Public hearing regarding proposed contracting with Liberty Ambulance

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(Photo courtesy of Palermo Community Library)

The Palermo Select Board will be holding a public hearing on Friday, February 11, at 6 pm. The meeting will take place at the Palermo Community Library, located at 2789 Route 3, in Palermo. The main topic of discussion will be the proposed contracting with Liberty Ambulance Service as an emergency service provider for Palermo. Chief Komandt (Palermo) and Chief Gillespie (Liberty) will present their proposal and will be happy to answer all your questions.

For those who prefer to attend via Zoom, the link is: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85682277706?pwd=S0RrU2V2cmk5alQ4OXptK3pEa3BuQT09, Meeting ID: 856 8227 7706, Passcode: 350168

All are encouraged to attend. Palermo residents will vote on the proposed contract with Liberty Ambulance Services at the Annual Town Meeting in March.

For more information call 993-6088 or email palermomelibrary@gmail.com or visit www.palermo.lib.me.us.

CHINA: Solar company may expand array onto another lot

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by Mary Grow

At their Jan. 25 meeting, China Planning Board members continued discussion of two of their Jan. 11 topics (see The Town Line, Jan. 20, p. 3).

Since Jan. 11, they learned, China’s town attorney, Amanda Meader, has agreed that if SunRaise Investments leases more land adjoining the planned solar farm on the south side of Route 3, the company may enlarge the solar array.

The previously-approved array met lot coverage limits in China’s ordinance; a larger one would require more land. When SunRaise proposed the additional lease, Meader’s first reaction was that a 2016 Maine Law Court decision meant the new area could not count as part of the original lot.

However, SunRaise spokesman Scott Anderson said Jan. 25, he convinced Meader that the two situations are not comparable, and she withdrew her objection. SunRaise therefore was ready to submit an application for an enlarged project at the next planning board meeting.

The next question was whether the expanded project needed a new application or a revision of the previous one. A majority of board members asked for a new application, citing their and neighbors’ concerns about run-off, the small amount of tree-cutting that is planned and other possible effects.

The second left-over issue was ordinance amendments that board members hope select board members will put on the June 14 town business meeting ballot. At the Jan. 11 meeting, board member Toni Wall volunteered to prepare the documents selectmen requested: for each proposed change, the original, the marked-up copy and the final copy. She had them ready Jan. 25.

After another discussion about whether board members needed to re-review the documents, they authorized Chairman Scott Rollins to send them to the Town Manager and to the chairman of the select board. If select board members send them back with recommendations for changes, planning board members can re-review them then.

The proposed changes are amendments to two sections of the current ordinance and addition of a Solar Energy Systems Ordinance to regulate future applications like SunRaises’s. For SunRaise and other solar-farm applicants, planning board members have adapted other sections of the ordinance.

Codes Officer Jaime Hanson said the new SunRaise application is, so far, the only item on the board’s Feb. 8 agenda. The planning board normally meets at 6:30 p.m. the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month, recently in the town office meeting room.

China TIF committee hears request from Thurston Park, broadband

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by Mary Grow

China Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Committee members reviewed two applications for 2022-23 TIF funding at their Jan. 27 meeting.

Jeanette Smith, chairman of the Thurston Park Committee, explained why her group is asking for $34,600. Jamie Pitney, a member of the China Broadband Committee (CBC) as well as the TIF Committee, explained the CBC request for $40,000 from two different packets of TIF money.

Committee members made no recommendation on either request. They plan to consider them together with requests received in December 2021, probably at the meeting they scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 9.

They also need a question answered: if money allotted for the current (2021-22) fiscal year is not spent by June 30, 2022, does it carry forward for the same purpose, or does it revert back to the body of the TIF fund?

Smith explained that money for a concrete pad for a storage building in Thurston Park was not allocated until November, when it was too late to start work. She doubts the park will be accessible in time to do the project by June 30 this year. If the 2021-22 allocation carries forward, the Thurston Park Committee’s 2022-23 request can be lowered.

Town Manager and TIF treasurer Rebecca Hapgood said she will find out where unspent funds go.

TIF Committee members had questions and comments for Smith, including a recommendation that her committee consider a prefabricated building instead of having a local contractor build one.

Pitney told the rest of the TIF Committee that $10,000 of the CBC request is for another year of service from consultants Mission Broadband. The $30,000 is for expanded broadband service that is part of the voter-approved TIF document. Committee members have no current proposal or project, but remain optimistic.

Last year’s delay in disbursing TIF funds was because China officials were waiting for state approval of the TIF amendments voters adopted in June 2021. The document is on the town website, china.govoffice.com, under the Tax Increment Financing Committee, titled “Second Amended TIF Program.”

TIF money, from taxes paid by Central Maine Power Company on its transmission line through China, does not count as general fund revenue. If it did, county and state officials would consider China richer, and would increase the county tax and reduce state aid to schools.

Pitney reminded fellow committee members that failure to spend TIF money eventually sends it into the general fund. TIF is a tax shelter, Pitney said; if funds are not used as intended, “the shelter has a leak in the roof.”

Katrina Smith announces run for Maine House

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Katrina Smith

Katrina Smith, a Republican from Palermo, has announced her run for State Representative for District 62; China, Palermo, Somerville, Windsor and Hibberts Gore.

Katrina, a real estate broker and small business owner is excited to meet her constituents and listen to the concerns and hopes they have for Maine.

“I care deeply for what is happening to Mainers which is why I have chosen to commit myself 100 percent to winning this district for Republicans. In the past two years Maine has faced a rapid loss of freedoms, one party legislation, jobs being lost and our elderly being abandoned. Our children have undergone undue stress and a severe loss of education that must be reversed. Mainers are now facing extraordinary cost of living increases which deeply worry families, and I cannot sit by and let it happen. The time to be quiet is far past and we must elect officials who will speak loudly for the people of Maine. I promise to be that person.

“I have spent my life in Maine and have lived in Palermo for the past seven years with my children attending the local elementary school and Erskine Academy, worshiping in local churches and enjoying the natural resources that abound in our area. We call this area home because we love the hard working people who believe in the way life should be. I am running because we need to ensure future generations can recognize the Maine we have always loved.”

In 2020 Katrina was a Republican candidate for District #96 against a two- time Democrat incumbent. After speaking to thousands of people and working every day to listen to constituents she won five out of seven towns and lost by only 67 votes. In 2021 Katrina became chairman of the Waldo County Republicans and focused on giving hope in tumultuous times, educating the public on pending legislation and working, with her team, to prepare for 2022 by raising the most money to elect Republicans of any county in Maine.

A graduate of Gordon College, she and her husband Mike have five mostly grown children and two granddaughters.

For more information you may visit www.katrinaformaine.com or on Facebook under Katrina Smith for Maine.

China select board looks at half a dozen proposals for 2021-22 town budget

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by Mary Grow

The main business at the Jan. 31 China Select Board meeting was discussion of the first half-dozen accounts in the proposed 2022-23 town budget.

The main decision made was on salary increases for town employees. In a series of split votes, with board Chairman Ronald Breton and members Blane Casey and Wayne Chadwick on one side and Jeanne Marquis and Janet Preston on the other, board members:

  • Rejected Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood’s proposed six percent increase;
  • Rejected Preston’s suggested four and a half percent increase; and
  • Approved a three percent increase for 2022-23.

The men’s main arguments were focused on saving taxpayers’ money. The women’s emphasized the national cost of living increase, six percent or more. No one criticized town employees.

There was disagreement about how many people are covered. The number is about 15, all the full-time employees except Hapgood, whose salary is negotiated separately, but not some part-time employees, like the animal control officer and the planning board’s secretary.

Hapgood’s draft budget included the six percent increases. Select board members therefore postponed recommendations on the administration and assessing parts of the 2022-23 budget, which include salaries, until she recalculates.

They unanimously approved Hapgood’s recommendations on amounts for town boards and committees, association dues and legal expenses for 2022-23.

The budget discussion at the Feb. 14 select board meeting is slated to begin with the volunteer fire departments’ requests.

In other business Jan. 31, select board members spent a quarter-hour arguing over Preston’s proposal to review employee health insurance plans every other year, instead of annually, unless premiums rise more than three percent in a year.

Preston and Marquis supported the proposal, which they said would lessen stress on employees. Breton thought all budget elements should be reviewed annually. Chadwick saw health insurance as a possible place to cut costs if town officials anticipated a financial bind.

No action was taken.

Board members unanimously appointed Paul Lucas a member of the Transfer Station Committee. That committee’s next meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 8, in the portable building behind the town office.

Hapgood said information on PFAS contamination is now on the town website. It is under a new tab at the top of the left-hand column, labeled “PFAS Information.”

The manager commended the town’s plow truck drivers for their long hours during the weekend blizzard. Their work started around 8 a.m. Saturday, she said, and some drove most of the time until mid-afternoon Sunday. After the roads were clear, they still had town properties to finish cleaning up.

The next regular China select board meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 14.

Consolidated Communications officials: Do not expect an offer to expand internet service

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by Mary Grow

Members of China’s Broadband Committee (CBC) heard a presentation from two Consolidated Communications officials at their Jan. 18 meeting. The speakers did not encourage them to expect an offer from the company to expand internet service to town residents.

Consolidated, which used to be Fairpoint Communications, serves some China residents, many fewer than are served by Spectrum, the town’s main internet provider. One estimate CBC members have used is that Spectrum covers about 70 percent of households and Consolidated 20 percent, leaving the remainder with no internet service.

Consolidated representatives Simon Thorne and Sarah Davis explained why China is not near the top of Consolidated’s expansion list.

Company decisions are based on project cost, the number of potential customers, the take rate (how many residents sign up for the service) and the presence or absence of competition, Davis said. When the company goes into or expands in a town, it uses a mix of financing, including grants, private financing the company obtains with the expectation of a profit and local money.

China’s population density is too low to offer enough profit to attract investors.

Rules for broadband expansion grants are a work in progress. So far, most grants are available for towns with no service at all, so China would not be eligible.

And voters’ rejection of the CBC’s request for a bond issue last November casts doubt on local interest in providing funds.

When CBC member Tod Detre suggested the company plans to start with “more profitable areas,” Davis replied, “You nailed it.”

Mention of last November’s bond issue vote led to a spirited discussion. Ronald Breton, chairman of the select board and a guest at the CBC meeting, said emphatically that China is still interested in broadband expansion. He pointed out that after the vote, select board members voted unanimously to continue the CBC.

Janet Preston, the select board member who serves “ex officio” on the CBC, reminded Breton that on the Nov. 2, 2021, ballot, the select board and the budget committee both advised voters to reject the bond issue. She thinks the recommendations were “influential.”

Detre added that before the vote, opponents of the bond issue incorrectly claimed it was unnecessary, because “Consolidated would bring fiber [connections to all houses] in a year or two.” Davis confirmed Consolidated had and has no such intention.

Replying to a question from CBC member Neil Farrington, Davis said Consolidated does have fiber lines in China. But, she said, they are configured for business, and to reconfigure them to serve individual houses would be about as expensive as starting from scratch.

CBC Chairman Robert O’Connor asked if China would be more attractive to investors if the town were to form a utility district with neighboring towns, like Vassalboro and Windsor. Davis said she would find out whether a district might be helpful.

Since Davis was unsure how long it will take to get information, CBC members scheduled two more meetings: 4 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 3, to be canceled if they have no new matters to discuss; and 4 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 17, for continued discussion with Davis and Thorne if information is available by then.

China town manager presents initial budget draft

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by Mary Grow

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

China Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood gave select board and budget committee members her initial draft of the 2022-23 town budget at a special joint meeting Jan. 24.

Select Board Chairman Ronald Breton said there would be no question and answer session at the special meeting. Members of both boards were given time to read and consider the lengthy compilation of information before discussion begins at the Jan. 31 select board meeting.

After select board members make their recommendations, the budget committee will schedule its meetings, probably in March.

The important deadlines, Hapgood said, are April 11, when select board members need to sign the final warrant for the annual town business meeting, and June 14, the date of the meeting.

As of now, the meeting is planned as a written-ballot vote, not an open meeting.

Hapgood said she has two main goals as she considers next year’s budget: avoiding a local tax increase, and “showing loyalty to town employees,” especially those who have served China for years. She proposes a six percent pay increase for town employees.

Her documents included detailed information on past, current and proposed expenditures and revenues, explanations of changes she recommends for next year and miscellaneous information, like the number of employees (16) and their years of service (ranging from almost one year to almost 28 years).

In her initial presentation, she told committee members such things as the number of miles of town-owned road (46.48 miles), the number of cemeteries in town (31) and China’s population according to the 2020 census (4,408 people).

Select board members intend to devote part of their Jan. 31 meeting to budget discussion. The meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., in the town office meeting room.

China select board focuses on transfer station issues

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by Mary Grow

China Select Board members’ January 18 discussion focused on transfer station issues. Board members adopted one major change and are leaning toward another.

The approved change will be to replace the placards now used to identify transfer station users with the stickers used before 2019. Under consideration is addition of a guard building at the entrance. Both are aimed primarily at making sure only authorized users bring trash to the facility.

Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood explained that China – and other municipalities – adopted the RFID (radio frequency identification) system in 2019 with a state grant, because state officials used the system to collect information. They have no objection to China’s discontinuing the system, she said.

The main disadvantage of the placards is that they get loaned to non-residents whose taxes do not contribute to the China transfer station.

Stickers will be pasted on users’ vehicles and will have the vehicle’s license plate on them. That combination, Hapgood said, should deter non-resident use. It might also increase excise tax collection, since China residents will be unable to register a vehicle elsewhere and get a China transfer station sticker.

She recommended charging a nominal fee, a dollar or two, and proposed implementing the system in April or May.

Board member Blane Casey moved to implement a sticker system, with a low price for year-round residents and a higher price for seasonal and Palermo residents (Palermo residents use China’s transfer station by contract), with Hapgood to decide the prices. Sticker locations are to be prescribed so as to be the same for all vehicles and visible to transfer station staff.

Board Chairman Ronald Breton was the only one to vote against the motion, because he wanted the prices set before the board acted.

Residents who have more than one RFID placard (because they own multiple vehicles) are entitled to a refund for each additional one – the first one was free. Hapgood estimated China will owe about $5,800 in refunds.

The guard shack, the manager said, would let one station attendant check stickers and loads, make sure no forbidden items are brought in, direct patrons to the right disposal areas for various items and collect fees. (The list of items for which fees are charged is on the town website, china.govoffice.com, under Transfer Station under Town Departments; it is posted at the transfer station.)

Hapgood believes adding entrance duty would not require additional staff, because the other attendants would spend less time inspecting, giving directions, collecting money and moving misplaced items.

Casey, who is a building contractor, was appointed to prepare a cost estimate for a building. Decision was postponed until he reports.

Breton is also concerned about the abuse of the free sand box at the transfer station. China residents are allowed two buckets of sand at a time during transfer station hours; Breton said people are taking more and are coming in when the station is closed.

Hapgood said security cameras are being upgraded. She accepted board member Wayne Chadwick’s suggestion that she ask the sheriff’s deputies who patrol the town to make a point of driving by the transfer station during non-operating hours.

Chadwick, also a contractor, said sand supplies are tight, at least partly because of the unusual weather. Sand “has been getting used like I’ve never seen,” he commented.

Two other pending transfer station issues are: how much to charge Palermo residents for the trash bags they buy and use to distinguish their mixed waste from China residents’; and whether and if so how transfer station hours should be changed.

The China-Palermo contract specifies the four categories of costs that justify changes in bag prices. One, the price China pays to buy the bags, has increased substantially in recent months.

Hapgood’s ongoing survey for residents, available on the town website, at the town office and elsewhere, includes questions about when people are most likely to visit the transfer station.

In other business Jan. 18, board members unanimously appointed Joel Nelson chief of the China Village volunteer fire department, succeeding Timothy Theriault.

They approved a revised town personnel policy, with minor changes recommended by town attorney Amanda Meader to be added to the final version.

They confirmed their next two meetings, a joint session with the budget committee to hear Hapgood’s 2022-23 budget presentation on Monday, Jan. 24, and a regular select board meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 31.

Vassalboro school board hears variety of reports

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Vassalboro Community School (contributed photo)

by Mary Grow

Vassalboro School Board members heard a variety of reports at their Jan. 18 meeting, some touching on effects of the pandemic.

They did not talk about the 2022-23 budget – yet. When they reached the agenda item called “Items to be addressed by School Board at future meetings,” Superintendent Alan Pfeiffer told them “Budget, budget, more budget.”

One area affected by pandemic-caused partial virtual learning times and student absences is the nutrition program. The more students eat in the cafeteria, the better off the program is financially. In past years, Vassalboro Community School (VCS), like many other area schools, lost money on school meals.

So far this year, Finance Director Paula Pooler said, “We’re holding our own.” She commended Food Service Director John Hersey for expanding menu choices.

Hersey said he believes if more students were in school more of the time, the financial picture would be even better.

In reaction to lower test scores on national academic tests, VCS teachers and staff are initiating a variety of extra learning opportunities. Board members had questions answered about individual and small-group programs aimed at academic and social/emotional needs.

Assistant Principal Greg Hughes is planning a program that he calls Viking Camp for the middle three days of the February vacation week (which begins with the Presidents’ Day holiday Monday, Feb. 21). As of Jan. 18, details remained to be confirmed – including alerting Hersey that food will be needed, accomplished by the board discussion.

On other topics, Pfeiffer reported that applications for pre-kindergarten for the 2022-23 school year are open. A child who will be four years old by Oct. 15 is eligible to enroll.

The solar farm in which the school (and the town) invested appears to have saved about $12,000 on the electric bill in calendar year 2021, Pfeiffer said.

He thanked Special Education Director Tanya Thibeau for the connection that will bring former New Hampshire Chief Justice John T. Broderick, now an educator on mental health issues, to the area in March to address faculty and students at VCS and Erskine Academy, in South China.

Pfeiffer later reported that after an executive session discussion that followed the board meeting, he had agreed to accept another one-year contract as Vassalboro Superintendent of Schools, despite the difficulties of the past and current years.

The next regular Vassalboro School Board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday evening, Feb. 15.

Vassalboro select board hears grant requests from firefighters, library

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by Mary Grow

At their Jan. 20 meeting, Vassalboro select board members got preliminary requests for money, federal or local or both, from town organizations. Further discussion was postponed until 2022-23 budget deliberations begin in earnest in February.

Two requests were presented at the meeting.

  • From the volunteer fire department, special funding to replace 20 SCBAs (Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus), some 30 years old. Spokesman Michael Vashon reminded the audience that a firefighter inside a burning building depends on a SCBA to stay alive. The Federal Emergency Management Agency counts any older than 10 years as obsolete, he said.

The department has not requested taxpayer funds before because members keep hoping to get a grant. Grant awards are based on the number of calls, Vashon said; Vassalboro has few, compared to, for example, Waterville. Another grant application is pending, with results not expected until June at the earliest.

  • From the library, a $7,500 increase in town funding to cover, at a minimum, staff raises plus an inflation adjustment, and, if select board members and voters concur, up to $30,600 in additional money to cover raises, adjustments, more hours and more staff time for program development.

In addition, select board members talked about how to allocate federal ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) money. One possibility is giving bonuses to town employees and members of the fire department and rescue unit who worked through the pandemic.

Town Manager Mary Sabins reminded them that the Vassalboro Sanitary District is also asking for ARPA funds.

The only decision made was a unanimous vote to appropriate $4,200 in ARPA funds for training fees for three new Rescue Unit members.

Select board members have scheduled a budget workshop for 12:30 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 8.

In other business Jan. 20, Codes Officer Ryan Page reported that Chad Caron had made no appreciable progress on cleaning up the grounds around the former church he owns on Priest Hill Road in North Vassalboro. As of Jan. 20, Page said, Caron was waiting to hear back from an engineer he hoped would do the building inspection selectmen required be finished within 30 days after their Jan. 6 meeting (see The Town Line, Jan. 13, p. 2).

Board members unanimously approved rules for the Town Forest and Red Brook trails, presented by John Melrose of the Trails Committee.

Fire Chief Walker Thompson asked whether town trails are wide enough for rescue vehicles, if needed. He plans to confer with Melrose and other committee members.

Three items postponed for more information were preparing a policy on background checks for town employees and volunteers; creating a committee to draft an ordinance on decommissioning solar farms after their useful life ends; and looking into installing heat pumps at the town office.

The next regular Vassalboro select board meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 3.