan to address in the next few years.

The Oct. 30 meeting (changed from the usual Thursday evening to avoid Halloween) lasted about an hour and a quarter and covered a long list of topics. Some have been discussed at past meetings, some were new proposals.

Board member Chris French’s suggestions included two that would require voters’ approval:

— Consider either a town charter, or a comprehensive plan that would update Vassalboro’s 20-year-old strategic plan; and
— Consider expanding the select board from three to five members.

He also offered a suggestion that the other two board members and Town Manager Aaron Miller adopted on the spot: better publicize the process of nominating candidates for the annual Spirit of America awards for volunteerism.

Board chairman Frederick “Rick” Denico, Jr., had a list that included a suggestion from earlier meetings to amend Vassalboro’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF) program to make an affordable housing development in town eligible for TIF funds.

Affordable housing needs two circumstances for success, Miller said: a suitable location and a willing developer.

The discussion started as a possible way to add more Vassalboro Sanitary District (VSD) customers to share costs. The high cost of VSD’s service to about 200 East and North Vassalboro households has been an issue for more than a year.

To achieve that goal, board chairman Frederick “Rick” Denico pointed out, the new housing would have to be adjacent to the presently-served areas, on what are now back lots.

Board members and Miller will consider appointing a committee to explore this idea, maybe in the first quarter of calendar year 2025. Since an amended TIF plan would require voter approval preceded by a public hearing, they considered scheduling a TIF discussion in January 2025, although by then they will be busy with the 2025-26 budget.

The town personnel policy, and related standards for volunteers on town boards and committees, were a major topic. Board members began discussing revisions to the personnel policy months ago, and have previously mentioned guidance for volunteers.

They decided to devote half an hour of each of their Dec. 12 and Dec. 26, 2024, and Jan. 9, 2025, meetings to those subjects.

License fees for marijuana growers in Vassalboro need quicker action; they are scheduled for review at the Nov. 14 board meeting. Miller has been gathering information on other Maine towns’ fees.

The transfer station was discussed in terms of French’s work with a local committee and an engineer. One possibility is using part of the foreclosed property adjoining the Lombard Dam Road facility for an expansion; the process of surveying and appraising the property is under way.

French recommended new cement pads for items like white goods that currently sit in mud and snow. He asked whether it is time to replace the transfer station’s backhoe, leading to a brief discussion of reviving the town’s capital improvement plan.

Denico said the plan was developed in 2013 and looked ahead 20 years. There have been many changes since, he said, agreeing that it was time for an update.

An even more ancient issue that French raised is the former quarry on the east side of Riverside Drive where Statler Tissue dumped contaminated sludge in, Denico said, the 1960s. Denico said the site originally provided rock used to rebuild Route 201; later the quarry filled with water and became a local swimming hole.

Taxes have not been paid for years, but the town has not taken over the site because of the waste. Now, French said, state funding for clean-up costs is a possibility; perhaps the town should review the situation.

Miller would like board members to consider more town employees. He reminded them they discussed hiring a fifth public works employee last year and did not include the position in the current budget. Since Vassalboro is accepting applications for a new public works director, he suggested waiting for that person’s input.

Another town office employee able to do multiple tasks would be useful when one of the regulars is out, or merely to fill in at the counter during lunch breaks, Miller said.

The transfer station is well staffed, Miller thinks. Select board member Michael Poulin concurred: “The two of them [manager Adam Daoust and assistant Nicholas Curtis] are doing a wonderful job.”

The next regular Vassalboro select board meeting is scheduled for Thursday evening, Nov. 14. Board members plan only one November meeting, because their second one would fall on Thanksgiving Day.

Windsor select board deals with cannabis petition, local tax abatements

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by The Town Line staff

The Windsor Select Board dealt with a number of issues at their September 24, meeting.

Town Clerk Kelly McGlothlin updated the select board on the petition for cannabis that they wanted to include on the November 5 ballot. McGlothlin stated she found things within the petition that were inconsistent, with what could be to correct and sufficient, that would allow the petition to move forward to the November ballot. The town clerk also noted the petition was submitted too late for the upcoming election. She explained her additional findings to the select board, and it would be up to them if they wanted to place an article on the June 2025 ballot. The select board decided more discussion will be needed when the entire select board is present. Board chairman William Appel Jr. will have a discussion with the petitioner and extend another invitation to a select board meeting.

After several residents complained their bank appraisal and the appraisal from KRT were very far apart, the board acted on 2024-25 tax year abatements. They suspended as the select board and convened as the board of assessors.

By unanimous votes, the board, at the the recommendation of Nichole Stenberg, Windsor’s Assessor’s Agent, approved tax abatements for Bryan Bolstridge in the amount of $6.44; Rose and Douglas Fraser ($230); Angela and Steve Brochu ($49.68); Mark and Dorothy Lapointe ($2,194.20); Bryan Stefanie Lewis and Jonathan McCaslin ($512.44); Marvin and Kim Clark ($1,438.88); David Shaw ($3,044.28); Malarie and Darin Clark ($1,438.88); and Karen S. Finley ($3,044.28).

The select board encouraged residents who have questions to bring their information to Stenberg. Town Manager Theresa Haskell also stated that even if someone has questions about their tax assessment, they should still pay at least their first half of the tax bill so there are no interest fees that accrue.

In other business:

– Following a submitted price for three 120V outlets at the town hall, of $1,754 from J&M Electric, the board unanimously approved putting the job out to bid or getting other estimates.
– Arthur Strout, speaking on behalf of the Windsor Volunteer Fire Department, appeared before the board to answer any question they may have in regard to the installation of a heat pump at the station. He stated the central air conditioning is broken and beyond repair. He said they used a window air conditioner this past summer, and that a heat pump could be used, not only as air conditioning, but also for supplemental heat since the building uses radiant heat.

Two quotes have been submitted: $4,074. 28 from M. A. Haskell, and $4,950 from C. B. Haskell. Following an offer from Steve Plourde, the select board agreed to move money from the WVFD building reserve fund account not to exceed $2,350 for Plourde to install a heat pump head and other materials (condenser and labor to be donated) in the meeting room at the fire station.

– The board approved three junkyard applications to Millard Nickerson c/o Lisa Taylor, Allen Rogers and Stanley Pelletier.
– The board also approved updating the retirement plan documents as recommeneded by Stephanie Hunter, from Corbridge (Valic), at a cost of $750.
– The board accepted the $16,900 bid from McGee Construction for the 2016 Terrastar. They also accepted a bid from McGee for 2024-25 plowing at $175 per hour for 250 hours, for a total of $43,750. The town had budgeted $43,500. Haskell noted there are places in the budget to make up the difference.

The next select board meeting was scheduled for October 8.

China committee continues talks on records storage vault

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by Mary Grow

China Municipal Building Committee member Edwin Bailey discussed his concerns about recent changes in the plan for a records storage vault at the town office building at an Oct. 24 committee meeting. He, Scott Pierz and chairman Sheldon Goodine did most of the talking, with occasional comments from Terry DeMerchant and Angela Nelson.

Committee members voted to continue the discussion with select board members, at that board’s Nov. 4 meeting if there is time on the agenda.

Discussions of the project began more than three years ago, Goodine said. Engineer Keith Whitaker, of Presque Isle-based B. R. Smith Associates (BRSA) has assisted committee members through the years.

The basic concern is the paper records that the state requires a town to keep forever, and that needs climate-controlled, fireproof storage space. Currently they are in a room off the meeting room. The new structure planned to house them came to be called a storage vault.

In 2022, the select board authorized money for BRSA to make an engineered plan for a storage vault plus a concept plan for a larger addition.

Since then, the focus has been on versions of the storage vault, with occasional mention of a bigger addition. On April 25, 2023, the China Planning Board issued a permit for an addition housing a concrete storage vault, connected to the south side of the town office by a corridor.

At the June 2023 town meeting, voters approved up to $43,000 from undesignated fund balance (formerly called surplus) for “the municipal records fireproof vault storage project.”

When select board members sought bids on the work that summer, they received none. In the spring of 2024, however, they awarded a bid to an out-of-town firm – for more than $267,000. No contract was signed, according to Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood.

Discussion quickly turned to another alternative: create safe storage for ordinary records in the former barn north of the town office and build the special vault in the east end of the main building. The idea of using the barn has not been rejected; Goodine said there has not been time to develop details.

The main objection is the inconvenience to town office staff of having documents they might need in a separate building.

At the June 2024 annual town business meeting, voters appropriated up to $155,489 from federal ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds for “Municipal records fireproof vault storage.”

At their Oct 7 meeting this fall, select board members approved a revised, less expensive concept plan (see the Oct. 10 issue of The Town Line, p. 3), with an engineered plan to be developed promptly.

This plan locates a 26-by-28-foot vault in a new room off the south side of the town office near the east end, with some interior redesign. The town would be general contractor, contracting with local contractors.

Goodine notified the other committee members of the select board action on Oct. 8, and offered to schedule a meeting on request. Bailey emailed questions, and Goodine scheduled the Oct. 24 meeting.

Goodine explained:

— He, select board member and builder Blane Casey and Whitaker developed the plan. Goodine received the final version the day of the select board meeting at which it was approved, so he had no time to share it with committee members.
— The contractors would be whoever is available, as local as possible, and when possible people who had worked for the town before. China’s public works crew could do the groundwork, if schedules allow.
— The budget estimates for each piece of the project, totaling $187,655, came mostly from Casey. Goodine summarized possible decreases and increases, depending on many factors.

Bailey and Pierz asked whether a new plan needed re-approval by voters. After reviewing the wording of the town meeting warrant article, they decided probably not.

Codes Officer Nicholas French told planning board members at their Oct. 22 meeting the new plan would need a new permit, because the 2023 permit has expired and the plan has been changed.

Another question was whether the state Fire Marshal’s re-approval was needed. Goodine said the engineered plan will have it.

Federal requirements say ARPA money has to be “needed” by Dec. 31, Nelson said. There was confusion over what “needed” means, and consensus that the ARPA money does not need to be spent by that deadline.

Committee members discussed inconclusively whether work can or should start this fall. Cold-weather work, like pouring concrete, costs more, Bailey said; but he and Pierz doubted bid prices would hold until the 2025 construction season.

Codes officer recommends cluster developments to planning board

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by Mary Grow

China planning board members continued review of the town’s subdivision ordinance at their Oct. 22 meeting, focused on clarifying a change Codes Officer Nicholas French is recommending: allowing cluster developments, also known as open space subdivisions.

The current ordinance has one sentence about cluster developments. Section 11.7 says, “Cluster developments are prohibited.”

This language was adopted in 1993, board chairman Toni Wall pointed out. There is no reason board members, or voters, should have the same opinion more than 30 years later.

French explained that in a cluster development, the owner of a parcel of land is allowed to group an appropriate number of houses on a small part of it, often around one-third. Each individual house lot is smaller than the current minimum 40,000 square feet (a figure that varies with location and other factors).

The rest of the parcel is common space, usually left as is – woods or former field, for example – and open for all the home-owners to use. The developer might own it, or he or she might sell it to the lot-owners.

A cluster development would be likely to have some shared septic systems and perhaps some shared wells, French said. Access roads – fewer and shorter than in a conventional subdivision, because the houses are closer together – would be maintained by a road association consisting of lot-owners.

French favors cluster developments, primarily, he said, because they would allow China to help alleviate the current housing shortage without sacrificing its rural character.

Board members intend to continue discussing the subdivision ordinance at their next meeting, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 12.

By then, Wall said, her term as a planning board member will have ended.

The amended Planning Board Ordinance voters approved in June says: “As individual terms expire, the Select Board shall appoint new members on an at-large basis to two-year terms. Such terms may be extended at the discretion of the Select Board.”

Wall said she is applying to the select board for reappointment.

China TIF committee lacks quorum at October 28 meeting

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by Mary Grow

Only two members of China’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Committee, chairman Brent Chesley and member Jamie Pitney, attended the Oct. 28 meeting. Though no decisions could be made without a quorum, Chesley and Pitney heard reports from TIF fund recipients.

Martha Wentworth, chairman of the China Recreation Committee, was the only one in the audience hoping for action. She had applied on behalf of the committee for $12,500 in TIF funds to help install a self-service kayak and paddle board rental kiosk near the boat landing at the head of China Lake’s east basin.

Wentworth presented the idea to select board members at their Jan. 29, 2024, meeting. They asked for more information.

The company offering the service is Rent.Fun, based in Northville, Michigan. Its website shows two Maine sites, in Westbrook and Norridgewock.

Wentworth explained that the company would provide four kayaks and four paddle boards, with paddles and lifejackets, in a secure cage. People could rent the equipment. The town would pay an upfront fee; the company would assume some operating costs, including, she said, liability insurance; and she expected the town to recoup its investment within five years.

CRLA executive director steps down

China Region Lakes Alliance head Stephen Greene announced Oct. 28 that CRLA Executive Director Jessie Mae MacDougall has resigned, for personal reasons, after a few months on the job. CRLA will soon be advertising for a new person for the part-time, seasonal job.

Pitney said he will review TIF rules and let Wentworth know if contributing to the kiosk is an allowable use of TIF funds. If it is, she plans to present more information to supplement her application.

Those reporting on use of previously authorized TIF money were Pitney, speaking for the China Broadband Committee; Thomas Rumpf, for the China Four Seasons Club; Jeanette Smith, for the Thurston Park Committee; Stephen Greene, for the China Lake Association and China Region Lakes Alliance; and Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood, for the town.

— Pitney said the cooperative effort with Idaho-based Direct Communications and its Unity, Maine, subsidiary, formerly Unitel, to get grant funding for broadband expansion to underserved and unserved parts of China continues. The current path is a federal program called Broadband Equity and Diversity, or BEAD; the State of Maine has completed preliminary steps and is continuing.
— Rumpf said the Four Seasons Club has used TIF funds to bring two more of China’s ATV and snowmobile trails up to new state standards. He is seeking grants for the troublesome Bog Trail, which uses the former narrow-gauge railroad line.
— Smith reported two Thurston Park trails substantially improved and receiving praise from visitors, who are increasingly numerous. Storm damage has been almost all cleaned up; trail markers are scheduled to be put up this fall; picnic tables and benches are on order; and improving handicapped access is a priority.

On Oct. 27, Smith said, the park hosted its first fun runs, a one-mile and a three-mile. More than 20 people took part, she estimated.

— Greene reported the Courtesy Boat Inspection program, intended to keep invasive plants out of area lakes, ran all summer. The Youth Conservation Corps, whose members do shoreline erosion control projects, was less active, for lack of employees. No one had an answer to Pitney’s question: why are fewer high-school students seeking summer jobs?
— Hapgood said China’s TIF-funded summer intern, Gracie Stagnito, “did some great work” and China Community Days, partly TIF-supported, had been successful again.

Chesley and Pitney proposed Monday, Dec. 9, as the TIF Committee’s next meeting date. Chesley will see if the other members are available that evening.

Socktober at China Middle School

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by Emma Wooley
China Middle School
JMG student

This month the JMG China Middle School program is collecting unused socks for their annual Socktober initiative to support those in need of clean, warm, and cozy socks. Socktober is a month-long community outreach collaboration with “Socks For Remy” and JMG to spread kindness to all through socks. “Socks For Remy,” was established in loving memory of Remy Pettengill, a former student at China Middle School, who passed away unexpectedly in 2022 as a result of a car crash. Remy was best known for wearing fun, crazy socks which helped brighten anyone’s day. The JMG China Middle School program has their collection box located within the lobby of the school for anyone to willingly donate. Help us help those in need by making this Sockotober our best one yet!

Vassalboro select board hears second presentation on TownCloud system

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by Mary Grow

Vassalboro select board members heard a second presentation on the TownCloud company’s system for municipal computer functions at their Oct. 24 meeting.

On Sept. 7, 2023, Dennis Harward, the company’s founder (identified on his business card as Wizard of Light Bulb Moments), and his son-in-law and partner Christopher Haywood (Chief Amazement Officer) explained the company’s municipal website program.

At their Oct. 19, 2023, meeting, board members unanimously accepted TownCloud’s as Vassalboro’s new website.

Harward explained this year that after providing many municipal websites, the Maine-based company developed a following – at the most recent Maine Municipal Association convention, he said, officials using TownCloud websites were bringing colleagues to the TownCloud booth. He and Haywood began getting requests for municipal government systems; so in June, they launched the first part of one, covering accounting and finances.

So far, Durham, Farmington and Madison are using it.

So far, he said, Paris, Durham, Farmington and Madison are using it. Meanwhile, TownCloud is working on the remaining necessities, notably the Motor Vehicle section. Personnel at the state Motor Vehicle office have been extremely cooperative, he said.

Harward said TownCloud’s system is up to date (the TRIO system widely used in Maine, including in the Vassalboro town office, is 25 years old), and is more stable, less cumbersome and less expensive than current systems. Officials in towns that sign up during 2024 are being invited to submit suggestions as the program grows.

Vassalboro Town Manager Aaron Miller has used TownCloud for years and endorses the change. With board member Chris French absent Oct. 24, chairman Frederick “Rick” Denico and member Michael Poulin postponed a decision.

In other business Oct. 24, Denico and Poulin reviewed a report Miller prepared on cemetery maintenance, focusing on the balance between keeping shade trees and protecting gravestones from falling trees in Vassalboro’s 27 cemeteries.

After reviewing historic and legal issues, Miller concluded that a municipal cemetery committee has authority over cemetery maintenance. If there is disagreement, as between Vassalboro’s Cemetery Committee and Conservation Commission, select board members are to resolve it.

Miller recommended:

— Develop a five-year cemetery maintenance plan;
— Budget about $11,500 a year specifically for tree work;
— Each summer, have the cemetery sexton and an arborist inspect trees and set priorities within the budget;
— Explain to residents and relevant committees which trees are to be removed or trimmed, and why; and
— Have necessary tree work done annually after the ground is frozen.

Select board members appointed Erica Roy a member of the Vassalboro Sanitary District board of trustees, until the next board election (assuming voters on Nov. 5 approve the proposed amendment to the VSD charter).

They discussed ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds, which are currently fully allocated; possible Efficiency Maine grant applications; and their future meeting schedule.

The schedule calls for a workshop meeting at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 30 (instead of the usual Thursday evening, which will be Halloween); a regular meeting Thursday evening, Nov. 14; and skipping the Thursday, Nov. 28, meeting, because that day will be Thanksgiving.

VASSALBORO: Local referendum questions well publicized

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by Mary Grow

Vassalboro’s three local referendum questions for Nov. 5 have been well publicized, thanks to information from select board members and Town Manager Aaron Miller on the town website and elsewhere.

The three questions ask voters if they want to:

— Appropriate $360,000 from the Tax Increment Financing fund or the undesignated (surplus) fund, as select board members choose, to match a Department of Transportation grant for which town officials have applied;
— Amend the TIF document to allow TIF money to be used for environmental improvements in town; and
— Amend the charter of the Vassalboro Sanitary District.

Select board member Chris French explained the first two questions, which are related, in a letter published in the Oct. 17 issue of The Town Line (starting on p. 11 and continued on p. 14). The goal is to provide funds from existing accounts to match a large grant to replace the Dunlap bridge on Mill Hill Road, without adding to local property taxes.

Should voters approve the questions and the town not receive the grant, French explained, the money would cover the cost of an alternative bridge design.

The amendments to the Sanitary District charter are with the ballot and available at the town office. The main purpose is to change the way trustees are chosen, so that beginning in 2025 they will be elected in June along with town officials.

To find the local ballot on line, go to Vassalboro.net, the town’s website. At the upper right, click on MORE; below, click on Elections; on the left-hand side of the page, scroll down to General Election November 5 2024, with SAMPLE BALLOTS immediately below: click on the last two words of “Town of Vassalboro Municipal Election Sample Ballot.”

Vassalboro’s Nov. 5 voting will be at Vassalboro Community School, on the north end of Webber Pond Road at the Bog Road intersection. Polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.