New round of façade and building improvement grants in Waterville

/0 Comments/in , /by

Paul J. Schupf Art Center in Waterville, ME. (photo credit: Colby College)

Complementing revitalization within downtown Waterville’s Main Street corridor, Central Maine Growth Council (CMGC) is pleased to announce the successful grantees of its Façade and Building Improvement Grant Program (FBIGP).

The grant program, funded by Colby College and the Bill and Joan Alfond Foundation, provides a reimbursement of up to fifty (50) percent of the total estimated project budget up to $10,000. Eligible projects range from new awnings and signage to brick repointing and the removal of outdated alterations to building exteriors.

The program was established in 2019 to broaden engagement in Waterville’s ongoing revitalization, activated by over $175 million in recent investment by private and public sector supporters. With the façade and building improvement initiative now in its third year of deployment, the grant program encourages new and existing downtown property owners and businesses to invest in their commercial storefronts while restoring the original character of historic buildings. CMGC has deployed 36 grants totaling $175,950 since the program’s launch in 2019, supporting more than $2.25 million in direct investment in less than three years.

“From business revitalization to historical façade restoration, we were thrilled with the quality of the applications we received for the program’s third funding cycle,” states Garvan D. Donegan, director of planning, innovation, and economic development at Central Maine Growth Council and FBIGP advisory committee coordinator. “The grant program has allowed us to leverage additional resources to help expand and grow new downtown private sector investment, incentivize landlords to beautify and improve their buildings, and preserve our historic downtown district while fostering the conditions for small business creation, retention, and economic development.”

This year, the grant awards made through the façade program will stimulate more than $150,000 in direct investment in downtown storefronts and facades during the 2021 calendar year. 22 applications were submitted, and 15 were successful.

Successful grantees of the 2021 FBIGP award include:

● 197 Main Street – Sunset Realty Co.
● 173 Main Street – Portland Pie Company
● 119-123 Main Street – Roisin Enterprises, LLC
● 115-117 Main Street – Costantino Enterprises, LLC
● 80 Main Street – Day’s Jewelers
● 70 Main Street – Holy Cannoli
● 62 Main Street – L. Tardif Jeweler
● 54 Main Street – SBS/Carbon Copy
● 52 Main Street – Children’s Book Cellar
● 48 Main Street – Incense & Peppermints
● 36-44 Main Street – Focus LLC
● 57 Main Street & 14-28 Common Street – MGH Realty Co., LLC
● 5 Concourse East – Sidney H. Geller Trust
● 31 Temple Street – REM
● 14 Temple Street – Universal Bread.

Windsor selectmen set tax rate at 13.0 mil

/0 Comments/in , /by
by The Town Line staff

The board of selectmen, on August 17, opened the meeting by convening as the board of assessors, to listen to Vern Ziegler, who remotely presented the tax assessment for the 2021-22 fiscal year. The board voted unanimously to approve a 13.0 mil tax rate for the fiscal year, to sign the assessors certification of assessment, 2021-22 municipal tax assessment warrant, certificate of commitment, and certificate of assessment to be returned to the municipal treasurer.

The public works department reported the culverts on the Windsor Neck Road have been changed and ditched. Also, a two-foot culvert near the China town line that is six to seven feet deep on one end will need replacing.

It was also noted that the town’s 2007 International plow truck will be going up for sale.

Paving has begun, and because of the Windsor Fair in progrress, the work started with Maxcy’s Mill Road and Erskine Road first.

The animal control officer informed the selectmen that there have been many kittens and dogs at large which have been taken to the animal shelter, or returned to owners. Ten-day notices for unlicensed dogs have been delivered to owners.

Tom Reed asked if the town is still looking to purchase the well pump for the cemetery. Reed provided Town Manager Theresa Haskell with the contact information at Bison Pump.

A qualified catering organization application for a catered function from Rustic Taps and Catering was unanimously approved for a craft beer tent at the Windsor Fair.

Nina Tulio was appointed to the planning board with her term to expire June 30, 2024.

In other business, the town of China board of selectmen has asked for a written response as to why the town of Windsor board of selectmen does not want to contribute to the China Region Lakes Alliance (CRLA). There was much discussion and the decision was made that board chairman Ray Bates could be called for additional discussion.

The next board of selectmen meeting was scheduled for August 31.

Demolition debris fees to be raised at China transfer station

/0 Comments/in , /by
by Mary Grow

A majority of China Transfer Station Committee members recommended at the Aug. 24 meeting that selectmen increase fees for disposal of demolition debris, and selectmen agreed at their Aug. 30 meeting.

Committee members reviewed the current fee schedule (available on the town website, www.china.govoffice.com) with two goals in mind: to ensure that fees cover disposal costs, including staff labor; and to ensure that China’s fees are not so much lower than other towns’ that China attracts out-of-town waste.

They added that any 2021 increase should cover costs for some years into the future, to avoid the need for annual reviews and updates.

Committee member Ashley Farrington had collected information on fees from 15 other Maine towns for 71 different items. Committee Chairman Larry Sikora had narrowed the list to make a spreadsheet for comparison.

There was still the complication that some towns measured by weight and others by volume.

China’s contract with Palermo requires six months’ notice to Palermo before any fee increase is effective. Town Manager Becky Hapgood calculated that if selectmen approved a change at their Aug. 30 meeting, the increase could take effect April 1, 2022.

After discussion, transfer station committee members voted 6-1, with Sikora opposed, to recommend increasing demolition debris fees from six to 10 cents a pound for China and Palermo residents and from eight to 15 cents a pound for non-residents. The increase, they added, is subject to review after further study of costs and would be effective six months after selectmen’s approval.

At the Aug. 30 China selectmen’s meeting, board members unanimously approved a three-part motion that said:

— Demolition debris disposal fees for China and Palermo residents will increase from six to 10 cents a pound, effective April 1, 2022;
— Demolition debris disposal fees for residents of all other municipalities will increase from eight to 15 cents a pound, effective Jan. 1, 2022; and
— Hapgood is to notify Palermo officials that the price Palermo residents pay for bags for mixed waste will increase April 1, 2022, with the new price to be recommended by the transfer station committee and approved by the selectboard.

Transfer station committee members will also continue to discuss charges for bulky items, like furniture, mattresses and tires, having come to no decision on Aug. 24.

In other business, they unanimously adopted the state-required policy on remote participation, created by the legislature as the pandemic emergency rules end. The policy allows limited exceptions to the rule that public boards and committees must meet in person.

Hapgood reported rumors that the RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags allowing admission to the China transfer station are being lent to people who are not residents of China or Palermo.

The tags, read by a scanner at the station, succeeded the window stickers used until a few years ago. Stickers had license plate numbers on them; if the sticker number did not match the vehicle license plate, attendants could question the driver.

Hapgood and committee members discussed whether a different identification system is needed. They decided first to try to get more information on the extent of the problem and thus the extra burden on China taxpayers.

Transfer station committee members scheduled their next meeting for 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 12.

China TIF committee spends lots of time on legal issue of remote meeting policy

/0 Comments/in , /by
by Mary Grow

Members of China’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Committee spent much of their Aug. 23 meeting trying to understand the state-required policy on board and committee meetings that are not entirely in-person.

Pre-Covid, Town Manager Becky Hapgood explained, the state right-to-know law assumed, and required, that when a board or committee met, members and the public were in the meeting room interacting face to face.

During the pandemic, emergency provisions allowed remote meetings. The emergency has expired, and the legislature has passed a law returning to almost the pre-Covid normal. However, there are now two exceptions, Hapgood and TIF Committee member Jamie Pitney explained:

— An entire board may meet remotely in an emergency, like a pandemic or a blizzard; and
— A member, with notice to the chairman who in turn notifies as many other members as possible, may participate remotely in case of “illness or temporary absence that causes a board member significant difficulties in travel.”

The Maine Municipal Association distributed information to municipalities that Hapgood said repeated the legislative wording and said that each separate board and committee must adopt the policy, or something similar enough to be legal.

A member participating remotely who qualifies for one of the exceptions to personal attendance is counted as part of the quorum and may vote, Hapgood said. If the TIF Committee did not have a remote meeting policy and a renewed shut-down prohibited in-person meetings, the committee could not meet.

Qualification to participate remotely was the issue. There was consensus that someone who tried to Zoom in because he or she did not feel like driving to the meeting, or because he or she had child-care responsibilities at home, did not qualify.

When TIF Chairman Tom Michaud is spending the winter in Florida, there was agreement he has difficulty traveling to a meeting in the China town office. But, Pitney, pointed out, Michaud chooses to go to Florida; so maybe he should not be allowed to participate remotely.

Committee members debated a hypothetical case: a committee member calls the chairman to say he or she has to work late, either can drive to the meeting but is unlikely to arrive before it adjourns, or can Zoom in from the office. They did not decide whether the situation authorized remote participation.

Despite the lack of clarity, TIF Committee members adopted the policy on a 6-0 vote.

They spent less time on tax increment financing business. Hapgood said the state Department of Economic and Community Development has not yet approved the amended TIF program local voters adopted at the June 8 town meeting, so no money has been disbursed under it.

No accurate fund balances are available, because the audit for the fiscal year that ended June 30 is not finished.

The causeway project is done and paid for, Hapgood said, except for one minor step that cannot be done until late in the fall. She updated board members on the single outstanding loan from the Revolving Loan Fund that is part of China’s TIF.

Michaud’s wife Marie has resigned her secretarial duties; when no one volunteered to replace her, Michaud proposed members take turns preparing minutes, starting with himself. He also asked for a vice-chairman to run meetings when he is unavailable. James “J. J.” Wentworth was elected unanimously.

The next TIF Committee meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday, Sept. 20.

CHINA: Town receives two bids on Lakeview Drive lot

/0 Comments/in , /by
by Mary Grow

China selectmen had two bids on the town’s Lakeview Drive property to review at their Aug. 30 meeting.

Voters at the June 8 town meeting authorized them to sell the almost 40 acres of land on the east side of the road opposite The Cottages at China Lake. A group called People’s Park, led by Lindsey Harwath and others, promptly organized to raise money to buy the lot for a park.

At their Aug. 16 meeting, selectmen voted to contract with Lucas Adams, of Adams Realty, in China, to handle the sale. Town Manager Becky Hapgood signed the contract last week, and Adams attended the Aug. 30 meeting to discuss the two offers.

Confidentiality considerations prevented Adams and the selectmen from sharing all details with the audience. Adams said one bid was $10,000 from a group planning a park; the other was $80,000 from someone whose tentative plan is to split the lot and sell part of it to the People’s Park organization.

Earlier, Adams had valued the land at between $80,000 and $100,000, and selectmen had settled on $90,000 as their base price. Adams said he had had other inquiries, but so far no other offers, he thinks because much of the lot is wetland.

After discussion, selectmen voted 4-1 to authorize Hapgood to make a counter-offer to the higher bidder, negotiate with him, her or them and sign relevant documents.

Selectman Janet Preston, a supporter of the park plan, voted no. Her earlier motion to accept the lower bid was not seconded.

On another issue, China’s Broadband Committee (CBC) had asked selectmen to put a question on the Nov. 2 local ballot asking voters to authorize a bond issue to build new internet infrastructure in town. By Aug. 30, the CBC’s question had been rewritten by an attorney – not town attorney Amanda Meader, Hapgood said, but a “bondwriting specialist” Meader had consulted.

Selectman Wayne Chadwick did not like the result. It sounded to him, he said, as though if voters approved the article, selectmen would have no choice but to issue the bond and go ahead with construction.

CBC members have repeatedly said that if too few residents sign up for the proposed new service the expanded infrastructure will provide, or if the grants expected to cover some of the cost do not materialize, the project will be canceled and the bond will not be needed.

Despite the evening hour, Hapgood tried to reach Meader, without success. Since the Nov. 2 ballot must be final by Sept. 3 – the day nomination papers for local elective office are due – selectmen agreed to a short special meeting at 4 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 2, expecting a clarification before then.

Hapgood said none of the ordinance amendments China Planning Board members have discussed for months will be on the Nov. 2 ballot, because she has been unable to get final copies in time.

Jeanette Smith, Chairman of the Thurston Park Committee, attended the meeting to explain why committee members want to contract with Scott Childs to do $23,350 worth of work in the park, without seeking other bids. Childs heads SD Childs and Sons Excavation, Inc., of Palermo.

Last year, she said, Childs worked on two main trails in the town-owned park in northeastern China. Heavy rains in the fall showed that ditching some sections and installing a culvert are needed, to avoid dealing with repeated damage.

Childs gave them the estimate, which includes other projects, last fall. Committee members intend to use part of the $35,000 allocated from China’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF) fund to pay him.

Meanwhile, they were told they should get at least three estimates. Committee member Steve Nelson has found no other contractor with the time or inclination to bid on the project.

Smith asked selectmen’s approval to go ahead with Childs as planned. Despite general belief in the value of multiple estimates, they approved in this case; Chadwick pointed out that this year is unusual. The vote was 4-1, with Blane Casey opposed.

Chairman Ronald Breton added that since China apparently has no policy saying when proposed expenditures are to be bid out, the board should develop one.

In other business, selectmen made committee appointments as follows:

— Cemetery Committee, Elizabeth Curtis and Jean Dempster; and
— Building Committee, for the planned addition of a storage room on the town office, Ashley Farrington, Debra Fischer, Tiffany Glidden, Sheldon Goodine, Jaime Hanson and Scott Pierz.

After the special Sept. 2 meeting, the next regular China selectmen’s meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 13.

China budget committee urges “no” vote on broadband expansion

/0 Comments/in , /by
by Mary Grow

China Budget Committee members recommend voters not approve the bond issue for broadband expansion on the Nov. 2 local ballot.

At the Aug. 23 committee meeting, members talked with representatives of the China Broadband Committee (CBC) before deciding to disagree with them.

The vote on a motion to add a “No” recommendation under the ballot question was 4-1, Chairman Robert Batteese announced. He, Tim Basham, Kevin Maroon and Tom Rumpf voted to recommend against the bond issue. Trishea Story dissented.

The committee majority’s main argument was that CBC members are getting too far ahead; they should wait until amounts and allowed uses of pending federal and state funds have been made clear.

One budget committee member added that the option of collaborating with other towns should be explored. Another objected on principle to town government rather than private enterprise providing broadband service.

CBC members advocate the bond issue, currently estimated at around $5.6 million, to cover most of the cost of building new broadband infrastructure town-wide. They anticipate grants will cover about 15 percent.

Having bond money would put China in an advantageous position for getting grants, because the usually-required matching funds would be available, CBC member Tod Detre said.

CBC member Jamie Pitney said there had been informal discussions about regional cooperation.

The problem with waiting for a private company to offer improved service is that China is too small to attract investors, Detre said. Pitney said CBC members have talked with Spectrum, the company currently providing internet service to about 70 percent of residents, and found no interest in upgrading and expanding. Meanwhile, Detre said, some residents have no internet access at all, and others have limited service.

When the CBC asked for proposals for broadband service at the beginning of the year, there were three responses, including Spectrum’s expensive and inadequate offer, Pitney said. Since then, CBC members have chosen to work with Axiom Technologies to provide a town-owned, Axiom-operated and maintained system funded by user fees, not tax dollars.

Story said better service is essential as needs increase, for example for education, and to attract new businesses to town. Axiom’s proposed monthly $55 fee for the lowest service tier is significantly less than she pays now, she said.

Pitney and Detre pointed out that authorizing the selectmen to apply for the bond does not mean they must do so. If too few residents sign up for the new service to provide needed income, or if grants are not awarded, selectmen need not act on the authorization.

At the Aug. 16 China selectmen’s meeting, Selectboard members decided their recommendation on the ballot question will be “Leave to the people” or similar wording, meaning that as a board they recommend neither for nor against the bond issue.

VASSALBORO: Despite parents’ objection, board votes to require face masks indoors by a split vote

/0 Comments/in , , /by

Vassalboro Community School (contributed photo)

by Mary Grow

On a split vote and over audience objections, Vassalboro School Board members approved requiring students, teachers and staff to wear face masks indoors when school opens Sept. 1.

The “mask mandate” was part of a multi-item school opening plan, and the only part discussed at length during the board’s Aug. 17 meeting.

Superintendent Alan Pfeiffer and Board Chairman Keven Levasseur spoke in favor of requiring masks as a safety measure.

“I don’t think we have a choice to do anything different,” since children under 12 cannot yet be vaccinated, Levasseur said. Pfeiffer said a high percentage of adults working at Vassalboro Community School (VCS) are already vaccinated.

Four of the 10 audience members argued vociferously against the mandate. They wanted the choice left to parents.

Masks are bad for children’s mental health by interfering with socialization, one woman argued. They are harmful to physical health, especially for children with illnesses like asthma, another said. And they don’t work anyway; there is no standard for an effective mask, and virus particles are small enough to penetrate most masks in common use.

[See also: CDC mask guidelines.]

The eventual vote to approve the back-to-school document, including mandatory masks, was 3-2, Levasseur announced. Principal Megan Allen said face shields instead of masks will be allowed with a doctor’s note.

Allen said other procedures in place last year, like temperature checks, social distancing and keeping windows open as often as feasible, will continue to be followed. Pfeiffer added that students and drivers on school buses will follow state regulations.

VCS will also do pool testing, nurse MaryAnn Fortin said. She explained the procedure: classroom members’ individual samples are tested in a bunch, and if there is a positive result individual tests will follow.

Aside from the mask debate, the Aug. 17 meeting was mostly upbeat. Pfeiffer set the tone with his repeated “The good news is:” school will open with students in classrooms five days a week, recess and sports will happen as in the old days.

But he kept adding, “As I sit here now,” promising he and school administrators will monitor updated rules and recommendations from state and federal governments.

Pfeiffer reported staff shortages: VCS needs substitute bus drivers, educational technicians, a sixth-grade teacher and substitute teachers, he said.

Allen reported the summer school, Viking Summer Adventure Camp, had been “hands down a success.” Six staff members and 33 students spent two four-day weeks working on projects tailored to students’ interests.

The summer course was intended to help students catch up after the disruptions last school year. Allen recommends continuing it after a return to pre-Covid normalcy.

John Hersey, new food service director for Vassalboro, Waterville and Winslow schools, said that even though school meals are now free for everyone under 18, regardless of family income, it is important that parents continue to fill out the annual applications for free and reduced-price meals.

Currently, school meals are free under a federal pandemic program that will continue through the 2021-22 school year. By a new law signed in July, the State of Maine will take over the free meal program in 2022-23, when the federal program is scheduled to end.

Applications for free and reduced-price meals brought in federal funds in pre-Covid days and will do so again, Hersey explained.

School Board member Jessica Clark seconded his reminder. She added that any parent who skipped the application for fear of taking away meals from another family need no longer worry.

“Jessica, you are spot on,” Finance Director Paula Pooler said.

Hersey also said that the school cafeteria is running into supply problems. As a result, he warned, menus may change on short notice.

Pooler’s report had two pieces of good news. She said the budget deficit that has characterized the school lunch program at many Maine schools for many years has been erased at VCS.

And she said that the unaudited final report for the fiscal year that ended June 30 shows a budget surplus of around $260,000. In addition, she said, after voters approved the 2021-22 school budget, she was notified of additional state subsidy money, as a result of the legislative decision to raise state funding to the long-promised 55 percent level.

Both the left-over money and the unappropriated money will go into the school’s surplus account. As school board members plan the 2022-23 budget, they can decide how much to recommend using from the account.

Director of Maintenance and Grounds Shelley Phillips reported on building renovations over the summer, including transforming the area formerly for industrial arts into two classrooms. She said a specialist in browntail moth control will return in the fall to decrease next year’s outbreak.

Neither the new lighted sign for the front yard nor the generator that will make the school building qualify as an emergency shelter is in place yet, due primarily to delays in getting parts, Pfeiffer said.

Technology Director Will Backman cheerfully described unwrapping boxes and boxes of new computers, and said he expects another 100, enough so every student will have one. Pfeiffer said federal CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act funds bought the computers.

School board members heard several other reports; approved many appointments and two requested reassignments Pfeiffer had authorized; accepted four resignations; approved a variety of policies; and rescheduled the workshop postponed from August to Wednesday, Sept. 22.

The next regular Vassalboro School Board meeting will be Tuesday evening, Sept. 21.

WINDSOR: Town to receive more state revenue sharing than budgeted

/0 Comments/in , /by
by The Town Line staff

At the August 3 meeting of the Windsor selectmen, town manager Theresa Haskell read a release from the Maine Municipal Association regarding the town receiving a $2,383 dividend check for its good performance and loss prevention program. Other financial news from the town manager is that the projected revenue sharing numbers have changed again but it still shows the town will be getting more than was budgeted.

Haskell presented the monthly report from the transfer station, showing $8,370.47 so far this fiscal year, which is up $637.62 from last year. Selectman Richard H. Gray Jr. asked for clarification on the recycling process and what could be done to get the information to the public. Haskell proposed creating a flyer to educate residents on proper recycling, and to poll other towns on how they do it.

Discussion centered around the schedule at the transfer station during Windsor Fair week. It was suggested to reduce the hours to 9 a.m. – noon on the Saturday during the week. However, this year, both attendants are asking for time off, so it was suggested to close the transfer station on Saturday, September 4. Selectmen unanimously approved closing the transfer station on that Saturday.

In other transfer station news, Gray stated that upon a visit to the transfer station, he noticed the good customer service from the attendants. Selectman William Appel Jr., also noted that other residents have complimented the transfer station attendants.

Selectmen directed Haskell to contact the Maine Department of Transportation for speed limit signs on the Reed Road, since it is now a default road, with a speed limit of 45 mph.

Selectmen suggested the flagpole at the Veterans Monument be returned to the person who purchased it. Scott Pierce has said he does not want the flagpole, and wants to sell it, and donate the money to the veterans memorial fund. The public works department will take down the old pole.

The well pump at Resthaven Cemetery has been repaired. The town is still planning to purchase the refurbished pump for $6,000.

It was noted that October 10, 2020, was the cut off date for names to be submitted to be added to the Veterans Memorial Wall. Names can still be added for a fee of $275.

In other business, Ken Knight was present to speak to the board about the possibility of doing the mulching on the sides of the roads for Windsor when needed. There was much discussion regarding this and the it was decided the work would need to out for bid.

Selectmen also unanimously approved a new contract with Transco and possibly a new copier for the town office. The new copier would have scanning, faxing and emailing options that the current copier does not provide. The new copier will save the town $30 a month. Selectmen unanimously approved the new copier.

The next meeting was scheduled for August 17.

China planners review documents submitted to selectmen

/0 Comments/in , /by
by Mary Grow

China Planning Board members used their Aug. 10 meeting for final reviews of documents they submitted to China selectmen ahead of the Aug. 16 selectboard meeting.

Both are proposed ordinance changes that need voter approval: an amendment to the shoreland zoning section of the town Land Use Ordinance to bring China regulations into conformity with state rules; and the Solar Energy Systems Ordinance, a new section of the Land Use Ordinance to guide planning board members as they review future applications for new solar developments, individual and commercial.

Planning board members hope selectmen will put the proposed ordinance changes on the Nov. 2 local ballot for voters’ action.
However, by the time selectmen got to the request, two hours into their Aug. 16 meeting, no one argued with Chairman Ronald Breton’s postponing it to the Aug. 30 selectmen’s meeting.

Codes Officer Jaime Hanson reported at the Aug. 10 planning board meeting that he continues to be very busy. In addition to reviewing permit applications, he is monitoring two properties that are not in compliance with town ordinances and four that are categorized as dangerous buildings.

The owner of one cluttered and rodent-infested property has made progress on cleaning it up – his “only positive response” to neighborhood complaints about such situations, Hanson commented.

Planning board members intend not to meet Tuesday, Aug. 24, unless Hanson gets an application or something else requires their attention. Without any immediate new business, their next regular meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 12.

Vassalboro selectmen put tax rate at 14.48 mil

/0 Comments/in , /by
by Mary Grow

Vassalboro selectmen have set the 2021-22 tax rate: 14.48 mil, or $14.48 for each $1,000 of valuation. The town website says the 2019-2020 rate was $14.35 for each $1,000, so the new rate is an increase of 13 cents for each $1,000.

The assessor gave selectmen four rate choices at their Aug. 12 meeting. They chose the second to lowest.

Tax bills are mailed out as soon as possible after the rate is set; property-owners should receive them by early September, if not sooner. By town meeting vote, the first quarterly tax payment is due Monday, Sept. 27, and six percent interest on late payments will begin to accrue seven days after the due date.

The Aug. 12 meeting began with a half-hour executive session discussion with Codes Officer Paul Mitnik and, virtually, attorney Allaina Murphy, of Preti Flaherty’s Portland office. Afterward, selectmen voted unanimously to pursue legal action against the owner of the former church at 14 Priest Hill Road, on Murphy’s advice (see The Town Line, July 22, p. 14).

When Board Chairman Robert Browne invited final audience comments at the end of the meeting, a man identified himself as Chad Caron, owner of the former church, and said he had come to apologize for the trouble his negligence in managing the property had caused.

Caron said his goal is to take advantage of an “incredible opportunity to restore and preserve” the church, but “I bit off more than I could chew.”

He has neither the financial resources nor the time he needs; hence donated materials have piled up in the yard, to neighbors’ dismay. Mitnik has visited the property and reported to selectmen previously. Caron said he was not aware that he could come to a selectboard meeting.

Caron assured selectmen the building is structurally sound and will not fall down. He does not want it to be torn down, and offered to donate it “to someone who can preserve it.”

Historian says Priest Hill Road property was formerly a Methodist church

Vassalboro Historical Society President Janice Clowes says the Priest Hill Road building was formerly a Methodist church, and it is so identified on its photo in the Vassalboro sestercentennial calendar prepared by Don Breton.

Both Henry Kingsbury, in his 1892 history of Kennebec County, and Alma Pierce Robbins, in her 1971 history of Vassalboro, said the town had four Methodist churches, one of them in North Vassalboro. Neither author gave a precise location.

Robbins wrote that the North Vassalboro Methodists bought an unfinished Winslow church and “moved it to the present site about 1875. This pretty little church stands to this day,…white, with a steeple pointing heavenward and a bell to ring on Sunday morning.”

In other business Aug. 12, Browne and Selectman Chris French approved the work Selectman Barbara Redmond and Town Manager Mary Sabins had done on the proposed Mass Gathering Ordinance. They still need information on a couple technical issues and a review by the town attorney before a final document is ready.

Selectmen will schedule a September public hearing on the ordinance. They intend to ask Vassalboro voters to approve it Nov. 2, in anticipation of a planned country music concert in July 2022.

When discussion turned to possible uses for federal American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA) money, Richard Greene, the engineer with Yarmouth-based Hoyle, Tanner and Associates who worked on the Vassalboro Sanitary District’s sewer expansion, asked selectmen to consider assistance to the district.

Selectmen accepted Greene’s offer to send them his list of suggested projects, some essential and others optional. He has included cost estimates and recommended priorities.

The topic will be on the agenda for a later selectmen’s meeting.

Board members had bids for a second compactor at the transfer station, with prices ranging from just under $32,000 to $115,000. Bidders offered a variety of configurations, motor horsepower and potential delivery dates. After discussion that included Transfer Station Manager George Hamar and Road Commissioner Eugene Field, selectmen postponed a decision for more information.

They voted unanimously to let Sabins and Field decide where to use anticipated extra paving money. They unanimously approved Sabins’ planned rearrangement of 2020-21 town funds to cover about $22,000 in overdrafts in two accounts.

After discussion with members and supporters of the town recreation committee, selectmen voted 2-0-1, with French abstaining, to appoint John Fortin a coach. He had failed a background check because of a 10-year-old assault conviction that he described as a result of youthful foolishness.

Browne suggested the selectmen need a clearer policy on interpretation and use of background checks.

Selectmen approved two suggestions Sabins made:

  • When recently retired bookkeeper Jean Poulin is recognized as Employee of the Year at the Nov. 2 Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce banquet, the town will pay the banquet fee for employees who want to see their former co-worker honored. Sabins and Selectboard members intend to pay their own way.
  • Selectmen will schedule a special goal-setting or visioning session, probably in the town office meeting room, probably in early October, to talk about longer-range town issues that they seldom have time to discuss in their meetings.

The next regular Vassalboro selectmen’s meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 2.