China select board adopts new pet rules

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China Town Officeby Mary Grow

China select board members unanimously adopted a new Pet Policy for Municipal Properties, prepared for their Oct. 20 meeting by Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood.

Hapgood explained that pets have never been allowed in certain places and situations, for example, on town ballfields during games. The new policy codifies restrictions.

It applies to “any domesticated or tamed animal kept as a companion and cared for affectionately” with the exception of service animals. The definition of service animal is “a dog that is individually trained to perform work or tasks for a person with a disability.” A companion animal, comfort animal or emotional support animal is not a service animal, under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The areas from which pets are excluded are listed at the fenced areas of the town athletic fields near China Middle School; the community garden near the town office; and trails in the Community Forest behind China Primary School “during athletic and community events.”

Hapgood’s initial draft banned pets from ballfields only when the fields are in use. Three select board members, two describing themselves as dog lovers, thought dogs should be kept off the fields at all times.

Children playing there are often on the ground; and no matter how carefully a dog-owner cleans up after a dog, a residue may be left, the board members said.

The pet policy directs the person in charge of a dog to “immediately and properly” dispose of any solid waste the dog deposits on municipal property.

In other business, board member Edwin Bailey relayed a resident’s question about Town Landing Road in South China. Hapgood said erosion control work should start soon.

By unanimous votes, board members:

— Appointed Hapgood as China’s Civil Emergency Preparedness Director, succeeding Stephen Nichols, who resigned;
— Approved an Oct. 25 catered event on 9th Fire Road; and
— Appointed personnel for the Nov. 4 election.

Nov. 4 voting will be in the portable building behind the town office, with polls open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. In addition to the state referendum questions, China voters have three uncontested elections: Heather Neal for the Regional School Unit #18 board, and Brent Chesley and Natasha Littlefield for select board.

Hapgood reminded those present the town office will be closed Thursday, Oct. 23, for staff training; Tuesday, Nov. 4, for the local and state election; Tuesday, Nov. 11, for Veterans Day; and Thursday and Friday, Nov. 27 and 28, for Thanksgiving.

The next select board meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 3.

Vassalboro school safety dominates school board meeting

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Vassalboro Community School

Vassalboro Community School (contributed photo)

by Mary Grow

School safety dominated discussion at the Oct. 14 Vassalboro School Board meeting, from two different perspectives. The meeting began with consideration of the possibility of adding a school resource officer; and later, several parents raised questions and concerns about how serious a September incident was, and how school personnel handled it.

The September situation involved one student threatening another. Parents were dismayed to have learned about it through children’s reports and Facebook, rather than from school officials; lacking direct information, some kept their children home the next day.

School board members and school administrators listened, but made few comments. Board chairman Jolene Gamage explained that the monthly business meeting was not the forum for a discussion; she would provide answers later.

When? And by what means that would reach the whole school community? people wanted to know. Gamage proposed scheduling a separate meeting.

As of Oct. 19, the community meeting was scheduled for 6 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 28, at Vassalboro Community School.

The idea of adding a school resource officer at VCS came up during the select board’s Oct. 2 meeting with local emergency services representatives (see the Oct. 9 issue of The Town Line, p. 2). At the school board meeting, Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office (KSO) representatives Frank Hatch and Jeremy York, and Vassalboro Police Chief Mark Brown, continued the discussion.

KSO has contracts with several area school departments, Hatch said. York serves as school resource officer for Gardiner’s six schools; he talked about how he spends his time, emphasizing making friends with students.

Several audience members endorsed the idea, saying the resource officer could also help teachers handle difficult situations.

Vassalboro Superintendent Alan Pfeiffer pointed out there would be a cost. More planning and discussion are needed; but, he said optimistically, maybe a VCS resource officer by the next school year?

In other business Oct. 14, board members changed the proposed remote learning day on Nov. 4 to a no-school day. The purpose is to allow voting at VCS, where polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Pfeiffer reported on several projects under way. He thanked the public works department for installing roadside school zone lights (they were not yet programmed); he was soon to meet with codes officer Eric Currie about a permit for the expanded parking lot; and crews from Energy Management Consultants, Inc., had been working on building upgrades. EMC head Thomas Seekins is expected to report at the board’s November meeting.

Pfeiffer said Finance Director Paula Pooler reported no budgetary problems.

School board members postponed discussion of revisions to the VCS Strategic Plan to November. Because the second Tuesday in November is the Veterans Day holiday, they will meet at 6 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 12.

Vassalboro conservation commission discusses responsibilities

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Vassalboro Town Officeby Mary Grow

Vassalboro Conservation Commission members spent most of their Oct. 15 meeting discussing their responsibilities as stewards of Monument Park and Eagle Park, on Route 32 (Main Street), in and just north of East Vassalboro Village.

For Monument Park, they decided to ask the select board about applying for a Grow Grant to help fund planting along part of the shoreline. The planting would have two purposes: helping prevent erosion and thereby protecting water quality, and serving as an educational demonstration of shoreline protection measures.

Commission members further decided they would apply only if future maintenance funding is available. The amount is undetermined; commission member Steve Jones said it would probably vary from year to year.

Jones owns Fieldstone Gardens, in Vassalboro. The other commission members used his expertise to compile a list of appropriate vegetation last spring.

Grow Grant applications are due in March and September annually. Awards range from $1,000 to $4,000; Jones said Vassalboro would likely need an amount closer to $4,000.

The other main topic Oct. 15 was renewed discussion of the proposal from John Melrose, chairman of Vassalboro’s Trails Committee, to add identifying signs to the trees in Eagle Park (see the Sept. 18 issue of The Town Line, p. 2). Melrose has signs; the park already has most of the trees they would go on, but a few – balsam fir, yellow birch and others — are missing.

Commission members intend to add them, but not until next year. Decisions about money and tree locations are therefore not yet urgent.

Jones and Melrose have had ongoing discussions. Jones said Melrose has already labeled some trees.

In other business, commission chairman Holly Weidner reported on conservation work being done by multiple agencies and organizations in the lake watersheds in Vassalboro, including China Lake, Three-Mile Pond and Webber Pond.

Commission members scheduled their next meeting for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 12, in the town office meeting room. Interested residents are welcome at all meetings.

Vassalboro select board rules on two cannabis appeals

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Vassalboro Town Officeby Mary Grow

Vassalboro select board members spent the first 90 minutes of their Oct. 16 meeting hearing an appeal from codes officer Eric Currie’s denials of two marijuana – now called cannabis – business license renewals.

They upheld the appellants on one and postponed a decision on the other.

The properties involved are two buildings licensed for growing cannabis, one on Old Meadows Road, off Riverside Drive, toward the south end of town, and one on Sherwood Lane, off Riverside Drive, toward the north end of town.

An early question was sorting out whether the applicant was Leo Barnett or his son, Andrew Barnett, or both: attorney Seth Russell, from the Zerillo Law Firm, in Portland, said he represented both men.

The Old Meadows Road building has been in use for several years. The Sherwood Lane building has not been used, according to testimony. The Barnetts, and, Currie said, other cannabis business owners in town, were late in applying for 2025 licenses, perhaps because Vassalboro was changing codes officers.

Vassalboro’s Cannabis Business Ordinance says licenses expire at the end of each calendar year, and renewal applications are due at least 90 days before a license expires. When Currie sent out reminders and the Barnetts still delayed, he denied their applications.

Currie was relying on Section K (1) of Vassalboro’s Cannabis Business Ordinance, which says that a license, and any vested rights to operate, “shall be forfeited” if the business “Fails to obtain a new license prior to expiration of an existing license.”

Russell argued that Currie had misread the ordinance. In essence, he said all that was forfeited was the existing license, not the right to apply for a new license.

Town attorney Patrick Lyons, of Viridian Law, in Bangor, disagreed with Russell, saying the ordinance language clearly says the right to run the business is lost if the application for renewal is not timely.

Another ordinance provision seems to allow late renewals, saying that if an owner does not apply on time, the business closes until a license is granted, and select board members may set a late fee.

Russell said these provisions did not permanently close a business, and if the town ordinance seems self-contradictory, the problem is the town’s, not the Barnetts’.

Select board members voted unanimously to allow the Barnetts to submit a license application for the Old Meadows Road facility, because of the confusion caused by changing codes officers and because it is an existing business. Currie said there are between four and six growers in the building.

Because the Sherwood Lane building is not in use and has not been, board members decided they need more information before acting on that appeal. They recessed the public hearing to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 13.

The Barnett hearing was followed by three more hearings, on the three referendum questions Vassalboro voters are asked to decide Nov. 4. By the time the first of those hearings was called to order, the audience consisted of two residents, one of whom soon left. Town Manager Aaron Miller talked briefly about the questions, which ask voters if they want to

— Authorize using up to $19,220 from surplus to pay auditing bills;
— Increase the number of select board members from three to five;
— Approve amendments to the town’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF) document.

The other major business Oct. 16 was continued discussion of a new capital expenditures plan. Resident Frank Richards has been studying the issue; he plans to have a presentation ready for the Nov. 13 select board meeting.

With the town’s fiscal year one-quarter over, Miller said finances seem to be in good shape. Having the new part-time office employee (and youth sports coordinator), Danielle Brox, has been helpful, he said.

Looking at future meeting dates and holidays, board members scheduled only one meeting in November (Thursday, Nov. 13) and one in December (Thursday, Dec. 11), with the option to add special meetings if needed.

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

Conservation District seeks nomination for Board of Supervisors

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Knox-Lincoln Soil & Water Conservation District has one opening on its five-member Board of Supervisors. The volunteer board, which is responsible for guiding the District’s business affairs and operations in it’s mission to provide assistance to the community in conservation of land and water resources, is comprised of three elected and two appointed supervisors, who each serve overlapping three-year terms. This year we are seeking nominations for one elected position.

Anyone interested in 1) running for the office of supervisor, or 2) voting in the election must be a registered voter within the boundaries of the Knox-Lincoln Soil & Water Conservation District (SWCD). Candidates need have only an interest in conservation and a willingness, at a minimum, to participate in a monthly board meeting at the District office or online. To run for an elected position, a candidate must submit a nomination paper signed by 25 Knox or Lincoln county residents.

In addition, the SWCD Board welcomes Associate Supervisors, non-voting members appointed by the Board, who may have an interest in the general activities of the District or a specific area of interest or expertise to share.

Nomination forms may be obtained by contacting the District office. The completed election document must be received at the District office by 2:30 pm on October 24th, after which candidates will be posted on our website, https://www.knox-lincoln.org/board-of-supervisors. Completed Ballots must be received at the District office no later than 9 a.m on November 19, 2025, and will be counted at the board meeting tentatively scheduled for November 19, 2025, at 9:30 a.m.; public is welcome to attend.

To receive nomination papers or a ballot, or for more information, contact Election Superintendent, at 893 West Street (Route 90), in Rockport, 596-2040 or julie@knox-lincoln.org.

China appeals board postpones decision on lot size

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China Town Officeby Mary Grow

China Board of Appeals members, for the second week in a row, postponed a decision on Timothy Theriault’s request for a variance from lot size requirements.

At their Oct. 2 meeting, board members found they needed more information on Theriault’s two lots on Lakeview Drive and the east shore of China Lake, before they could act on his request to redraw the dividing line between them (see the Oct. 9 issue of The Town Line, p. 3).

When the board met again Oct. 9, surveyor Greg Carey, of Waterville, provided the requested information answering the Oct. 2 questions about previous lot lines and the location of buildings, wells, septic systems and other man-made features. He and Theriault presented a slightly revised plan for board approval.

Board members raised a new issue: how much of each lot is covered by impervious surfaces (buildings, paved roads), and would the proposed relocated lot lines make either lot fail to meet ordinance requirements?

The ordinance limits impervious surfaces in the shoreland zone to a maximum of 20 percent of the lot area. Several board members praised the requirement as important in protecting water quality.

Carey said he will have impervious areas measured and percentages calculated before the next board of appeals meeting, scheduled for 2 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 23.

Vassalboro board of appeals postpones action on road name

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Vassalboro Town Officeby Mary Grow

Vassalboro Board of Appeals members, meeting Oct. 9, postponed action on an appeal of a road name until they have time to publicize the required public hearing. They scheduled the hearing for 4 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 23, in the town office meeting room.

Last spring, town codes officer Eric Currie approved the name White Ridge Road for a road running off Oak Grove Road. The road runs through the property of Silas Cain to Jeff White’s lot. Cain has appealed the name.

Board members consulted two Vassalboro ordinances, the Addressing Standards Ordinance, also called the E-911 Ordinance, and the Enforcement and Appeals Ordinance.

The first, adopted in 1996, says the Municipal Addressing Coordinator (who is the codes officer, Town Manager Aaron Miller said) shall approve all new road names. It also says every road that serves two or more addresses must be named, and both sides must be numbered at 50-foot intervals; and it sets standards for visible signs on developed properties.

“I didn’t think he had the right to put his name on my road,”
– Silas Cain

The Enforcement and Appeals Ordinance, adopted in 2009 and amended in 2010, applies to all ordinances “enforced or administered by the Code Enforcement Officer.” When the Board of Appeals receives an appeal, the ordinance says its first duty is to schedule a date to hear it.

Next, the board must notify the codes officer, who must mail notice of the hearing to the appellant, abutters and the town official whose decision is being appealed. The codes officer also needs to have the hearing publicized in an area newspaper.

Cain attended the Oct. 9 meeting, with his daughter, Lisa Munster, and paralegal John Frankenfield, from the Augusta firm of Mitchell and Davis. He explained that White has a right-of-way to his property across Cain’s property.

Last spring, Cain said, White told him the town planned to name the road. Cain considered asking that it be named in honor of his late wife.

He heard nothing more, however, until the White Ridge Road sign appeared. Discussion Oct. 9 indicated that White filled out the form requesting the name.

“I didn’t think he had the right to put his name on my road,” Cain said. Board members questioned whether town officials had contacted the right person.

They came up with several more questions. Frankenfield plans to answer some by Oct. 23; board members will ask Town Manager Miller to forward some to the town attorney.

At the beginning of the meeting, the first since Lauchlin Titus’s appointment created a quorum, board members elected John Reuthe chairman and Rebecca Lamey secretary.

VASSALBORO: Rage Room owners guided through permit application process

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Vassalboro Town Officeby Mary Grow

Monica Stanton, operator of the Rage Room, in North Vassalboro, got instructions on filing a complete application for her business at the Oct. 7 Vassalboro Planning Board meeting.

Stanton has been running the Rage Room, where people come to express anger destructively but without harming others, since summer, without a town permit. Codes Officer Eric Currie had consulted the town attorney about enforcement action.

Board chairman Virgina Brackett explained to Stanton the steps she needs to take before the Nov. 4 board meeting, when her application will again be on the agenda.

First, Stanton needs to send notices to abutters in time to get back the “green cards” that confirm they have been received, so board members will know abutters are aware of the meeting at which the application is discussed.

Stanton said she did send notices, last week, but she did not have the required confirmation they’d been received. She and her companion, James Childs, said they will send them again.

The second requirement is a revised application expanding on the one Stanton previously filed, especially by adding a detailed site plan, drawn to scale. Brackett explained that the plan is a basis for written information about traffic patterns, parking, lighting, waste disposal, buffers, business hours and sundry other matters listed in town ordinances.

Purposes are to protect neighbors and the environment from any harmful effects the business might have, and to provide documentation for future town officials.

Stanton said the business, housed in a shipping container behind the former North Vassalboro school building, is open by appointment only, Wednesday through Sunday between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m.

Stanton and Childs almost missed the chance to talk with the board. The meeting began a minute or so early, by the meeting room clock, and with only the Rage Room for business, had adjourned by the time the applicants came in five minutes after the starting time. Brackett promptly reconvened.

The next Vassalboro Planning Board meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 4, in the town office meeting room. Vassalboro’s Nov. 4 voting, with local as well as state questions, will be at Vassalboro Community School.

Vassalboro select board to hold four hearings

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Vassalboro Town Officeby Mary Grow

Vassalboro select board members now have four hearings on their Oct. 16 agenda.

Board members had already planned and advertised three informational hearings on Nov. 4 local warrant articles. Voters are invited to learn about ballot questions asking them to approve or disapprove:

— Proposed revisions to the town’s TIF (Tax Increment Financing) document;
— A request to use money from the town’s surplus account to pay the auditor’s bills; and
— A proposal to increase select board membership from three people to five.

The fourth hearing is described on the town website, vassalboro.net, as an appeal of “the denial of issuance of a Cannabis Business Permit to Andrew Barnett for properties located at 67 Sherwood Lane and Old Meadows Rd. in Vassalboro.”

The select board meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct, 16, in the town office meeting room. After the hearings, board members will hold a regular meeting; the agenda should be on the town website several days in advance.

China board of appeals postpones decision on permit denial

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China Town Officeby Mary Grow

Four members of the China Board of Appeals met Oct. 2 and postponed a decision on Timothy Theriault’s request for a variance to allow a re-division of his two lots on Lakeview Drive.

Theriault wants to sell the two adjoining lots, one at 1210 Lakeview Drive and one on China Lake, separately, with lake access for the Lakeview Drive lot. Because of the location of buildings, wells and septic systems, lot boundaries need adjusting; and codes officer Nicholas French has found that the proposed adjustment violates town ordinances.

Theriault explained that he got required permits for buildings, wells and septic systems from three previous China codes officers, who approved what he did. French said he cannot approve the proposed new adjustment, because it takes too much land from the lot that now meets size requirements, creating a non-conforming lot.

Theriault therefore applied for a variance from ordinance requirements.

Board of Appeals members found the case complicated, with no clear answer in China’s ordinances. They decided they could not act without additional information, including larger maps of past and current boundaries, copies of deeds and a surveyor’s opinion on whether Theriault has alternatives.

Theriault said he could provide the requested documents promptly. The board will meet again at 2 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 9.

Board members began the meeting by electing Brent Chesley as board chairman and re-electing Michael Gee (who was absent) as secretary.

Several abutters attended the meeting. Those who spoke were concerned mainly about rights-of-way; Chesley assured them no Board of Appeals decision would affect a right-of-way.