At the November 23 meeting of the Windsor select board, Transfer Station Supervisor Sean Teekema noted that the tire can is in rough shape and will not last the winter. He suggested taking the existing Demo can and use it for tires, and replace the Demo can with a new one. It was also suggested to put a cement pad under the tire can. There is $25,840 in the transfer station reserve account, so Selectman Ronald F. Brann will research the cost of a new Demo can.
The Veterans Memorial Pie sale, held on November 20, at Hussey’s General Store, netted $1,111.11 in sales, and $111.11 from the cash jug. Currently there is $11,596.29 in the Veterans Memorial Fund. A question was raised as to whether they should add more money in the budget for next year to the Veterans Memorial Fund. It was agreed to discuss that at a later time.
To date, 24-1/2 miles of lines have been painted on town roads. Sixty-six percent of the lines are done. The stop bar for the Barton/Jones road was done on the Route 105 side, but not the Jones Road. Town Manager Theresa Haskell said she will contact Lucas Striping to look into it.
In other business, the Windsor School is asking the Reed Funding Group to reimburse a teacher directly for the four bean bag chairs that were agreed to be purchased for the school. It was unanimously passed that a manual check in the amount of $341.78 be issued to Windsor Elementary School for reimbursement of four bean bag chairs, and they would reimburse the teacher.
Discussion centered for the upcoming holiday schedule for the transfer station. The transfer station will be closed Friday, December 24 and Saturday, December 25, and Saturday, January 1, 2022. The select board agreed to let Sean Teekema, transfer station supervisor, to decide if the transfer station will be open on December 31.
A meeting of the Windsor Bicentennial Committee was held on November 15. The $313.55 remaining in the Windsor Days accunt will be used towards the bicentennial event.
Finally, it was reported that 16 accounts are impending auto foreclosure. Of those, 12 are repeat and usually pay at the last minute.
The next meeting of the select board was held on December 7.
https://townline.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/TownLineBanner.jpg00Website Editorhttps://townline.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/TownLineBanner.jpgWebsite Editor2021-12-15 13:35:252021-12-15 13:35:25Windsor transfer station needs to replace tire can
China Broadband Committee (CBC) members entertained a proposal for expanded service by Spectrum at their Dec. 9 meeting, and offered multiple suggestions for sweetening the deal.
Spectrum was represented by Melinda Kinney, Regional Senior Director for Spectrum’s parent company, Charter Communications. Her prepared presentation started with Spectrum’s nation-wide reach, zeroed in on China and included an offer.
Nationally, Charter/Spectrum has more than 750,000 “miles of network infrastructure” in 41 states. In Maine, the company serves 448,000 customers, in 293 communities, and has 680 employees. Augusta, Bangor and Portland are listed as the largest “employment centers,” but Kinney said the company tries to hire local technicians and other employees who are familiar with the service area.
In China, Kinney showed 2,268 homes and businesses served. The proposal she presented would add 15.9 miles of infrastructure, reaching 120 currently unserved homes. The cost would be $296,380 for Charter and $429,000 for the Town of China.
The plan would not be the all-fiber system CBC members prefer, but the hybrid now in use: a fiber network with copper connections to each building served.
Nor would the speed be as high as CBC members think necessary. Kinney presented several speeds, with cost options and additional-service options. Spectrum offers two programs to assist low-income consumers, she said.
CBC member Tod Detre’s reaction was, “We’d be paying for you to extend your network.”
Kinney agreed; China’s $496,000 would bring the town no ownership rights. Spectrum would own and be totally responsible for the network.
The following discussion established that there could be more than 120 unserved houses, and if so Spectrum would consider adjusting its proposal, within limits. Long driveways might prohibit service, or make installation expensive for the home-owner; roads with no utility poles could not be served, Kinney said.
CBC members’ previous discussion with Axiom, a potential service provider, was based on the town owning the infrastructure and Axiom – or a successor if town officials so chose – being entirely responsible for service. Axiom proposed running fiberoptic cable to every house, eliminating the copper link.
For the Spectrum proposal, cost was one issue for CBC members. Discussion of whether grants could cover part of China’s share was inconclusive, because Maine’s rules for awarding internet connectivity grants are not yet written.
The other major issue was running fiber all the way to each building. Detre and CBC Chairman Robert O’Connor think it’s essential, both for superior service now and because it’s the way internet development is going. O’Connor urged Kinney to ask her company to get ahead of the times.
Her reply was that fiber to the home might be feasible in a new service area, but replacing the existing infrastructure in China is probably not feasible. She told CBC members she will relay their concerns and suggestions to her superiors and report back as she gets answers.
Spectrum still has potential competition, even if Axiom is counted out.
At the Nov. 22 China select board meeting, board and CBC members heard a presentation from Bob Parsloe, of Wireless Partners, LLC, another internet possibility for China residents. At the Dec. 9 CBC meeting, O’Connor said he would like to talk again with representatives of Consolidated Communications, which currently serves some China homes.
The next CBC meeting is tentatively scheduled for 4 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this article (and the print edition) incorrectly referred to the Charter/Spectrum representative as Melinda Perkins. Her name is Melinda Kinney. The article has been updated. We apologize for the error.
https://townline.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/TownLineBanner.jpg00Mary Growhttps://townline.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/TownLineBanner.jpgMary Grow2021-12-15 13:21:082021-12-15 18:58:07China Broadband Committee (CBC) entertains proposal for expanded service
Vassalboro Planning Board members started their Dec. 7 meeting thinking they had a small problem. It turned into a bigger one, and they solved it anyway.
At issue was the solar development at 2579 Riverside Drive. It was originally proposed by and permitted to a company named Longroad Energy (see The Town Line, Sept. 10, 2020), and repermitted in August 2021 as the permit’s one-year expiration date loomed.
The work had not started because Central Maine Power Company had not, and still has not, given final approval for adding the solar energy to the power grid.
After several changes, the project now belongs to a different company, Summit Ridge Energy, based in Arlington, Virginia. Ben Aparo, Summit’s Senior Director for Northeast Development, and Brook Barnes, representing a prior owner, asked the planning board to please change the permit to the new owner.
However, board member Douglas Phillips pointed out the clause in the Vassalboro Site Review Ordinance that says: “Permits shall be issued to the applicant of record. The permit(s) are not transferable to a new owner.”
Board members agreed the restriction makes sense. The new owner might not be able to carry out the permitted project; or ordinance requirements might have changed since the original permit was issued.
Neither situation was applicable to the solar development. Aparo and Barnes presented evidence that Summit has the financial capacity to build the solar farm; they assured board members that they intend no changes from the previously-approved plan; and Vassalboro voters have not amended the ordinance.
Barnes and Aparo therefore submitted a revised application in the name of the new ownership, incorporating the information from the original application. Board members voted unanimously to approve it.
The Dec. 7 meeting was Paul Mitnik’s last as Vassalboro’s Codes Enforcement Officer. Ryan Page will succeed him in the position as of Jan. 1, 2022, and Mitnik will become an alternate member of the planning board, appointed by select board members at their Nov. 18 meeting.
https://townline.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/TownLineBanner.jpg00Mary Growhttps://townline.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/TownLineBanner.jpgMary Grow2021-12-15 13:17:362021-12-15 13:17:36VASSALBORO – Small problem turns out bigger: resolved anyway
Much of the discussion at the Dec. 9 Vassalboro select board meeting was about either ordinances or money, the money as a preliminary to consideration of the 2022-23 municipal budget.
Ordinances included the Marijuana Business Ordinance town voters approved in June and the Mass Gathering Ordinance they rejected in November.
The former requires licenses for marijuana businesses operating in Vassalboro before it was enacted, and is intended to ban new marijuana businesses. The codes officer is responsible for dealing with license applications.
At a public licensing hearing during the Dec. 9 meeting, Codes Officer Paul Mitnik recommended approval of four licenses for a Cushnoc Road facility. One is for building owner Daniel Charest. Three are for tenants Joseph Fucci (doing business as Grown Men LLC); Ryan Sutherland; and Robert Rosso (doing business as Kennebec Healing LLC). The licenses are for the calendar year 2022.
Mitnik said the owner and licensees had been cooperative, license fees were paid and operations met ordinance requirements. After the hearing, selectmen unanimously approved all four licenses.
Leo Barnett, owner of two buildings on Old Meadows Road used for marijuana-growing operations, had filed license applications, Mitnik said. However, no tenant of either building had applied; no license fee had been paid; and Mitnik had been denied admission to the buildings, in violation of both Marijuana Business Ordinance and building codes requirements.
After discussion with the town attorney, Mitnik had issued an order to vacate the buildings. He recommended denying Barnett’s license applications; selectmen agreed.
Mitnik’s second issue was his objection to the provision in the Marijuana Business Ordinance that exempts operations of less than 1,000 square feet, as it is being interpreted. He and incoming codes officer Ryan Page believe “operation” should include not just the grow area, but all related processing and storage spaces.
If the 1,000 square feet applies only to the grow area, which Mitnik called the canopy, then a 50,000 square foot building could house 50 new individual beds of marijuana plants, without any town review. Mitnik thinks such a development would be contrary to voters’ and officials’ expectations from the ordinance.
Town Manager Mary Sabins reminded those present that amending the ordinance to eliminate the exemption requires approval by town voters.
Mitnik and Page said there are other operations in Vassalboro that might need to be licensed. Investigation continues. They said the approved business in the Olde Mill complex in North Vassalboro is closing; and Barnett’s approved facility on Sherwood Lane is not yet built.
The defunct Mass Gathering Ordinance was mentioned in connection with the planned country music concert in July 2022. Local promoter J. R. Garritt (or Jr Garritt, on websites) was scheduled to speak with select board members, but did not attend the Dec. 9 meeting.
Board Chairman Robert Browne said he understood Garritt wanted to relocate the concert from the planned Nelson Road site to the town recreation fields. Board members postponed action until they hear from Garritt.
Without a mass gathering or similar ordinance, Browne said, town officials cannot regulate such events on private property. The defeated ordinance would have allowed them, for example, to require on-site drinking water, sanitary facilities, security and medical facilities.
The money issues select board members considered were raised by Vassalboro First Responder Chief, Daniel Mayotte; Vassalboro Public Library Director, Brian Stanley; and Sabins.
Mayotte suggested using about $75,000 of Vassalboro’s expected ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) money for covid-related and other purchases. His recommendations included replacing the First Responders’ outdated AEDs (automated external defibrillators); providing new ENVO N95 masks for First Responders, fire department members and town employees who work with the public; adding a fit-testing system to make the masks more effective; training and equipping new First Responders; helping fund Delta Ambulance’s chaplain service; and adding a cardiac monitor to the First Responders’ equipment.
Sabins said Vassalboro is expected to get about $460,000 in ARPA grants, half now and half in 2022. She displayed the inch-thick notebook of ARPA regulations she is studying to find out what uses are permitted. The process, she said, has no pre-approval component: the town will spend the money and apply for reimbursement hoping the expenditure qualifies.
Select board members suggested other possible uses for ARPA funds that Sabins will research. Awaiting more information, they took no action on Mayotte’s list.
They approved unanimously the updated schedule for replacing town vehicles and equipment over the next decade. Items most likely to be in the 2022-23 budget request include replacement Scott air packs for the fire department, a new town office computer system and a new backhoe for the transfer station. Sabins’ note on the last item quotes station Manager George Hamar: the backhoe “should have been replaced seven years ago.”
Stanley led discussion of reviving the town recreation program. While promising full cooperation, he said the library director does not have time also to be the recreation director.
His recommendation was that select board members budget more than $18,000 in 2022-23 to pay a recreation director who would be expected to work 15 hours a week, plus seasonal sports directors for baseball/softball, soccer and basketball. Board members postponed action.
In other business Dec. 9, Sabins reported progress on turning Vassalboro Community School into an emergency shelter. The generator is installed, though not yet switching on every time it should; and Maine Emergency Management officials have scheduled an early-January walk-through, to be followed by a shelter training program later in 2022.
Select board member Barbara Redmond said she had been invited to succeed former board member John Melrose on the Kennebec County budget committee. Browne and fellow board member Chris French approved.
Board members considered a new policy on background checks for people applying for town positions, paid or volunteer, but postponed action. Sabins said most applicants already undergo background checks.
The next regular Vassalboro select board meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 22, moved a day earlier than usual to avoid keeping the town office open late on Thursday, Dec. 23.
The Vassalboro town office will be closed from 4 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 23, to 8 a.m. Monday, Dec. 27. The transfer station will also close at 4 p.m. Dec. 23 and will not be open Saturday, Dec. 25. However, it will open as usual at 6:30 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 26.
For the New Year holiday, the town office will be closed Friday, Dec. 31. The transfer station will be closed Saturday, Jan. 1, but open as usual Sunday, Jan. 2.
The Dec. 6 China select board discussion covered a variety of topics, most to be continued at future meetings.
Lawrence Sikora, chairman of the Transfer Station Committee, explained the basis for the committee’s recommendation that Palermo residents, who use the China facility by contract, be charged an additional 25 cents per disposal bag.
The price is based on four factors: the regional consumer price index; transportation costs for waste and tipping fees for disposal; and the price China pays for the bags. Sikora said the first and especially the last numbers are increasing and will likely continue to increase. Select board members therefore postponed a decision to February 2022, to get updated figures.
Palermo has received the required six months’ notice that an increase is coming at the end of March 2022.
Sikora also recommended hiring an engineer to design a cover for the precrusher beside the hopper building. Exposed to weather, the panel covering the controls is rusting; and China is paying to have accumulated rain and snow hauled away.
Board member Wayne Chadwick was unsympathetic. “Buy a can of paint” for the rusting panel, he suggested, reminding the audience that when the precrusher was approved, supporters said it didn’t need a cover.
Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood said the transfer station reserve account has more than $50,000 that could be used for a cover.
Board Chair Ronald Breton asked Sikora and Transfer Station Manager Ronald Marois to get an estimate on the cost of an engineer’s advice.
On another trash-related issue, Breton referred to a Bangor newspaper article about lack of progress in finding a new owner to reopen the former Fiberight plant in Hampden. He said Town Attorney Amanda Meader advised China officials not to risk penalties by trying to withdraw from the town’s contract with the Municipal Review Committee that represents municipalities that supported Fiberight.
Sheldon Goodine, chairman of the Municipal Building Committee charged with planning an addition to the town office building, presented and elaborated on his committee’s preliminary report. The recommendation is for a single-story addition on the south side of the front section of the present building.
The report included CAD (computer-assisted design) drawings by committee member and Codes Officer Jaime Hanson. Breton proposed using them as the basis for a Request for Proposals to contractors who could turn them into specifications and build the addition.
He suggested money for the addition be part of the 2022-23 selectmen’s budget request.
One topic that will not be on a future agenda is board member Janet Preston’s proposal to consider a different voting method for local elections. She had presented information on three other types that she considers likely to produce a fairer result (see The Town Line, Dec. 2, p. 2).
Board members voted 3-2 not to continue the discussion. The majority consisted of Breton, Blane Casey and Chadwick; Jeanne Marquis supported Preston in voting for continued consideration.
By an identical vote, members did continue discussion of employees’ health insurance for the 2022-23 budget year, instead of deciding immediately to renew the present plan, as Preston and Marquis favored.
Several employees told board members that the current health insurance plan, though it is less generous than the one they voluntarily gave up in 2018 to save the town money, helps make up for comparatively low municipal pay.
The Town of China currently covers the full cost of a single plan and 85 percent of a family plan. Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood said this year’s two percent rate increase would cost taxpayers a total of $6,573 for the year, or $1.89 for each tax account.
In other business, board members unanimously appointed Lucas Adams a member of the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Committee.
Hapgood reported that the first Senior Day, held Dec. 1 in the portable building behind the town office, was a success. The next one is postponed from Wednesday, Dec. 8, to Thursday, Dec. 9, because of possible snow forecast for Wednesday.
Weather permitting, the gatherings will be held every Wednesday until further notice, with Thursdays as alternate days in case of bad weather. The time has been changed, by request, to 10 a.m. to noon, instead of 9 to 11 a.m.
Also on Thursday, Dec. 9, the China Broadband Committee is scheduled to meet at 4 p.m. in the portable building to discuss internet service improvements with a representative of Spectrum/Charter Communications.
The next regular China select board meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 20.
https://townline.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/TownLineBanner.jpg00Mary Growhttps://townline.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/TownLineBanner.jpgMary Grow2021-12-08 13:56:502021-12-08 13:57:18China transfer station committee postpones decision on fee increase for Palermo residents
On Thursday, December 2, the China Lake Association hosted a two-hour Zoom webinar to present the public with their 10-year plan for the China Lake Watershed. The plan represented work over a two-year period by multiple organizations to survey the China Lake watershed and develop a plan for preserving and improving it.
Stephen Greene
Stephen Greene, president of the China Lake Association, served as moderator for the event. Jennifer Jespersen, owner of the environmental consulting company Ecological Instincts, was the keynote speaker, with Amanda Pratt, of Maine DEP, presenting information about the recent watershed survey and moderating the question and answer session afterwards. Dr. Ken Wagner, a consultant from Water Resources Services, who Jespersen described as a “water professional specializing in the management of internal loading in lakes throughout New England”, was also on hand to answer questions from the audience.
China Lake Association president, Stephen Greene, introduced the evening by saying, “What are we trying to accomplish? In a nutshell, to restore water quality in China Lake, to end recurrent nuisance algae blooms. And why is this important? We all know that China Lake is the drinking water supply for 22,000 people. China Lake is the heartbeat of the community in the region. It is an economic engine. It serves as a large part of the tax base. It is home to people and wildlife in our community. It is a center of recreation.”
The previous watershed plan, formulated in 2008, was out of date, Jen Jespersen explained, and in order for local groups that do important restoration work in the watershed to apply and receive grants, the watershed plan must be updated every 10 years.
Jespersen began her presentation by explaining some of the problems China Lake is facing now and historically, along with reviewing some of the characteristics that make the China Lake watershed unique. Consisting of land in and around China Lake, both the east and west basins, 89 percent of the China Lake watershed sits within the borders of China, with nine percent in Vassalboro, two percent in Albion, and a tiny slice, making up only 0.1 percent, in Winslow. In total, the watershed includes about 27 square miles, with most of that surrounding the east basin (20 square miles). The surface area of the lake is about 6.2 square miles total.
The watershed is the area of land surrounding the bodies of water and determined by the sources that drain into the lake. Most of this area is forested (56 percent), with the remaining being wetlands (19 percent), agricultural areas (12 percent), developed land (11 percent) and roads (2 percent).
Water flows from the north end of the east basin, down the length of China Lake and then into the west basin (also known as the Big Lake), and into Outlet Stream which eventually drains into Sebasticook River and from there into the ocean.
Maximum depth of the lake is 92 feet in the west basin, and 56 feet in the east basin. Average depth across the lake is about 25 feet.
Screenshot taken from the China Lake watershed presentation.
Currently, China Lake is on the state’s list of impaired lakes because of the frequency of algae blooms, because China is considered a “high contact” body of water, and because of the high level of phosphorous and low oxygen levels detected in the lake. Part of the goal of the proposed 10-year watershed plan is to address these problems.
One of the problems China Lake suffers from is a lower than average flush rate. This is the rate at which all of the water in the lake is replaced by new water. Jespersen said that while the average for lakes in the state is between 1-1.5 flushes per year, China Lake is much lower at just .65-.72 flushes per year. This means that when pollutants are washed into the lake, it takes longer for the lake to flush them downstream than other comparable lakes.
Jespersen explained that they have arrived at their recommendations through extensive data collection, including Secchi Disc testing for water clarity at multiple stations around the lake, lakebed sediment testing, the collection of water samples to test for total phosphorus and Chlorophyll-a content, and water column readings, which test for dissolved oxygen in the water and also water temperature. This data is then fed into several data models to identify the best approach for management and restoration.
Algae problems in bodies of water like China Lake are directly related to the nutrient load on the lake. This “load” comes in two varieties: external load and internal load. The external load on the lake refers to the sources of nutrients flowing into the lake from external sources, including leaky septic systems, new land development and runoff from agricultural activity like farming and animal husbandry.
Impact overview of China Lake watershed. Screenshot taken from the China Lake watershed presentation.
The internal load is a bit harder to explain. This is the amount of nutrients already trapped in the sediment at the bottom of the lake. Some of this internal load on the lake is natural, coming from the decomposing bodies of animals, fish and plant matter that settle to the bottom of the lake, but much of it is also due to human activity. Today, there are regulations to manage the leakage of nutrients into the lake from things like land development and septic usage. But that wasn’t always the case. In the past, septic systems leaked directly into the lake, and no effort was made to reduce the influence of land development or agricultural activity on the watershed. Over time, these nutrients drained into the lake and built up in the sediment of the lake bottom, just waiting for the right moment to feed an explosion of new algae growth. That moment came in 1983 with the first major algae bloom, and this incident spurred regulatory changes to prevent it from happening again. But by that time we were already fighting a losing game against the internal nutrient load which had been building for years.
Because of this history, the China Lake Association and its partners must focus on the problem from two fronts, the external load, or the amount of new nutrients being fed into the lake, and the internal load, which refers to the nutrients already stored in the lake as a result of years of development and mismanagement of the lake’s watershed.
Algae blooms cause multiple problems. They can threaten the safety of drinking water for those residents that source their drinking water from China Lake. Blooms also damage the recreational and aesthetic value of the lake, and can negatively impact shoreline property values. Additionally, certain types of algae can be toxic to people and pets who come into contact with them.
The team’s research has suggested that the greatest impact on the west basin (the Big Lake) comes from sources in the east basin, and so dealing with the east basin’s internal load will result in the most improvement across both bodies of water. They have also identified the largest contributors of nutrients into the lake as a way to help formulate a management plan. For example, land used for agriculture makes up only 12 percent of the area of the watershed, but it contributes 38 percent of the nutrients feeding into the lake.
The goal of the proposed plan is to reduce the phosphorous in the east basin by 656 kg/year, a reduction of 7.5 parts per billion (ppb), and to reduce the phosphorous in the west basin by 229 kg/year, a reduction of 2.1 ppb. Currently, the total phosphorous in the lake, according to the ten-year average, stands at 17 parts per billion (ppb). This plan would aim to reduce that to 10 ppb, a significant reduction, which should, based on the data models the team is using, lower the probability of major algae blooms in the lake from 28 percent to 2 percent over the next ten years.
Screenshot taken from the China Lake watershed presentation.
Most of the questions asked by audience members after the presentations centered on the proposed alum treatment to address the lake’s internal nutrient load. This treatment involves adding aluminum sulfate to the lake which prevents the phosphorus in the sediment from being released as nutrients for potential algae blooms. Jespersen says that such a treatment could reduce the phosphorus in the east basin by as much as 90 percent, with an estimated cost of $1,445,000. She emphasizes that more analysis of lake sediment needs to be done to determine correct dosage for the alum treatment, which will also influence total expenses.
Ken Wagner, a consultant with Water Resources Services, addressed concerns about the treatment. While nothing is without risk, he said that aluminum is the second most common metal contained in the earth’s crust (after iron), and is commonly used as a treatment for drinking water. In fact, the companies that provide lake treatments are primarily involved in the treatment of drinking water.
Robbie Bickford, an employee with the Kennebec Water District, jumped on the call to confirm that aluminum is used as part of the KWD water treatment process.
Other proposals, such as oxidizing the lake to raise the dissolved oxygen level, or dredging the lake bottom to remove nutrient-rich sediment, were suggested by audience members. Dr. Wagner said that while such ideas have merit to achieve greater water clarity, both suggestions were discarded because of the enormous costs involved when compared to the expected improvements. An alum treatment is more cost effective, safe, and expected to provide benefits for 20-30 years into the future.
A question was asked about how the recent return of alewives to China Lake might impact water clarity. Dr. Wagner said he doesn’t think there will be a substantial impact either way.
Much more detail and additional information was included in the presentation than could be fit into this article. A recording of the presentation should be available on the China Lake Association website by the time this article is published.
https://townline.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/TownLineBanner.jpg00Eric W. Austinhttps://townline.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/TownLineBanner.jpgEric W. Austin2021-12-08 13:31:522021-12-22 14:08:00China Lake Association updates public on 10-year watershed plan
At their November 9 meeting, the Windsor select board dealt with an abbreviated agenda.
Town Manager Theresa Haskell reported she has received the plowing contract from McGee Construction, in the amount of$27,500, and $94 per hour after 250 hours for the 2021-22 winter season. Selectmen accepted the bid unanimously.
The new insurance rates received for January 2022 show the health POS C plan went up two percent and the dental plan went up one percent.
In other business, it was reported that clean up at the transfer station, in preparation for winter, has been completed. Tires, air conditioners, television and metal can have been removed. The monthly financial report showed revenues down $1,585.78 from the same date in October of last year, and are down $2,483.26 for the first four months of the current fiscal year.
Animal Control Officer Kim Bolduc-Bartlett will be off from December 1 to December 14. Peter Nerber will be her back up.
The cemetery sexton, Joyce Perry, has reported the cemetery gates are now closed for the winter.
A meeting to begin plans for the Windsor Bicentennial was held on November 15. Haskell recommended a committee get started to include members of the town office, historical society, Windsor Fair Association, Windsor Elementary School, Windsor Volunteer Fire Department, Windsor Rescue, and the general public.
Assessors Agent Vern Ziegler sent the request for proposal to Haskell for the town valuation for her review. All bids need to be returned to the town office by January 2022.
Finally, Haskell circulated photos of the new fence that was completed through an Eagle Scout project, and would like to attach a sign on the fence to recognize the Eagle Scouts who did the project. The select board agreed to the sign.
The next regular select board meeting was scheduled for November 23.
https://townline.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/TownLineBanner.jpg00Website Editorhttps://townline.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/TownLineBanner.jpgWebsite Editor2021-12-01 14:59:372021-12-01 14:59:37Windsor receives plowing contract for $27,500
At a short meeting Nov. 18, members of China’s Municipal Building Committee (MBC) accepted Chairman Sheldon Goodine’s recommendation on documents to be forwarded to China select board members.
The committee, active since last spring, has been asked to suggest where and how to provide additional space, primarily for storage, at the town office. Members have focused on a single-story addition designed for keeping town records and related documents, so that the well-filled storage rooms in the present office would be available for other uses.
Goodine’s list included minutes of committee meetings and other information members have discussed, and the CAD (computer-aided design) drawings committee member and Codes Officer Jaime Hanson prepared.
Goodine said he thinks committee members have come up with proposals that are both aesthetically acceptable and practical. A main contribution is providing specific information on amounts and types of storage space needed.
The next step is to get select board members’ reactions and suggestions as a basis for more detailed design work.
MBC members did not expect to be on the select board agenda until the Monday evening, Dec. 6, meeting, at the earliest. Pending discussion with select board members, they did not schedule another committee meeting.
https://townline.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/TownLineBanner.jpg00Mary Growhttps://townline.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/TownLineBanner.jpgMary Grow2021-12-01 14:56:582021-12-01 14:56:58China’s Municipal Building Committee (MBC) accepts chairman’s recommendation to select board
Speakers on three different topics at the Nov. 22 China select board meeting gave board members information to ponder and perhaps act on later.
Board member Janet Preston shared profiles of three different voting methods town officials could consider as alternatives to the present local method.
Bob Parsloe, of Portland-based Wireless Partners, LLC, offered a possible alternative source of internet service for China residents, besides existing providers and those the town’s Broadband Committee has been exploring.
Lauren Gaudet, field service representative for the Maine Municipal Employees Health Trust, summarized programs the organization offers.
Preston thinks China’s present local voting system, which asks voters to mark as many candidates’ names as there are open seats on the board they’re voting for, is self-contradictory when voters take it literally. If you vote for two or more people, “you’re voting against your own choices,” she said.
Citing a website called nonprofitvote.org, she said one alternative is called limited voting: voters cast fewer votes than the number of seats to be filled. The example she used was a race with five open seats, but voters limited to two votes.
Cumulative voting is another method: voters have as many votes as there are open positions, but they can allocate their votes as they please: one to each candidate, all to one candidate, or anything in between.
The third option Preston presented is the ranked-choice system Maine already uses for some statewide elections.
More information on all three methods is available on line.
Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood was unsure whether select board members or town voters were the appropriate body to change the local voting method, if a majority of the select board decided a change was desirable.
Parsloe’s virtual PowerPoint presentation explained what Wireless Partners, LLC, offers for internet service, with a focus on rural towns in northern New England.
His company, he said, would design and build a network, operate it for a while (typically five to seven years) and sell it to “a major carrier.” He expects not to require town investment; to offer competitive prices to subscribers; and to need to build additional towers in town.
Robert O’Connor, chairman of the China Broadband Committee (CBC), was in the audience and intends to communicate with Parsloe to get more information.
O’Connor gave select board members a summary of relevant parts of CBC studies. Recently, he said, Spectrum Communications’ parent company, Charter Communications, had asked to discuss “new options.”
O’Connor asked whether select board members wanted to meet with a Charter or Spectrum representative, or whether CBC members should do it. Select board Chairman Ronald Breton was happy to have CBC members handle the discussion.
The Augusta-based Maine Municipal Employees Health Trust is a nonprofit group associated with the Maine Municipal Association. China town employees currently get health insurance through one of its plans. Gaudet listed other plans for which China is eligible, with some of the financial advantages and disadvantages of each.
In other business Nov. 22, select board members approved Town Clerk Angela Nelson’s proposed timeline leading to a written-ballot town meeting on June 14, 2022. Deadlines she and Hapgood noted there and elsewhere include:
Requests for 2022-23 funding from China’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF) fund are due by Jan. 3, 2022 (earlier if possible).
2022-23 budget requests from town department heads and others who receive town funding are due by the end of January 2022, for review by the budget committee before select board members approve them for the town meeting warrant.
Proposed new town ordinances from the planning board are due by early February 2022.
Nelson’s schedule calls for the select board to approve the final draft of the town meeting warrant at an April 11, 2022, meeting.
Select board members appointed Karen Morin a new member of the TIF Committee.
The December meetings of the China select board are scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 6, and Monday, Dec. 20.
https://townline.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/TownLineBanner.jpg00Mary Growhttps://townline.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/TownLineBanner.jpgMary Grow2021-12-01 14:53:152021-12-01 14:53:56China select board listens to three speakers on different topics
The liveliest discussion at the Nov. 16 Vassalboro School Board meeting was over the administration’s request for additional early release days, when students are sent home for the afternoon so teachers can work together.
Superintendent Alan Pfeiffer and Assistant Principal Greg Hughes explained that teachers at Vassalboro Community School (VCS), dealing with Covid-related changes and requirements in addition to their pre-Covid responsibilities, need more group time. They use it to plan dealing with issues like curriculum adjustments and implementing new Department of Education directives; to share information on common problems and useful techniques; and to provide mutual support.
The 2021-22 calendar approved in 2020 included three early release days. One has been used; the other two are scheduled in January and May 2022, Pfeiffer said.
He and Hughes recommended two early release days each month, starting in December 2021.
School board members reacted immediately: sending kids home that often will be really hard on parents.
Audience members, mostly parents, replied promptly: we can take care of our kids, give teachers the time they need.
Some suggested changing proposed dates from Wednesdays – chosen to break up the week, Pfeiffer said – to Fridays, when some people might find it easier to leave work early, if teachers were okay with Fridays.
Using a whole day, instead of an afternoon, wouldn’t be possible, Pfeiffer said, because the state requires 175 “seat days” a year, and half-days count as seat days.
School board members unanimously approved two early release days a month beginning in December, with dates to be considered again at the Dec. 21 board meeting.
As at previous meetings this fall, several of the dozen audience members had questions about pandemic-related procedures. Answers from Pfeiffer, school nurse MaryAnn Fortin or both, included:
There are no plans to host a vaccination clinic at VCS, because parents have enough other options.
There have been positive results from some of the pool testing, and yes, classmates outside a pool in which at least one student tested positive do need to be quarantined.
One parent expressed support for the testing, masking and distancing measures being taken to prioritize health and safety at VCS and thanked board members, administrators, staff and students for their efforts to make it possible for students to stay in school.
Board and audience members heard presentations from three staff members, School Counselor Meg Swanson, Social Worker Tabitha Sagner and new Jobs for Maine’s Graduates (JMG) Master Specialist Delaney Wood.
Swanson’s and Sagner’s main jobs are to assist students with social, emotional, behavioral and other non-academic difficulties that can affect their academic performance. Both spoke – but did not complain – about how much more difficult Covid has made this type of work, not just at VCS but state-wide and probably nation-wide.
More students experience stress, anxiety and uncertainty. Many express their insecurity through disruptive behavior in the classroom. More than the usual number need extra counseling, in small groups or individually.
Teachers, too, are stressed and overwhelmed. A shortage of staff makes their situation more difficult. The staff shortage is not just in schools, Swanson added; the outside agencies on which teachers have relied are also short-staffed and putting would-be clients on waiting lists.
Swanson sees no quick fix for the interrelated problems. Despite ongoing efforts to adapt and despite increased federal funding for multiple aspects of education, she expects the impact on “student response, learning and behavior” will last “at least a decade.”
Wood’s presentation on JMG was more upbeat. A graduate of Winslow High School and Wesleyan University, she is in her first year of full-time teaching, following Victor Esposito, “Mr. E,” who retired at the end of last year.
JMG’s website says it is a nonprofit corporation that partners with Maine schools, from middle school through college or university, to give students “the guidance, skills and opportunities they need to succeed in their careers.”
The emphasis is on hands-on, adventure-based learning, Wood said – for example, the garden Mr. E started. Students told her they would like to go on local field trips, like a visit to the fire station. To raise money for use of a bus, they plan a wreath sale, Wood said.
In other business Nov. 16, Assistant Principal Hughes said he was pleased by the number of parents who came to VCS for parent-teacher conferences. He thanked the PTO for the refreshments members supplied.
Hughes said the homework club has started and the drama club and explorers club are scheduled to start in December. With construction work nearly finished, classroom rearrangements are under way.
Construction work was responsible for the unplanned early dismissal on Nov. 3, Superintendent Pfeiffer said. A workman accidentally cut a cable, activating the fire alarm system, and no one could make it turn off.
Finance Director Paula Pooler reported the budget is still on track, including the school lunch budget that has lost money in past years. She again reminded parents to fill out the application form for free lunch, even though it is free anyway, so that VCS can get the state subsidies to which it is entitled.
A link to the form is on the front page of the school’s website, vcsvikings.org.
The next regular Vassalboro School Board meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 21.
https://townline.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/TownLineBanner.jpg00Mary Growhttps://townline.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/TownLineBanner.jpgMary Grow2021-11-23 16:08:172021-11-23 16:08:17Vassalboro school heads ask for more early release days
by The Town Line staff
