CMP reps: No new power line planned through China

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by Mary Grow

In response to China voters’ Nov. 5 approval of a moratorium on new power transmission lines through town, three representatives of Central Maine Power Company (CMP) attended the Nov. 18 select board meeting to ask about local concerns.

Katie Yates, program manager, community relations, emphasized that as of now, the company does not plan to run any new power lines through China. The discussion was entirely preliminary, in case CMP does develop a plan.

Select board member Jeanne Marquis, who helped collect signatures to put the moratorium on the local ballot, listed concerns she heard. They include negative effects on farming; disrupting “legacy properties” that a family has owned for generations; blocking scenic views; reducing adjacent and nearby property values; and using herbicides in the China Lake watershed.

Residents have “a lot of fear about their property” and want to be treated fairly, she summarized.

Yates and her companions offered two reassurances. First, they said, if CMP were to run another line through China, it would be in an existing corridor. And second, CMP uses minimal herbicides, usually in spot applications.

The company does not routinely notify abutters before using herbicides, Yates said. New select board member Thomas Rumpf agreed: he owns land abutting a CMP corridor and has never been notified, he said.

However, he added, he believes the company has been doing more cutting and relying less on chemicals in recent years. When he identified himself as president of the Four Seasons Club, the CMP group thanked him for providing trails that help them get to their lines.

Also at the meeting was China resident James Hsiang, for the China for a Lifetime Committee. He proposed creating a China community garden and offered a more detailed plan if select board members were interested. They were, and Hsiang is scheduled to return at either the Dec. 16 or the Dec. 30 meeting.

Hsiang said as proponents gauged local interest, they collected 280 signatures, and a dozen people volunteered to help. The planned site is the town-owned Lakeview Drive lot south of the town office.

In updates on the storage vault to be added to the town office building, select board member Blane Casey said he has been helping prepare contracts for each aspect of the work. His plan is to have requests for bids out immediately; bids due back early in December; and decisions at the Dec. 16 select board meeting.

Planning Board chairman Toni Wall said from the audience the board has scheduled a public hearing on the vault application for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 26.

The Nov. 18 select board meeting was the first for newly-elected members Edwin Bailey and Rumpf. The five members elected Wayne Chadwick board chairman and Jeanne Marquis board secretary.

Water level on China Lake not yet achieved

by Mary Grow

China Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood received two inquiries from residents about the China Lake water level, which they said was unusually low. In response, she queried Vassalboro town manager Aaron Miller and Kennebec Water District Water Quality Manager Robbie Bickford in a Nov. 16 email.

In his Nov. 18 reply, Bickford said the current level at the outlet dam in East Vassalboro is 26 inches below the spillway. The goal of the annual fall drawdown is to bring the level down to 30 inches below the spillway.

Bickford said the goal had not been achieved “in the past couple years.” Vassalboro dam managers intend to achieve it this year, he said.

In other business:

— Board members unanimously authorized taking another $450 from the fire department reserve account to pay for the South China Volunteer Fire Department’s air compressor. They had previously authorized using up to $9,000; the total cost was $9,450, Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood said.
— Hapgood and board members thanked former board member Brent Chesley for his service. Board members unanimously appointed him to the road committee, the budget committee and the appeals board.
— Board members approved an amended fee schedule at the transfer station, and an amended agreement with Albion, whose residents may dispose of specific things in China.
— They reapproved five municipal policies, two unchanged and the other three, Hapgood said, with non-substantive changes, like updating the title of the town website.

Hapgood reported China has been awarded a Cybersecurity grant, in the amount of $139.52. It is intended to provide a review of China’s cybersecurity, with a report and alerts, and training webinars for Hapgood.

Hapgood’s name is on the ballot for election to the Municipal Review Committee (MRC), the group representing towns that used the former Hampden trash facility. She explained she was talked into being listed due to a shortage of candidates; she is willing to serve if elected. Board members voted for her.

China municipal services will be closed Nov. 28 and 29 for the Thanksgiving holiday. The next regular select board meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday, Dec. 2.

Outgoing select board member cited for service

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Janet Preston

The Nov. 4 China select board meeting began with a short presentation recognizing retiring member Janet Preston.

To applause from the audience and board members, Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood gave Preston a certificate in appreciation of her service to the town, and later a bouquet of flowers.

Fellow board members thanked Preston. “We didn’t always agree, but it’s been a pleasure,” Blane Casey said, and chairman Wayne Chadwick concurred.

Preston, who was first elected in 2020, said it has been “an honor to serve the people of China,” and an interesting experience. But, she said, she looks forward to having more time with her grandchildren.

China committee continues long-discussed records storage vault addition

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by Mary Grow

The long-discussed storage vault for municipal records was the main topic at the Nov. 4 China Select Board meeting, following up on the Oct. 30 China Municipal Building Committee meeting.

Building committee chairman Sheldon Goodine and members Scott Pierz and Edwin Bailey attended the select board meeting to re-discuss the revised plan for the vault and the Dec. 31 deadline for committing American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds.

Goodine said he expects engineer Keith Whitaker, of B. R. Smith Associates, to deliver an engineered plan Nov. 6. He intends to share it with the state fire marshal, whose approval is needed, and with select board members.

ARPA is supposed to fund the vault; Goodine’s cost estimate is $187,655. The understanding as of Nov. 4 was that contracts need to be signed by Dec. 31 – merely intending to use the money will not meet ARPA requirements.

Goodine’s plan calls for the town to hire an overseer – clerk of the works was one suggested title – and to contract out the various types of work, from site preparation (perhaps to be done by the public works crew) and cement work to roofing.

Majority opinion seemed to be that work should not begin this late in the fall; contracts signed before Dec. 31 should be for work to begin next spring. Select board member and builder Blane Casey said since covid, it is common for work to be contracted well in advance.

The revised plan needs approval from the planning board. Select board members decided they can begin seeking contractors before the planning board acts.

After half an hour’s discussion, board members voted unanimously to start soliciting bids and finalize the permitting process as soon as they have Whitaker’s plan.

In other business Nov. 4, board members unanimously:

— Reappointed planning board members Toni Wall and Dwaine Drummond;
— After reviewing Delta Ambulance’s financial statement for calendar and fiscal year 2023, voted not to pay the 2024 fee in advance, but to pay the minimum required amounts through the year; and
— Accepted the only quote for a new fence for Lakeshore Cemetery, $6,756 from Triple P Fence, of Augusta, a company Hapgood said has done other work in town.

Lakeshore Cemetery, on the east shore of China Lake south of the town office, is one of China’s oldest. Hapgood commented on features that make fencing challenging.

The next regular China select board meeting is scheduled for Monday evening, Nov. 18.

CHINA: FEMA to reimburse China for 2023 storm damage

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by Mary Grow

Federal and state emergency management funds will reimburse the Town of China to cover partial clean-up costs after the Dec. 17-21, 2023, storm that left roads and roadsides littered with fallen trees and other debris.

China Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood shared an Oct. 28 letter from the Maine Emergency Management Agency saying payment of $46,292.54 had been approved, and a check would be sent “within the next few weeks.”

The town’s share of this part of the clean-up is $5,143.61, 10 percent. The federal government is paying 75 percent and the state 15 percent.

The work is described as removing 214.5 cubic yards of “vegetative debris” the storm left in and along roads and rights of way and transporting it to a disposal site.

Vassalboro planners approve two applications, postpone another

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by Mary Grow

Vassalboro planning board members had three projects on their Nov. 12 agenda. They spent as much time discussing how each fitted into town ordinances as on the merits.

They ended up disappointing one applicant, Vassalboro’s Public Works Department, represented by Brian Lajoie. Revision Energy did not expect a decision, so representative Annalise Kukor was satisfied. Sidereal Farm Brewery’s application for extended Sunday hours was approved.

“Look at that, we got one thing done tonight,” board chairman Virginia Brackett said.

The public works plan, discussed at select board meetings, is to add a pole barn for equipment storage on the Bog Road lot with the town garage and salt shed. Lajoie said it will be 50-by-100-feet, on sonotubes sunk into gravel. He hoped to have the groundwork done in the next couple weeks, with construction to start in March 2025.

An early question was whether the new building would be too close to a wetland. Lajoie said a state Department of Environmental Protection staffer had inspected and approved.

At the Nov. 12 meeting, planning board member Paul Mitnik questioned the need for board review. After a quarter-hour’s discussion of what types of buildings the ordinance covers, whether the term “expansion” is applicable and other ordinance issues, a consensus was reached: planning board review is required.

The review would be of a site review application. Public works had filed only a building permit application. Since planning board members had no application on which to act, the next question was whether any work could start immediately.

After more discussion board members decided until they acted, new codes officer Eric Currie could not issue a building permit, and without a building permit, work could not start.

Brackett postponed a decision to the Dec. 6 board meeting. Lajoie said unless the weather cooperated, groundwork will be put off until spring and the building contractor rescheduled.

Kukor was confirming information in a preliminary application for a 530-kilowatt solar installation on Kennebec Water District’s land on Route 32, just north of East Vassalboro village. The project is not commercial, she said; KWD will use all the power produced.

Board members had questions, but no objections. Kukor intends to submit a full application at the board’s January 2025 meeting.

At their June 4 meeting, planning board members approved an expansion plan for Sidereal Farm Brewery, at 37 Sidereal Way, off Cross Hill Road. At the Nov. 12 meeting, owner James D’Angelo and staff members asked to open the dining room at 9 a.m., instead of noon, on Sundays. The 8 p.m. Sunday closing time, and all other hours approved June 4, would remain the same.

After again consulting ordinance provisions, board members decided the request was for a minor change. The procedure was for the codes officer to write an approval and send it to the applicant and the planning board for board approval.

Rather than postponing the request, board members urged Currie, “Write it!” While D’Angelo summarized progress on other aspects of the expansion, Currie wrote a brief note authorizing the new hours. Board members approved it.

Sidereal staff said the 9 a.m. Sunday breakfasts will probably start Nov. 24, not Nov. 17.

In the only other business, board member Douglas Phillips asked Currie about activity at Ron’s Auto Parts, on Route 32. Currie had been to the business, preparing for reissuance of the annual junkyard permit, and been told the derelict-vehicle stockpile was being reduced. He said he would follow up.

The next regular Vassalboro planning board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday evening, Dec. 3.

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.