Windsor select board takes up many agenda items

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by The Town Line staff

The Windsor select board on August 2 heard from Keith Hall, road supervisor, that all the paving is done. A few driveway repairs will need to be finished, and one on the Weeks Mills Road, which has a steep grade, will need fixing. They planned on beginning to paint lines the following week. Hall also reported the Sampson Road sign was taken and will be replaced.

At the transfer station, Town Manager Theresa Haskell reported, in the absence of Transfer Station Supervisor Sean Teekema, that the compactor area and the area under the large scale have been cleaned up. The painting of the large and small scales has been completed.

The monthly totals at the transfer station indicate revenues are down $1,398.92 from this time last year in July for a monthly total of $6,971.55.

At the Rest Haven Cemetery, Sean and Moira Teekema have painted seven panels. Bob and Liz Harriman continue to spray Wet & Forget on the stones. So far, 1,040 stones have one coat and 390 have two coats. They did 325 stones on July 25 and 26. There are 26 monuments that will need a step ladder to reach.

In other matters, Carol Chavarie and Jerry Nault were present to answer questions on the Draft UtilityScale Solar Energy Facility Ordinance. The question asked was how they came up with a 0.10 M.W. number. Nault responded that it was suggested by KVCOG which came from other town ordinances. There was much discussion on the requirements of permits and land value assessments.

The select board members voted 4-0 to authorized Haskell to vote on the MMA annual election on the board’s behalf. Select board member Ronald Brann was absent.

Haskell reported the time capsule has been ordered and will have the town seal engraved on top. There was discussion on different places to bury the time capsule. Selectman Andrew Ballantyne suggested town officials write a note to the future officials to read when the time capsule is opened in 100 years.

Haskell read a letter from Delta Ambulance regarding a possible yearly transport fee. She said this may be something that needs to be added to next year’s budget with an estimated cost of $15 per capita.

There was discussion about installing a heat pump in the town office and upstairs hall. Estimates will be sought.

Haskell also read a press release from municipal officials that the town of Windsor received a $2,427 dividend check from the Maine Municipal Association for its good performance and loss prevention programs. The press release is available on the town’s website under Municipal Government, The Town Hub.

There was also discussion on creating a new website for the town which would also make it mobile friendly.

The next meeting of the select board was scheduled for August 16.

CHINA: County tax increase substantial

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by Mary Grow

China select board members held a short Aug. 15 meeting, followed by a tour of well-filled storage spaces in the town office building.

During the meeting, board members unanimously approved a larger-than-usual list of expenses to be paid – larger because it included the annual Kennebec County tax, which board chairman Ronald Breton said is over $544,000 for 2022-23.

For comparison, the auditor’s report in the annual town report for 2021 shows that China’s county tax was $472,622 for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2021 (not the most recent fiscal year that ended June 30, 2022), and $433,730 the previous year. The figures indicate an average annual increase over four years of between $35,000 and $40,000.

Deputy Clerk Jennifer Chamberlain led board members on the building tour, pointing out crowded storage areas. Informal discussion focused on how many documents could be digitized, eliminating the need to keep so many paper files.

China’s Municipal Building Committee is considering options for adding a new room to provide more storage space. Select board members have talked with committee chairman Sheldon Goodine at previous meetings, most recently on Aug. 1 (see The Town Line, Aug. 11, p. 2) and expect to hear from him again soon.

The next regular China select board meeting is scheduled for Monday evening, Aug. 29. A special meeting is almost certain to be held Monday, Aug. 22, with the time to be announced; and another special meeting is tentatively on the schedule for Tuesday, Sept. 6, a day later than usual because the town office will be closed Monday, Sept. 5, in observance of Labor Day.

China cemetery committee working to update information

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by Mary Grow

China Cemetery Committee members and guest Kelly Grotton, whose town office duties include acting as semi-official town historian, met the afternoon of Aug. 9 primarily to hear a report from summer intern Savannah Clark.

Clark has been transferring information from China gravestones and town records to a program called Crypt Keeper Cemetery Software. She visited all but two of China’s 33 cemeteries, she said, sometimes in company with committee chairman and town office staffer Julie Finley.

Crypt Keeper records names, dates, relatives and other information for everyone buried in each cemetery. Veterans’ graves are noted, with the war in which the person served listed if known. Obituaries can be added, Clark said, for more details; and records can be updated to reflect new information and new burials.

China’s cemetery records are not yet on line, but Clark and Finley said they will be when the work is finished.

Clark said she did similar work in Vassalboro in the summer of 2021. The Town of Vassalboro website has a site on which researchers can look for people buried in the town.

Cemetery committee members also talked about work that needs to be done in China’s cemeteries. The town is responsible for almost all of them; the Chadwick cemetery on Route 32 South (Windsor Road) is maintained by a private association and two are maintained by the Society of Friends.

Cutting dead trees is an essential part of maintenance, Finley stressed; living trees are an attractive benefit, but dead ones are likely to fall and damage gravestones. Several trees were removed from Lakeview Cemetery, on Lakeview Drive.

Local forester Tim Basham sent a request to authorize removing a tree, or at least part of it, that threatens stones in the Deer Hill Cemetery.

Fences are another maintenance problem, Finley said. She has received several comments about the deteriorated fence along the front of the China Village Extension Cemetery, on Neck Road, and others need work. The Lakeview Drive cemetery fence had to be taken down to do the tree work and is replaced for now by a white rope strung between the posts.

Committee members briefly discussed wooden fences – Finley likes the appearance of white-painted wood – versus vinyl fences versus other types, like chains between posts or chainlink. Finley has had trouble getting cost estimates from fence companies, but she said vinyl appears to be expensive.

In addition to tree removal and fence repairs, which Finley recommended as priorities, Clark had compiled a list of 53 broken gravestones needing repair.

The 2022-23 cemetery budget China voters approved at their June 14 annual town business meeting was $49,500. Much of it goes for mowing, Finley said, with most-visible and most-visited cemeteries kept tidy all summer and isolated small ones mowed once a year.

Planners forward land use ordinance amendments to select board

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by Mary Grow

China Planning Board members’ Aug. 9 meeting was only two minutes longer than their Aug. 4 public hearing on proposed amendments to Chapters 4 and 11 of the town Land Use Ordinance (see The Town Line, Aug. 11, p. 3).

They voted unanimously to forward the amendments to the select board in time for that group’s Aug. 15 meeting, with the goal of having them on a Nov. 8 local ballot for voters to approve or reject.

Other planning board members agreed with Walter Bennett’s summary: “The lack of comment [at the Aug. 4 hearing] proves we finally got it right.”

Next on their schedule, chairman Scott Rollins suggested, is a return to the solar ordinance board members have discussed off and on for months, perhaps starting with a review of town attorney Amanda Meader’s comments on the current draft.

“The more we discuss it, the more we realize how complicated it is,” Bennett said. But the final ordinance needs to be clear and simple, so that voters will understand it and, if it passes, solar developers will know what they can and cannot do.

Rollins suggested yet another possible topic, review of other sections of the Land Use Ordinance to see if provisions need to be clarified.

The next planning board meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 23. Assistant Codes Officer Nicholas French said one or two pending applications might be ready by then.

Vassalboro select board sets tax rate at 14.4 mil

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by Mary Grow

At their Aug. 11 meeting, Vassalboro select board members set the 2022-23 tax rate at 14.4 mils, or $14.40 for each $1,000 of property valuation, a decrease of eight cents per $1,000 over the 2021-22 rate.

Assessor Ellery Bane offered board members several choices of rate. They considered two possible reductions or leaving the rate at last year’s $14.48 per $1,000, but dismissed any tax rate increase.

Their choice determined how much money they will have in the overlay account, set aside to cover tax abatements granted during the year. Town Manager Mary Sabins said Vassalboro seldom spends as much as $10,000 from that account; any of the proposed rates would have covered it.

Board member Rick Denico pointed out that few taxpayers would even notice a change of a few cents per $1,000 in their bills. He first proposed holding the current rate, but joined the other two board members in approving the slightly lower rate.

Board members appointed two new members of the Trails Committee, Sharon and Stephen Farrington, as recommended by committee chairman John Melrose.

The rest of the hour-and-a-half meeting was spent discussing the transfer station, the proposed solar ordinance, the town website and traffic at the East Vassalboro boat landing. No final decisions were made.

Transfer Station Manager George Hamar, who was not available to attend the meeting, wants a cover over the new trash compactor and two other minor modifications. After a brief discussion of cover options, board members put off further consideration until Hamar can join them.

Board members are considering developing an ordinance that would govern future commercial solar developments in town, because voters in a June 14 straw poll approved the idea by a vote of 239 to 58. Chairman Barbara Redmond and member Chris French have been working on a draft, with assistance from codes officer Ryan Page.

Planning board member Douglas Phillips suggested from the audience that commercial solar standards be added to the existing site review requirements, instead of writing a separate ordinance. He and Redmond agreed the planning board should be involved, and Redmond intends to get in touch with planning board chairman Virginia Brackett.

With agreement that a new ordinance or ordinance amendments cannot be ready for a Nov. 8 local vote, select board members voted unanimously to ask Sabins, in cooperation with the planning board and the town attorney, to draft an ordinance that would impose a moratorium on commercial solar development. They hope a moratorium ordinance can be ready to present to voters Nov. 8.

French would like to see a more comprehensive town presence on line – an expanded website, meetings available for on-line viewing and other changes he sees as promoting residents’ knowledge of and involvement in town government. He proposed seeking cost estimates for an update.

Audience member Dallas Smedberg asked whether people would be confused when they watched select board meetings without background on the issues discussed. Suggested solutions included reading select board minutes on the current website; or, Melissa Olson said, coming to meetings, where questions can be asked and answered.

Sabins told Holly Weidner minutes cannot be posted until more than two weeks after the meeting they document, because they are not official until select board members approve them at the following meeting.

Tom Richards described a chaotic traffic back-up at the East Vassalboro boat landing recently as people tried to park too many vehicles and trailers in the limited parking space at the landing and adjacent historical society grounds. Weidner, who lives nearby, said there are about a dozen parking spaces.

Richards is concerned about the potential for accidents when traffic is backed up and drivers are maneuvering trailers.

When boats arrive early in the morning for the bass tournaments China Lake hosts several times a summer, Weidner said, tournament organizers are there and keep parking orderly and traffic uninterrupted. However, after the bass fishermen fill the lot and local people start arriving, there is apt to be congestion.

Select board members have scheduled their annual goal-setting session for 6 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 6. This informal discussion of pending issues is open to the public, but not to public comment; the agenda is likely to cover some of the matters left unresolved Aug. 11.

The next regular Vassalboro select board meetings are scheduled for 6:30 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 15, and Thursday, Sept. 29.

Codes officer to step down

Vassalboro Codes Enforcement Officer Ryan Page has emailed planning board members that Friday, Aug. 26, will be his last day in the position. After that date, codes enforcement issues and questions should go to Town Manager Mary Sabins.

CBC, land conveyance on select board special meeting agenda

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by Mary Grow

China select board members had two main items on the agenda for their Aug. 8 special meeting.

  • China Broadband Committee (CBC) members asked them to put on the Nov. 8 local ballot a memorandum of understanding leading toward expanded broadband service in town.
  • Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood asked them to put on the Nov. 8 local ballot an agreement to convey a small piece of land at the head of China Lake’s east basin to owners of the abutting Landing restaurant.

China town manager Rebecca Hapgood. (photo by Eric W. Austin)

Board members discussed the CBC request for 20 minutes and Hapgood’s request for more than half an hour. They postponed action on both.

The CBC document is a preliminary step to an agreement between the Town of China and Idaho-based Direct Communi­cations and its local subsidiary, UniTel in Unity. It has been negotiated over several weeks with input from town attorney Amanda Meader. Board members approved it, with Wayne Chadwick dissenting, but did not vote to present it to voters.

Chadwick objects to the whole expansion project, which is intended to provide service to China residents who are “unserved or underserved” – have no internet service or service that is inadequate by state standards.

Many of the areas in town mapped as unserved or underserved are fire roads leading to lakes. Chadwick therefore defines the expansion as “a taxpayer-subsidized internet system for some of the wealthiest people in this town.”

Janet Preston

Janet Preston, who represents the board on the CBC, and Jeanne Marquis disagreed, pointing to the rural areas that would also gain new or better service.

While broadband expansion goes back only a few years, the status of the piece of shoreland in front of The Landing goes back decades, and Hapgood is tired of hearing it debated. Her proposed solution is a Nov. 8 warrant article asking voters to transfer the land to The Landing, LLC, new owners of the restaurant.

Jeanne Marquis

The main road used to go along the shore. When it was moved away from the lake, the legal status of the strip of shoreland was never determined – did it belong to the state, the town, abutting landowners?

Its size and shape are also undetermined, and one topic select board members discussed was whether it should be surveyed, and if so when and at whose expense.

Meanwhile, the town is not collecting taxes on this piece of shorefront.

Attorney Meader, joining the discussion virtually, said she is quite sure the town never owned the land; she thinks it is probably part of the abutting Landing lot. She recommends a quitclaim deed, under which the town surrenders any interest it might have, rather than a warranty deed, by which the town would guarantee the new owner a clear title.

Her opinion led board member Blane Casey to question whether voters should be asked to give away something they don’t own anyway. He had additional questions about the undefined bounds, wondering whether the town really owns the nearby boat landing and how abutters would react.

Chadwick asked what would happen if voters refused to convey the land.

Board Chairman Ronald Breton asked Hapgood and Meader to continue discussion, including the possibility of a boundary survey.

Select board members did three things:

  • Appointed board member Blane Casey as the alternate representative to the Kennebec Regional Development Authority, after appointing board member Marquis the representative a week earlier.
  • Appointed Tammy Bailey a licensed plumbing inspector for the town.
  • Approved the lowest bid for reroofing the town office, from Williams Construction and Roofing Co., of Waterville, for $9,630.

Board members will have two and perhaps three more chances to decide what to ask voters on Nov. 8. Regular meetings are scheduled for Monday, Aug. 15, and Monday, Aug. 29. Hapgood said there might be a special Aug. 22 meeting to set the 2022-23 tax rate, if assessor William Van Tuinen can solve computer problems in time to provide the needed information.

China planners explain changes in land use ordinance

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by Mary Grow

China Planning Board members held an Aug. 4 public hearing to explain changes in the town’s land use ordinance that are expected to be on the Nov. 8 local ballot.

At five minutes, the hearing might be the shortest on record.

Four residents were in the audience: Brent and Cathy Chesley, who attend most planning board meetings and were well informed on the draft ordinance; Amber French, wife of assistant codes officer Nicholas French; and The Town Line reporter Mary Grow.

Board member James Wilkens, taking the gavel in the absence of Chairman Scott Rollins, called the hearing to order, explained its purpose and invited questions. When there were none, he closed the hearing.

Those present agreed that planning board members had done a good job of satisfying concerns expressed by the Chesleys and others at a March 22 discussion of the ordinance revisions.

The proposed changes to chapters two and 11 of the land use ordinance are on the town website, china.govoffice.com, with a notice in the center of the page referring viewers to them. Planning board members have asked select board members to submit them to town voters on Nov. 8.

After the hearing, Rollins emailed that the ordinance to govern solar arrays on which board members have worked intermittently for more than a year will not be ready for a November vote.

The next regular planning board meeting was scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 9.

CHINA: Discussions on local fireworks ordinance, town office addition continue

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by Mary Grow

China select board members spent a long Aug. 1 meeting going over a long agenda, with board member Janet Preston presiding in the absence of Chairman Ronald Breton.

Ongoing issues included the proposed local fireworks ordinance; broadband expansion; the planned town office addition; using American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money to help residents pay fuel bills; and town office hours.

Select board members disposed of the fireworks ordinance relatively quickly. They voted 3-1, with Jeanne Marquis dissenting, to drop the idea and stay with state law.

Sheldon Goodine

Select board members and Sheldon Goodine, chairman of the Municipal Building Committee, talked at length about the need for more storage space at the town office. As board member Wayne Chadwick pointed out, the original suggestion of a small room for storing permanent records has expanded into a sketch plan for a larger room with work space.

Goodine said the new proposal is based on his interviews with town office staff, who told him what they see as space needs.

The initial cost estimate, very rough, was less than $200,000. Goodine offered an equally uncertain estimate of $300,000 for the larger building. The price assumes the building does not include a second-story meeting room that was discussed at an earlier select board meeting, and that Goodine thinks is not a good idea.

Wayne Chadwick

Chadwick suggested minimizing the need to store paper by digitizing more records. Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood said she will explore possibilities. Her initial reaction was negative, because, she said, digitizing would cost money and staff time, and some state departments require paper records.

A building committee meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 11, for additional consideration of the smaller option.

Discussion of an ARPA-funded subsidy program for residents’ fuel bills led to Preston’s request to Hapgood develop draft guidelines. Topics should include whether to set income guidelines, and if so how low; residency requirements; minimizing red tape; defining required evidence to support information; and whether to pay residents directly, or fuel companies.

Hapgood offered several alternatives for shortening the hours the town office is open. The current 47.5 hours a week is one of the longest in Maine, she said.

Because of the long hours, staff members are not all there at the same time. Those trying to do office work are frequently also on counter duty and have to keep shifting from one task to another. Shorter open hours would make staff work more efficient by minimizing interruptions.

Hapgood’s information included analysis of busiest and least busy hours – for example, she said, Wednesday is almost always a slow day, and the first and last Saturday mornings are usually much busier than other Saturday mornings.

After discussing sundry alternatives, select board members voted 3-1, with Chad­­­wick dissenting, that effective Sept. 1, the China town office will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday; and from 8 to 11 a.m. the first and last Saturday of each month. It will be closed Wednesdays.

In new business, Kennebec County Sheriff Ken Mason, accompanied by County Commissioner Patsy Crockett, explained why he unexpectedly raised the charge to China for “special details” (covering special events) from $65 per officer per hour to $85. There were two reasons, Mason said, that were not anticipated at the beginning of the year: increased fuel prices, and a “well-deserved and overdue” raise for deputies.

(A Kennebec Journal article said the raise is 9 percent.)

Mason said the goal is to break even on special details, so that county taxpayers will not pay for individual towns’ service. Select board members expressed appreciation for the county’s law enforcement services.

Hapgood urged select board members to support more codes enforcement in town, specifically looking into past ordinance violations that have fallen through the cracks as China has had five codes enforcement officers in 14 years.

She said resident Dwaine Drummond is already working on back issues as a consultant. On her recommendation, select board members approved carrying forward unspent money from the fiscal year that ended June 30 to pay Drummond for part-time work.

They also appointed him assistant codes enforcement officer.

Hapgood, who is currently China’s codes officer in addition to her other duties, commended town office staff member Tammy Bailey for her help with codes enforcement paperwork.

Jeanne Marquis

Other appointments were assistant codes officer Nicholas French as building official and local health officer and select board member Jeanne Marquis as China’s representative to the Kennebec Regional Development Agency (KRDA), operator of the FirstPark business park, in Oakland. Blane Casey volunteered to be Marquis’s alternate and was scheduled to be appointed at the board’s special Aug. 8 meeting.

In other business, Hapgood reported two bids for the police cruiser China no longer needs. Board members unanimously accepted the higher, $30,001 from the Town of Wiscasset.

The town schedule includes:

  • Nomination papers for local elective office are now available at the town office. Signed papers must be returned by Friday, Sept. 9. This year China voters will choose three select board members (Breton’s, Casey’s and Preston’s terms end); three planning board members (those whose terms end are Toni Wall in District 2; Scott Rollins in District 4; and James Wilkens, elected from the town at large); and four budget committee members (the District 2 seat, currently vacant, should be filled; those whose terms end are secretary Trishea Story; Timothy Basham, District 4; and Elizabeth Curtis, elected from the town at large); and one representative to the Regional School Unit #18 board (Dawn Castner’s term ends). For local elections, District 2 is northeastern China, District 4 southwestern China.
  • After the Aug. 8 special meeting, select board members are scheduled to hold regular meetings at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 15 and Aug. 29, and possibly a special meeting Aug. 22.

CLA annual meeting celebrates 50 years of Clean Water Act

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The China Lake Association leadership team, from left to right, Secretary David Preston, Vice President Eric Lind, and President Stephen Greene. (photo by Jeanne Marquis)

by Jeanne Marquis

The China Lake Association (CLA) annual meeting was held Saturday morning on July, 30, 2022, in the China Middle School, on Lakeview Drive, in China, Maine. The meeting was both a celebration of the alewives return to China Lake and a tribute to the 50-year anniversary of the Clean Water Act.

Senator Susan Collins, Senator Angus King and Congress­woman Chellie Pingree sent video statements to the annual meeting congratulating the association’s positive impact on China Lake and supporting the work ahead to maintain the water quality. Senator Collins expressed that maintaining fresh water lakes such as China Lake is an important investment in our future. Senator King mentioned the connection the Muskie family personally had with China Lake owning a camp on its shore.

Pingree stated, “It was our fellow Mainer, Senator Ed Muskie, who wrote the clean water act half a century ago. Since then, it has been directly responsible for restoring and maintaining waters across the nation including right here in China Lake. Senator Muskie would be proud to see how much progress all of you at the China Lake Association have made to restore and protect the lake’s water to continue implementing the provisions of the Clean Water Act.”

The annual water quality report for China Lake was presented by Robbie Bickford, Water Quality Manager of Kennebec Water District (KWD). According to Bickford, “The results of the testing indicate China Lake is maintaining a steady state with a slight improvement in water quality over the past 10 years.” The full report can be found in the KWD newsletter which can be accessed here on ChinaLake­Associa­tion.org.

Bickford also provided updates on two projects Ken­nebec Water District accomplished this past year and are ongoing to protect water quality. KWD, with help from a grant from Project Canopy, reforested six acres on land KWD purchased in the early 1900s. Working with residents down in that area, KWD planted about 6,000 little seedlings with a mixture of black spruce, red spruce and red pine. In the fall of 2021, KWD developed a harvest plan in conjunction with a forest management plan. The goal is to achieve a mixed age, multi-species stand on all KWD land to maintain sustainable erosion control. KWD postponed last winter’s harvest until the winter of 2023 due to the warm conditions. Bickford explained that ideally the ground should be frozen during the harvest to prevent as much soil disruption as possible.

Bob O’Connor

The annual loon count was presented by Bob O’Connor, CLA board member. O’ Connor mentioned he has been counting loons on China Lake for 33 years, a third of a century. He was pleased to announce the count is up from 25 to 34. O’Connor announced another loon project in the works to help increase the loon population.

Karen McNeil, an undergraduate studying wildlife ecology and an intern for Maine Lakes, briefly presented information about the Loon Restoration Project. This project is intended to increase the loon productivity, while decreasing the mortality through establishing nesting rafts in ideal locations. Bill Powell, CLA board member is leading this initiative for the CLA and plans to launch an artificial nesting raft next year on China Lake. They are looking for more volunteers to build and monitor the raft for signs of nesting and chicks. Contact the CLA for more information about how to get involved.

Landis Hudson, executive director of Maine Rivers, made an upbeat presentation about the completion of the alewives restoration to China Lake and what this means to the regional ecology. This nearly ten-years-long project was headed up by the nonprofit organization Maine Rivers, in collaboration with the towns of China and Vassalboro, the Maine Department of Marine Resources, the Kennebec Water District, the Sebasticook Regional Land Trust, and the China Region Lakes Alliance. The China Lake Alewife Restoration Initiative hopes to reclaim the balance of wildlife in the water, air and land that existed prior to the dams construction centuries ago by restoring alewife passage. For the first time since 1783, alewives are making the trip from the ocean through the Kennebec River to China Lake to spawn. Nate Gray, a scientist with Maine Department of Marine Resources, manufactured a fish counter to get initial counts. The numbers of alewives making it through the fishways at the Box Mill Dam reached expectations.

Eric Lind, vice president of CLA, spoke about the 2022-2031 China Lake Watershed-Based Management Plan (WBMP). The plan outlines management strategies and a 10-year schedule of steps to increase efforts to reduce the external phosphorus load by addressing existing nonpoint source (NPS) pollution throughout the watershed and limit new sources of phosphorus from future development and climate change. The plan significantly reduces the internal phosphorus load through inactivation of phosphorus in lake bottom sediments, and monitors and assesses improvements in China Lake’s water quality over time.

The 2022 launch of the WBMP is the culmination of a two-year comprehensive watershed survey, performed with help from CLA volunteers in partnership with Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and technical leaders. The survey identified sources of pollution, which included an assessment of gravel roads and developed properties in the watershed. The information from the survey was used in China Lake’s ten-year watershed management plan; the plan will help the CLA qualify for federal funding grants under the Clean Water Act. The China Lake Watershed-Based Management Plan is available on the CLA website.

Why is a watershed based management plan important? As reported August 5, 2022, in the Morning Sentinel and the Kennebec Journal, North Pond, in Smithfield, in the Belgrade area, is experiencing extreme algae blooms that have diminished the water clarity to only four feet. People are advised by the state Department of Environmental Protect to limit lengthy exposure to the pea soup green water and to have no exposure when water clarity reaches only three feet. There was no watershed management plan in place for North Pond. The North Pond Association has recently received a grant to establish a plan.

The last speaker of the CLA annual meeting was Judy Stone, Colby College professor and LakeSmart Award property owner, discussing forests, buffers and water quality. Stone provided property owners with sound advice on maintaining a canopy of diverse trees and permeable ground foliage to capture and filter stormwater.

The meeting closed with a strong vote of confidence for the re-election of the current leadership team: President Stephen Greene, Vice President Eric Lind, Secretary David Preston. An opening exists for a treasurer to replace retired treasurer Elaine Philbrook. The board of directors includes Robbie Bickford, Wayne Clark, Bruce Fitzgerald, Marie Michaud, Bob O’Connor, and Bill Powell, all of whom serve with the officers as volunteers managing the business and conducting the affairs of CLA.

The China Lake Association stands for “Preserving China Lake for Future Generations Through Environmental Stewardship and Community Action.” CLA officers and directors hold monthly meetings to drive growth and development of the organization. Stephen Greene invites interested people to attend. Contact him at stephencraiggreene@gmail.com to attend board meetings, become more involved, or discuss your thoughts about CLA.

Property tax stabilization program guides provided to Maine municipalities

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Property Tax Stabilization for Senior Citizens, also known as the Property Tax Stabilization Program (the “Program”), is a State program that allows certain senior-citizen residents to stabilize, or freeze, the property taxes on their homestead. An applicant must be at least 65 years old, a permanent resident of the State, and must have owned a Maine homestead for at least ten years. As long as the individual files an application and qualifies each year, the tax billed to them for their homestead will continue to be fixed at the amount they were billed in the prior tax year. Eligible residents who move may transfer the fixed tax amount to a new homestead, even if that new homestead is in a different Maine municipality.

For example, if an individual applies by December 1, 2022, and qualifies for the Program, the amount of tax billed to the individual for the April 1, 2023, tax year will be the same as the amount billed to them for the April 1, 2022, tax year. As long as the individual continues to qualify and to file timely annual renewal applications, the amount they are billed will be frozen at the amount billed for the April 1, 2022 tax year. The State will reimburse the municipalities for the difference between the amount billed the participating individual and the tax that would otherwise be due.

The law goes into effect on August 8, 2022, and applies to property tax years beginning April 1, 2023. Interested taxpayers will need to first apply with the municipality where their homestead is located on or before December 1, and then reapply each year by December 1.

Program Administration

Maine Revenue Services (“MRS”):

  • Provides applications, instructions, and guidance for participants and municipal officials.
  • Annually reviews all claims for reimbursement filed by affected municipalities and
    reimburses qualifying municipalities by January 15 for 100% of the difference between the amount billed the participating individual and the tax that would otherwise be due.
    Municipality:
  • Accepts applications to the Program.
  • Verifies eligibility and notifies applicants whether approved or denied.
  • Tracks properties in the Program, the stabilized amounts, and the tax that would
    otherwise have been assessed.
  • Retains applications for reference and for state valuation audit purposes.
  • Annually applies with MRS for reimbursement by November 1.

Eligible Individuals

To be eligible for the Program, an individual must meet all of the following as of April 1 of the property tax year for which they are requesting stabilization (so for applications due December 1, 2022, qualifications must be met as of April 1, 2023):

  • Be 65 years old or older.
  • Be a permanent resident of Maine.
  • Have owned a homestead in Maine for at least ten years. The ten-year period does not
    have to be consecutive.
  • Be eligible for a homestead exemption under 36 M.R.S. §§ 681 – 689 on the property which they are requesting stabilization.

If a homestead is owned by more than one individual as joint tenants, only one owner needs to qualify for the Program. There is no payback amount if a property is removed from the Program and there is no income or asset limits to qualify.

Eligible Property

  • Must be a “homestead,” as defined in the homestead exemption statue, 36 M.R.S. § 681(2):
    • “Homestead” means any residential property, including cooperative property, in this State assessed as real property owned by an applicant or held in a revocable living trust for the benefit of the applicant and occupied by the applicant as the applicant’s permanent residence or owned by a cooperative housing corporation and occupied as a permanent residence by a resident who is a qualifying shareholder. A “homestead” does not include any real property used solely for commercial purposes.
  • Must be owned by an eligible individual. Application Process
  • An individual must file a completed application, including any requested proof of qualification, with their local assessor by December 1.
  • The assessor will determine if the applicant qualifies for the program and will notify the applicant whether they have been approved or denied.
  • Participants must file a new application with the municipality each year in order to maintain their stabilized tax amount.
  • As long as a participant continues to qualify and apply every year, their tax bill will remain the same as it was in the year an application was first submitted.
    Program Maintenance
  • Participants must reapply with the municipality every year by December 1. 2
  • If a participant changes their homestead, they must request that the municipality of their former homestead notify the new municipality of their previous eligibility and the stabilized amount, and file a new application with the new municipality.
  • If a participant fails to timely file an application one year, the bill for that year would revert to the “normal” amount of tax. They could apply again the next year, but it would then be stabilized at the missed year’s normal tax level.
  • Participants must meet all qualifications to continue in the Program, including maintaining Maine residency and maintaining the homestead as their permanent residence.
    The text of the new law is available on the Maine Legislature’s website: legislature.maine.gov/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=SP0126&item=5&snum=130.

For more information on the Property Tax Stabilization Program, contact the Property Tax Division of Maine Revenue Services at:

MAINE REVENUE SERVICES PROPERTY TAX DIVISION
P.O. BOX 9106,
AUGUSTA, ME 04332-9106,

Tel: (207) 624-5600,
EMAIL: prop.tax@maine.gov
www.maine.gov/revenue/taxes/property-tax3.