Ira Michaud chosen as new VCS principal

/0 Comments/in , /by

Vassalboro Community School (contributed photo)

by Mary Grow

VASSALBORO, ME — At a brief special meeting May 10, Vassalboro School Board members unanimously hired Ira Michaud as the new principal at Vassalboro Community School (VCS).

Michaud will take office July 1, succeeding Megan Allen, who resigned earlier this spring and plans to return to teaching.

He is currently ending his first year as principal at Nobleboro Central School, in Alternative Educational Structure (AOS) #93, which serves students in kindergarten through eighth grade. Before that, he said, he was principal for four years at Edgecomb Eddy Elementary, a pre-school through sixth-grade school in AOS #98.

Michaud was born in Windsor, some of his family lived in Vassalboro, and, he told school board members, 23 years ago he did his practicum (his first, supervised practice teaching) in Vassalboro. Now, he said, he is excited at this new opportunity.

Vassalboro’s 16-person search team chose Michaud from more than a dozen candidates, about half of whom they interviewed. The team included school officials and staff and town representatives, some of them parents of VCS students.

Superintendent Alan Pfeiffer and school board member Jessica Clark said the search team members were unanimous and enthusiastic in their choice. Clark said when she asked for negative comments, she got none.

Pfeiffer said the same search team, with Michaud involved, has begun the process of finding a new assistant principal to succeed Greg Hughes, who resigned shortly after Allen did.

Pfeiffer has already begun talking with his opposite number in AOS #93 about making Michaud’s transition as smooth as possible from the Nobleboro end.

Vassalboro select board approves paving bid with All States Construction; postpone buying new truck

/0 Comments/in , /by
by Mary Grow

VASSALBORO, ME — Public works issues – 2022 paving plans and the need for a new truck – were the main topics at the May 12 Vassalboro select board meeting.

Road Foreman Gene Field said Vassalboro received seven bids for road repaving this summer, all higher than the proposed 2022-23 budget can completely cover. He recommended accepting the low bid, $86.90 per ton of asphalt mix, from All States Construction, of Richmond.

Field said Vassalboro and China bid out the work jointly, as the two adjoining towns have done in previous years. China also chose All States, with plans to use a process called chip seal on some roads instead of repaving with a new asphalt coat (see “The Town Line”, May 12, p. 2, and related [china road]article p ).

All States representative Doug Fowler explained to Vassalboro board members that chip seal involves first shimming the road to cover ruts and make a smooth surface. After the shim coat sets, a process that takes about 30 days, chip seal adds an emulsion with hard stone packed into it to create a final surface.

The chip seal coat is normally about 3/8 inch thick, but it can be doubled. A single coat costs about one-third the cost of an inch of asphalt, Fowler said; he expects it to last seven to nine years.

He and Field agreed if they use the shim plus chip seal process, Field can expect calls from puzzled residents asking why a road that was done a month ago is being repaved. Field has reservations about the quality and longevity of chip seal, though he said he had looked at the chip sealed South Road, in China, and it seems satisfactory after two years.

If Vassalboro were to choose chip seal, he recommended a double coat on Legion Park Road, which he called about the worst one on the 2022 list.

Another problem is scheduling. Field said his crew needs time to replace culverts on some roads. Fowler said his preference is to have roads shimmed by about July 15 and chip-sealed by Aug. 30 (or the chip seal coat postponed to the next spring). Town Manager Mary Sabins said payment is usually due within 30 days of completion, and Vassalboro’s first 2022-23 tax payments won’t be due until Sept. 26, 2022 (assuming voters approve the recommended dates at the Monday, June 6, annual town meeting).

Select board members unanimously approved awarding the paving bid to All States. They agreed that decisions on whether, and if so, where to use chip seal would be left to Field, expressing their confidence in his judgment.

Field told the board because of supply and price issues, the truck reserve fund is no longer adequate to cover the new town truck he recommends. Dealers aren’t seeking bids for new trucks, he said; they notify potential buyers when one might be available. If he were able to order a truck chassis in August, he might get it in October or November; then a body would need to be added.

Sabins added that with the stock market losses, Vassalboro’s reserve funds are declining. She said Vassalboro’s investment advisor had recommended cashing out the fire truck reserve, which was already about $800 too low to cover the pending lease payment, and putting the money in a certificate of deposit.

Field had planned to keep the 2009 truck that is being replaced as a back-up. One option to provide more money would be to trade it in or to sell it. Another option would be to ask voters on June 6 to increase the proposed 2022-23 public works budget.

By consensus, select board members decided to postpone a decision on buying a truck until after town meeting.

Field and Sabins reported that planned improvements at the transfer station were under way, but not finished.

In response to a resident’s request, Field said he did a speed survey on Hussey Hill Road with a radar sign and sent results to Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) Commissioner David Allen. Select board members voted unanimously to ask MDOT to do a speed assessment on the road.

Hussey Hill Road is currently unposted, making the speed limit 45 miles an hour. MDOT officials have power to post a limit they consider appropriate.

The May 14 meeting opened with a public hearing on Codes Officer Ryan Page’s recommended increases in permit fees. Page briefly explained the reasons for the recommendations; there were no public comments, and select board members unanimously approved the new schedule, making the increases effective July 1.

Two other matters briefly discussed and postponed until after town meeting were whether to adopt a salary schedule for town employees, as discussed at earlier board meetings (see the report on the March 3 Vassalboro Budget Committee meeting in the March 10 issue of The Town Line, p. 3); and a request to start building a parking lot at the planned streamside park on Route 32 north of East Vassalboro.

The next regular Vassalboro select board meeting is scheduled for Thursday evening, June 9, three days after the annual town meeting. It will be Board Chairman Robert Browne’s last meeting; he is not seeking re-election on June 14. Rick Denico, Jr., is the only candidate on the ballot for a select board seat.

Fish kill on Webber Pond appears to be tied to parasite

/3 Comments/in , , /by

One of numerous dead largemouth bass found on Webber Pond. (photo by Roland D. Hallee)

by Roland D. Hallee

VASSALBORO, ME — Over the past couple of weeks there has been a noticeable fish kill on Webber Pond, in Vassalboro. On the east shore of the cove, dozens of dead largemouth bass have been washing ashore. The question that has been asked is why only largemouth bass have been affected.

photo by Roland D. Hallee

Fish kills have occurred before on Webber Pond, and also on China Lake, but it usually affects all species of fish, and not one in particular.

Jason Seiders, resource supervisor for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife provided some information on the subject. There has been ongoing work relating to the fish kill. The occurrence appears to be pond-wide, and not just the east shore.

Seiders says, “our staff has visited the pond multiple times to collect water quality information and to collect specimens for our fish pathologist. The ultimate cause of fish mortality appears to be high levels of parasitization by a protozoan called Chilodonella.” (Chilodonella uncinata is a single-celled organism that affects the gills and skin of fresh water fish, and may act as a facultative parasite of mosquito larva). “Chilodonella is found throughout Maine and is usually relatively benign to fishes,” Seiders adds, “unless the fish have undergone elevated levels of stress. Stress acts as an immunosuppressor to fish, and the causes of stress include a wide variety of issues.”

Seiders went on to say that since this event seems to involve almost exclusively adult largemouth bass, it is unlikely to be anything related to a discharge or point source of pollution. Those types of events would typically kill indiscriminately, not just one life stage of one species. Some likely causes of stress to adult largemouth bass in Webber Pond include: high fish numbers, rapid changes in water temperature or dissolved oxygen levels, and spawn and pre-spawn stress. The actual cause of the initial stress may never be known.

“I realize that an event such as this is disturbing. Fish kills like this are not uncommon for central Maine waters; this one is quite similar to one experienced in the Cobbosseecontee drainage a few years ago,” he explained.

For more information on fish kills, read the blog article written by the IF&W fish pathologist back in 2020, at https://www.maine.gov/ifw/blogs/mdifw-blog/when-be-concerned-about-finding-dead-fish-maines-lakes-ponds-and-rivers-summer.

According to Seiders, Webber Pond is a very productive warm water fishery, one that has often been called a “bass factory”. Webber Pond provides outstanding habitat for warm water fishes such as largemouth bass, which will likely speed along any recovery to the population.

While numerous bass have perished during this event at Webber, this will not cause the entire population to be wiped out. Animals that feed on the bass will be unharmed because the identified protozoan is harmless to wildlife. The IF&W staff will continue to monitor Webber Pond to assess potential impacts to the bass population in the short and long term.

If you have any additional questions or concerns, contact Seiders directly and he’ll help as best he can. He can be contacted at Dwayne.J.Seiders@maine.gov.

China Planning Board meeting canceled

/0 Comments/in , /by

The China Planning Board meeting scheduled for May 9 was canceled; board members were not ready to continue work on draft ordinances. The next regular meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 24.

China broadband committee continues talks with Unitel, Direct Communications

/0 Comments/in , /by
by Mary Grow

At their May 4 meeting, China Broadband Committee (CBC) members continued discussion of working with Unitel and Direct Communications to bring expanded broadband service to China residents. CBC Chairman Robert O’Connor planned to present an interim report to China Select Board members at their May 9 meeting.

As at their previous joint discussion April 6 (see The Town Line, April 14, p. 3), everyone was enthusiastic about a cooperative endeavor – and how to pay for what CBC members envision remained a problem.

After voters defeated a request to borrow money through a bond in November 2021, CBC members have been determined to develop a plan that would not require financial support from taxpayers. They expect a combination of grants, user fees and other to-be-explored sources to cover costs.

CBC member Jamie Pitney summarized the committee’s relationship with Unitel: “We contacted all these people [from other broadband and telecommunications companies, including those already serving China residents] and the most promising are sitting right here.”

Michael Akers, Unitel’s Director of Network Operations, said he and Lead Communications Technician Scott Turgeon toured about half of China’s roads and confirmed and expanded information collected by last summer’s survey by Hawkeye Connections.

Notably, they found areas on main roads and camp roads where new facilities would be needed. The necessary construction would be “fairly straightforward,” Akers said, parts of it easy and parts hard.

In sum, the Unitel experts were “not supersurprised” by their findings. They concurred with Hawkeye’s cost estimate of around $6.5 million for work China would need.

They also agreed that under current guidelines and definitions for federal and state broadband grants, China could expect about $850,000, leaving a substantial amount needed from other sources.

Unitel and Direct Communications would contribute, amounts unknown. And, several people mentioned in discussion, grant guidelines will not be final until the fall of 2022 and might change to China’s advantage.

Another possible plan would be to expand China broadband incrementally over several years, starting with service to currently unserved and underserved areas.

The group agreed that CBC members should encourage China residents to do repeated speed tests on their current broadband service. Demonstrations of limited service should help show the need for change. Direct Communications, based in the small town of Rockland, Idaho, specializes in providing rural towns with broadband service. Unitel, based in Unity, Maine, is now a member of Direct Communications. Unitel’s Director of Internal/External Support, Jayne Sullivan, and Akers said they will forward a description of the local financial situation to Idaho.

Pitney asked James Dougherty, from consultant Mission Broadband, to draft a work plan for the CBC based on the May 4 discussion. After discussion of how much time would be needed, the next CBC meeting was scheduled for 4 p.m. Wednesday, May 25, in the portable building behind the China town office.

Vassalboro planners approve four applications

/0 Comments/in , /by
by Mary Grow

Vassalboro Planning Board members unanimously approved all four applications on their May 3 agenda. They also discussed increased town permit fees, an item that will appear on the May 12 select board agenda.

Two shoreland permits were approved, for John Northrop to replace a house at 78 Three Mile Pond Road with a similar house close by and to add a garage; and for Jeffrey and Erica Bennett to build two houses at 21 Sheafer Lane, on Webber Pond.

Property-owner Raymond Breton, representing Amber French, of China, received a permit to open a lashes extension business – eyelashes, Breton explained – in an existing building at 913 Main Street, in North Vassalboro.

The fourth action was approval of a six-month extension of the permit issued June 1, 2021, for a solar array off Cemetery Street, in North Vassalboro. The original license was issued to New England Solar Gardens; the new company name is Maine 1 Vassalboro Cemetery.

Codes Officer Ryan Page presented a list of proposed fee increases for permits issued by his office, including but not exclusively those needing planning board approval. His goal was twofold, to bring many-year-old fees into the present day and to more adequately represent the time invested in permit review.

Planners took no formal action, but in discussion they supported his fee schedule and in some cases recommended increases.

Two board members summarized the two philosophies involved. John Phillips said when he asks town employees for a service, he thinks his taxes have paid for their help and there should be no additional charge. Paul Mitnik said that since he has not applied for a permit in years, his taxes are subsidizing residents who do need the codes officer’s help.

The next Vassalboro Planning Board meeting should be Tuesday evening, June 7.

China select board holds public hearing on proposed budget

/0 Comments/in , /by
by Mary Grow

The May 9 China Select Board meeting began with a half-hour public hearing on three of the items to be submitted to voters on June 14: the Large Scale Solar Facilities Moratorium Ordinance (Art. 37), the updated town comprehensive plan (Art. 38) and the 2022-23 municipal budget (Arts. 2 through 21, and indirectly Arts. 22 through 25 and 27 through 35).

Select Board Chairman Ronald Breton briefly explained each item and invited questions from the audience, on line and in the meeting room. There was one: Lawrence Sikora asked why money for China’s volunteer fire departments appeared in two different articles.

Breton explained that Art. 9 asks for $166,755 to keep the fire departments and rescue unit operating, funding their buildings and equipment and related expenses. Art. 12 asks for $92,000 for 11 “community support organizations,” donations or gifts to help in-town service organizations. The fire departments’ appropriations are intended for each department’s chief to distribute among the volunteer members in appreciation of their work.

Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood said town meeting information, including the proposed ordinance and the revised comprehensive plan, are on China’s website, china.govoffice.com, under the elections tab on the left side of the page. A paper copy of the lengthy comprehensive plan may be borrowed from the town office.

During the meeting that followed the hearing, select board members approved two school-related questions for voters to answer on June 14. They will be on two separate ballots. One asks voters to approve or reject the 2022-23 school budget that will have been approved in an open meeting May 19. The other asks voter approval to apply to the state’s School Revolving Renovation Fund.

Carl Gartley, China resident and Superintendent in Regional School Unit (RSU) #18 (Belgrade, China, Oakland, Rome and Sidney), said the proposed 2022-23 budget is 1.57 percent, or about $643,000, higher than the current year’s budget. China’s share is projected to increase by 0.96 percent, or about $48,000.

On Thursday, May 19, interested voters from the five RSU #18 towns will meet at 6 p.m. at the Messalonskee High School Performing Arts Center, in Oakland, and vote on the amount in each of the 18 articles that make up the budget. On June 14, voters in the five towns will vote yes or no on re-approving the total that was approved May 19, the annual school budget referendum vote.

The formula that determines how much of the total RSU budget each town pays is currently based 75 percent on property valuation and 25 percent on student population. Gartley said that a new 15-member committee – three people from each town, appointed by the select boards – that will decide whether to continue or to amend the formula is scheduled to be organized this fall.

Also on June 14 is the state primary election.

China’s polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. June 14, in the former portable classroom behind the town office. Hapgood reminded the audience that the town office will be closed all day, because staff will be at the polls.

Town and state absentee ballots will be available at the town office Monday, May 16, and the RSU ballots will be available Friday, May 20.

In other business at the May 9 meeting, select board members reviewed seven bids for paving town roads. They unanimously accepted the low bid of $86.90 per ton of paving mix, from All States Construction, of Richmond, with the proviso that Hapgood and the China Road Committee will decide what roads to repave with asphalt and what roads to chip seal, as they evaluate the need and the funds available.

Steven Goulas, Paving Coordinator/Estimator for All States, explained that a chip seal surface is a layer of emulsion with hard stone spread on top and packed down, and then swept to move any loose stone into the ditches. Chip seal costs less than repaving.

Depending on the road, different size stone can be used, and either one or two layers applied, Goulas said. He estimated a chip sealed surface would last on average around five years, compared to an average of around seven years for an asphalt repaving. Chip seal is more durable now than it was 30 years ago because of the change in weather, he added.

Shawn Reed, China’s newly-titled Director of Public Services (combining management of the public works department and the transfer station), reminded the audience that South Road was chip sealed and is holding up well. His opinion is that it would be better to do as much as possible of the planned 5.1 miles of resurfacing this summer, using both methods as road committee members advise, than to postpone all work hoping for lower prices in 2023.

The China Road Committee, including Hapgood and Reed, was scheduled to meet Wednesday morning, May 11.

Reed’s report to the select board, presented by Hapgood, said his department has just added two new employees, one for public works and one for the transfer station.

Hapgood reminded those present that new transfer station hours take effect the week of May 16. So far, she said, she has heard only approval of the change. The new hours are on the town website and posted at the transfer station.

Select board members accepted the lowest of three bids for 18 months of mowing (to switch the contract from a calendar to a fiscal year), $47,225 from AK Enterprise, Alex Sargent’s landscape company, in Chelsea.

They approved a renewed two-year dispatching contract with the City of Waterville’s police department. The price is a little over $19,000 for the first year – already in the proposed 2022-23 budget, Hapgood said – and likely to increase slightly in the second year.

Robert O’Connor, chairman of the China Broadband Committee (CBC), updated board members on committee discussions with representatives of telecommunications companies since his report last November. CBC members are currently optimistic about prospects for expanded broadband service through Unity-based Unitel and Unitel’s new partner, Direct Communications of Idaho (see related story here).

The next regular China Select Board meeting is scheduled for Monday evening, May 23.

Windsor select board approves article to purchase firetruck

/0 Comments/in , /by
by The Town Line staff

By a vote of 3-1, with Ray Bates opposing (select board member Richard Gray Jr., was absent), the Windsor Select Board approved the purchase of a new E-One/Freightliner Tanker Truck including transaction costs and other expenses reasonably related for the sum of $354,000, with $54,000 being expended from the unassigned fund balance at the time of purchase, and with any shortfall or additional amount needed at the time of purchase in excess of $354,000, to be expended from the Fire Safety Capital Reserve Fund, and authorized the treasurer and the chairman of the select board to issue, at one time or from time to time, general obligation securities of the town, including temporary notes in anticipation of the sale, in an aggregate principal amount not to exceed $300,000. Also delegated to the treasurer and chairman the authority and discretion to fix the date(s) maturity, denomination, interest rate, place of payment, call for redemption form and other details of securities, including execution and delivery of securities against payment, and to provide for the sale, and undertake such refunding as they may deem appropriate in the future.

By a vote of 4-0, the select board approved the draft Utility Scale Solar Facilities Moratoriam Ordinance and bring to the town for approval.

The board also unanimously approved to appropriate $22,500 from the Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Funds – aka American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA Funds) – received by the town from the federal government to provide premium pay for employees performing essential work during the COVID-19 pandemic who meet ARPA eligibility requirements and who work in the administration office, public works department, transfer station department, animal control department, codes enforcement department and cemetery department. The premium pay will not exceed $13 per hour in addition to the regular wages or other renumeration the eligible employee receives and not to exceed $25,000 in total over the period of the performance.

In other business, certificate of appointments for election clerk/ballot clerk were approved. For the Democrats, approved were Allane Ball, Stephen Ball, Nancy Fish, Theresa Haskell, Kathryn Kellison, Carl Pease and Margaret Pease. Republicans are Debra French, Diana Gardner, Carolyn Greenwood, Deborah Gray, Thomas Reed and Moira Teekema.

Animal Control Officer Kim Bolduc-Bartlett told the board that 75 percent of the unregistered dogs list is complete and no issues resulted from the serving of the letters for unlicensed dogs.

With Juneteenth (June 19) now being a federal holiday, the select board voted to close the town office on Monday, June 20.

Near the end of the meeting, William Appel Jr. asked if Andrew Ballantyne would be running for re-election since his term will expire this year. Ballantyne gave no definite response.

The next meeting of the Windsor Select Board was held on April 12.

Vassalboro select board talks about upcoming town meeting

/0 Comments/in , /by
by Mary Grow

Vassalboro select board members had a varied agenda at their April 28 meeting, discussing topics that included the upcoming June 6 and June 14 annual town meeting; town committees; PFAS (per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances) that might have been in sludge that might have been spread in the 1990s; and upcoming celebrations.

Board members unanimously approved the town meeting warrant. The meeting will be in two parts, as usual.

The open meeting, where voters assemble and vote by show of hands, begins at 6:30 p.m. Monday, June 6, at Vassalboro Community School. Those attending will elect a moderator (Article 1) and act on Articles 2 through 39, which include election of five budget committee members, action on two proposed amendments to Vassalboro’s Marijuana Business ordinance, the 2022-23 municipal budget, municipal policy questions and the 2022-2023 school budget.

On Tuesday, June 14, polls will be open at the town office for voters to endorse or reject the school budget approved June 6; elect members of the select board and school board; and answer a non-binding straw poll asking if they want town officials to draft an ordinance to regulate solar arrays in town.

A PFAS survey was board member Chris French’s idea, reacting to reports of farms in Fairfield, Unity and elsewhere in Maine whose products cannot be used because the chemicals in the soil have contaminated them.

Town Manager Mary Sabins shared a list of five sites in Vassalboro and one in China near the Vassalboro town line for which sludge-spreading licenses were granted between 1980 and 1994. Whether sludge was spread under the licenses is a separate question that was not answered, except that select board Chairman Robert Browne is sure no sludge was spread on the two pieces of land belonging to his family. The stench was a deterrent, he said.

French’s suggestion was that Vassalboro Conservation Commission members try to find out where sludge was spread and arrange to have sites, if there are any, tested for PFAS. Federal ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) might pay for the testing, he said.

PFAS tests cost $300 or more and are not done locally, French said – the nearest laboratory he knows of is in Massachusetts.

Sabins expects state agencies will pay for PFAS tests, though not necessarily this year. After discussion with Peggy Horner of the Conservation Commission and other audience members, select board members postponed action until they see what state officials propose.

Resident Amy Davidoff asked select board member to create a new town committee, as recommended in Vassalboro’s strategic plan, to work with Transfer Station Manager George Hamar on recycling and on updating the transfer station facility. Its recommendations would be advisory to the select board.

Board members discussed current uncertainties associated with waste disposal, especially whether the Municipal Review Committee will succeed in reopening the Hampden waste-to-energy facility in a reasonable time and whether prices paid for recyclables will go up again.

They asked Davidoff and others interested to develop a mission statement for the committee. Davidoff said the strategic plan calls for eight members; she knows of three or four interested people already.

Other Vassalboro residents, especially those knowledgeable about solid waste and recycling issues, are invited to contact her at (207) 284-3417 or at adavidoff@une.edu.

Pending celebrations board members discussed included:

  • May 1 through May 7 is the 53rd annual Professional Municipal Clerks Week (see The Town Line, April 28, p. 11). Board members signed a proclamation to that effect and thanked Vassalboro Town Clerk Cathy Coyne for her good work.
  • On May 19, a celebration of the return of alewives to China Lake via Outlet Stream will be held on the east bank of the stream at Olde Mill Place in North Vassalboro, beginning at 4 p.m. Sabins said Landis Hudson of Maine Rivers, leader of ARI (Alewife Restoration Initiative) that removed stream barriers, is coordinating the event. Governor Janet Mills and state and organizational environmentalists are scheduled to attend, Sabins said.
  • Resident Tom Richards said the Vassalboro Legion Post’s Memorial Day observance will include a flag retirement ceremony, illustrating the respectful way to dispose of United States flags too worn to be displayed. Interested people can get details from Richards or other Post members.

The next regular Vassalboro select board meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 12, in the town office meeting room.

China planners discuss revised ordinances they hope to ask voters to approve

/0 Comments/in , /by
by Mary Grow

China Planning Board members spent a second meeting the evening of April 26 mostly discussing new and revised ordinances they hope to ask voters to approve in November (see The Town Line, April 21, p. 3).

They made two unanimous decisions about ordinance revisions.

  • One recommended change, in the Land Use Ordinance, will be to limit lot coverage in the shoreland zone to 15 percent for structures plus 5 percent for other impervious surfaces, like driveways and parking areas.
  • A second change, to the draft Solar Energy Systems Ordinance, will be to exclude commercial solar developments from the Stream Protection Zone and the Resource Protection Zone. They are already excluded from the Shoreland Zone.

After board members have agreed in principle on all revisions they recommend, they will develop wording to be presented to voters as proposed ordinance amendments.

Codes Officer Jaime Hanson had learned that state regulations set no limit on the amount of a lot covered by man-made structures and surfaces in rural zones, a topic discussed at the April 12 board meeting. There was consensus, but no formal decision, on a 30 percent limit instead of the present 20 percent limit.

Hanson pointed out that new state laws intended to promote affordable housing are likely to increase housing density, by encouraging duplexes, mother-in-law apartments and similar expansions of single-family residences.

Turning to the proposed Solar Energy Systems Ordinance, board members discussed a variety of issues it needs to cover, including minimizing effects on neighbors, making sure construction debris is cleaned up, controlling stormwater run-off and guaranteeing funds to restore the land after the solar farm reaches the end of its useful life. Board member Michael Brown volunteered to look into possible compatible uses of land under a solar array, for example for raising some type of crop.

Subject to landowner approval, board members plan to visit the solar farm on Route 32 North (Vassalboro Road), if possible immediately before their May 10 meeting.

Hanson and board Chairman Scott Rollins brought up another potential ordinance, one that would govern short-term vacation rentals. A major concern is that building-owners around China’s lakes are renting to large groups of people, potentially overloading shoreland septic systems.

The topic will be on a future agenda.