China broadband group told why grant request denied

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by Mary Grow

Three members of China’s Broadband Committee met Dec. 7 to hear first-hand about failure to get a state grant this fall and future possibilities (see the Dec. 7 issue of The Town Line, p. 3).

Jayne Sullivan, of local Direct Communications subsidiary UniTel, led the discussion. She explained that the Maine Connectivity Authority (MCA), the grant-awarding body, had an advisory group’s recommendation not to fund China’s project under the 2023 Connect the Ready program.

The MCA board is scheduled to meet Dec. 12, Sullivan said.

But, she said, “It’s not over ‘til it’s over.” There is more state money available, which MCA board members might allocate to Connect the Ready, perhaps giving China a second chance in the near future.

Until the MCA board decides what to do with that money, Sullivan recommended CBC members postpone decisions.

The next round of grant applications Sullivan expects will involve a different model and different mapping of broadband service areas, though she does not yet have details.

UniTel and Direct Communications intend to continue to “fight for China,” Sullivan promised.

Committee members scheduled another meeting for 4 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 4, agreeing to cancel it if they have no further information by then.

WINDSOR: Transfer station, town hall rentals top agenda

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by The Town Line staff

At their November 21 meeting the Windsor Select Board was informed on a number of activities at the transfer station.

Town Manager Theresa Haskell reviewed in length the solid waste ordinance draft. Updates and changes were made. Haskell also noted the transfer station committee is discussing using stickers, again. More information will be available later.

Haskell then reviewed the Windsor recycling pamphlet. Updates and changes were also made to the pamphlet.

Haskell also reviewed the town hall policy with the select board. She would like to get suggestions from the select board on how to make the rules clearer to residents when using the town hall. Haskell noted it is a cost to the town when emergency response is needed. Haskell made note of an example: the heat sensors in the town hall are very sensitive. When fogging devices are used, they set off the heat sensors. The fire department will respond. The town pays a fee to each firefighter who responds. It is printed in the rules tha fogging devices are not to be used, but people still use them. A suggestion to revise the policy to charge a fee to residents for non-emergency calls might help cut down on some of these calls.

A question has come up about whether a minor could ride along with the town’s plow truck. There was discussion about minor or adult riding along in the public works vehicles, and how it would affect insurance and what waivers would or should be signed by the driver and rider. More information and discussion will follow.

In other business, Haskell reported the transfer station revenues were up for October from last year by $1,481.25, making the total for the year at $3,953.

There have been three applications received for the part-time transfer station attendant position. Interviews will take place after the holidays.

The select board also voted on a plan that would limit the hours Tim Coston, a public works driver and laborer, would spend covering at the transfer station. That would allow Coston to get rest for his role plowing and sanding the town roads. Haskell said other people will be available to cover at the transfer station.

The next meeting was scheduled for December 5.

VASSALBORO: Auto junkyard permits approved by select board

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by Mary Grow

The two Vassalboro select board members at the Nov. 30 meeting approved six 2024 auto junkyard permits, after a public hearing that drew no comments.

Codes officer Jason Lorrain said he received renewal applications from six of seven residents listed as junkyard operators. He found no complaints on record; he inspected the premises; and he recommended select board members approve the applications.

Those approved are: Stanley Garnett, North Belfast Avenue; Robert Parise, Riverside Drive; Voit Ritch, Route 3; Dale Clement, Taber Hill Road; Bill Pullen, South Stanley Hill Road; and James Cogley, Main Street.

Lorrain said he had not received applications from 2023 junkyard licensee Olin Charette or auto hobbyist Robert Dore. Board members said the two could apply in time for a second hearing at either of the December select board meetings; whoever did would be charged for a second round of notices.

The other major agenda item Nov. 30 was opening requests for proposals for engineering services to design a new building at the transfer station. Town Manager Aaron Miller said he sent emails inviting 21 Maine engineering firms to submit proposals; he received one reply, from SENDERS science, engineering and construction in Camden.

Board chairman Chris French and member Michael Poulin agreed not to accept nor reject the bid, but to refer it to the transfer station task force, which Miller said was scheduled to meet the following week. They asked Miller to ask some of the other firms why they had declined to respond.

The request asked engineering firms to provide information on “permitting, design and cost estimates for a 60-foot by 80-foot transfer station building.” Task force members are interested in either “an open-ended Quonset steel building or a steel-pole barn structure.”

Select board members intend to discuss the issue at their next meeting, scheduled for Dec. 14.

They had planned a workshop session on local issues immediately following the Nov. 30 meeting, but with Frederick “Rick” Denico, Jr., absent, they skipped it.

China broadband group looks into expanded access

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by Mary Grow

The China Broadband Committee (CBC) will meet at 5 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 7, in the portable building behind the China town office to talk about next steps to expand internet access, after being denied a Maine Connectivity Authority (MCA) grant.

CBC members have been working with the Maine subsidiary of Idaho-based Direct Communications, the former Unitel in Unity. After the MCA’s grant committee met at the end of November, Jayne Sullivan, of Direct Communications notified CBC chairman Robert O’Connor that China’s application had scored high, but not high enough to get funds.

Sullivan surmised the rejection might have been because “there is too much area in the town that did not qualify for funding,” that is, area that, by state definitions, is already adequately served.

The purpose of the Dec. 7 meeting is to consider next steps as Sullivan and China committee members continue to work toward expanded internet access throughout the town. Sullivan mentioned remaining state funds as one possibility.

China’s 2022 application for funding was rejected at the beginning of 2023. Since then, however, mapping of service areas has been improved and MCA has amended parts of its grant program, leading to a new submission in September 2023.

Sullivan said that an application from the Waldo Broadband Corporation had received a favorable recommendation and will be presented for funding at the Dec. 12 MCA board meeting. WBC consists of the towns of Freedom, Liberty, Montville, Palermo and Searsmont; they, too are working with Direct Communications.

Read past coverage of Broadband initiatives in China here.

Planners approve Novel Energy Systems for solar development

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by Mary Grow

At their Nov. 28 meeting, China planning board members unanimously approved Novel Energy Systems’ application for a solar development, probably a community solar farm, on the section of Parmenter Hill Road known as Moe’s Mountain.

The application was first discussed at the board’s Sept. 26 meeting (see the Oct. 5 issue of The Town Line, p. 2). A public hearing was held at the Nov. 14 meeting (see the Nov. 23 issue of The Town Line, p. 2).

Board members’ questions and requests for clarification covered buffers around the development, run-off controls, proposed lighting (only over a sign with emergency numbers), noise, traffic and other disturbances (after construction is complete, none) and other topics related to the 15 criteria a development must meet under China’s ordinances.

Approval came with several conditions, mostly routine (like requiring a letter from the appropriate local fire chief saying the project has adequate emergency access). Novel representative Ralph Addonizio accepted all without objection.

Board members required Novel to provide the town a copy of the state’s approval of the project’s decommissioning plan, and to notify China’s codes officer of the construction supervisor’s name when that person is chosen (probably in the spring, Addonizio said).

After the final vote, board co-chairman James Wilkens reminded Addonizio that there is a 30-day appeal period. None of the neighbors who testified and asked questions at the Nov. 14 hearing attended the Nov. 28 meeting.

In other business Nov. 28, board members postponed discussion of two pending town ordinances. They intend to review another version of a solar ordinance before their next meeting; and to talk with select board members about draft revisions to China’s Planning Board Ordinance, probably at the Dec. 4 select board meeting.

Wilkens announced that codes officer Zachary Gosselin resigned and Nicholas French has returned to the position.

The next planning board meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 12. Wilkens canceled the second December meeting, which would have been Dec. 26; no one objected.

China select board discusses land use in town

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by Mary Grow

China select board members’ Dec. 4 meeting included two discussions related, in different ways, to land use in town, with a lot of unanimous votes on other topics in between.

Board members again considered proposed changes to the town’s Planning Board Ordinance, with planning board co-chairman Toni Wall joining from the audience. Select board members unanimously approved three provisions, two of them changes.

— They want planning board members to be appointed, not elected.
— They want to abolish the four planning board districts and have all five regular members and one alternate member appointed from anywhere in town.
— They want to continue having planning board members serve two-year terms (with re-appointment always possible).

Other ordinance revisions were also suggested, and might be discussed at the planning board’s Dec. 12 meeting.

A revised ordinance will need voter approval in 2024. Select board members will decide whether to add a local ballot on March 5 with the state presidential primary, or to include a vote on the ordinance at the June 11 town business meeting.

Select board member Janet Preston raised the second issue near the end of the meeting. She had done research on conserved land in Maine towns that are comparable to China in various ways and found that, on average, these towns have 12 or 13 percent of their land conserved, often for public recreation, compared to less than one percent in China.

Fellow board members asked for a more specific study, for example looking at only town-owned public land, so that state parks would not skew the figures. Preston said she will continue to work with the idea.

In other business Dec. 4:

— Select board members reviewed four bids for summer mowing and unanimously awarded the contract to Bruce Danforth, of Embden, low bidder at $25,000.
— They unanimously approved renewing the agreement giving Albion residents limited use of China’s transfer station, to supplement Albion’s curbside pick-up program for 2024.
— Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood presented eight town policies, some for renewal and some for re-approval with minor changes. Board members unanimously approved all policies as presented. (Town policies are on the China website, china.govoffice.com.)
— Hapgood presented a tentative timeline for development of the 2024-25 municipal budget and related actions in preparation for voter decisions.

The next China select board meeting will be Monday evening, Dec. 18. The first two meetings in January 2024 will be Tuesday, Jan. 2, and Tuesday, Jan. 16, since those weeks begin with Monday holidays.

CHINA: New logo approved for town

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by Mary Grow

At their Nov. 20 meeting, the majority of China’s select board members enthusiastically and unanimously approved a new town logo, designed by board member Jeanne Marquis.

New logo design

Marquis showed how the simple, symmetrical design can be used as a letterhead for town stationery, on town vehicles and on T-shirts and caps, in color or in black and white.

Summer intern Bailee Mallett and town office staff members started the project earlier this year. After Mallett left, Marquis took over leadership, volunteering her time and artistic skill.

Board members Wayne Chadwick, Brent Chesley and Janet Preston praised the work and voted to adopt the logo, with Marquis abstaining and Blane Casey absent.

Other decisions at the Nov. 20 meeting included:

  • Re-election of Chadwick as board chairman and Preston as secretary;
  • Appointment of Scott Monroe to the Thurston Park Committee and Bradford Sherwood to the Comprehensive Plan Implementation Committee; and
  • Approval of a one-year contract renewal with town attorney Amanda Meader, for calendar year 2024.

Board members reviewed a revised draft of the Planning Board Ordinance, based on versions prepared by Meader and planning board members. The select board majority disagrees with the planning board on a major issue: planning board members want to continue to have the board elected by voters, select board members want the power to appoint the planning board.

Sheriff warns drivers about deer traffic

At the Nov. 20 China select board meeting, Deputy Jacob Poulin, of the Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office, issued a warning to drivers to be especially watchful for deer this time of year. November is mating season and hunting season, and deer are paying less attention than usual to traffic, he said. There have been multiple accidents in the area.

Related issues to be resolved before a final draft is presented to voters are whether to retain the district system (each of four planning board members elected from one of four districts in town, plus two members elected from anywhere in town) and how long members’ terms should be.

On other subjects, Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood expected to have more information at future meetings on plans for the storage vault at the town office and on changes at Waterville-based Delta Ambulance, which serves China and other area towns.

The manager announced that a caucus to select an elected or appointed municipal official to serve on the Kennebec County budget committee from District One, which includes China, is scheduled for 6 p.m., Thursday, December 7, at the Windsor town office. More information is available at the China town office.

Hapgood reminded those present that on Monday, Dec. 11, the town office and public works department will be closed from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. for China employees’ appreciation day. The transfer station is not open Mondays.

The next regular China select board meeting is scheduled for Monday evening, Dec. 4.

WINDSOR: Rescue director addresses complaint of response time

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by The Town Line staff

At the October 24 meeting of the Windsor Select Board, Raymond Chavarie, Director of Windsor Rescue, addressed the board about an article noting a resident unhappy with rescue response time for a certain call in Windsor. He noted response times recorded from dispatch services and logged of a certain call. The call came into the dispatch center at 5:20 p.m., and dispatched at 5:23 p.m., with the Windsor Rescue Unit leaving the station at 5:27 p.m. The rescue unit was on-site at 5:30 p.m.

Chavarie explained that all are volunteers and get there as quickly as possible. In any emergency, five minutes can seem like an hour to someone. It is the first responders’ job to get there and do what they can before paramedics arrive. Chavarie said he welcomes the younger generation to get involved, and be trained to fill some much-needed shoes.

Carol Chavarie asked the board if the town could post on the website asking residents to mark their mailboxes and houses more clearly. Fire and rescue units need to be able to find the homes in case of an emergency and some homes just aren’t marked. She also asked if the town has an ordinance on factory start times. She said the asphalt company in town starts work very early in the morning. Town Manager Theresa Haskell said she would look into the matter.

Haskell reported that the transfer station is still currently down one employee. Many town employees have been volunteering their time to cover at the transfer station, but she noted state restrictions on running certain equipment under the age of 18 have made things difficult. The select board proposed public works assume supervisory responsibilities until the transfer station is fully staffed and the role of a supervisor has been re-established. Currently, there are five members on the transfer station committee, Barbara Seaver-West, John Deeds, Tom Reed, Cheryl Pratt and David Coons.

Animal Control Officer Ryan Carver has reported a lot of calls for animal control, some requiring the assistance of state police and sheriff’s department deputies. Haskell said she would be meeting with the Chelsea town manager in December to talk about options for coverage and back-up for animal control in surrounding towns.

In other business, Haskell noted:

  • Raymond Chavarie has resigned as a member of the Windsor Educational Foundation and Reed Fund, and that the position would be advertised.
  • The resident looking for information regarding the proposed new power line that may come through Windsor was given information by the town office staff and helped put “her mind at ease.”
  • The position of deputy clerk and transfer station attendant would be advertised.
  • Select Board member Chester Barnes Jr. and Codes Enforcement Officer Arthur Strout met with a resident to review what the requirements are for her property to be considered a residence. She was given a copy of the town’s building code.

NOVEMBER 7, 2023

At their November 7 meeting, the Windsor Select Board was told by Keith Hall, public works supervisor, that the new employee has been shown the plow routes and that all went well.

The department is currently down one truck, and is at the shop for repairs. The Western Star truck #5 is back in service following repairs at O’Connor’s, in Augusta, and the work cost $6,459.

Hall also reported that James Page would stay on as a fill-in driver. Resident Tim Coston mentioned the several years of service Page has given to the public works department.

Hall also noted that with good weather, the paving job will be finished on Vigue Road, completing this year’s paving contract.

There was some discussion about the cement wall at the transfer station. Town Manager Theresa Haskell mentioned she has tried to get Avery Glidden to come and fix the wall, but he hasn’t returned the calls. Hall has received a couple of quotes. No decision was reached.

In other business:

  • Haskell reported Delta Ambulance’s third quarter report. She noted that Tim Beals has stepped down as executive director for Delta and is being replaced by Chris Mitchell as the interim executive director. Haskell received information that Delta will be selling the Cony Road location, in Augusta, and there isn’t much more information on the closure or relocation, which is said to be taking place to a southern locale.
  • Haskell received the state of Maine check that Maine towns will be receiving to offset general assistance costs. Towns will be sharing $8.5 million, of which Windsor’s share will be $521.25. The money will go into a miscellaneous town revenue account.
  • Haskell noted that as of the November 7 meeting, there have been no applications received for the part-time transfer station attendant position.

The next meeting of the select board was scheduled for November 21.

Vassalboro planners discover omission in solar ordinance

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by Mary Grow

In the course of exploring two applications for solar power developments at their Nov. 14 meeting, Vassalboro planning board members found what most of them consider an omission in the town’s new solar ordinance.

The application that raised the issue was from ReVision Energy for a small array on Route 32 (Main Street) to provide power to several apartment buildings in the same ownership (see the Oct. 12 issue of The Town Line, p. 3). Board members decided the project was not commercial, because no power will be sold.

Therefore it does not need board approval; and it does not need a decommissioning plan to describe how it will be dismantled and its components removed when its useful life ends.

The project is proposed to have 176 solar panels. Board members asked what will happen to them – and for that matter, what will happen to the hundreds of individual residential rooftop and ground-mounted solar panels already in place in Vassalboro.

Two planning board members have solar installations, one with 20 panels and one with 32. No one knew where no-longer-needed panels are supposed to go. Board members said the State of Maine has no disposal regulations.

Whether Vassalboro should amend its ordinance to add decommissioning provisions to non-commercial projects was left undecided. Several board members advised waiting for more examples, not acting on the basis of a single application.

The new application on the Nov. 14 agenda was a preliminary discussion of another project by ReVision Energy. It is intended to be commercial, with power sold to area residents (a community solar farm, or CSF) or to small businesses.

The site is on land owned by Eileen M. Flanagan, at 1026 Webber Pond Road, south of Vassalboro Community School. It is not far from a previously-approved solar project by SunVest that meeting participants said is under construction.

ReVision project developer Alex Roberts-Pierel described the property as an agricultural field along the road with a wooded area to the back boundary. The landowners want the solar development in the wooded area, away from the road and neighbors along the road.

To make space for a commercially viable operation Roberts-Pierel asked for a waiver of the 150-foot setback requirement from the rear boundary, reducing the setback to 50 feet. Board members consulted ordinance requirements for a waiver, leading to a discussion of what hardship the developer would suffer if it were denied and what alternatives were available (like reducing the size of the project or using part of the field).

Roberts-Pierel intends to ask the two abutting landowners for their input on the buffer. He pointed out that he cannot prepare detailed engineering plans until he knows whether the waiver is granted.

Preliminary plans, he said, call for using about five acres for fixed (non-tracking) solar panels 10 to 12 feet tall, enclosed in an agricultural-type fence the state Department of Environmental Protection recommends. The application will include a decommissioning plan and funding for it.

He said Vassalboro’s requirement for monitoring wells is unusual, and asked what ReVision was supposed to monitor for. Board members explained the requirement was a response to concerns about possible leaching from damaged panels (cracked by hail or fallen trees, for example).

The next regular Vassalboro planning board meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 5.

Vassalboro select board discusses many issues; no decisions

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by Mary Grow

At their Nov. 16 meeting, Vassalboro select board members talked again about the fire station roof, a generator for the town office and recording board meetings (theirs and other town boards), and revived a topic not discussed for years, membership in Kennebec Valley Council of Governments (KVCOG).

They made no final decisions.

KVCOG executive director Matthew Underwood said of the 62 municipalities in the area his organization covers, 55 are members. Vassalboro used to be; no one could remember when or why membership was dropped.

Underwood provided information on KVCOG’s services to members. Many involve drafting documents, like new or revised comprehensive plans and ordinances. For example, he said, a new state law requires Maine municipalities to update their housing ordinances; KVCOG staff can help.

His organization assists non-member towns, too, he said, but at a much higher cost, like twice the hourly rate for work done for member towns.

Underwood estimated Vassalboro’s annual dues would be around $6,000. Some members make up for the dues in savings, he said, for example by joining KVCOG’s collective buying programs for things like road salt.

Board members want to find out why Vassalboro left KVCOG and consider what town needs the organization can help meet before they make a decision.

The fire station roof question was, again, whether to repaint (the initial plan, until it turned out to be expensive), replace or repair. Town Manager Aaron Miller said he had a roofing company representative inspect it; the main problem seems to be the chimney and immediate surrounding area.

Board member Frederick “Rick” Denico, Jr., thought chimney repairs would suffice. The roof has places where the paint has peeled, but aerial photos show no rust or pitting, he pointed out.

Miller will talk with fire chief Walker Thompson about the chimney and funding for repairs, and will try to find out whether the roof leaks.

Turning to the generator issue, Miller said the two bids received in February are still valid. After almost half an hour’s discussion of how and how often the generator would be used, board members asked Miller to seek price quotes from the same companies for a smaller generator.

The Nov. 16 meeting was recorded, like the Nov. 2 one (see the Nov. 9 issue of The Town Line, p. 3). Miller is still acquiring equipment for putting meetings on line. Denico described a “frame-grabber” that will make it possible to display documents as they’re discussed.

Board chairman Chris French reminded his colleagues of the need for a policy to regulate on-line public participation. The topic was proposed for the board’s Dec. 7 meeting.

There was a brief discussion of the pending bridge posting on Mill Hill Road, but none of other topics in what Miller labels the “Parking Lot” at the bottom of the agenda: review of Vassalboro’s marijuana and Tax Increment Financing ordinances, the recreation committee bylaws and the town personnel handbook.

The next Vassalboro select board meeting is scheduled for Nov. 30. It will begin with a 6:30 p.m. public hearing on seven applications for 2024 auto graveyard and junkyard permits and one for an auto hobbyist permit. They are shown in the graphic below.