Vassalboro appraiser explains property tax scenarios

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by Mary Grow

If I raise everyone’s property valuation by 20 percent, most Vassalboro taxpayers will see little if any tax increase, assessor Ellery Bane, of RJD Appraisal, told select board members and an interested audience at the June 22 select board meeting.

If I do not raise everyone’s property valuation as planned, many, probably most, taxpayers will see a tax increase, he continued.

Bane went on to explain the state standards and regulations that govern his work as assessor in Vassalboro and other Maine towns.

State assessors also value property state-wide, he said, and have a state valuation for each municipality. By law, the local assessor’s valuation must be within certain limits compared to the state’s, neither too much higher nor too much lower.

Because of steadily increasing home prices, property values are rising faster than he has ever seen before. Assessments need to keep pace.

The state already has a 2024 valuation for the Town of Vassalboro, Bane said. It is significantly higher than the valuation he will have, unless he implements the 20 percent increase – enough higher to trigger financial penalties for the town. For example, homestead and veterans’ exemptions will be lowered; Vassalboro’s taxes on the Summit gas pipeline and Central Maine Power Company’s electric line will be reduced; annual state school funding will be cut.

Bane estimated if he leaves valuations unchanged, Vassalboro stands to lose about $100,000 in revenue.

Tax bills are primarily determined by the amount needed to fund expenditures, as approved at the annual town meeting. Each individual property value is multiplied by the tax rate to determine how much each property-owner is asked to contribute.

Therefore if the valuation goes up, the tax rate can go down and still raise the needed total.

People whose properties are unchanged should see only the small increase corresponding to the overall 2023-24 budget increase – select board member Frederick “Rick” Denico, Jr, estimated it at about four percent. People who have improved their properties may see a larger increase, just as they would have without a town-wide change.

Bane plans to give select board members a set of recommended tax rates in August, as usual, and select board members will set the rate. Tax bills usually go out late in August. By town meeting vote, the first quarterly payment is due Monday, Sept. 25.

The topic that drew most of the June 22 audience was also financial: the Vassalboro Sanitary District’s lack of money.

District officials Raymond Breton and Becky Goodrich explained that VSD has more than $3 million in loans it is repaying, mostly for the cost of hooking Vassalboro’s system into Waterville’s via Winslow. Two pump stations need repairs that could cost another million dollars or more. Winslow is increasing the rate it charges Vassalboro by 25 percent.

Also mentioned were the manhole cover changes, needed as the state Department of Transportation repaves Route 32, that were discussed earlier. Town Manager Aaron Miller said the estimated cost is $4,500 this year and more next year (see the June 1 issue of The Town Line, p. 3).

VSD expenses are being shared among about 200 North Vassalboro and East Vassalboro customers. Audience members quoted quarterly sewer bills ranging from $270 to $500; some people, they said, paid higher sewer bills than tax bills.

Miller, who met previously with VSD officials and customers, said the trustees had postponed a planned rate increase to October. He and Goodrich said other funding sources are being explored.

Residents’ proposal is that some of the money VSD needs come from Vassalboro property taxes. They do not expect taxpayers town-wide to foot their entire bills, just to reduce them.

The comparison, one man said, is school funding: people without children in local schools still support education funding. Granted, educating children benefits everyone; but the sewer system that helps protect water quality in Outlet Stream also benefits residents all over town, he said.

Select board members expressed sympathy and said they will consider the problem. An early step is information-gathering, finding out things like how other municipal sewer systems are financed and how high other towns’ residents’ sewer bills are.

In other business June 22, select board members elected Chris French the new board chairman, succeeding Barbara Redmond, and welcomed new member Michael C. Poulin.

Miller explained what he is doing to apply for a grant through the state-wide community resilience program. Select board members unanimously approved a proclamation that is part of the process.

By another unanimous vote, they approved reappointment of town committee members whose appointments would otherwise end on June 30, the last day of fiscal year 2022-23. The exception was the recreation committee, with whom Miller intended to meet; board members therefore postponed action.

They signed a quit-claim deed to the South Stanley Hill Road property sold to Mark Grenier (see the June 15 issue of The Town Line, p. 2) and accepted a request from the East Vassalboro Water Company to reimburse it from the proceeds of the sale for unpaid bills.

Following their usual custom, board members scheduled only one July and one August meeting, for July 13 and Aug. 10.

China planners set two public hearings on self-storage units

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by Mary Grow

China Planning Board members have scheduled June 27 public hearings on two applications for self-storage buildings on Route 3.

The applications, from Chris Harris and Lucas Adams, were on their June 15 agenda.

Harris plans a 40-by-100-foot, 28-unit building at 623 Route 3, beside Central Church (the church’s address is 627 Route 3). His application describes the proposed site as an open field.

Adams’ proposal is for a 30-by-100-foot building with 26 units. The site was described at the planning board meeting as the lot between Hanson and Horseback roads that is being cleared.

Both men plan to have their facilities accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Both plan buffers from neighboring properties; neither expects the business will cause disturbance to abutters or damage the environment.

Because the applications are for new commercial uses, planning board members voted unanimously to hold the June 27 public hearings to let neighbors and other interested parties comment on the plans.

China currently has three operating self-storage facilities, board members said. One is at 937 Route 3 by the laundromat; two are on Vassalboro Road not far north of Route 3.

The other business on the planning board’s June 15 agenda was continued review of the proposed solar ordinance. Board members decided their next step is to complete previously-proposed rearrangements of sections of the document. Co-chairman Toni Wall volunteered to prepared a revised draft for review before the June 27 meeting.

Wall raised the topic of planning board districts, which select board members discussed at their June 5 meeting (see the June 15 issue of The Town Line, p. 3). Select board members leaned toward eliminating the four districts from which some planning board and budget committee members – but not select board members – are elected. They postponed action until members of the other two boards had time to weigh in.

Wall, planning board co-chairman James Wilkens and member Walter Bennett spoke in favor of retaining districts. Wall and Bennett said they consider themselves district representatives, even though they are elected by a town-wide vote. Each makes a point of driving around to keep an eye on her or his district and asks questions of the codes officer when appropriate.

Wilkens thinks given the diversity within the town, residents like to have a neighbor to whom to bring questions or concerns. He suggested select board members, too, should be elected from districts.

The topic was on the agenda for the Tuesday, June 20 select board meeting (a day later than usual because of the Juneteenth holiday). Wall and Wilkens planned to attend the meeting if they were free that evening.

Elections by district are part of the planning board and budget committee ordinances. If boards agree to recommend eliminating (or revising) provisions about districts, voters’ action on ordinance amendments will be needed.

June 2023 Fairfield election results

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Downtown Fairfield. (Contributed photo)

The following are official election returns as reported by Fairfield Town Clerk Christine Keller. Voters cast 111 ballots.

Municipal:

MSAD #49 School budget validation referendum:

Yes: 52
No: 59
Blanks: 0

MSAD #49 School Board (vote for 2)

Heather L. Hussey, 88; Rachel L. Hachey, 87; Blanks, 47.

Windsor board addresses projects, school concerns and community safety amid crime rise

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by The Town Line staff

During the May 23 Select Board meeting, Keith Hall of Public Works reported that winter sand supply is on track, while the schedule for paving work remains uncertain. Local officials are also working on cost-saving measures in collaboration with Marvin Clark.

Transfer Station authorities praised local composting initiatives, with Sean Teekema announcing the rollout of a composting survey. Windsor Fair Association representatives are set to discuss compost site matters in a future meeting, and resurfacing works for the Transfer Station roadway are also in the pipeline.

A vacancy for an Animal Control Officer position will be advertised on the town website and local office, while the Cemetery Sexton reported four recent burials and outlined plans for Veterans Remembrance Day. Dwight Tibbetts is planning a fundraising event, and Joyce Perry suggested changes to the town website to highlight the town’s need for cemetery land.

Local school district RSU #12 will have a budget meeting on May 24, 2023. A resident brought up the concern of using Windsor School as a voting location, noting its disruption to students and proposing changes. The Select Board will consult Superintendent Howard Tuttle to address these issues.

During public comment, residents raised issues about cemetery plot sales and concerns over increased crime rates in the area. The Select Board approved Warrants #51 and #52 and granted several requests from the town manager, including CMP pole placement and safety grant proceedings.

The meeting concluded with a brief executive session to discuss personnel matters.

Windsor select board approves major road construction contract

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by The Town Line staff

At its May 9 meeting, the Windsor Select Board approved several major decisions in its recent meeting, including the awarding of road construction and mowing contracts, and acknowledging a resignation of an Animal Control Officer.

The select board, chaired by Ray Bates, accepted a bid from Maine-ly Paving Services, LLC, of $267,692.50 for up to eight major road construction and paving projects in the fiscal years 2023 and 2024. The bid was one of five returned from the six requests for proposals that had been sent out.

A bid from Pierce Works LLC for $4,800 for a single mowing service was also approved. Brush cutting will be charged separately at a rate of $4,000 per mile. The exact areas for brush cutting will be determined at the discretion of the Public Works Supervisor, Keith Hall.

Kim Bolduc-Bartlett, the town’s Animal Control Officer, announced her resignation, effective June 1, 2023. The town plans to advertise for a replacement on its website and at the Town Office.

The board approved Warrants #49 and #50, and it reviewed the Warrant and Notice of Election Calling for the Regional School Unit #12 Budget Validation Referendum.

The Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day was hailed a success. The cost of the collection amounted to $3,735.55, but the expense for the Town of Windsor was only $500. The board expressed interest in conducting the event again next year.

Additionally, a proposal was made to update the Recycling and Dump Ordinances, and the idea will be explored further by the Transfer Station Committee.

Public Works Supervisor Keith Hall reported on various updates, including road and culvert repairs, and ongoing collaboration with the Town of Vassalboro Public Works Department.

The Town Manager, Theresa L. Haskell, reported on various items, including the approval of a motion to convert an inactive Bridge Statement Savings Account into a two-year Certificate of Deposit, and an update on the Central Maine Power (CMP) Section 80 Project.

Vassalboro planners approve two site review applications

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The new Oak Grove Foundation building will be located behind the historic Oak Grove Chapel, pictured.

by Mary Grow

Vassalboro planning board members approved both site review applications on their June 6 agenda.

Kassandra Lopes has a permit to run a retail store in one of two existing buildings Raymond Breton owns on the east side of Main Street, in North Vassalboro; and the Oak Grove School Foundation has a permit for a new building behind the historic Oak Grove Chapel, on Oak Grove Road, near the Riverside Drive (Route 201) intersection.

Lopes said she is currently selling clothing and displaying art works, her own and those of other, mostly local, venders. She seldom has more than half a dozen people in the building at a time.

Board members have reviewed and approved new uses of the building frequently – five times, Breton said. Lopes said she plans no changes to the building or the landscape.

The Oak Grove Foundation’s building is to have two main purposes: it will provide a meeting room for the foundation’s board and a “caretaker’s cottage,” a home for someone who will be designated the Oak Grove Chapel caretaker.

Foundation spokesmen Jody Welch and Susan Briggs and contractor Lance Cloutier explained that the project includes a new leachfield and a new well.

They plan to use existing parking spaces. Welch said should they occasionally need more parking, they and the adjacent police academy have an informal agreement that each can use the other’s lot for overflow parking.

The new building will include a kitchen and bathrooms that can be used when there are functions in the chapel. Be­cause the chapel is listed as a historic building, planners did not want to add modern facilities there, Welch explained.

The Oak Grove Chapel dates from 1786, Briggs said. It was renovated in 1895. Until recently it had been used intermittently in warm weather (there is no heat) for reunions, weddings and other functions.

Welch and Briggs said construction on the new building is scheduled to start immediately. They hope the chapel will see more use.

Planning board members scheduled their July meeting for the second Tuesday evening, July 11, instead of the usual first Tuesday, which is Independence Day this year.

China and Vassalboro voting results from June 13, 2023

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Vassalboro balloting

by Mary Grow

Vassalboro Town Clerk Cathy Coyne reported the following results from the polls on June 13:

  • Vassalboro’s amended Site Review Ordinance, adding a chapter on commercial solar development and making other changes, was approved by a vote of 137 in favor to 44 opposed.
  • The 2023-24 school budget approved at the June 5 open town meeting was ratified by a vote of 158 in favor to 28 opposed.
  • Michael C. Poulin, the only declared write-in candidate for the select board, received 58 votes. Poulin will succeed Barbara Redmond, who is retiring from the board.
  • Running unopposed for re-election to the school board, Zachary Smith received 151 votes and Erin L. “Libby” Loiko received 136 votes.

China’s annual town business meeting voting

by Mary Grow

Voters participating in China’s June 13 annual town business meeting, conducted by written ballot, approved all 32 warrant articles, according to Town Clerk Angela Nelson.

Their votes funded municipal and related activities for the 2023-24 fiscal year, authorized select board members to take actions on their behalf and approved two revised town ordinances.

On a separate ballot, they approved the Regional School Unit #18 budget for 2023-24, by a vote of 230 in favor and 77 opposed.

The issue most discussed at public meetings in the first half of the year was proposed changes in the Board of Appeals section of China’s Land Development Code. Voters approved the amended ordinance by a vote of 185 in favor to 120 opposed, the closest vote of the day.

The amended Solid Waste Ordinance got 234 “yes” votes and 70 “no” votes.

The most popular expenditure was the appropriation of state snowmobile registration money to the Four Seasons Club (Art. 15), approved 285-24.

Nelson said 313 voters cast ballots.

Results were posted by mid-evening Tuesday on the town website, china.govoffice.com, under the Elections tab on the left side of the home page.

More discussion on use – and misuse — of China transfer station

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by Mary Grow

China transfer station committee members held another long and lively discussion at their June 6 meeting about the best way to make sure only people entitled to use the town’s transfer station do so.

The eligible people are residents of China and Palermo. China taxpayers support the facility; Palermo, by contract, sends an annual payment, in addition to money residents pay for the blue bags they need for their trash.

Current admission is by an RFID (radio frequency identification) tag hung from a vehicle’s rearview mirror. The problem is that some tag-holders lend their tags to unauthorized users, or keep them when they move out of town.

In the past, China used stickers attached to the vehicle. Committee members have said repeatedly that some people do not want stickers on their vehicles.

By the end of the discussion, committee members agreed they will recommend a new system. To enter the transfer station, a vehicle must have an RFID tag; and the tag must have a current-year sticker with the vehicle’s license number.

Transfer station manager Thomas Maraggio likes the RFID tags because the reader at the station makes an audible beep when a tag passes its camera. If a vehicle comes in and there is no beep, someone checks to see why not.

Adding the sticker with license number links the RFID tag to a specific vehicle.

The plan as of June 6 was to require stickers be renewed annually. The initial RFID tag would cost China residents $10, to cover the expense of buying them; Palermo residents’ tags would be free, as provided in the two-town contract. Stickers would be free for residents of both towns.

Exceptions to the policy will be developed for renters; people whose work means they regularly drive more than one vehicle (law enforcement personnel and car dealers were examples); and others who need an accommodation.

Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood intends to write up the policy for a final committee review before committee members forward it to the China select board.

Committee member J. Christopher Baumann commented a new policy will mean retraining facility users. There was consensus some people would be unhappy.

There was further consensus that some people – a minority – are already unhappy and express their displeasure by harassing staff members as they try to enforce regulations.

In other business, committee members began discussion of a request from Albion town officials to bring to the China transfer station items excluded from Albion’s curbside pick-up program, including white goods, electronics and light bulbs. The discussion will continue.

Maraggio gave committee members a progress report: the grant application for lighting in the free for the taking building was unsuccessful; the new shipping container for mattress storage is reportedly on its way; the recently installed heat pumps are working well; and the experts who recalibrated the scales predict another 10 years’ life for them.

Committee members scheduled their next meeting for 9 a.m. Tuesday, July 11.

China select board discusses how other town board members should be chosen

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by Mary Grow

China select board members’ main discussion topics at their June 5 meeting were how members of other major town boards should be chosen and how two sections of town road should be repaved.

Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood raised the first topic as an offshoot of board members’ review of proposed changes to China’s Planning Board Ordinance. She pointed out that currently China select board members are elected from anywhere in town, but four members of the planning board and four members of the budget committee are each elected from one of four districts.

Since all voters vote for all candidates, so that no board member “represents” a specific district, Hapgood questioned the value of districts.

Furthermore, she wondered whether the simpler appointment process would encourage more people to volunteer to serve on these boards. An appointed board member would not go through the signature-gathering process required for election.

Residents invited to fill out community resilience survey

China residents are invited to fill out the community resilience survey that was listed in the June 2 issue of China Connected, with an incorrect link. The correct link, https://forms.office.com/r/fSuy5raffD, is on the town website, china.gov.office.com, almost at the top of the center column.

The QR code on China Connected is correct. Copies of the survey will be available at the polls on June 13. Deadline for returning completed surveys is June 20.

Information on residents’ preferences is part of the town’s application for a community resilience grant through the Kennebec Valley Council of Governments.

The districts, select board members agreed, were initially created to promote varied views by spreading representation throughout the town. But, board chairman Wayne Chadwick said, diversity is personal, not geographic.

No action was intended or taken; the next step is consultation with budget committee and planning board members. Generally, the idea of abolishing the districts was favorably received.

Appointing budget committee and/or planning board members was less popular. Chadwick and resident (and former codes officer) Scott Pierz both said planning board members should be elected, because they have decision-making authority.

The roads discussed for repaving were Branch Mills Road and the part of the Pleasant View Ridge Road not done last year. The issue was whether the process called chip seal should be used.

First used on China’s South Road several years ago, chip seal involves a thin layer of asphalt topped with crushed rock. It is less expensive than a thicker layer of asphalt, but controversial. Motorists, and especially motorcyclists, object to the loose rock left for the first weeks after the work, and some residents have questioned how long chip seal lasts.

At their May 22 meeting, China select board members awarded the bid for summer road paving to the low bidder, Maine-ly Paving Services, LLC, of Canaan. Hapgood explained the two-step process chip sealing requires, and said if Maine-ly Paving did not have time, a second company, All States Construction, Inc., of Richmond, could fill in (at a slightly higher cost, but still less expensive than asphalt paving).

After review of alternatives, board members agreed unanimously to leave the decisions to the town manager.

In other business June 5:

  • Hapgood reported for Director of Public Services Shawn Reed that the portable traffic lights for use at road-work sites have arrived; and that an excavator had been used to removed a beaver dam causing flooding near Dutton Road.
  • The manager said more volunteers are needed to help plan and lead the annual China Community Days celebration, scheduled for Aug. 4 through 6.
  • Codes officer Nicholas French announced his resignation, effective the end of July. He and Hapgood hope a replacement will be chosen by the beginning of July for a month of training on local issues.

The town office will be closed Monday, June 19, for the Juneteenth holiday; will close at noon Friday, June 30, for end-of-year work, with a brief select board meeting that afternoon, mostly to pay final FY 2022-23 bills; and will be closed Tuesday, July 4, for the Independence Day holiday.

The next regular select board meeting will be Tuesday evening, June 20, instead of the usual Monday because of the holiday. Board members tentatively scheduled a Monday, July 3, meeting, and talked about holding it in the afternoon instead of evening.

Redmond thanked for many years of service on Vassalboro select board

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by Mary Grow

Vassalboro select board members discussed a variety of items at their June 8 meeting, the last for retiring board chairman Barbara Redmond.

Barbara Redmond

Senior board member Chris French thanked Redmond for her service, to applause from the audience in the town office meeting room. Red­mond expressed her appreciation to the town’s “small, small staff who get a lot done.”

Redmond then raised an issue on behalf of her road association members: the accumulation of “dog poop” at the Webber Pond boat landing. There was an earlier decision not to put trash cans there, fearing overuse; now, residents suggest a sign and plastic bags.

With no trash can, resident Joe Presti said, dog-walkers will leave bags all over the place. Town Manager Aaron Miller, smiling, asked if the bags should be considered a memorial commemorating Redmond’s service on the select board.

Board members and Miller will consider the issue.

The meeting began with opening of 18 bids for the tax-acquired property at 83 South Stanley Hill Road. The first one opened was from Mark Grenier, owner of Grenier Properties, in South China, for $112,000; the next highest was $83,210. Board members accepted Grenier’s bid.

Resident Amy Davidoff presented an update on broadband access in Vassalboro, a topic she has followed for the last few years. She has explored options for improvement in the parts of town that lack adequate service.

One option is cooperation with the Town of China, which is working with UniTel, in Unity, now a subsidiary of Idaho-based Direct Communications. Davidoff reported that Direct Communications intends to apply for Maine grant funds for China and is “interested in including the underserved areas of Vassalboro” in the application.

She invited select board members to send a letter of interest to UniTel. The letter would not obligate Vassalboro in any way; but it would let Direct Communications engineers evaluate Vassalboro’s needs, she said.

French and Redmond authorized Miller to send the letter of interest. Board member Frederick “Rick” Denico, Jr., was not present June 8.

The two board members also authorized Miller to pursue a community resilience grant, through a state program designed to help municipalities reduce emissions and otherwise combat or adapt to climate change.

Miller gave updates on three issues from the board’s May 25 meeting (see the June 1 issue of The Town Line, p. 3).

  • He had a meeting scheduled June 14 with people from the state Department of Transportation and the Vassalboro Sanitary District to talk about manhole covers in Main Street, in North Vassalboro.
  • State revenues paid to local school districts are based on two-year-old figures, so a valuation increase in 2023 will have no immediate impact on state funding for the Vassalboro school department.
  • Vassalboro’s year-end budget still looks good, “pretty much where we thought we would be.”

The next regular Vassalboro select board meeting is scheduled for Thursday evening, June 22. The town office will be closed Monday, June 19, for the Juneteenth holiday.