Vassalboro school board updated on final summer renovations, other building related projects

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Vassalboro Community School (contributed photo)

by Mary Grow

Vassalboro Community School’s new staff for 2024-25 include two people with experience in Alaska, Superintendent Alan Pfeiffer said. One of them spoke with school board members at their Sept. 10 meeting.

Seventh- and eighth-grade science teacher Tracy Hodge said his previous jobs included five years teaching in Alaska, three in a Yupik village and two in Kodiak.

He has also been in Maine before, he said, a brief stay as a youngster plus visits with friends in the Belgrade Lakes area.

Also speaking at the meeting was Cory Eisenhour, director of facilities for Winslow and Vassalboro schools, who updated board members on final summer renovations.

Pfeiffer expects more comprehensive information on plans for the VCS building from Thomas Seekins, co-president of Portland-based Energy Management Consultants, Inc. (EMC), later this fall.

School board members in June authorized Pfeiffer to agree with EMC “to perform an energy audit and HVAC [heating, ventilation and air conditioning] infrastructure analysis of the Vassalboro Community School.”

Seekins said at the Aug. 13 board meeting that the audit will include expert inspections of everything about the building – heating, lighting, electrical and mechanical systems, roofs, windows, even the driveway paving and drainage.

His team will evaluate needed updates, replacements and repairs and do a comprehensive budget, balancing costs with expected savings. After school board members decide on priorities, EMC personnel will develop a schedule, help arrange financing, select contractors and oversee work.

As of the Aug. 13 meeting, Seekins said EMC staff had begun inspecting the building. Pfeiffer expects a report at either the October or the November school board meeting. Board members proposed inviting Vassalboro Budget Committee members to Seekins’ presentation.

Another topic at the Sept. 10 meeting was VCS student enrollment, which Pfeiffer and Principal Ira Michaud were pleased to report is growing. Michaud reported 425 students, up from 411 in June.

Pfeiffer said so far there are three new secondary-school students, for whom Vassalboro will pay tuition to the high schools they choose. The state education department announces the 2025-26 secondary school tuition in December; Pfeiffer hopes the six percent increase in Vassalboro’s school budget will be enough for the first half of 2025.

The superintendent urged families who have not yet filled out and returned their “green sheets” – officially, the Household Application for Free and Reduced Price School Meals – to do so. They are no longer needed to save families money, since school meals are free, but the state uses the information to calculate Vassalboro’s share of state funding.

VCS still needs substitute educational technicians, food service workers and bus drivers, Pfeiffer said. Shortages are state-wide; the mutual aid agreement among Vassalboro, Waterville and Winslow is helpful.

School has started smoothly, the administrators said, except for a major problem with the VCS intercom system. Pfeiffer expressed thanks to Marc Nabarowsky for getting it running again and said a part is being ordered for a full repair.

The next Vassalboro school board meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 8.

Novel Energy granted one-year extension on project

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by Mary Grow

China Planning Board members approved one request at their Sept. 10 meeting and postponed action on another, probably to Sept. 24.

Novel Energy, represented virtually by Ralph Addonizio, received a one-year extension to begin construction of a solar development on the section of Parmenter Hill Road called Moe’s Mountain.

Board members approved the project at their Nov. 28, 2023, meeting. Codes Officer Nicholas French said it expires Nov. 28, 2024, if the project has not started.

Addonizio explained that a redesign (which planning board members approved at their July 30 meeting) and “supply chain delays” were holding up beginning work. He expects another 10 months’ wait.

“We want to start, believe me,” Addonizio said.

The other application was from Ironwood Maine LLC, doing business as The Ridge RTC, represented by Wade Bedsaul and Alexander Blackstone. They applied to add two small buildings and expand parking on their property at 24 Pond Hill Road, between Route 3 and Three Mile Pond.

The property is a residential facility for teenagers needing therapy and support as they deal with mental, behavioral and emotional health issues. The planning board approved it in April 2018.

Blackstone said a 12-by-10-foot trailer would be used to store tools and sports equipment. A 12-by-20-foot one would provide extra meeting space. The proposed additional parking area would be about 6-by-20-feet.

Because a resource protection district is involved, board members decided they needed additional information on setbacks and tree removal (for the parking area) and a map. Bedsaul and Blackstone indicated they should have the information in time for a revised application at the board’s next meeting, scheduled for Sept. 24.

China transfer station committee discusses relations with Palermo

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by Mary Grow

Relations between China and Palermo were a major topic discussed, in a friendly way, at the Sept. 10 China Transfer Station Committee meeting. Only one of Palermo’s two committee members, Bob Kurek, was present.

He reported that the Palermo select board is “all set” with the draft revised agreement between the two towns, but town voters need to accept it. He hoped a special town meeting could be scheduled in October. (See the Sept. 12 issue of The Town Line, p. 2.)

Meanwhile, he, China Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood and staff in both town offices continue to contact Palermo residents who do not abide by regulations, mostly by not using the required blue bags. Kurek reminded the group that requiring Palermo residents who use the China facility to buy and use special bags is a measure of fairness to the many residents who use dumpsters or other alternatives.

Kurek, as he has done at previous meetings, summarized conversations with residents identified by the transfer station staff or security camera recordings and reported to him.

Committee member James Hsiang, resenting the staff time spent on a few individuals, proposed increasing Palermo’s annual payment to China in compensation, to cost Palermo taxpayers and “put peer pressure on the cheaters.”

James Hines doubted the plan would work – “Some people just can’t change,” he said. Benjamin Weymouth preferred China try to be a good neighbor to Palermo. And committee chairman Chris Baumann pointed out that the issue is not systemic; only a small minority of Palermo residents are uncooperative.

At previous meetings, committee members have noted that an occasional China resident challenges regulations, too.

Hapgood added that town officials can ban repeat offenders from the transfer station.

“I think some of your stories investigating this stuff are the best part of the [committee] meetings,” Hines told Kurek.

In other business, transfer station manager Thomas Maraggio reported two summer projects, lighting in the free-for-the-taking building and an improved compost area, are essentially complete. More signs promoting and explaining recycling have gone up, and still more are planned.

Hapgood is planning the 2025 transfer station stickers that will be required for vehicles registered in China or Palermo to enter the transfer station beginning Jan. 1. The new ones, she promised, will adhere properly to windshields, unlike the 2024 ones that generated many complaints.

Committee members scheduled the rest of their 2024 meetings for 9 a.m., the second Tuesday of each month, Oct. 8, Nov. 12 and Dec. 10.

Vassalboro planners approve CMP shoreland permits to rebuild transmission line

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by Mary Grow

Vassalboro Planning Board members had two agenda items at their Sept. 3 meeting.

They were not asked to act yet on Revision Energy’s revised plan for a solar farm on Webber Pond Road. It will probably be on the board’s Oct. 1 agenda.

They approved Central Maine Power Company’s application for shoreland permits needed to rebuild its north-south transmission line through Vassalboro.

Mike Banaitis, of Freeport-based POWER Engineers, consultant to CMP’s parent company, Avangrid, and Deborah Turcotte, an Avangrid outreach specialist, explained the project history.

In February 2020, the company got planning board approval to replace poles between the Augusta line and the McCoy’s Crossing substation at the intersection of Bog and Cross Hill roads.

New regulations delayed the work. Now, the company has expanded the project to run the rest of the way north through Vassalboro to a Winslow substation, a total of 22.8 miles.

A hand-out Banaitis distributed says the new line replaces one built in 1920. The new poles will be within the existing right-of-way, but not necessarily on the center line.

A map in the hand-out shows the line entering southern Vassalboro near Church Hill Road, going along the west side of Webber Pond and, farther north, the west side of Outlet Stream and entering Winslow just west of Route 32.

There will be minimal tree-cutting, mostly removal of dead or hazardous trees. The new poles will be “slightly taller steel monopoles” except on roadsides, where wood will replace wood.

In addition to the Vassalboro Planning Board permit, the project needs two other permits, Banaitis said. He has obtained a state Department of Environmental Protection permit; when the Army Corps of Engineers permit, expected this fall, is received, a copy will be sent to the town.

The current plan calls for preliminary construction steps to begin this November. The work is expected to take from 12 to 18 months.

Planning board members had a few questions, but no major concerns. Approval was unanimous.

ReVision Energy spokesman Annalise Kukor said after the company’s initial presentation in November 2023 and a discussion with abutting landowners, the plan for a solar development at 1026 Webber Pond Road was amended.

In February of this year, she presented a preliminary revised plan, to which board members did not object. She now plans to present a final plan.

ReVision has not started any work on the property, she said. A Webber Pond Road resident had questions about a solar farm under construction; that one is separate from and north of ReVision’s, Kukor said.

The next regular Vassalboro Planning Board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday evening, Oct. 1.

VASSALBORO: Ambulance director supplies newsletter explaining rate increase request

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by Mary Grow

Among reports shared at the Vassalboro Select Board’s Sept. 5 meeting was an August 2024 newsletter prepared by Delta Ambulance executive director Chris Mitchell to answer some of the questions from area town officials.

The ambulance service began asking for municipal support in the previous fiscal year, requesting $15 per capita from towns it serves. In the current fiscal year that began July 1, 2024, the figure is $25 per capita. Mitchell and his predecessor, Timothy Beals, both predicted increases continue.

In the newsletter, Mitchell wrote that as 2023 ended, “Delta was facing annual losses between $2.5 to $3 million and had exhausted its financial reserves.”

Since then, Delta leaders have sold their Augusta station and are leasing it. They have negotiated financial aid from the two hospital systems they primarily serve, MaineGeneral and Northern Light Inland. The state legislature has approved financial aid to ambulance companies, though only a small portion is available so far.

Consequently, Mitchell wrote, Delta now anticipates losing only about $570,000 in the 2024-25 fiscal year. If the per-capita fee charged to municipalities increases to $35 in the fiscal year that begins in July 2025, he expects a balanced budget for 2025-26.

Mitchell’s report explains Delta’s on-going needs, including replacing ambulances – the replacement schedule was disrupted during the pandemic – and finding and paying staff.

As he did in local meetings during municipal budget discussion earlier this year, Mitchell mentioned inadequate insurance reimbursement as a major problem for ambulance services, one that state and federal legislators need to recognize and remedy.

Mitchell’s chart of calls to 13 area towns for the first seven months of 2024 shows 254 Vassalboro calls, an average of 36 a month. Average monthly response time varied from 11 minutes, 40 seconds, in April (one of the busiest months, with 44 calls) to 15 minutes, 35 seconds (in July, the least busy month, with only 25 calls).

Vassalboro select board approves three questions for November ballot

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by Mary Grow

At their Sept. 5 meeting, Vassalboro select board members approved three questions for a Nov. 5 local referendum ballot, on three different topics.

One question asks Vassalboro voters to authorize using already-available funds to contribute toward replacing the Dunlap bridge on Mill Hill Road.

A second asks voters to amend the town’s TIF (Tax Increment Financing) Ordinance to allow TIF money to be used for environmental projects in town.

And the third question seeks voter approval of an amendment to the Vassalboro Sanitary District’s charter to set up a system of electing VSD trustees.

The Mill Hill bridge project has many uncertainties, and generated the most discussion at the Sept. 5 meeting.

Town Manager Aaron Miller shared a sheet of financial calculations for a $1.8 million project to replace the existing culvert. Assuming successful grant applications, the town’s share would be about $160,000.

Vassalboro officials have more than $160,000 available in various funds. The proposed article for the Nov. 5 ballot, drafted by the town’s attorney, asks voters to authorize select board members to spend some of it for the bridge.

Board member Chris French urged rewording the article, fearing it was not clear enough. Miller said town officials would need to provide supporting information, but recommended leaving the article as presented.

Uncertainties, in addition to the success of grant applications, include which of three plans for a replacement bridge over Seven Mile Stream is best; how much the town will be expected to pay out and get reimbursed later, instead of being paid as expenses are incurred; and timing. French is concerned the culvert will fall apart before its replacement is ready.

Board members authorized paying Calderwood Engineering up to $58,500 to continue preliminary work on the bridge. They approved a draft letter supporting a grant application to the Maine Department of Marine Resources, which is interested in the project because migratory fish use Seven Mile Stream.

If voters approve this project and also approve the question about using TIF money for environmental projects, TIF funds can help with the bridge.

Miller recommended an Oct. 3 public hearing on the ballot questions.

In other business, Miller gave a brief update on Eagle Park, the streamside recreational area on Route 32 (Main Street) a short distance north of East Vassalboro Village.

Conservation Commission members and the town’s public works crew are involved in developing the area, he said, with plans for a metal-roofed pavilion on a concrete pad, picnic tables and wide gravel paths to facilitate handicapped access.

The manager expressed thanks to the state Department of Transportation and its contractor, Pratt & Sons, for donating clean fill from their sidewalk reconstruction in North Vassalboro to level parts of the park. Other donations may be pending, he said, for the park and the town recreation fields.

Board members approved a proclamation recognizing Sept. 17 through 23 as Constitution Week, observed annually since 1956 to recognize the Sept. 17, 1787, adoption of the United States Constitution by the Congress of the Confederation.

They scheduled a workshop meeting for 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 30, and combined with it their regular meeting that would have been Oct. 31, to be able to stay home on Halloween.

The next regular Vassalboro select board meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 19.

China budget committee approves 56-page CMP, TIF program

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by Mary Grow

The five China Budget Committee members at the Sept. 3 meeting unanimously endorsed the 56-page Third Amended Central Maine Power/China Lake Tax Increment Financing District and Development Program, which will be on the Nov. 5 ballot for voters’ action.

Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood summarized the changes from the second amendment, approved in 2021.

The major change is the addition of a new project on the west end of the causeway at the head of China Lake’s east basin. It will extend the existing sidewalk westward; add docks for fishing and swimming that will be separated from the docks at the boat launch farther east; and contribute toward improving the China Baptist Church parking lot, which provides parking space for people using the waterfront facilities.

The third TIF document deletes two underused and unused projects, a revolving loan fund for small businesses and a job training program. It adjusts funding for several ongoing projects.

China’s TIF program is funded through taxes paid by Central Maine Power Company on its transmission line through China and its South China substation. Hapgood explained that the revised town TIF document will ensure all of each year’s income is allocated, as the state requires.

If voters approve the revision, it will be submitted to the state Department of Economic and Community development for its review and hoped-for approval.

The Third Amended TIF document is on the town website, chinamaine.org., under the TIF Committee, which is under the heading Officials, Boards & Committees, and also on the Elections page.

China’s Nov. 5 voting will be in the former portable classroom behind the town office on Lakeview Drive. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Absentee ballots will be available beginning Monday, Oct. 7.

CHINA: Local election will feature a contest for select board

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by Mary Grow

China’s local elections will feature a contest for select board; an unopposed budget committee candidate; and four positions to be filled by write-in candidates.

After nomination papers were returned Sept. 6 and signatures verified, the results that town Manager Rebecca Hapgood shared with select board members Sept. 9 are:

— For three seats on the select board, Tod Detre, Blane Casey (incumbent), Brent Chesley (incumbent), Edwin Bailey and Thomas Rumpf.
— For the District 4 budget committee seat, Timothy Basham (incumbent).
— For the budget committee District 2 member, secretary and at-large member, no candidates.
— For one of China’s two representatives on the Regional School Unit #18 board of directors, no candidate. Melissa Cowing is a declared write-in candidate for the RSU #18 board position.

Local elections will be held Tuesday, Nov. 5, with local referendum questions and state and national elections.

China select board OKs revised solid waste agreement with Palermo

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by Mary Grow

The four China select board members at the Sept. 9 meeting quickly and unanimously approved two business items on their agenda, a revised solid waste agreement with Palermo and a fire truck purchase by the Weeks Mills volunteer fire department.

The solid waste agreement changes were worked out primarily by China Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood and Palermo select board member Bob Kurek, one of his town’s two representatives on the China transfer station committee.

The main purpose is to update the original agreement, which was signed in June 2016.

A major change increases the “town fee” that Palermo pays China annually. It was set at $18,000 in 2016, with no provision for adjustment. The new agreement raises the fee to $43,000, still payable in quarterly installments. It provides for an annual adjustment “plus or minus to the nearest $500” based on annual changes in the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers for the Northeast.

The revised agreement also updates the section on access permits to reflect current policy. It adds a provision for dispute resolution that makes mediation the first recourse if the two towns’ officials disagree over the “meaning, performance, or enforcement” of the agreement.

At the Transfer Station Committee meeting the morning of Sept. 10, Kurek said the Palermo select board is satisfied with the revised agreement, but because of the increased town fee, it needs approval by voters at a special town meeting. He hopes the meeting will be scheduled in October.

Weeks Mills Fire Chief William Van Wickler previously approached China select board members at their Aug. 26 meeting about his department’s need for a new tanker truck (see the Aug. 29, 2024, issue of The Town Line, p. 2). Board chairman Wayne Chadwick offered to join him in inspecting a 1996 truck owned by Chelsea that Van Wickler had in mind.

Chadwick found no problems with the truck; he noted that its underparts are “pretty rust-free.” The truck is currently being inspected at Reliance Equipment in Vassalboro, Van Wickler said.

The fire chief said he had negotiated the price down from Chelsea’s initial $25,000 to $20,000. The department can provide half that; he asked select board members’ approval to use $10,000 from the fire department reserve fund.

That fund has about $152,000 in it, Hapgood said.

Select board members authorized the $10,000 withdrawal, unless Reliance’s inspection reveals unexpected problems. Van Wickler said he will let them know the inspection results.

One remaining question is whether the Chelsea truck will fit in the Weeks Mills fire house. Van Wickler said if he measured right, it will. If he measured wrong, he has arranged to swap it temporarily for a smaller one from the South China fire department, while he removes shelves in his building to make more space.

The next regular China select board meeting, on Monday, Sept. 23, will begin with a 6 p.m. apple crisp social and public hearing on the Nov. 5 local ballot questions

WINDSOR: Lengthy discussion on police presence in town

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by The Town Line staff

One of the major topics at the August 13 meeting of the Windsor Select Board was the presence, or lack thereof, of state police in town.

Sheriff Ken Mason of the Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that over the years state police have been seen less patrolling within the town of Windsor and surrounding towns. The sheriff’s departmenthas been back filling with more units to cover the area. Town Manager Theresa Haskell said she knows the town of China and other towns use Kennebec County Sheriff’s deputies for additional patrols. Mason noted that some towns, large and small, do budget it and they offer that service. William Appel Jr. asked Mason about his opinion regarding a constable. That subject was briefly discussed.

In other business, Dr. Timothy Pieh presented a handout and reviewed information about the MD3 pilot program for Kennebec County. There was a lengthy presentation about the program and what it has offered surrounding communities in the past eight months. Dr.Pieh reviewed the number of call, the types of calls they respond to and how it has impacted the communities, rescue teams and the hospitals.

– There was discussion about the Landworks Lane signs on Griffin Road. Public Works Supervisor Keith Hall showed the sign to the select board. Darcy and Alan Aronson approved the sign and placement, as did the select board.
– Haskell noted that Allison Chase, who currently works at the transfer station will be stepping up as intrim supervisor.
– Haskell handed out the monthly transfer station report. July was up from last year at this time by $989.90, making the overall total $9,821.80.
– The town received a check from Grimmel Industries in the amount of $1,090 for metal reimbursement.
– Theresa Haskell was appointed primary for KVCOG Assembly and Chester D. Barnes to be alternate for KVCOG Assembly.
– Chester D.Barnes Jr. and Thomas McNaughten were revoked as Conservation Commission Committee members when it was discovered the members of the select board could not be members of the commission, per ordinance. However, they can still represent the select board as members of the committee.
– The select board is in favor of the bike club to set up a collection area somewhere in the parking lot to collect coats, hats, and mittens.
– There will be a meeting held on Monday, September 16, to discuss the proposed Mineral Extraction Ordinance. The performance bond for Coutt’s WindsorSolar LLC was discussed briefly. Windsor resident Tom Reed asked if there was a decommision plan in place for the solar farm. The answer was yes.
– Select board member Andrew Ballantyne reported he received an email stating that the town of Windsor is being considered as part of a series title “Best Manager Cities in Maine, under 10,000 population. He stated it is quite an accomplishment and will be displayed in magazines throughout Maine.
– Ballantyne also mentioned the outside classroom building at the Windsor elementary School still needs to be finished. He is always happy to help and would love to see other parents or community members pitch in and help. The information he has been given states the building needs roofing donw, and the supplies are on site.
– William Appel Jr. asked about some messages pertaining to marijuana that had been posted on the Windsor Community page on Facebook. In short, Moira Teekema responded by saying residents who have questions should attend a select board meeting with questions and concerns.
– The new public works truck has been purchased for $72,716. The town should gain possession of the vehicle in November.