Maine Catholic schools to lift mask mandate on March 7

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St. Mary’s Catholic Church

The Diocese of Portland has notified school communities that it is planning to eliminate the mask mandate in place at Catholic elementary and high schools starting on Monday, March 7.

“Though masks will no longer be required, teachers and students who wish to continue to mask will certainly be allowed to do so,” said Marianne Pelletier, superintendent of Maine Catholic Schools. “We chose March 7 to ensure that there isn’t another outbreak or rise in cases upon return to class from the February break that would necessitate the continued use of masks.”

The masking policies and safety protocols in place at the diocesan schools have allowed for continuous, in-person education at Catholic schools since September of 2020.

“We believe students are best served when learning in school,” said Pelletier. “Thanks to the understanding, cooperation, and generosity of our school families, faculty, and staff, we were able to continue to provide a safe and healthy school environment for our students. It was a partnership that worked diligently to protect each other and the wider community.”

As always, if the number of positive cases surges in a specific town, city, or school, mitigation measures, including mandatory masking, could be reinstated.

The schools overseen by the Office of Maine Catholic Schools includes St. Michael School, in Augusta.

VASSALBORO: Mothers want to nix mask requirement

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Vassalboro Community School (contributed photo)

by Mary Grow

At their Feb. 15 meeting, Vassalboro School Board members again heard from half a dozen mothers who do not want their children to wear masks in school. Board members corrected two pieces of misinformation the parents had heard, and Superintendent Alan Pfeiffer said he is “incredibly hopeful” that if Maine’s covid cases continue to decline, requirements will ease.

Mothers said their children “hate masks” and are therefore unenthusiastic about school, and masks worsen the health of children with asthma and other conditions that affect their breathing.

Some parents had heard that students are forbidden to talk in the cafeteria while they are eating with their masks off. Assistant Principal Greg Hughes said talking is allowed, although lunchroom monitors prefer conversations after students finish eating and put their masks on again.

Some teachers are stricter than others about silencing students, one parent commented.

The other incorrect information the group quoted was that Maine schools get extra state funds if they require masks. Absolutely untrue, Pfeiffer, board chairman Kevin Levasseur and Finance Director Paula Pooler all said.

Pfeiffer said he and other superintendents have been meeting with half a dozen Maine education and health groups and government officials to talk about the masking requirement. Depending on what the pandemic does, new state guidance might be issued in a month or so, he said. The parents were audibly displeased at the prospect of no action for a month.

In other business, Pfeiffer reported that 19 students have registered to attend pre-kindergarten at Vassalboro Community School (VCS) in the 2022-23 school year. To take advantage of offered state funding for a second pre-k class, 30 or more students are needed. He encouraged board and audience members to spread the word.

He further reported that the shortage of substitute teachers continues.

Food Service Director John Hersey is working on a survey to be sent to students and parents about the school lunch menu, Pfeiffer said. The goal is to increase participation in the free school lunch program by making menus more appealing.

The VCS Vikings website is being redone, with the new version scheduled to be ready Feb. 27, Pfeiffer said. He expects it will help people find what they want “with fewer clicks.”

Board members’ next big project is development of the 2022-23 school budget request. They scheduled a preliminary discussion for 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 1, in the VCS gymnasium.

At Pfeiffer’s request, to give him more time to draft a budget, they postponed their regular March meeting by one week, to Tuesday, March 22 “from 6 p.m. to midnight,” Pfeiffer threatened.

School board budget meetings, like regular meetings, are open to the public to watch and listen.

Church owner pleads for more time to make repairs; board denies request

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by Mary Grow

Chad Caron pleaded emotionally with Vassalboro select board members at their Feb. 17 meeting, asking for more time to work at the former church building he owns on Priest Hill Road in North Vassalboro.

They unanimously rejected his request, as advised by Codes Officer Ryan Page.

At their Jan. 6 meeting, board members had found the former church a dangerous building that should be demolished. However, they gave Caron 30 days to get an engineer to declare it structurally sound; and they authorized Page to extend the deadline if he found a reason (see The Town Line, Jan. 13, p. 2).

At the Feb. 17 meeting, Page reported that an engineer from the Waterville firm of A. E. Hodsdon visited the building and declared it structurally unsound. Since the Jan. 6 decision, Caron had not made progress that would justify recommending more time, Page said.

Caron argued that the engineer had not done a thorough inspection, and had not provided the plan he needs to make repairs; and that without a town permit he was not allowed to work on the building anyway.

He said he had a crane coming the week of Feb. 21 to take down the steeple, and asked for a 10-day extension, or even a five-day extension.

Select board members reminded Caron they have been waiting more than a year for him to clean up the property and stabilize the building. Former Codes Officer Paul Mitnik had worked with Caron for over a year previously, before coming to the board in January 2021.

At the Jan. 6 meeting, Caron had offered to demolish the building himself, labeling each piece and storing them for an eventual reconstruction. His plan is “not for me but for the town,” preserving an architecturally and historically valuable property, he said repeatedly.

When board members remained adamant at the Feb. 17 meeting, he told them he could not afford to reimburse the town for demolition. Bring in your wrecking ball, and put me in jail for non-payment, he challenged.

“I believe what you’re doing is cruel,” he added as he left the meeting.

Later, Town Manager Mary Sabins said the next step will be another discussion with the town attorney. Dealing with an unsafe building is new to her and to board members, she said, and they want to be sure they act correctly at all stages.

In other business Feb. 17, China Lake Association President Stephen Greene made a short presentation on the China Lake Watershed-Based Management Plan (see The Town Line, Dec. 9, 2021, p. 1, and Dec. 23, 2021, p. 2).

Vassalboro has nine percent of the China Lake watershed, and residents who are Kennebec Water District customers depend on the lake for their drinking water, Greene said. The management plan is aimed at improving water quality, by controlling run-off into the lake and by a proposed alum treatment in the north end of the east basin (in China) that would prevent accumulated lake-bottom nutrients from recycling into the water.

The outlet dam, which Vassalboro owns and which controls the water level, is an important part of the plan, Greene said.

Modifications to that dam, completed last summer, and to other dams on Outlet Stream will allow alewives to migrate from the ocean into China Lake. Greene said the small fish might improve water quality (by taking phosphorus with them when they leave in the fall), but evidence of their impact is not yet conclusive.

At this point, Greene said, he welcomes questions and ideas.

Vassalboro’s investment advisor, Senior Portfolio Manager Matthew Weaver, of The First, N. A., in Damariscotta, also made a presentation Feb. 17, telling select board members he thinks their investment policy and their investments are sound.

“I’m very pleased with how the portfolio performed” in the past year, Weaver said. Then he joked, “Someday, maybe, we have to talk about crypto.” He does not currently recommend cryptocurrency as a municipal investment.

Select board members voted unanimously to renew their investment policy without change.

They postponed decisions on their 2022-23 budget recommendations to their next meeting, which is scheduled for 6 p.m. – half an hour earlier than usual – Thursday, March 3. It will be followed by a budget committee meeting at 7 p.m.

On Wednesday, March 2, select board members will hold a 6 p.m. workshop at the town office on use of federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, with representatives of town groups that are asking for money invited to present their cases.

Board members have emphasized they must use ARPA money in strict adherence to federal rules. The program requires a municipality to spend the money and apply for reimbursement; if federal officials find an expenditure wasn’t within guidelines, the municipality pays the bill.

Nomination papers available

Nomination papers for Vassalboro’s June 14 local elections will be available at the town office on February 28.

To be elected in 2022, for three-year terms, are one member of the select board (Robert Browne’s term ends) and two members of the school board (Kevin Levasseur’s and Jessica Clark’s terms end).

For a candidate’s named to appear on the June 14 ballot, a nomination paper with signatures of at least 25 registered Vassalboro voters must be returned to the town office by noon on Friday, April 8.

China Broadband Committee (CBC) members continue talks to improve service

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by Mary Grow

China Broadband Committee (CBC) members continued discussing possible future ways to improve internet service to China residents at an hour-long Feb. 17 meeting.

They plan to meet next at 4 p.m. Wednesday (not the usual Thursday), March 9, in the portable building behind the town office. At that meeting they expect to have another proposal from or discussion with representatives of Spectrum Communications and Consolidated Communications.

In past offers, both companies have offered to extend service at considerable cost to the town. The resulting network would be owned by the respective company, not by the town.

The proposal for which China voters rejected a bond issue last November would have resulted in a town-owned network, an outcome committee members preferred.

Yet another option would be formation of a district with one or more other towns. CBC members have considered it; there are no plans. Committee Chairman Robert O’Connor said he had received an inquiry from a Vassalboro resident, to whom he suggested involving Vassalboro select board members.

CBC members understand that China voters prefer not to have costs come from taxes. A system paid for by users is one option; other possibilities for avoiding or minimizing local shared costs are interesting private investors or using county, state or federal grants.

China does not have the densely-populated area that attracts private investors. Much of the grant money for which regulations have been written is for towns with no internet service; but most China households are served, not necessarily satisfactorily.

Related questions Feb. 17 were whether CBC members want to request funding at the June 1 town business meeting and if so, what for. One suggestion was a household survey to find out exactly what service residents have and what they would like to have.

Selectmen have approved asking voters to appropriate $40,000 for broadband from China’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF) fund, $10,000 to continue hiring consultant Mission Broadband for another year and $30,000 to get started on a project if one is approved during the 2022-23 fiscal year.

Select board continues work on spending requests; Focus on Tax Increment Financing

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by Mary Grow

At a special meeting Feb. 21, China select board members continued work on spending requests to be presented to voters at the June 14 town business meeting. Their main focus was on recommendations from the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Committee and from Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood on spending TIF money in the 2022-23 fiscal year.

TIF funds come from taxes paid by Central Maine Power Company on its north-south transmission line through China and its South China substation – about $265,000 this year, select board chair Ronald Breton said.

The money is allocated as prescribed in China’s voter-approved and state-approved TIF document, usually called the TIF Second Amendment. Its full title is “Town of China, Maine, Second Amended Central Maine Power/China Lake Tax Increment Financing District and Development Program.”

Hapgood’s proposed expenditure is for a survey of the South China boat landing to determine the boundaries of the town-owned land, as a first step toward planning and carrying out run-off control measures.

China Region Lakes Alliance (CRLA) Executive Director Scott Pierz commended Hapgood for proposing to start work soon, calling the boat landing a “high-impact site” for phosphorus loading into China Lake that needs prompt attention to protect lake water quality. Select board members unanimously approved recommending the expenditure to voters.

On Feb. 9, TIF Committee members unanimously recommended select board members present to voters requests from four town organizations: $34,600 for the Thurston Park Committee; $55,000 for the CRLA; $30,000 for the China Four Seasons Club (CFSC), for trail work; and $40,000 for the China Broadband Committee (CBC). The fifth request on the select board agenda was for $5,000 for the CFSC and the China Village Volunteer Fire Department for Ice Days fireworks.

Select board members approved all but the CBC request unanimously and with little discussion. Board and audience members argued for half an hour over the CBC request before select board members added it to the town meeting warrant on a 3-2 vote. Breton, Jeanne Marquis and Janet Preston were in favor, Blane Casey and Wayne Chadwick were opposed.

The request is in two parts, $10,000 to cover another year of service from consultants Mission Broadband and $30,000 to start on a broadband expansion project if the town receives an acceptable proposal in the next few months. If the $30,000 is not needed in FY 2022-23, it will carry forward, Hapgood said.

Board member Casey said Governor Janet Mills had promised to provide broadband to everyone in Maine within two years. Why, then, he asked, does China need to use local money for broadband?

Preston pointed out the governor’s promise is not supported by a state plan. Marquis added that the town would need its own plan to apply for state funding. But, Casey said, there’ll be no application – Mills offered a gift.

CBC chairman Robert O’Connor chimed in via Zoom to support Marquis; O’Connor expects state funds to require a town match, for which the $30,000 could be used.

Chadwick questioned the other part of the request: why continue with Mission Broadband, which in his opinion has done “not much?”

O’Connor replied company representatives had explained technical information to the benefit of the China committee members. CBC members plan to use their expertise in a detailed community census of broadband facilities and needs, he added.

Resident (and TIF Committee member) James “JJ” Wentworth, also participating by Zoom, asked why the CBC is still pursuing broadband after China voters rejected it at the polls Nov. 2, 2021.

No, Breton said, China voters did not reject broadband. They rejected a specific plan, refusing to authorize a $5.1 million bond issue to finance expanded infrastructure construction. In theory, user fees would have repaid the bond; should user fees be lower than projected, taxpayers would have been responsible.

After the Nov. 2 vote, Breton said, select board members unanimously asked the CBC to continue seeking options. Personally, he said, he considers quality broadband service “a good investment for the town.”

The Feb. 21 agenda item after the TIF applications was to be a discussion of employee retention, but Breton called it too early in the budget process and, over Preston’s protest, skipped it.

At a Jan. 31 budget discussion, board members approved a three percent pay raise for FY 2022-23. The vote was 3-2, Breton, Casey and Chadwick in favor and Marquis and Preston preferring a more generous increase.

Board members are considering instituting a pay scale that would provide automatic annual raises. Breton said repeatedly that until they have job descriptions (on which Hapgood is working) they cannot consider a pay scale.

When board members turned to 2022-23 budget recommendations, Preston made a motion to add longevity increases for employees, to a total of $7,500. She and Marquis were again outvoted.

The two women argued that in the present job market, China needs to be generous; otherwise, employees will quit and the town will spend more recruiting and training replacements than it would have on higher pay.

Chadwick and Casey have said at past meetings that when benefits are considered, town employees are well treated. Both argue that they have a responsibility to all townspeople, including those on fixed incomes who do not get raises or longevity increases; therefore a goal should be keeping taxes as low as possible.

Select board members made one non-budgetary decision: they unanimously rescinded their Feb. 14 decision to ask voters to approve or reject two ordinance amendments proposed by the planning board (see The Town Line, Feb. 17, p. 3).

Responding to questions raised at the Feb. 14 meeting, Hapgood said the planning board had not held a public hearing as the amendments were developed in the spring of 2021, and some Department of Environmental Protection changes were omitted.

The next regular China select board meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 28.

China committee approves four TIF requests

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by Mary Grow

At a brief meeting Feb. 9, members of China’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Committee unanimously approved four requests for TIF funds for the 2022-23 fiscal year. Their recommendations go next to the select board; voters at the June 14 town business meeting will make the final decision.

The approved applications were from the Thurston Park Committee, for $34,600; from the China Region Lakes Alliance, for $50,000; from the Four Seasons Club, for $30,000; and from the China Broadband Committee, for $40,000.

The requests do not exceed the limits in the different accounts from which the funds are to be allocated, Town Manager and TIF (and town) Treasurer Rebecca Hapgood said.

In reply to a question left over from the previous TIF meeting (see The Town Line, Feb. 3, p. 3), whether money appropriated for the current fiscal year (July 1, 2021 – June 30, 2022) but not spent by June 30 can be carried forward, Hapgood reported town attorney Amanda Meader said the answer appears to be yes.

Committee member Jamie Pitney said that answer makes sense. Some of the accounts need time to accumulate, he pointed out, and without carrying unspent funds forward from year to year, accumulation is impossible.

With their major task for the 2022-23 budget accomplished, committee members did not schedule another meeting. They intend to skip March; late April is a possibility.

CHINA: Committee discusses out-of-town disposal options

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by Mary Grow

At their Feb. 8 meeting, China Transfer Station Committee members continued discussion of out-of-town disposal options and possible changes at the local disposal facility (see The Town Line, Jan. 20, p. 3). They again reached no conclusions.

After years of sending trash to the Penobscot Energy Recovery Corporation (PERC) incinerator, China and more than 100 other Maine towns and cities joined the proposed trash-to-energy facility at Hampden. One component of the deal was creation of the Municipal Review Committee (MRC), which represents member towns.

The facility has been closed since May 2020, and attempts to reopen it or to find a buyer who would reopen it have failed. Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood described MRC’s executive director, Michael Carroll, and committee members as “super-frustrated.”

Hapgood said an executive-session MRC meeting is scheduled for the week of Feb. 14, after which there might be additional information.

Mark Davis, acting chairman of the China committee, is also super-frustrated. He wants China to get out of the project, and suggested hiring another attorney to find a legal way if town attorney Amanda Meader doesn’t have time to explore options.

With the Hampden plant not operating, some towns’ waste is going again to PERC and some is being landfilled. Davis is indignant that China’s trash is landfilled. His preferred option is an incinerator at the China transfer station.

Palermo representative Robert Kurek said the multi-town project was a sound idea, and members signed up because PERC was about to raise its fees. But the Hampden facility was too ambitious.

Hapgood reminded Davis that legal advice costs money.

Committee members returned to discussion of other topics from their previous meeting.

There is no information from contractors on building a cover for the crusher box.

Hagood had not analyzed results of her just-completed survey of residents and therefore was not ready to make a recommendation on new transfer station hours.

China select board members are in favor of replacing the current radio frequency identification (RFID) tags with stickers. Kurek is unenthusiastic. There is no consensus among committee members on whether there should be a charge for stickers and if there is, how much it should be.

Kurek again explained how the contract between China and Palermo sets requirements for changing the price Palermo residents pay for their special trash bags. He planned to repeat the explanation for China select board members at their Feb. 14 meeting.

Hapgood said select board members are open to the idea of adding a guard shack at the transfer station entrance. They assigned the proposal to board member and contractor Blane Casey.

The next Transfer Station Committee meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m. Tuesday, March 8.

An article in the Dec. 30, 2021, Mt. Desert Islander newspaper said that the technology planned for the closed Hampden plant is being used successfully in similar-sized plants in Massachusetts and Utah.

The process separates saleable recyclables from mixed waste and uses the mixed waste to produce biogas, described as “a renewable energy byproduct.”

The article further said that MRC Executive Director Michael Carroll said some towns’ waste must be landfilled because the PERC incinerator at Orrington is not big enough to accommodate all of MRC’s member towns.

China select board hears from Palermo rep on transfer station fees

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by Mary Grow

At their Feb. 14 meeting, China selectmen dealt with three issues before continuing review of the proposed 2022-23 budget.

Lacking complete information on a few budget items, they scheduled a special meeting for 6:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 21, despite the town office being closed that day for the Presidents’ Day holiday.

The longest pre-budget discussion was with Palermo select board chairman Robert Kurek, about the price Palermo residents pay for trash bags under the contract that lets them use China’s transfer station.

The contract sets four parameters affecting changes in bag costs: the cost of living, transportation and disposal costs, state mandates (which so far have been irrelevant) and the price China pays to buy the bags. It requires China officials to give Palermo six months’ notice of any increase.

Kurek has developed formulas for translating words into dollars. For example, he defines the cost of living increase as the change between Dec. 31, 2016 (the day before the contract came into force), and Aug. 31, 2021 (when China officials proposed upping Palermo residents’ price).

Kurek asked China select board members to appoint someone to review his formula with him and make sure it is acceptable. They appointed Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood.

Hapgood reminded them that the long-discussed revised charge is scheduled to take effect April 1. “Give me some direction,” she asked select board members.

The second issue was improved security cameras at the transfer station to make it easy to identify people who enter when the facility is closed. Hapgood presented a figure of $3,194.99, of which $1,750 is on hand as a carry-forward from last year.

She recommended taking the remaining $1,444.99 from the transfer station budget. Select board members unanimously approved the total.

The third issue was the planning board’s request to put proposed amendments to Chapters 2 and 11 of the Land Use Ordinance on the warrant for the June 14 town business meeting.

After discussion of the relationship between the two elected boards, select board members voted unanimously to present the amendments to voters.

The planning board is working on a new Chapter 8, which would set rules for future solar developments. Hapgood said that document is not yet in final form.

Information on the proposed changes is on the town website, china.govoffice.com, the manager said. In reply to resident Scott Pierz’s question about whether the planning board held a public hearing during development of the amendments, she reminded the audience that discussions were in the spring of 2021 and said she would look for a record of a hearing.

Budget discussion took more than an hour. Board members accepted Hapgood’s recommendations, which are based on requests from heads of town departments and the current year’s budget adjusted for expected changes, on most items.

The only split vote was on the proposal to reduce the amount for 2022-23 road paving from Hapgood’s recommended $600,000 to Road Foreman Shawn Reed’s requested $560,000.

Everyone who spoke expects paving to be more expensive this summer than last; the question is how much more. Hapgood recommended the higher appropriation because of the uncertainty. If prices are lower than she anticipates, roads skipped in past years could get resurfaced, she said.

Board members Wayne Chadwick and Blane Casey made and seconded the motion for $560,000, and were supported by Janet Preston. Chairman Ronald Breton and member Jeanne Marquis were opposed.

After the Feb. 21 special budget meeting, the next regular China select board meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 28.

VASSALBORO: Major decisions postponed during budget talks

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by Mary Grow

Vassalboro select board members held their second budget discussion on Feb. 10, taking another two and a half hours to review expenditure requests for the fiscal year that begins July 1, 2022.

Major decisions were postponed for more consideration, and the decisions select board members did make are subjected to reconsideration as the budget develops. A still-pending decision that will affect several budget lines is what percentage pay raise to recommend voters give town employees.

Late in 2021 board members authorized Town Manager Mary Sabins to contract for a regional salary survey. Until they have the results, which Sabins expects soon, they are waiting to see what 2022-23 pay level seems appropriate.

The Feb. 10 special meeting began with a presentation by Holly Weidner, chairman of the Vassalboro Conservation Commission (VCC), with comments by Scott Pierz, executive director of the China Region Lakes Alliance (CRLA). The first draft of the 2022-23 budget has a request for $11,500 for the CRLA.

In past years, voters approved $7,500, until at the 2021 town meeting they added $398 (from another organization they decided not to fund) for a total of $7,898 for the current fiscal year.

Weidner explained that for $7,500, Vassalboro had a share of the CRLA’s Courtesy Boat Inspection (CBI) program: inspectors checked boats to make sure no fragments of invasive weeds were being imported. Inspectors were stationed at all three Vassalboro landings, protecting China Lake, Webber Pond and Three Mile Pond, she said.

If Vassalboro increased its appropriation, Weidner expected the VCC would work with CRLA and lake associations to add four more water quality protection projects on Webber and Three Mile ponds: Best Management Practices advice to landowners; a survey of gravel roads to see where road run-off impacts water quality; a demonstration project for the state-wide LakeSmart program; and monitoring and when necessary clearing Seaward Mills Stream to ensure alewife passage into Three Mile Pond.

Weidner’s letter to select board members estimated the four projects would cost a total of $3,000. She requested another $1,000 as Vassalboro’s share of the additional administrative costs.

When they reached the “Requests” section of the draft budget, selectmen recommended $9,000 for the CRLA.

They also endorsed Sabins’ recommendation to ask voters for $1,500 for the Vassalboro snowmobile club despite lack of a written request.

Other decisions made at the Feb. 10 meeting included:

  • Raising the proposed budget for legal costs from the current year’s $10,000 to $15,000.
  • Making Ryan Page’s codes enforcement position full-time, at a total cost to be determined when salaries are set.
  • Recommending $2,000 for supplies and equipment for the police department, less than Police Chief Mark Brown requested. Sabins said the draft budget does not include Brown’s request to make his position full-time; select board members did not object to the omission.

Numerous other budget items were discussed without decisions. As of Feb. 10, select board members were leaning toward two new proposals: per-hour stipends, instead of mileage reimbursement, for members of Vassalboro First Responders (treating them the same as volunteer firefighters); and an undetermined amount to begin development of a new park on town-acquired land between Route 32 and Outlet Stream, north of East Vassalboro.

Sabins said a state grant might be available for the park; but, she said, the one she investigated requires any park it funds to remain a park forever, and she would prefer not to limit future officials and voters.

Selectmen and audience members suggested different names for the park to honor the town manager, whose idea it is to use the streamside lot for fishing and other recreation.

Continued budget discussion is on the agenda for the regular Vassalboro select board meeting scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 17, at the town office.

The selectmen’s budget recommendations will go to the budget committee, which will begin meeting March 3. Disagreements between the two boards are often resolved before the warrant (list of articles) for the annual town meeting is approved; if not, town meeting voters make the final decisions.

Vassalboro’s 2022 town meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday, June 6. Local elections will be held Tuesday, June 14.

Other Feb. 17 agenda items include an update from codes officer Page on the former church on Priest Hill Road, in North Vassalboro, deemed a dangerous building and scheduled for demolition if owner Chad Caron does not correct the situation; and discussion of the 10-Year China Lake Watershed-Based Management Plan with China Lake Association President Stephen Greene.

For background on the Priest Hill Road building, see The Town Line, Jan. 13, p. 2. For background on the China Lake management plan, see the issues of Dec. 9, 2021, p. 1, and Dec. 23, 2021, p. 2.

Vassalboro planners approve three applications

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by Mary Grow

Vassalboro Planning Board members unanimously approved three applications on their Feb. 1 agenda, none intended to create environmental changes.

Robert Parise and his brother-in-law are buying the Riverside Drive (Route 202) business called RAPS. Parise told board members the new business, named Platinum & Core LLC, will continue the junkyard/scrapyard part of RAPS and discontinue used car sales on the premises, at least for now.

The other change planned is adding a fence about 225 feet long, running from the present building to the tree line, to better screen the property from drivers on the road.

Proposed business hours are 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, with possibly occasional Saturday hours. Noisy work will be done inside the existing building.

If Parise and his partner decide later to change the type of business, add another building or make other significant changes, they know they need to come back to the codes officer and probably the planning board.

Planning board members reviewed Parise’s application and approved it without conditions.

The second application was to change the name of the owner of the solar farm on Cemetery Street, in North Vassalboro. The license approved in June 2021 was issued to New England Solar Gardens (NESG); Owens McCullough of Sebago Technics, who made most of the 2021 presentation, explained that it should now belong to a wholly-owned new partner named Maine 1 Vassalboro Cemetery.

NESG has taken parallel actions with two other Maine projects, in Lewiston and Berwick, he said.

Board members were satisfied that the ownership would be the same, just with a new name; nothing would change on the land; and nothing had changed in local ordinances since June 2021 that would require them to review a new application.

The third applicant was Bryan Moore, looking for a renewal of his October 2019 permit to expand a non-conforming structure at 152 Park Lane, in the Three Mile Pond shoreland zone.

Moore presented a new building plan he said an architect had prepared. Although the appearance has changed, he said the new building still would be no closer to the water and would not exceed size limits for a shoreland expansion.

Planning board members approved a permit good for one year.

The next Vassalboro Planning Board meeting should be Tuesday evening, March 1.