Vassalboro planners approve another solar array

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by Mary Grow

At their June 1 meeting, Vassalboro Planning Board members unanimously approved another solar array, this one west of Cemetery Street, between East and North Vassalboro.

They were assisted by Codes Officer Paul Mitnik, whose third retirement at the beginning of April lasted through one meeting. Board members welcomed him back.

Owens A. McCullough, Senior Vice-President at Sebago Technics, of South Portland, and Tiffiny Chase, Director of Development for New England Solar Garden (NESG), of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, explained their proposal to the board and, at first, to two neighbors. McCullough’s map showed the neighbors’ house is well away from the solar panels, and they left, satisfied.

McCullough and Chase’s colleague, Michael Redding, made a preliminary presentation at the Jan. 5 Vassalboro Planning Board meeting (see The Town Line, Jan. 14, 2021, p. 3).

The solar panels will be on about 26 acres of a lot leased for 20 years (with up to four five-year extensions) from Nicholas and Katie Jose. McCullough said the connection to the Central Maine Power Co. (CMP) grid will be to CMP’s distribution line; there will be no power line to Cemetery Street. Vehicle access from the street will be by a 20-foot-wide gravel driveway over an existing right-of-way.

Like other solar developments, NESG’s will include no buildings, use no water, generate no sewage or trash, have no lights, make little noise (a low hum, McCullough said, audible within 50 feet of the transformer pad) and have little traffic once construction is finished. The panels will have an anti-glare coating, and the frames have been changed to be non-reflective.

The ground under the panels will be planted with native plants, including types to attract pollinators, and mowed once or twice a summer. The fence around the development will be knotwire (orchard) fencing, not chainlink, with larger holes to let foxes and other predators inside to keep mice under control.

McCullough is negotiating with CMP, and will need state Department of Environmental Protection permits. He expects getting the contract and permits lined up will take most of 2021, perhaps longer, making the start of construction in early 2022. Construction is expected to take up to three months.

Sebago Technics is a civil engineering and land development consultant company that assists developers like NESG. NESG projects are mostly community solar developments. Chase said towns, schools, businesses and individual property-owners can sign up to buy a share, thereby reducing the power part of their electric bills.

When the NESG’s Cemetery Street project is getting ready to go on line, Chase said, a company called Arcadia will be sending mailings to seek customers. Arcadia has an on-line site that explains how it contributes to expanding use of renewable energy sources.

In other business June 1, Mitnik reported no pending applications for a July planning board meeting. Board members agreed that unless at least one application is received by the June 22 deadline, they will cancel the July meeting.

Mitnik had emailed a suggested addition to the Site Review Ordinance application, asking applicants for a business description or plan. Board member Douglas Phillips welcomed the proposal, and said changing an application form does not require voters’ action.

Vassalboro residents approve 37 articles at short town meeting

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From left to right, Selectman Barbara Redmond, Michelle Michaud, from Collins’ office, Selectman John Melrose and Selectman Robert Browne. (photo courtesy of Mary Sabins)

by Mary Grow

Veteran moderator Richard Thompson guided about five dozen Vassalboro voters through the first 37 articles of their annual town meeting warrant in a little over an hour the evening of June 7.

The annual town meeting continued at the polls June 8 with local elections; action on the new “Town of Vassalboro Marijuana Business Ordinance”; the school budget referendum, asking confirmation or rejection of the budget approved the evening before; and a decision on continuing the school budget referendum for another three years.

In the only elections June 7, budget committee members Donald Breton, William Browne, Phillip Landry and Peggy Schaffer were re-elected and Dallas Smedberg was elected to fill the seat vacated by Christopher French.

All warrant articles were approved, four with amendments.

The warrant article discussed at most length initially asked voters to authorize selectmen to “accept gifts of labor, goods, use of equipment, and money, and to implement those gifts for the donor’s intended purpose.”

Former Selectman Lauchlin Titus asked whether the article allowed selectmen to refuse a gift. For example, he asked, what if someone proposed to donate an ambulance – and leave the town to equip, man and maintain it?

Or, Clough Toppan suggested, a swimming pool on Main Street? He recommended selectmen consider what townspeople would say if they were allowed to vote on a gift.

Holly Weidner questioned letting the donor, rather than town officials, define the purpose of a gift.

John Melrose, retiring chairman of the selectboard, said during Vassalboro’s 250th anniversary celebration many people had donated labor, materials and money, for example for the renovation of Monument Park, in East Vassalboro. He expects more donations before the year is over.

Michael Vashon, a former town manager, reminded voters they could attend selectmen’s meetings – agendas are posted on the town website in advance – to voice their opinion on gifts.

Ultimately, the article was amended to include the words “or reject” in commas after “accept,” and was approved lopsidedly, with half a dozen people voting “no.”

The warrant article that would have funded 10 social service agencies in and out of town was amended after Melrose made a motion to delete $500 proposed for Literacy Volunteers of Waterville. The organization told him that it had disbanded, he said.

Voters then reappropriated the $500. They added $112 for the Sexual Assault Crisis and Support Center, bringing its appropriation to the requested $1,519 instead of $1,417 recommended by town officials (because, Melrose said, they try to stay with the same amount each year). And they added the remaining $398 to the China Region Lakes Alliance, increasing its appropriation from the recommended $7,500 closer to the requested $11,500.

The total for nine agencies remained at $24,017, as recommended by the selectmen and budget committee.

The other two amendments generated little discussion.

At Melrose’s suggestion, the authorization to let selectmen accept and use American Recovery Plan funds from the state and federal governments had county government added, now that selectmen know Maine counties have received grants.

The good news was for the article authorizing selectmen to pay the annual Kennebec County assessment. The estimated amount in the article was $383,911; Melrose said the final county budget reduced Vassalboro’s share to $379,384.

Four presentations were made at the beginning of the meeting.

  • Michelle Michaud, from Senator Susan Collins’ Augusta office, presented a framed copy of the letter the Senator put in the April 21 Congressional Record recognizing Vassalboro’s 250th anniversary, with a condensed history, praise and congratulations.
  • Melrose presented a copy of the Maine legislative resolution recognizing the anniversary, from State Senator Matthew Pouliot and State Representative Richard Bradstreet.
  • Selectman Robert Browne presented a certificate to Melrose recognizing his service on the Board of Selectmen and in other capacities in the town.
  • Melrose presented Spirit of America awards honoring volunteers to Jody Kundreskas and David Jenney, recognizing both for their work to improve town cemeteries and Jenney, additionally, for maintaining the town’s website and helping with other technical issues.

China planners finish draft of solar placement ordinance

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by Mary Grow

With only three members present for their May 25 meeting, China Planning Board members finished their draft of an ordinance to govern placement of solar arrays, subject to review by the absent members.

They returned to definitions of terms in the sample ordinance with which they have been working, changing some and deleting those they consider unnecessary. They agreed definitions specific to solar power should be part of the Solar Energy Systems Ordinance, not added to the definitions section of China’s Land Use Ordinance.

At their next meeting they intend to return to discussion of a shoreline stabilization ordinance. They hope to have both documents ready to submit to voters in November.

They also need to update China’s shoreland ordinance to meet state requirements.

The draft Solar Energy Systems Ordinance and the state Department of Environmental Protection’s DEP Department Order #07-2021, about the shoreland ordinance, are on the town website, www.china.govoffice. com, under the Planning Board, which is under “Officials, Boards & Committees.”

Codes Officer Jaime Hanson said he issued 24 building permits in May, a busy month. He also shared information on dangerous buildings, the topic he discussed with selectmen the previous evening (see The Town Line, May 27, p. 3).

The next regular China Planning Board meeting would fall on June 8, election day, when the town office will be closed and the former portable classroom used for voting. Because of the need to continue work on proposed ordinances, Co-Chairman Toni Wall recommended trying to reschedule the meeting a week earlier, rather than later.

China broadband committee members review models of potential offerings, prices

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by Mary Grow

China Broadband Committee (CBC) members reviewed models for potential broadband offerings and prices for customers at their May 26 meeting and asked for more definite information, if possible, to share with residents.

They also worked on an application for a Phase II planning grant from ConnectMe to help them get the information.

And they talked briefly about Spectrum Community Solutions, the company currently providing internet service to an estimated 70 percent of China households.

The CBC plan requires enough income from broadband users to repay a proposed bond that would fund costs of new internet infrastructure; to pay for ongoing internet service; and to provide a profit for the company that provides the service. Committee members do not want to suggest an increase in local taxes to support the project.

The currently proposed service provider is Machias-based Axiom Technologies. Company President Mark Ouellette participated in the May 26 discussion, as he has in previous meetings.

Consultants Mark Van Loan and John Dougherty, of Mission Broadband, had developed models showing what levels of service could be offered at what prices to make enough money to cover expected costs.

They were still dealing with the problems that have plagued earlier predictive efforts: until experts survey the town to see how many new poles and how many miles of cable are needed, construction costs are estimates; and until Axiom finds out how many customers want their service – the “take rate” – income is an estimate.

The goal is a maximum monthly charge of $50 for the lowest tier of service. That low a price is achievable in Van Loan and Dougherty’s models, assuming a high enough take rate.

The models propose a 15 percent discount for seasonal residents. One version would offer four service levels, the top – and most expensive — one named the Tod Tier in honor of committee member and self-described geek Tod Detre. Detre doubts many other residents would need the Tod Tier.

CBC members made no decision on a plan. They agreed they need to have one before they begin making presentations to enlist residents to sign up.

The ConnectMe grant application was due by midnight May 27. Ouellette, who had assisted another town with the same application, offered advice; Selectboard Chairman Ronald Breton and Town Manager Becky Hapgood called in their approval; and committee members planned to finish the grant during the day May 27.

They succeeded. CBC Chairman Robert O’Connor reported that an application for $7,500, to be supplemented by a $2,500 local match (from contingency funds, Hapgood suggested during the meeting), was emailed to ConnectMe before the deadline.

If ConnectMe awards a grant to China, the money will be used to pay Hawkeye Connections, Inc., fiber optic specialists based in Poland, Maine, to do an engineering review of “roads, premises, and telephone poles” that will define construction costs more accurately and improve cost estimates.

On the third topic, O’Connor told the rest of the committee he had received a communication from Spectrum, the most recent of several sent as CBC discussions proceed. Spectrum was one of three applicants to provide enhanced broadband service. After reviewing all three proposals early in 2021, CBC members chose to negotiate with Axiom.

O’Connor’s belief is that Spectrum officials are willing to submit proposals to match each improvement Axiom offers; but, he pointed out, they have not taken any action. He and Detre are among those saying that Spectrum cannot meet Axiom’s service level with its existing equipment.

The meeting ended with consensus that Van Loan, in consultation with Ouellette, would continue to work toward a more definite model, and that the committee would meet again at 4:30 p.m., Thursday, June 3.

Vassalboro selectmen’s meeting canceled

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by Mary Grow

Due to a lack of agenda items, the Vassalboro selectmen’s meeting scheduled for Thursday evening, May 27, has been canceled.

Extra help available for students at Vassalboro Community School

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Vassalboro Community School (contributed photo)

by Mary Grow

Vassalboro School staff and officials are offering extra help to students who need to make up for parts of subjects they missed because of Covid-19.

Projects and plans discussed at the May 18 Vassalboro School Board meeting included on-going after-school classes, planned summer school in August and teachers’ extra preparation for the 2021-22 school year.

Vassalboro Community School Principal Megan Allen said the after-school academic support program, led by different staff members on different days, is “kind of like the homework club” VCS used to offer. Students who stay get help with things they’re stuck on, a snack and a ride home. On May 18, 18 students had attended, she said.

Viking Summer Camp is scheduled for the first two weeks in August, to offer both remedial study to cover “gaps that were inevitable” and enrichment. Half a dozen staff will lead; students will get two meals and transportation.

Teachers plan extra time this spring and before school reopens in the fall to review the past year and plan ways to make sure every student can master material that should have been covered and move well-prepared into the next grade’s curriculum.

Allen is also scheduling a staff barbecue “to end the year on a positive note to let us get set up for next year.”

The rest of the school board’s business included review of the current year’s budget, continuing review of school policies, approval of promotions and acceptance of resignations. Finance Director Paula Pooler said the budget picture would be clearer after she made final tuition payments the following week.

Resolving a problem that was troubling Assistant Principal Greg Hughes at last month’s meeting, sixth/seventh-grade science teacher Taraysa Noyes was appointed baseball coach.

Superintendent Alan Pfeiffer reminded those present that Vassalboro’s annual town meeting, at which voters approve or amend the 2021-22 school budget, is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday, June 7, in the VCS gymnasium. On Tuesday, June 8, voters will approve or reject the June 7 budget decision by written vote, with polls open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the town office.

Because of the unusual number of ticks this spring, Vassalboro school grounds will be sprayed, Pfeiffer said. The brown-tail moth caterpillars in the trees cannot be sprayed, however, because getting rid of them would require aerial spray too close to the VCS building.

The next Vassalboro School Board meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 15.

Vassalboro town meeting set for June 7-8

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by Mary Grow

Vassalboro’s annual town meeting will be held Monday, June 7, and Tuesday, June 8. The town meeting warrant and related information are posted in the center column of the town website, www.vassalboro.net.

The open meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. Monday at the Vassalboro Community School gymnasium. After voters complete Art. 37 (the final item in the 2021-22 school budget), the moderator will recess the meeting until 8 a.m. Tuesday, when polls open at the town office for written-ballot voting on Articles 38 through 41. Polls close at 8 p.m.

For the open meeting, Town Manager Mary Sabins intends to divide the gymnasium by a solid curtain to conform to Covid-19 gathering limits. Rules for masking, social distancing and similar protective measures will be established as recommended by state authorities at the time.

For Tuesday’s written-ballot voting, Town Clerk Cathy Coyne recommends voters request and return absentee ballots, to minimize lines at the polls. The deadline for obtaining an absentee ballot is Thursday, June 3 (five days before the election); ballots must be returned before polls close at 8 p.m. June 8. Requests can be made in person, by telephone or by email.

The questions to be decided at the polls June 8 are as follows:

  • Approval or rejection of the new “Town of Vassalboro Marijuana Business Ordinance,” which prohibits new marijuana businesses in town and regulates recreational and medical marijuana facilities and businesses that existed before the ordinance’s Feb. 18, 2021, effective date;
  • Approval or rejection of the 2021-22 school budget approved the previous evening (the “school budget validation referendum”);
  • Continuation of the school budget validation referendum for three more years, or discontinuance; and
  • Local elections for three-year terms on the selectboard and school board. The only candidates on the ballot are Christopher French, to succeed John Melrose on the selectboard, and Jolene Clark Gamage, for re-election to the school board. As of May 24, neither Coyne nor Sabins was aware of any write-in candidate for either board.

The marijuana ordinance is on the website, well down in the center column.

The articles to be voted the evening of June 7 begin, as usual, with election of a moderator. Voters will next elect five budget committee members for two years; those whose terms expire in 2021 are Donald Breton, William Browne, Christopher French, Phillip Landry and Peggy Schaffer.

Art. 5 combines 14 spending categories that make up town services, including administration, public works, road paving, solid waste disposal, police and fire and others, for a total of more than $2.2 million.

Art. 6 asks voters to spend $293,500 for four purposes: $187,000 for the new culvert on Gray Road; $85,000 to add to the transfer station reserve account; $17,500 for a new furnace in the North Vassalboro fire station; and $4,000 toward restoring the Civil War statute in Memorial Park in East Vassalboro.

In Art. 10, selectmen ask permission to spend up to $230,000 for a new public works truck, with plow and sander. They plan to pay for it with $122,000 from the public works truck reserve and $108,000 from 2021-22 local taxes. They also want permission to sell a similarly-equipped 2009 truck.

Art. 11 asks approval to use up to $156,000 from the transfer station reserve fund to “provide up to two operational trash compactors” – there is now only one – and make other improvements. The reserve account will have approximately $156,000 in it only if voters approve Art. 6 adding $85,000, Sabins said. If Art. 6, or that part of it, is not approved, the transfer station appropriation in Art. 11 will need to be reduced.

Many municipal articles are familiar, like authorizing selectmen to apply for and accept grants (Art. 9) and to continue the annual alewife harvest (Art. 16); funding the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) program (Art. 17); and allowing selectmen to “dispose of” tax-acquired real estate (Art. 8) and town-owned property valued at $10,000 or less (Art. 18).

Art. 13 specifically requests approval to accept American Rescue Plan money from the federal and state governments.

In Art. 19, the selectmen request their annual $15,000 contingency fund to be taken from the town’s surplus account if needed “in the event of an emergency and to avoid overdrafts.” Article 20 has a list of 10 private agencies to which voters are asked to contribute.

The school budget is set forth in Articles 23 through 37. The total requested expenditure in Art. 36 is $8,313,609.72. It includes the state-required town contribution of $2,573,425 (Art. 34) and another $1,227,703.79 in additional local funds (Art. 35). The remainder is covered in Art. 37, which asks voters to authorize the school board to spend money received from “federal or state grants or programs or other sources.”

Vassalboro selectmen recommend that voters approve all articles. The budget committee recommends approval of all proposed expenditures. As of mid-May, Town Manager Sabins was projecting a property tax increase of barely over one percent if voters approved all expenditures.

China selectmen act on bids

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by Mary Grow

At their May 24 meeting, China selectmen acted on bids for summer work and got updated information on buildings that might meet the state definition of a dangerous building. They need more information on the buildings before possible action.

Bids were requested for three categories: road paving, materials for the Public Works Department and mowing. Mowing was subdivided into town property (like the town office lawn), cemeteries and ballfields.

Road paving attracted seven bidders, whose bids Town Manager Becky Hapgood summarized by number of tons of paving mix, per-ton price, chip seal (which turned out to be irrelevant) and total bid. Board members awarded the 2021-22 paving contract to Pike Industries, at a price of $67.47 per ton, after discussion among themselves, Hapgood and Public Works Manager Shawn Reed, who joined the meeting virtually.

Board Chairman Ronald Breton dissented, not because he objected to Pike, but because he wanted the bid awarded based on total price rather than per-ton price. Pike’s $67.47 was the lowest per-ton price by almost a dollar.

The total cost will depend on various factors, Reed explained, like the condition of the road being paved; rougher sections might need more shim – leveling material under the top coat – than first planned. Pike’s total price falls within the 2021-22 road budget, and Reed will make sure work does not exceed available funds.

Reed said Pike had last year’s contract and he is pleased with the work.

The road committee recommended against using chip seal this year, he said, and no additional chip seal is planned. Chip seal, he explained, is a liquid emulsion topped with very small stone chips and rolled. The method was used on about a mile of South Road last year; results are satisfactory so far, but road committee members want to see how it holds up for another year.

Two companies bid to supply gravel and other materials. Selectmen rejected both bids and authorized Reed to negotiate as needed, the same tactic they chose for the current year.

No mowing bids were received by the deadline; two came in the morning of May 24. The lower bidder did not bid on cemeteries, which Hapgood said are more labor-intensive than the other two categories.

Despite higher prices, a majority of the selectboard voted to award the contract to Danforth Lawncare, which has done China’s mowing for many years. Hapgood and the board majority doubted Danforth would do the cemeteries only, without the rest of the work.

Selectman Blane Casey dissented on the vote because of Danforth’s higher prices, which total over $32,000. Hapgood said the expenditure is “more than we anticipated,” but “we’ll be okay” with fitting it into the 2021-22 budget.

Codes Officer Jaime Hanson joined the May 24 meeting virtually to describe five buildings in town that appear to be abandoned, or nearly abandoned.

If selectmen so decide, they can seek a judge’s order to have a building declared dangerous and demolished within days, Hanson said. They can then bill the property-owner for the demolition and if necessary go to court to recover costs.

Hanson considers none of the buildings habitable in its present condition, and said as far as he knows none is permanently occupied, although he has talked with a person at one and seen a vehicle at a second. Only one of the five seems in imminent danger of collapse, he said.

Hapgood intends to get more information and consult town attorney Amanda Meader. Breton is concerned about possible town liability should someone be injured because selectmen did not deal with the problems.

Selectmen voted unanimously to support Hapgood’s suggestion that a Story Trails program be part of this summer’s China Community Days celebration. (See box below with this story.)

Two other agenda items were postponed to future meetings: how to use American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money and how to adjust transfer station fees for special items – electronics, propane tanks, tires, carpets and other things listed at the transfer station and on the town website, www.chinaoffice.org.

Hapgood said China is slated to get about $429,000 in ARPA funds through the state. Rules for using the money are being developed, she said; she expects them to include allowed and forbidden uses, deadlines and paperwork requirements. Resident Jamie Pitney added, virtually, that towns are encouraged to ask for local people’s ideas.

Breton wants to review the transfer station fees, which he said have not been changed in a decade. Higher fees help hold down property taxes, he pointed out. He has also asked for advice from the Transfer Station Committee.

The next regular China selectmen’s meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday, June 7. The annual town business meeting will be held by written ballot in the portable classroom behind the town office Tuesday, June 8, with polls open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Story Trails of Maine

Information sent to China town officials describes “Story Trails of Maine” as an opportunity to boost tourism, bring traffic to local businesses, promote local history and create “a memorable experience for participants.”

Participants, in groups of two to four, use a mobile app to follow clues to explore a local area. A typical tour takes about an hour and covers up to two miles, with four to six stops, the brochure says. The tour is “self-paced” and people can take breaks to eat and shop locally.

Hapgood said two volunteers are working on a local Story Trails plan. Selectman Janet Preston volunteered to join them. Others interested should contact the town office.

China business meeting ballot shortened to ease voting

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Available on town of China website, under “Elections.”

by Mary Grow

For the second year in a row, China’s annual town business meeting will be entirely by written ballot, with voters able to choose an absentee ballot or a Tuesday, June 8, trip to the polls.

To shorten voting time, town officials have condensed the ballot into 26 articles, most dealing with 2021-22 appropriations and town policy.

The 2021-22 school budget is not on the local ballot. Regional School Unit #18 voters approved it at a May 20 open meeting, and on June 8 China voters (and voters in Belgrade, Oakland, Rome and Sidney) will affirm or reject it by written ballot.

China polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, June 8, in the portable classroom behind the town office. Absentee ballots may be obtained from the town office by mail, telephone or email through Thursday, June 3. They must be returned before the polls close on June 8.

A copy of the town meeting warrant and multiple related documents are on the town’s website, china.govoffice.com. To read them, click on “Elections” in the left-hand column.

Four of the 26 articles have generated discussion over the last several months.

Art. 8 asks voters to appropriate $16,530 for animal control, $34,000 for police expenses and $40,060 for emergency services dispatching. The $34,000 is intended to pay for 10 hours a week for special Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office patrols in China, replacing the present police department.

Information on the reasoning behind the proposed change is on the website. See also the letters from Police Chief Craig Johnson and former Selectman Robert MacFarland and the article by Town Manager Becky Hapgood in the May 13 issue of The Town Line, p. 11.

Art. 15 requests a $26,471 appropriation for FirstPark, the Oakland business park in which China and other area municipalities invested 20 years ago. Because revenue from the park has lagged behind projections and supporting municipalities have not seen profits, the park has been controversial in recent years.

The park’s bond is now paid off, but according to Hapgood, member municipalities’ obligations do not end until next year. China selectmen are likely to discuss ending the contract in 2022.

Art. 16 asks voters to approve an amended Tax Increment Financing (TIF) program and to appropriate $256,000 from TIF revenue to be spent in the 2021-22 fiscal year for purposes designated in the document.

China’s Tax Increment Financing Committee discussed the changes at great length before submitting them to selectmen, who approved them for forwarding to voters. Major additions allow TIF money to be used for broadband service (with limitations); to assist the China Lake Association and China Region Lakes Alliance with projects that improve lake water quality; and to assist with the Alewife Restoration Initiative (ARI) that brings alewives into China Lake by removing or modifying dams on Outlet Stream in Vassalboro.

The amended TIF document is on the website.

Art. 25 asks voters whether they want to sell about 40 acres of town-owned land on the east side of Lakeview Drive, opposite the Cottages at China Lake (formerly Candlewood). Selectman Janet Preston has consistently opposed selling the property. She presented arguments for keeping it as Adams Memorial Park in a commentary in the May 20 issue of The Town Line, p. 11.

Most of the articles ask voters to approve the 2021-22 municipal budget and policies for town officials. Art. 11, the most expensive article, asks $1,423,692 for the public works department, of which more than $600,000 will be spent repaving town roads.

Art. 4 combines requests for $589,427 for town administration (salaries and related), $214,600 for administration other (supplies, town office utilities and related) and $25,000 for accrued compensation (the fund to pay for unused time off if someone resigns or retires).

Art. 10 requests $623,005 to run the transfer station next year, and permission to use fees paid in the current year for unusually large amounts of demolition debris to offset costs of disposing of that debris.

Requests for $146,605 for assessing costs and $30,000 for legal expenses are combined in Art. 7. Art. 9 asks for $151, 547 for fire and rescue services; it does not include the previously-controversial firefighters’ “stipends,” which are instead in the $107,500 requested in Art. 12 for community support organizations.

The annual request for money to let selectmen cover unforeseen expenditures has been increased from $55,000 to $123,680 (Art. 14). Town Manager Hapgood explained that the increase is intended to cover “unbudgeted changes in employee benefits resulting from life events or new hires” and unemployment claims, if any. The $123,680 comes from surplus and reserve accounts, not from taxes. Unspent money will lapse back into the accounts at the end of the fiscal year.

Requested policies include permission for selectmen to sell tax-acquired properties (Art. 20) and specifically to sell the 1982 John Deere grader (Art. 24); to accept and use grants and gifts (Art. 21); and to make multi-year contracts (Art, 32).

In the event that voters refuse to approve one or more spending articles, Art. 26 provides that officials can continue to spend money for the rejected purpose at the current year’s funding level.

June 8 is business meeting

China’s June 8 meeting is the town business meeting, not the annual town meeting. By state law, the annual town meeting is when voters elect local officials. China’s local elections are held in November – the 2021 election day is Nov. 2.

For many years, China’s elections and voting on the annual budget were held together at the March town meeting. Selectmen noticed that more voters turned out for November written-ballot voting on state and national issues (and an occasional local referendum) than for the in-person spring meeting. To get more voters’ input, they moved the local election, and thus the town meeting, to November.

According to the town website, the following officials’ terms will end in November 2021:

  • On the Selectboard (two-year terms): Irene Belanger and Wayne Chadwick.
  • On the Planning Board (two-year terms): Randall Downer, in District One; and Natale Tripodi, alternate elected from anywhere in town. The District Three position is currently vacant; if there were an incumbent, his or her term would end in November 2021.
  • On the Budget Committee (two-year terms): Robert Batteese, Chairman; Kevin Maroon, District One; and Dana Buswell, District Three.
  • Representative on the Regional School Unit 18 Board of Directors (two-year term): Neil Farrington.

CORRECTION: In the description above of the Nov. 2 local elections in the May 27 issue of The Town Line, the length of selectboard terms was incorrectly stated. Selectmen are elected for two-year terms, not for three years. It was a reporting error.

China planners approve extension on solar permit

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by Mary Grow

At their May 11 meeting China Planning Board members approved a one-year extension of SunRaise Investments’ permit for a solar development on Route 3.

At their April 27 meeting, SunRaise representatives explained delays in starting construction as due to factors outside their control. Planners postponed action in case neighbors wanted to comment; on May 11 they approved the extension promptly and unanimously.

SunRaise representatives said in April construction might start late in 2021 or early in 2022.

Planners spent most of the rest of the meeting continuing to wordsmith their proposed ordinance to regulate solar developments. They also agreed tentatively to take on another project, revising the China Land Use Ordinance to conform to state requirements.

Revisions to the Solar Energy Systems Ordinance are by now primarily for clarity and for consistency with older town ordinances, rather than for content. Board members intend to continue working on it at their May 25 meeting.

China received a May 10 letter from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) saying China’s April 6, 2019, revision of the Land Use Ordinance has been conditionally accepted. Conditional acceptance means, Codes Officer Jaime Hanson said, that the 2019 update is not yet enforceable; from DEP’s perspective, the 2017 version remains in effect.

DEP has asked mostly for two types of revisions to bring the town ordinance into compliance with state regulations, Hanson said. One set of changes involves definitions: DEP has changed some of theirs, and expects municipalities to match the changes.

Other DEP objections point to places where China rules differ from state rules. Board members discussed one example, the provision in China’s ordinance that says for purposes of calculating lot coverage (the percentage of a lot covered by impervious surfaces), driveways and parking lots do not count.

This exemption makes China’s ordinance less restrictive than state regulations, which do include these areas. Board members agreed that municipalities are not allowed to have regulations that are less strict than the state’s.

Board Chairman Randall Downer asked that the DEP letter be made public so residents can see reasons for changes the local board proposes. It is now on the town website, www.chinagov.org, under Planning Board, with the title “DEP Department Order #07-2021 Ordinance Approval.”

The draft Solar Energy Systems Ordinance is directly under the DEP order.

The next regular China Planning Board meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 25. Barring unfortunate pandemic-related developments, it will be in person in the former portable classroom behind the town office.