Windsor resident begins discussion about local pits; County Commissioner Crockett gives background report

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by The Town Line staff

At the July 16, 2024, meeting of the Windsor Select Board, the board authorized Town Manager Theresa Haskell to purchase the 40-yard open top container for the transfer station. Haskell had reported the unit cost $11,600 in 2022, however, the price dropped to $11,000 this year.

The board also voted 3-0 to move forward with the dangerous building recommendation, sent by the town attorney, for 762 Ridge Road.

Resident Tom Reed started a discussion about the town pit ordinance. There was much discussion about the sizes of the pits. The select board has had talks on sending out the Codes Enforcement Officer to deliver the town pit ordinance to local pit owners to make them aware of the ordinance. Assistant Codes Enforcement Officer Greg Feltis has been working on a questionnaire to send out to pit owners.

In other business:

– There have been two applicants for the vacant part-time transfer station attendant position, and one application for the vacant transfer station supervisor position.
– The board approved the appointment of Daniel Findley as an alternate member of the planning board.
Board members present at the meeting were William Appel Jr., Thomas McNaughton and Allison Whynot. Absent were Andrew Ballantyne and Chester D. Barnes Jr.

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At the July 30, 2024, meeting of the Windsor Select Board, Patsy Crockett (Kennebec County Commissioner) introduced herself and gave a background report to the members and the audience.

The new OSHA standards were heavily discussed knowing it will bring an enormous impact on the smaller towns. Kevin Ready and other members of the Windsor Volunteer Fire Department also gave information on this. William Appel Jr. said the original proposed budget increase for the county at 44.1 percent was extremely high, and asked, besides knowing the items you have no control over is one thing but the ones that you can have control over, are so high.

Knowing there are three commissioners, William Appel Jr. suggested the administrator should have produced a plan to space it out rather than all in one year. Patsy Crockett said they have unions to work with, and the negotiating was a 14 percent increase at the jail. Theresa had asked to have the county commissioners to publish the expenses/revenues budgets quarterly and the select board agreed.

William Appel Jr. expressed his displeasure with the county administrator on how he treated Windsor’s Town Manager during a budget meeting and wanted the commissioners to know that Theresa Haskell has been on the County Budget Committee for many years and is very thorough on how budgets work and was truly asking very detailed questions that should have been answered in an appropriate manner and wasn’t.

Angela Molino (EMA Director) wanted to introduce herself and said she also wrote on the public comment section regarding the new proposed OSHA standards to support the firefighters and communities, and how this would affect the smaller towns. The public hearing is now set for November 12, 2024. Currently it looks like towns and cities will have to comply within a two-year period. Angela also mentioned there are preparedness programs and HSGP grants available and if the town is interested, she would help us with them to see if the town qualifies.

Patsy Crockett said she would like to end on a happy note and wanted to present to Theresa Haskell with the Spirit of America 2023 award serving as the town manager, founder of Windsor Days, coaching Windsor sports and being a Girl Scout leader.

In other business, John Deeds spoke of his displeasure with the way the traffic flows within the town, especially by his house on Route 105 heading towards Somerville, which the speed limit is set at 35 mph, and wanted to see if the town could get more patrol in the area for these concerns. He also indicated how fast they travel on Route 32 at this intersection, and, in his opinion, someone is going to get hurt. It was asked to see if the sheriff could be invited to a future select board’s meeting.

On the other hand, Ray Chavarie would like to give credit to the Sherrif’s Department and State Police for their service and helping during rescue calls while their assistance is needed.

Kevin Ready, of the Windsor Volunteer Fire Department, gave more information on the OSHA Standards and what the town will be looking at if this passes, and that it will have a huge affect on the budget. He indicated the fire department will be prepared to present new expenses when this gets approved, but it will all depend on the time frame when everything goes into effect.

William Appel Jr. asked how the “Take it or Leave it” went and Kevin replied it went well. He does not have a final total with him. Theresa Haskell said the amount that was raised would be great to know as townspeople would need to realize without this fundraiser, more money would need to be raised to fund the WVFD.

Town Manager’s Items – Theresa L. Haskell reported the following:

– Haskell handed out the 12-Month Budget figures for 2023/2024. The total actual budget spent was around 89.46 percent with receiving approximately 119.47 percent in revenue.
– KRT Appraisal is looking for a 30-day extension on the revaluation. Within their contract it indicates they could have a 30-day extension with the select board’s approval. KRT indicated the delay was not attributed to any one or two things but across all their 2024 towns where they are doing a revaluation they had a large volume of callbacks on the interior appointments which has caused a bottleneck in their ability to get the information keyed into the system. Windsor alone had an additional week of callbacks as many calls came in after the deadline. Thomas McNaughton motioned to approve a 30-day extension with hopes that it will be completed sooner than that as the tax bills will need to be sent out, seconded by Chester D. Barnes Jr., and approved 4-0-0.
– The following appointments were presented for the select board’s approval: as Andrew Ballantyne and William Appel Jr. as Transfer Station Committee, Nancy Fish,
Chester D. Barnes Jr. and Thomas McNaughton as Conservation Committee members, Allison Whynot as Windsor Educational Foundation and Reed Fund Member, and as General Assistance Deputy, Andrew Ballantyne and Chester D. Barnes Jr. as Cemetery Committee members, Allison Whynot and William Appel Jr. as planning board members. They were approved 4-0-0.
– Haskell said the town normally closes the transfer station on Saturday during the Windsor Fair, at noon, because of the traffic that goes along with the fair. This year the Windsor Fair will be open for two Saturday’s and wanted to know if the select board wanted to approve closing at noon for both Saturdays (August 24 and August 31. The board approved the motion.
– Tomas McNaughton said he attended the planning board meeting in which they have been discussing the possibility of a new Mineral Extraction Ordinance with working with a small group on the needs of the town and the concerns from the community. This would be a welcome working group, and they will be waiting for the planning board to give approval for a group meeting.

Vassalboro planners hear request to amend subdivision

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by Mary Grow

The three leaders of Augusta’s All Season Home Improvements company met with Vassalboro Planning Board members on Aug. 6 to talk about amending a nine-year-old subdivision.

The 2015 plan was for land on Church Hill Road; it included a dead-end road named Karen Lane that runs southeast off Church Hill Road near the Augusta line. Robert Grieg, Robert “Bobby” Grieg and Carl Brickett explained that the plan had two lots for single-family homes and a larger “parcel” that was to provide space for seven duplexes sharing a common septic system.

The single-family houses were built, but none of the duplexes. Now the applicants want to create one or two separate lots in that area, too.

During discussion, they mentioned that the boundary of one of the single-family lots had been changed.

Planning Board Chairman Virginia Brackett said that change should have been brought to the planning board as a requested amendment. Subdivisions are recorded not just in the town office, but also in the Kennebec County Registry of Deeds; any lawyer involved in a land transfer will require the record to be up to date if the transaction is to be valid, she explained.

Brackett and Town Manager Aaron Miller, filling in as board recorder until Vassalboro hires a new codes officer, advised the Griegs and Brickett on how to find a subdivision application form on line.

Board member Douglas Philips and Brackett raised two other issues they had observed: woodchips apparently being stockpiled on a shoreland lot in East Vassalboro; and possible violations of Olin Charette’s Route 201 junkyard license that the select board approved in February. Miller planned to investigate both situations.

The next regular Vassalboro Planning Board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday evening, Sept. 3.

VASSALBORO: Town receives good news of $200,000 grant for Mill Hill bridge replacement

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by Mary Grow

Vassalboro select board members began their Aug. 8 meeting with the good news of a $200,000 grant toward the Mill Hill bridge replacement project.

The Mill Hill bridge, also called the Dunlap bridge, is actually a double culvert. It carries Mill Hill Road over Seven Mile Brook, which alewives use to migrate from the Kennebec River into Webber Pond.

The Maine Department of Transportation (DOT) letter announcing the award says the $200,000 Municipal Stream Crossing Grant requires a local match of $68,000.

Lars Hammer, of Maine’s Department of Marine Resources, explained that the money comes from a federal Department of Transportation program created to repair or replace culverts in order to improve passage for anadromous fish. He said state DOT officials intend to apply for additional federal grants, perhaps including more money for the Vassalboro project. They expect to hear next spring how successful they have been.

Eric Calderwood, of Brunswick-based Calderwood Engineering, the town’s consultant, said the culverts are in bad shape and should be replaced as soon as possible. The company presented three alternative replacement plans, with different costs and grant opportunities.

Select board members were considering the possibility that this and potential future grants might require a hasty special town meeting to raise more local money. They focused on whether town funds already set aside will be enough for the required local share and when the town will be expected to make payments.

After considerable discussion, with Mill Hill Road residents and the majority of the town budget committee among a larger-then-usual audience, they concluded the project does not require voters’ action this fall.

Select board members considered two related issues. They approved Town Manager Aaron Miller’s draft request for proposals from alewife harvesters; and they reviewed plans for work at the Webber Pond dam, where Seven Mile Brook leaves the pond.

Miller said dam improvements might also be partly funded with grant money, though there is no guarantee.

Select board sets mil rate at 13.33 mils

At their Aug. 8 meeting, Vassalboro select board members set the 2024-25 local property tax rate at 13.33 mils ($13.33 for each $1,000 of valuation), in the middle of the range of possible rates presented by assessor Ellery Bane, of RJD Appraisal in Pittsfield.

Town Manager Aaron Miller said last year’s rate was 12.72 mils; so current-year taxes increase 61 cents for each $1,000 of valuation, or about 4.8 percent.

Town office staff will promptly send out tax bills. By town meeting vote, the first quarterly payment is due by the 3:30 p.m. close of business Monday, Sept. 30. Subsequent due dates are Nov. 25, 2024, and Feb. 24 and April 28, 2025.

On another issue, select board members added a local referendum question to the Nov. 5 national and state voting. They will ask voters’ approval of a revised charter for the Vassalboro Sanitary District, which maintains sewer lines in East and North Vassalboro.

The principal change discussed would be to have VSD trustees elected by the residents of the area served. If voters approve the change, Miller and board members expect VSD elections to be held with municipal elections in June 2025.

In other business Aug. 8:

— Board members and the manager discussed whether their fall meeting schedule should avoid Thanksgiving, Nov. 28, or whether they could plan to skip that meeting. They decided to plan to skip it: regular select board meetings are scheduled for Sept. 5 and 19, Oct. 3, 17 and 31 and Nov. 14 and 28.
— Miller reported that China Lake water level reports are being forwarded to state officials as requested, after the high water this spring led to on-going discussions among interested parties in Vassalboro, China and the state Department of Environmental Protection. Select board chairman Frederick “Rick” Denico, Jr., added that a newly-installed rain gauge at the town garage should provide more accurate measures of local rainfall.
— Miller said the transfer station is running smoothly under new manager Adam Daoust.

The next regular Vassalboro select board meeting is scheduled for Thursday evening, Sept. 5.

China select board sets tax rate at 11.7 mils

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by Mary Grow

Lower than last year, but property owners should expect larger tax bills

China select board members set the 2024-25 tax rate (in their role as town assessors) and lined up several local referendum questions for Nov. 5 at a busy Aug. 12 meeting.

The tax rate they chose, based on assessor William Van Tuinen’s figures and recommendation, is 11.7 mils, or $11.70 for each $1,000 of valuation. This rate is lower than the 2023-24 rate, which Van Tuinen said was 12.26 mils.

However, local property-owners should expect their 2024-25 tax bills to be larger than last year’s.

Van Tuinen explained that town expenses will be higher in three areas: the Kennebec County tax, the municipal budget voters approved at the June town business meeting and the Regional School Unit #18 school budget.

The assessor did a comprehensive upward revision of property values, land and buildings, this spring. Because the values are higher, a lower tax rate will raise enough more money to cover higher expenses.

Tax bills should go out promptly. By town meeting vote, the first half payment is due at the town office by the close of business Monday, Sept. 30.

Potential Nov. 5 referendum issues include amendments to China’s Land Use Ordinance; an amended Tax Increment Financing (TIF) document; an amended Budget Committee Ordinance; and a map of the development district in South China (to complement the description voters approved in June).

Depending partly on the outcome of an Aug. 26 public discussion, there might also be a question requesting a moratorium on high-voltage power transmission lines through China. Board members received a petition to discuss the moratorium; they invite interested residents to participate at their Aug. 26 meeting, which will be in the town office meeting room at 6 p.m.

Many have requested nomination papers

As of Aug. 12, China Town Clerk Angela Nelson reported the following people had taken out nomination papers for local elective office:

— For the select board, incumbent Brent Chesley, Edwin Bailey, Tod Detre and Thomas Rumpf. Incumbent Janet Preston has announced she is not seeking another term; Blane Casey’s term also ends this year.
— For the budget committee, District 4 incumbent Timothy Basham. The other openings on the budget committee are for the secretary (currently vacant), District 2 (northeastern China; incumbent Taryn Hotham) and the At-Large position (incumbent Elizabeth Curtis).
— For one of China’s two seats on the Regional School District #18 board of directors, no one. Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood said at the Aug. 12 select board meeting incumbent T. James Bachinski does not intend to run for another term.

Signed nomination papers must be returned to the town office by Friday, Sept. 6, for candidates’ names to appear on the Nov. 5 local election ballot.

In other business Aug. 12, select board members and Recreation Committee chairman Martha Wentworth discussed a proposed dog park on the town-owned lot south of the town office, near the red barn.

Wentworth had an estimate of $7,648.52 for 150 linear feet of fencing, with double gates, from Maine Fence of China. The recreation budget can cover the cost, she said.

Board and audience members considered whether the park would be large enough. Wentworth proposed asking local dog-owners for donations and seeking grants for a larger area.

Wentworth said since dogs already use town trails, there would be no extra insurance considerations. Maintenance would include mowing and trash pick-up as needed; dog-owners would be expected to clean up after their pets.

She presented the dog park as a place for residents and their dogs to socialize. Her committee proposes moving the ice rink to the same lot, and she talked of picnic tables and areas for cornhole and similar games.

Select board chairman Wayne Chadwick, a dog owner himself, questioned the need for a dog park in a rural area where most people have room for their dogs to play. He was also concerned about disease transmission among dogs. And he said he was opposed to creating another town park without voter approval.

After 40 minutes’ discussion, board members voted 4-1, with Chadwick opposed, to authorize Wentworth to continue to plan and to seek additional funding, with the understanding they were not making an appropriation for the project.

Other Aug. 12 decisions included:

— Authorizing a little over $14,000 for Provost Monuments, of Benton, to repair headstones in the Branch Mills cemetery;
— Accepting a bid from S. D. Childs & Sons Excavation, of Palermo, for $12,850 for trail work in Thurston Park;
— Accepting bids for PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) remediation at the transfer station and public works garage, from Radon Technologies and EverClean Water, in Fairfield, for $9,530, after discussion of water usage and options. Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood praised the company’s earlier installation of a system in a nearby private home and said the remedial technology should eliminate the staining and odor that have bothered staff at the facilities.
— Appointing resident Dwaine Drummond to fill a vacancy on the planning board until Nov. 5; board member Blane Casey, the town’s alternate representative to the Kennebec Valley Council of Governments (board member Janet Preston is the representative); and codes officer Nicholas French to represent the town at China Region Lakes Alliance board meetings, in response to a request from CRLA.

Hapgood reported on Maine’s blue envelope program, which provides legal-sized blue envelopes for drivers for whom encounters with police might be challenging – those diagnosed with autism, Down Syndrome or anxiety, for example. The China town office has envelopes to distribute.

The next regular China select board meeting will be Monday evening, Aug. 26, with the agenda including the discussion of a power line moratorium.

Vassalboro board rules they have no jurisdiction on appeal

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by Mary Grow

Three members of the Vassalboro Board of Appeals found they lacked jurisdiction to hear an appeal from a June 4 planning board decision.

On June 4, planning board members approved most of an expansion plan for Sidereal Farm Brewery, at 772 Cross Hill Road. (See the June 13 issue of The Town Line for details.) Neighbors Peter and MaryBeth Soule, who spoke repeatedly at the planning board meeting, filed an appeal of the approval.

When board of appeals members Rebecca Lamey, Kevin Reed and John Reuthe met July 30, they had a memorandum from attorney Cameron A. Ferrante, of the law firm of Preti Flaherty, saying they had no jurisdiction to hear the appeal.

Ferrante explained that state law lets municipalities create local boards of appeal. It limits such boards’ jurisdiction to subjects the municipality has specified.

Vassalboro’s Site Review Ordinance says people may appeal planning board decisions to Superior Court. It does not authorize appeals of planning board actions to the board of appeals; nor, Ferrante wrote, does any other Vassalboro ordinance authorize such appeals.

Board members voted unanimously and without discussion that they lacked jurisdiction to hear the Soules’ appeal. They therefore did not discuss any details of the case.

Other actions taken July 30 were election of Reuthe as board chairman and Lamey as board secretary.

China TIF committee discusses third amendment to program

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by Mary Grow

Three members of China’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Committee discussed the third amendment to the town’s TIF program, which they intend to ask the select board to present to voters at the Nov. 5 local election.

China’s TIF income is from taxes Central Maine Power Company pays on its transmission line through China and on its South China substation. The town’s 2024-25 tax rate will determine how much the TIF fund receives in the current fiscal year.

China select board members expect to have the information they need to set the tax rate at their Aug. 12 meeting. TIF committee members therefore scheduled an Aug. 19 meeting, expecting to have final figures for the revised plan.

The draft plan calls for TIF funding for one new project, seven on-going ones and matching funds for grants.

Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood explained that the new project, labeled “Causeway, Phase Two,” will follow up on changes made at the head of China Lake’s east basin with earlier TIF funding. Those included a new bridge with sidewalks, improved boat docks and more parking.

A second phase would include extending the sidewalk farther west and adding one or more docks where people can fish and swim away from the boat landing. Currently, committee members said, people fish from and swim around the boat docks, creating a potentially dangerous situation.

The projects scheduled to continue to receive TIF funding are: improvements at the South China boat landing, aimed at reducing erosion into China Lake; economic development programs; economic development events, like the just-completed China Community Days celebration; marketing China as a business location; environmental improvements; trails maintenance and improvements; and expanded broadband service.

Committee member Jamie Pitney, who drafted the revisions, said state rules allow TIF dollars to be used to match “certain grants.” Since China has not used this category, he is unsure what types of grants are included.

The revised plan deletes funding for two underused and unused projects, the revolving loan fund intended to assist small businesses and the job training program.

Resident Joann Austin attended the Aug. 5 meeting to ask about TIF-supported cultural events. Committee members could not immediately think of any such projects that would meet state TIF requirements.

Committee chairman Brent Chesley and member Lucas Adams thanked Pitney for drafting the 57-page plan. Assuming voters approve it in November, it will be forwarded to state officials in the Department of Economic and Community Development for their approval. If accepted, it will replace China’s current Second Amended TIF Program, approved in 2021.

China planners have new mass gathering ordinance ready for select board

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by Mary Grow

China Planning Board members decided at their July 30 meeting that they have a proposed new town ordinance ready to forward to select board members.

The document is titled “Mass Gathering Ordinance” and is intended to regulate events that bring 500 or more people to a site, in order to protect nearby residents and participants. Board members began discussion at their July 9 meeting (see the July 18 issue of The Town Line, p. 2).

Board chairman Toni Wall said the title is based on state law. Board members are working from an ordinance that Vassalboro voters narrowly rejected three years ago, adapted to fit China.

Much of the July 30 discussion focused on the application process – what information someone planning to hold a large gathering, like an outdoor concert or a road race, needs to provide. Planners agreed requiring an application three months before the event was scheduled to start was reasonable.

They included a required public hearing to collect comments before acting on an application.

The ordinance, if recommended by the select board and approved by voters (perhaps on Nov. 5), would not apply to pre-existing venues where gatherings are normally held.

The ordinance, if recommended by the select board and approved by voters (perhaps on Nov. 5), would not apply to pre-existing venues where gatherings are normally held. Board members agreed it would not affect most ongoing events, from church fairs and fire department fund-raisers to the annual China Community Days celebration.

Vassalboro’s ordinance was drafted in response to a planned country music festival on private property. The festival was never held.

Wall said she would forward the draft ordinance to town attorney Amanda Meader for her review before it goes to the select board.

Planning board members had one other piece of business July 30, a revised plan for Novel Energy Systems’ solar development on Parmenter Hill Road, approved last fall. Codes Enforcement Officer Nicholas French said Novel Energy has had to buy a different type of solar panel, which requires a different configuration.

There is no change in the size of the area panels will cover, or in buffers or other aspects of the project that affect neighboring lots, French said.

Board members unanimously approved the revised plan.

The next regular China planning board meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 13.

CHINA: Town revaluation puts property values near 100 percent

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by Mary Grow

China select board members heard information at their July 29 meeting that they hope will let them set the 2024-25 local tax rate at their Aug. 12 meeting.

Assessor William Van Tuinen said state officials had approved his revaluation of China property. By increasing land values by 10 percent and building values by 20 percent across the board, he brought China’s valuation close enough to actual prices to count as the 100 percent valuation the state wants.

Mobile homes Van Tuinen said he treated differently. Since they had not been revalued for some time, he increased their valuations more, though he kept in mind the lower value of older mobile homes.

With this work done and approved, Van Tuinen said he probably can give selectmen the information and tax rate options they need before their next meeting.

The valuation adjustments do not mean that tax bills will increase by 10 and 20 percent; higher valuations allow a lower tax rate. However, increased expenditures this fiscal year over last year will raise local taxes.

Nomination papers now available

Nomination papers for China local elective offices became available Monday, July 29. Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood presented a list of those whose terms expire this year:

— On the select board: Brent Chesley, Blane Casey and Janet Preston;
— On the budget committee: secretary (vacant), District 2 (Taryn Hotham), District 4 (Timothy Basham) and at large (Elizabeth Curtis); and
— RSU #18 Director: T. James Bachinski.

Signed nomination papers must be returned to the town office by Friday, Sept. 6, for candidates’ names to be on the Nov. 5 local ballot.

On another topic, a petition presented at the July 29 meeting asked for a public meeting to discuss and vote on a moratorium on high-voltage transmission lines or corridors passing through the town. Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood said the petition was started in October 2023 and recently received the required number of signatures.

The three board members present, Jeanne Marquis, Brent Chesley and chairman Wayne Chadwick, discussed whether to schedule a special town meeting, hoping the required 100 voters would show up, or whether to put a transmission line/corridor moratorium ordinance on a Nov. 5 local ballot. On Chadwick’s recommendation, they postponed action until a full board is present.

Hapgood said the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has approved one of China’s three requests for storm damage reimbursement, authorizing a grant of more than $48,000 to cover costs of cleaning up roadside brush and debris. State officials are reviewing the grant, she said. There has been no action yet on the other grant applications.

She presented a brief report on a violation of China’s solid waste ordinance: a seasonal resident entered the transfer station on a Monday, a day it is closed, to leave trash before returning to his year-round
home.

The man self-reported, Hapgood said, perhaps because an attendant saw and recorded him.

The maximum penalty could have been a $700 fine, Hapgood said. Board members considered that it was a first offense and self-reported and imposed a $100 fine.

Board members unanimously approved a renewal license for Wildwood Pawn, Inc., on Gunshop Road north of China Village.

They approved more end-of-fiscal year business, allocating money unspent before June 30 to 2024-25 accounts or reserve funds. They approved contracts for town functions, as Hapgood recommended.

Hapgood reported that Julia Gagnon, Maine’s American Idol contestant earlier this year, will sing at the barbecue that is scheduled for 5:30 p.m., Friday, Aug. 2, at the ballfields by China Middle School, on Lakeview Drive. Barbecue tickets were almost sold out by July 29.

The Aug. 1 – 3 China Community Days schedule is available on line on the China Community Days Facebook page and on the town website, chinamaine.org.

August China select board meetings are scheduled for Monday evening, Aug. 12, and Monday evening, Aug. 26.

Planners OK water district shoreland zoning permit in 15 minutes

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by Mary Grow

Vassalboro Planning Board members needed only a quarter-hour-long July 23 meeting to approve the Kennebec Water District’s application for a shoreland zoning permit on Outlet Stream near the KWD plant on Route 32.

KWD General Manager Roger Crouse and Water Quality Manager Robbie Bickford had presented the plan to the select board in June (see the June 20 issue of The Town Line, p. 3). They filed a planning board application that Bickford and Project Engineer Max Kenney reviewed briefly at the July 23 meeting.

The permit is for a pipeline under Route 32, from the plant on the west side of the road, that will carry used filter-cleaning water into Outlet Stream. Bickford and Kenney explained that KWD needs to dig up the road and wants to do it before the Maine Department of Transportation rebuilds parts of it and repaves this summer.

“We just need to be under the road before they pave it,” Kenney said. Waiting to dig up fresh pavement would be significantly more expensive.

To accent the point, MDOT crews were working on the road in front of the town office as the planning board met.

Tunneling was a less safe option than opening the pavement, Bickford said, because there are already under that section of road a water main, a sewer main and two fiberoptic cables.

KWD’s application provided detailed plans for the pipe, which will open into an outfall channel between Route 32 and Outlet Stream. Bickford explained to the planning board, as he had to the select board, that the water from the plant will add no contaminants and no significant volume to the stream; it might slightly increase the oxygen level, he said.

If China Lake and Outlet Stream were to flood again, KWD could reduce its discharge, he said, and being completely underwater would not harm the discharge channel.

Planning board members conditioned their unanimous approval on receiving for their files a copy of the easement allowing KWD to cross the lot between the road and the stream. Bickford promised it.

Since Vassalboro is now without a codes officer, Town Manager Aaron Miller filled in as secretary for the planning board. He said David Savage, from Oakland, is assisting with essential codes enforcement duties while Vassalboro seeks applicants to fill the position. The arrangement is working well, he said.

The next regular Vassalboro planning board meeting will be Tuesday evening, Aug. 6. Miller said as of July 23, there was one pending application.

Vassalboro first responders receive $17,500 grant from blue ribbon commission

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by Mary Grow

Money was a major theme at the July 25 Vassalboro select board meeting, and for once, some was coming in instead of going out.

Vassalboro First Responders Chief Dan Mayotte was the first person with good news (and a request): the First Responders recently received a $17,300 grant, part of the recommendations from the Blue Ribbon Commission the Maine legislature created in 2023.

Plans to use the money include providing tuition for members who want to get advanced EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) training, and paying a member to spend a few hours a week doing paperwork, checking gear and doing other managerial tasks.

Mayotte said Vassalboro has the most First Responders of any area town. With a successful group and a grant, he asked select board members to support an application to move to a higher license level, from EMT to Advanced EMT. Part of the grant money would be used for the application process and for some additional equipment.

The higher license would let members perform additional life-saving services when needed, for instance if an ambulance were delayed, Mayotte said.

He foresaw no additional major expenditures if the unit were licensed as Advanced EMT. He told Town Manager Aaron Miller the change would not affect insurance costs.

The two select board members present July 25, chairman Frederick “Rick” Denico, Jr., and Chris French, authorized Mayotte and Miller to work on getting the new license.

At the end of the select board meeting, Recreation Director Karen Hatch displayed another result of a successful grant: in the meeting room was one of the raised garden boxes that will be set up in front of the town office. The project is funded with a Community Challenge Grant from AARP (formerly the American Association of Retired Persons); see the July 18 issue of The Town Line, p. 8, for more information.

Between those two pieces of good news, Miller and board members talked about:

— The on-going multi-party discussion of the China Lake water level and the outlet dam in East Vassalboro;
— Plans to replace Dunlap Bridge on Mill Hill Road, an expensive project that involves the town and its engineering firm, Calderwood Engineering, of Richmond, and the state Department of Transportation; and
— Next steps in dealing with two foreclosed properties, at 14 Priest Hill Road and 159 Lombard Dam Road.

Board members approved Miller’s list of town manager’s appointments. They appointed Bruce Lancaster to the Vassalboro Trails Committee, and Jordan Cayouette as the Recreation Committee member heading the soccer program.

They agreed by consensus to offer for sale a 12-by-16-foot gazebo, bought by a past recreation director some years ago and never taken from its box and assembled. Miller recommended sale proceeds be set aside in a fund for a similar project should Hatch so recommend.

The manager reported that the Delta Ambulance board of directors is considering asking towns it serves for a 2025 fee of $35 per resident. No decision was made, he emphasized.

By town meeting vote, Delta is receiving $25 a head for fiscal year 2024, up from $15 in FY 2023. During budget discussions, there was talk of a possible 2025 fee as high as $45.

Miller reported on proposed measures to slow traffic approaching the East Vassalboro four corners, which he said should be in place by the end of August. The plan was worked out by the local East Vassalboro Village Project Team and the state Department of Transportation, whose cooperation Miller praised.

Also earning praise, from Miller and from public works department spokesman Brian Lajoie, was Lucas Striping, of Readfield, for donating pavement striping at the newly-paved Vassalboro Historical Society parking lot.

Lajoie told board members the public works department is seeking bids for its new building. He hopes the building will go up this fall.

The next regular Vassalboro select board meeting is scheduled for Thursday evening, Aug. 8.