Vassalboro planners approve dam removal; extend permit for solar work

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by Mary Grow 

Vassalboro Planning Board members approved both items on their Aug. 3 agenda.

The major one was an application from landowner Linda Butterfield and the Maine Rivers organization to remove the Morneau Dam on Outlet Stream and replace the nearby Mineral Springs Road bridge. The project is the final step in opening Outlet Stream to fish passage from the Sebasticook River into China Lake, Maine Rivers spokesman Matthew Streeter said.

The plan calls for removing the dam, the powerhouse and surrounding concrete areas and walls and creating vegetated slopes to the stream, and replacing the present bridge with a longer and slightly higher one.

Streeter had permits and approvals from sundry federal and state agencies. The Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife noted that dam removal would reduce a pond that is habitat for wading birds, but concluded the overall benefits of the project outweighed the habitat loss, he said.

Streeter expects the work will take four or five weeks. With the planning board approval, he hopes it will be done this summer, during the construction season for in-water work that ends Sept. 30.

Mineral Springs Road will be closed for four or five days, he estimated. He expects residents of the two houses on the road will use an old back access way.

Streeter said he is Morneau Dam project manager. He will be supervised by Vassalboro resident Nate Gray, of the Maine Department of Marine Resources, and Heidi Bunn, of the U. S. Department of Agriculture.

The second action Aug. 3 was approval of a double six months’ extension of the permit granted last September to Longroad Energy for a solar development at 2579 Riverside Drive (Route 201).

Kara Moody, who represented the company last year, explained that she does not know how long Central Maine Power Company will need to complete an interconnection study.

Once CMP is ready, construction can start. Moody said she will be back to appropriate town officials for a building permit and anything else needed.

Codes Officer Paul Mitnik, who is still willing to retire when someone can be found to replace him, suggested revisions to the site plan review application. Board members liked his approach.

The next Vassalboro Planning Board meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 7. Mitnik has already proposed two agenda items, a pre-application review of Sunvest Solar’s proposed solar development on David and Jennifer Jones’ Webber Pond Road property and an application to replace a recreational vehicle at 107 McQuarrie Road, in the Webber Pond shoreland district.

CHINA: Money theme of selectmen’s meeting

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by Mary Grow 

Money was the theme for many of the topics at the China selectmen’s Aug. 2 meeting – quite a lot of money, much of it potentially outgoing.

The China Broadband Committee’s planned request for a bond issue of around $6 million is the biggest proposed expenditure. CBC members did not have all the information they hoped to present and were not upset when Selectboard Chairman Ronald Breton recommended postponing action to Aug. 16. (See CBC story in August 5, 2021, issue of The Town Line, page 3).

CBC member Neil Farrington briefly listed advantages of better broadband service to town residents, from students learning remotely to senior citizens using telemedicine, and to existing and future businesses.

CBC Chairman Robert O’Connor promised information to selectmen as soon as possible, to give them time to review it and, he hopes, on Aug. 16 ask voters to authorize the bond issue on Nov. 2.

On a second matter, resident Stephen Greene asked that as selectmen prepare to carry out the voter-authorized sale of a town-owned lot on Lakeview Drive, they keep him and Lindsey Harwath informed; and that they consider saving money by omitting a broker and selling directly to the People’s Park Harwath is organizing.

Residents seeking more information about the proposed People’s Park or considering supporting the project are invited to contact Lindsey Harwath. She is currently collecting monetary pledges to help buy the land. She can be reached at harwlin@gmail.cm or at 207-314-4850.

Harwath and others are raising funds to buy the 39.3 acres for a recreation park. In response to Breton’s questions, Greene said donors would form a nonprofit organization that would be responsible for managing and maintaining the park, with no town obligation (unless town officials offered help). Under nonprofit ownership, the land would become tax-exempt.

Selectman Janet Preston, who has supported the park idea for months, pointed out selectmen could postpone action to give Harwath’s group more fund-raising time; they could always sell later.

Selectman Wayne Chadwick favored a prompt sale “while the market’s booming,” and did not approve of nonprofit ownership that would take the property off the tax rolls.

Town Manager Becky Hapgood read the warrant article voters approved at the June 8 town meeting directing selectmen to sell the land through a licensed real estate agent. She had requested expressions of interest from 11 residents in the real estate business; two replied, one proposing a seven percent commission and the other an eight percent commission.

Breton asked Hapgood to ask the town attorney for a legal interpretation of the warrant article and to ask a realtor for an estimated market price for the land. He then encouraged a motion to postpone action until the information was available. Board members approved postponement unanimously.

Selectmen renewed the town contract with Waste Management, Inc., operators of the Crossroads Landfill, in Norridgewock, for disposal of demolition debris and bulky waste, despite hefty fee increases.

The per ton fee will increase from $62.92 to $71 for the first year of a five-year contract, with four percent increases each of the following years.

Peter Lachapelle, listed on line as the company’s Public Sector Representative, joined the selectmen virtually and said the main reason for higher fees is “a huge capacity issue driving [disposal] rates through the roof,” especially in the Northeast. Landfills are closing, and no one wants a new one in his or her backyard, he said.

In addition, his business, like others, is raising wages to attract employees and paying higher prices for materials.

Asked twice by Breton, “Can’t you do better than that?” Lachapelle said “No.”

As a city councilor in his home town of Rochester, New Hampshire, he sympathized with the selectmen’s position, he said.

Selectmen were unaware of any alternative and unanimously approved the contract, which will take effect Jan. 1, 2022.

They also approved renewal of the roadside mowing contract with Frederick Drew’s Aggressive Cuts, LLC, of Hermon, for three years. Hapgood said the company will mow 47.29 miles of town (not state) roads, starting as soon as the weather permits. Rain flattens the grass so it can’t be mowed, she pointed out.

The vote on the mowing contract was the only non-unanimous decision of the evening. Blane Casey voted no, because he thought the board should have put the contract out for bid. Chadwick commended Drew’s company for the quality and price of the work in past years.

In other business at the Aug. 2 meeting, selectmen unanimously approved Hapgood’s recommended uses of some of the unspent funds from the fiscal year that ended June 30 to carry forward for pending expenditures or add to reserve funds. One of her recommendations is to buy more security cameras for town properties.

Assessing agent Kelly Grotton’s report, read by Hapgood, said selectmen should have the information they need to set the 2021-22 property tax rate at their Aug. 16 meeting. The preliminary indication is that for properties that have not changed in a year, land values will remain about the same and building values will increase noticeably.

As the meeting ended, Breton commended resident Scott Pierz for his service as president of the China Lake Association and the China Region Lakes Alliance. Pierz has resigned both positions because, he said, the CRLA has hired him as its new executive director, responsible for carrying out the programs he has helped create and oversee for years.

Greene is the new China Lake Association President.

China Broadband Committee (CBC) revises documents to present to selectmen

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by Mary Grow 

At their first in-person meeting Aug. 5, after months of zooming, China Broadband Committee (CBC) members spent almost three hours revising documents they intend to present at the Aug. 16 selectboard meeting.

The background papers and financial charts will accompany a request to selectmen to ask voters on Nov. 2 to approve a bond issue to pay for building new internet infrastructure throughout the town.

The Aug. 5 discussion covered making sure figures were current and consistent. One problem has been matching calendar-year bond repayment calculations with China’s fiscal year.

CBC members also revised wording, eliminating repetition and increasing clarity as they explain complicated issues. They ended up unanimously approving final documents, subject to future non-substantive grammatical and numerical changes if needed.

The documents include:

— The proposed Nov. 2 ballot question;
— A five-page document titled “China Community Broadband Project Information Summary and Recommendations”;
— Seven pages of figures on proposed borrowing and repayments; and
— Another five-page document titled “China Community Broadband Frequently Asked Questions.”

Committee Chairman Robert O’Connor asked town office staffers to put the documents on the town website. Information will also be available on the CBC website, chinabroadband.net.

The Aug. 16 selectmen’s meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., in person, in the portable building behind the town office. Technology willing, it will also be streamed live and recorded for future viewing.

Windsor selectmen make appointments; Sean Teekema named transfer station supervisor

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by The Town Line staff

At the July 6 meeting of the Windsor selectmen, Town Manager Theresa Haskell reported that June revenues were down from this time last year, with $620.41. However, the total amount for the year was up $12,043.44, for a total 2020/2021 year to date income of $71,007.86. Haskell noted that $65,000 was budgeted.

Cemetery Sexton Joyce Perry informed the board of a request to place a bench with four legs which is what Riverside Memorials provide. Selectman Richard Gray Jr. was concerned that any type of bench at the cemeteries could bring other benches in, like wooden or plastic. The board asked Perry to bring the issue back to the cemetery committee and go through the cemetery rules to get an opinion on benches. There are too many uncertainties regarding benches and the board of selectmen would like more clarity before making a decision.
In other business, selectmen approved MaineGeneral Medical Center’s request for a pop-up vaccine clinic in August, with a follow-up clinic for the second shot in September.

Selectmen also approved a request from Dwight Tibbetts, on behalf of the Downeast Brass Quintet, to hold a free public concert upstairs in the town hall sometime in August for a fundraiser for the Maine Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association featuring the life and music of Glen Campbell, who passed away from the disease.

The selectmen also made a number of committee appointments:

Theresa Haskell, Richard H., Gray Jr., and Thomas Reed were appointed to the cemetery committee, Robert Holt and Laurie Thomas were both appointed to the board of appeals, Scott Farwell to the planning board, Heather Wilson and Bonnie Squiers both as a Windsor Educational Foundation and Reed Fund member.

The town manager reported that COVID-19 pandemic caused disruption to government meetings and led many public bodies to shift to a remote/online model to keep business moving as usual. They were permitted to so pursuant to temporary pandemic-related permission authorized by the state legislature and the governor. If the town is looking to continue this model they have to develop a policy. The board of selectmen indicated they are not interested in creating a policy at this time.

Selectmen also approved a qualified catering organization application for catered functions from The Roaming Catering Company, for a wedding on July 31, held at the Windsor Fairgrounds with approximately 350 people in attendance.

The final action of the evening was the board of selectmen elected Ray Bates as the new chairman of the board of selectmen.
At their July 20 meeting, selectmen heard that the trees on Hunts Meadow Road and Greeley Road have been cut, and the big tree on Choate Road that was uprooted has been removed.

Town Manager Theresa Haskell announced to the board that Sean Teekema, who had been serving as interim transfer station supervisor, has been named the new supervisor as of July 20.

Shawn Mills was present to discuss the status of the requirements for continued building of his tiny house. There was much discussion because this is something new for the town. No decisions were made.

Also, an anonymous letter was read regarding flying the American flag at half mast. The town does not give the authority to fly a flag at half mast and in no way was it meant to take away from the observance of it. The selectmen voted unanimously, 3-0 (Richard Gray Jr. and Ronald Brann were absent), to accept as written Title 4, United States Code Chapter 1 of flying the flag at half-mast.

The question was raised as to when flags displayed on veterans’ graves should be removed. All American Legions should follow the practice of removing flags as soon as possible after Memorial Day. However, since the town of Windsor is the one who puts the flags on the graves and not the legion, the selectmen decided that since the town owns the flags they should be kept out longer, per Title 30-A §2901.

In other business, selectmen unanimously approved an abatement request in the amount of $51.20 to Kevin Tillson for a business that closed in 2019.

The next board of selectmen meeting was scheduled for August 3.

China Lake annual meeting reflects on association mission

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David Preston, right, Secretary for the China Lake Association, presents a recognition award to Scott Pierz for his seven years of dedicated service to the China Lake Association. (photo by Elaine Philbrook)

by Jeanne Marquis

The 2021 Annual Meeting of the China Lake Association (CLA) was a reflection on how vital their mission is to restore and protect the quality of China Lake. The many speakers and quality of the information shared at this meeting demonstrated the important collaborations CLA has forged with the numerous related environmental organizations and governmental departments.

Scott Pierz, China Lake Association president opened the 2021 meeting with recognition of the passing of Director Emeritus Irma Simon. Her advocacy for the environment earned her the nickname “Mother Nature” by her high school science students. Simon was among the founding members of the China Lake Association and appointed to the Board of Directors a few years later where she served for more than 30 years.

The keynote speaker Jennifer Jespersen founded Ecological Instincts, an environmental consulting firm located in Manchester, Maine. The Kennebec County Soils and Water Conservation District awarded Ecological Instincts the contract to conduct the 2020-21 China Lake Watershed Survey. In addition to her firm’s work with China Lake, Jespersen also manages grant-funded watershed restoration projects on Varnum Pond in Temple, Abrams Pond in Eastbrook and Georges Pond in Franklin.

Jepersen began by outlining the history of studies that have been conducted about the water quality of China Lake and where the current Watershed Survey fits into this body of collected data. The Watershed Survey documented areas of potential soil erosion in the 26 square miles in the Towns of China, Vassalboro and Albion which drain into China Lake. She explained how this information will be used to identify strategies to continue to improve China Lake’s water quality over the next ten years.

Jepersen explains, “Lakes are a reflection of the watershed — the more we change the quality of the runoff, the more we change the quality of the lake.”

Keynote speaker Jespersen previewed another study that measured the naturally occurring release of phosphorus from the sediment at the bottom of the basins of the lake. China Lake has two basins, east and west. The results from this internal loading research will be out in September 2021.

Matt Streeter of Maine Rivers, a guest speaker, presented an update of the Alewife Restoration Initiative for 2021. This initiative began more than six years ago and has restored the run of an estimated 950,000 alewives to help restore the natural ecosystem as it existed prior to the building of the dams. The fish, except for a few lucky ones, will not be able to make it all the way to China Lake until work is completed at the Outlet Dam, which is underway this year. The dam will be replaced by a Denil fishway that will allow the fish to pass through while maintaining the water of the lake. The reason why the restoration of this fish population is so important is that the young alewives will ingest the phosphorus and take it with them when they migrate out to the ocean. Alewife restoration is another vital step in maintaining water quality.

Another guest speaker, Robbie Bickford, Water Quality Director of the Kennebec Water District (KWD), presented a report on last year’s water quality in China Lake. He told the attendees of the annual meeting 2020 was the first year in the last five years that there was not a marked improvement in the water quality of China Lake. He attributed this to an early ice out in the spring and near drought conditions at the start of the summer among other factors. The lack of improvement shows how critical it is to diligently continue our water quality efforts.

Updates were presented at the annual meeting about other China Lake initiatives from China LakeSmart, Gravel Road Rehabilitation Program, Invasive Plant Patrol Program China Lake Loon Count and the Youth Conservation Corps. To find out how to get involved with the China Lake Association or any of the China Lake initiatives go to chinalakeassociation.org for information.

The China Lake Association welcomed in a newly elected president, Stephen Greene and expressed a deep gratitude to Scott Pierz for his seven years of service as president. Under Pierz’ guidance, the China Lake Association developed close relationships with stakeholders and advocated successfully for the funding for effective programs to improve the water quality, educate landowners and visitors.

David Preston said, “Besides being a great organizational leader, one of Scott’s strongest contributions has been his sharp-eyed monitoring of day-to-day issues. If there is a project affecting the lake, or a problem with water levels, you name it and Scott is on it. He persists in standing up for fair enforcement of environmental codes with expertise and conviction of what is right. Like Dr. Seuss’ Lorax who spoke for the trees, Scott speaks for the lake!”

Brownies and Broadband draws small audience: but lively discussion

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by Mary Grow

The China Broadband Committee’s (CBC) second public informational session, held July 29 and publicized as Brownies and Broadband, drew a small audience and a lively discussion, just like the first one (see The Town Line, July 15, p. 3).

There were indeed brownies, and other desserts, and CBC Chairman Robert O’Connor brought samples of different internet signal carriers, old-fashioned wire that uses electricity to transmit and fiberoptic cable that, he explained, uses light instead.

O’Connor’s presentation covered the main CBC messages. The committee plan, if voters approve it, will provide expanded, faster, more reliable and future-proof service. The infrastructure will be owned by the town and operated and maintained by Axiom Technologies (or a successor company) under contract with the town. Costs will be paid by subscribers, not by town taxpayers.

The first questions came from Eric Austin, who was concerned about the relationship of internet with cable television, telephone and other services. O’Connor and John Dougherty, vice-president of consultants Mission Broadband, replied that internet subscribers could use Axiom’s “pipe” (Dougherty’s term) to connect to other services, but if they are content with their current arrangements, they would not need to.

Austin said in that case, there could be competing internet providers as well. Axiom President Mark Ouellette said in theory, yes; in practice, the customer base in China is not large enough to attract other companies.

Axiom, based in Machias, is establishing operations in other small Maine communities. Earlier in July Searsport voters, at a special town meeting, approved contracting with Axiom. Ouellette listed other customers and potential customers, including Somerville, Washington, Georgetown, Southport and Monhegan Island.

Former Waterville resident Bradford Sherwood, who now lives in South China, asked about China’s connection to the global network. Dougherty said the CBC plan includes constructing a small building near the middle of town where local fiberoptic cables will converge; from there, China’s internet will connect to the rest of the world, probably via southern Maine.

Richard Morse, also from South China, questioned whether residents will save money with a different internet system, and objected strongly to a town-owned system.

Governments are usually considerably less competent than private companies, Morse said. No one disagreed; but Dougherty pointed out that China officials would not run the company, but would contract with Axiom (or a similar company) to use private expertise.

The draft contract between Axiom and the town includes a clause allowing town officials to end the contract, at three-year intervals, if they are not satisfied.

Dougherty and Ouellette assured audience members that every telephone pole in China, on public and private roads, will have fiberoptic cable, so that nearby householders can connect if they choose. Ouellette added that his company has experience with wireless internet as well as fiberoptic, and will work with individual homeowners as needed.

Sherwood asked if underground lines were being considered. No, Dougherty replied – burying utility lines in Maine is expensive, especially with so much granite.

The Brownies and Broadband meeting was followed by an hour-long CBC meeting at which members discussed their planned Aug. 2 presentation to China selectmen.

By the next day, they had postponed the presentation, instead inviting selectmen to the next committee meeting, scheduled for 5 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 5.

They further scheduled a special committee meeting for 4:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 2, to try to finish cost estimates for selectmen to review. At that meeting, information was still lacking, and they had learned selectmen cannot join them Aug. 5.

O’Connor and committee member Neil Farrington spoke briefly at the Aug. 2 selectboard meeting and promised more information as soon as possible. They hope to have it collected and organized by their Aug. 5 meeting and to speak at the Aug. 16 selectmen’s meeting.

CBC information is available on the committee website, chinabroadband.net.

Planners continue shoreland zoning discussions

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by Mary Grow

The three China Planning Board members available to attend the July 27 meeting continued discussion of planned amendments to shoreland zoning regulations, but postponed a decision. The main stumbling block is the lot coverage question (see The Town Line, July 22, p. 2).

As board members pointed out, many of the old shoreland lots around China’s lakes are much smaller than current regulations allow. The current Land Use Ordinance says a lot in the shoreland (or stream protection or resource protection) district meets ordinance criteria if its area is at least 40,000 square feet, it has at least 200 feet of shore frontage and there is space to set structures at least 100 feet from the high-water line.

Owners of buildings on non-conforming lots (those failing to meet one or more requirements) may continue to use them. The ordinance allows some changes and expansions, within limits.

One limit is the amount of the lot that is covered by impervious surfaces, which do not absorb rainwater. China’s current ordinance says two things: parking areas and driveways do not count as impervious surfaces; and the lot-coverage limit is 15 percent.

The Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) will not approve the town ordinance unless driveways, parking areas and “other areas from which vegetation has been removed” are counted as impervious areas. DEP allows up to 20 percent lot coverage by impervious areas, a standard less strict than China’s.

Usually, if a large camp or house on a small lot covers 15 percent of the lot area, the owner cannot enlarge the building, add a shed or otherwise increase the impervious area.

If DEP’s additions are put into the ordinance, planning board members fear more shoreland owners will find themselves, through no fault or action of their own, over the 15 percent impervious-area limit and therefore unable to add the deck or build the garage they were planning.

Chairman Randall Downer said he tried to find from town records how many people might be affected and “the town does not have that information.”

One suggested way to minimize the effect on property-owners was to propose two ordinance amendments, enlarging the definition of impervious surface and simultaneously increasing the maximum allowable impervious surface from 15 percent to 20 percent.

After almost an hour’s discussion, board members tabled the issue to their Aug. 10 meeting. In the interim Downer and Codes Officer Jaime Hanson will check lot coverage regulations in comparable Maine towns.

After a shorter discussion, the three board members also tabled a final decision on the proposed alternative ways of treating solar panels, in terms of lot coverage. Part of the debate was over whether China should try to encourage or discourage solar development.

There appeared to be consensus that “green” solar energy is good. Potential effect on local landowners was the question: should farmers be encouraged to continue to grow, mow and sell hay? Should they be encouraged to sell or lease land to solar developers? Would strict regulations that discouraged development unfairly limit their freedom of choice?

Downer hopes all five planning board members will be able to attend the Aug. 10 meeting. Once they agree on one or more questions for voters, they intend to ask selectmen to put them on the Nov. 2 ballot.

Hanson’s biweekly report told board members that the number of permit applications has finally slowed, after several very busy months, and he is making progress on clearing the backlog. He has tried to act on applications based on applicants’ schedules, taking those who planned immediate construction ahead of those looking at fall projects, he explained.

Noël Bonam named new state director of AARP Maine

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Noël Bonam

AARP Maine has announced that Noël Bonam joins the organization as the new state director. He succeeds Lori Parham, who served in the role for nearly ten years and accepted a new position in AARP’s national Government Affairs office in May.

Noël Bonam brings extensive experience in leadership development, stakeholder engagement, diversity, equity and inclusion practice and civic leadership. Before joining AARP, Bonam had been the head of The Global Institute, a public benefit organization (with operational hubs in Denmark, India and the US), specializing in social equity, leadership development and organizational sustainability.

“I am thrilled to join AARP and look forward to being a forceful voice on behalf of its 200,000 members in the state and all Mainers 50 and older,” said Bonam. “This is the opportunity of a lifetime to advance the quality of life of older people in our state and cultivate appreciation of the important contributions that we make to our community. I look forward to leading AARP’s vital work to build livable, age-friendly communities and to fostering social connection and inclusion..”

Bonam has worked extensively with diverse partners from across the world, particularly in the public and not-for-profit sectors. Formerly, he was the Director for the Bureau of Multicultural Affairs for the State of Maine. In that role, he oversaw systemic changes through diversity, equity and inclusion efforts by working closely with inter-departmental stakeholders and with key community partners from across the state. He practices collaborative facilitative leadership and is committed to stakeholder engagement and empowerment, long-term sustainability and dialogue for action.

China Broadband Committee to hold public informational meeting

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by Mary Grow

China Broadband Committee (CBC) members spent much of their July 22 meeting planning for July 29, the next step in a schedule they hope will lead to voters approving a Nov. 2 bond issue to expand and improve broadband service throughout town.

The major event Thursday, July 29, is Brownies and Broadband, a public informational meeting on committee plans accompanied by refreshments. The presentation begins at 6:30 p.m., in the China Middle School gymnasium.

There will indeed be brownies, gluten-free, selectman and ex officio CBC member Janet Preston promised; and high-fiber cookies from CBC Chairman Robert O’Connor.

John Dougherty, vice-president and general manager of consultant Mission Broadband, based in Bangor, is expected to bring an as-yet-unspecified dessert. Attendees who would like something other than water to drink should bring their own (non-alcoholic only).

Immediately after Brownies and Broadband, probably around 8 p.m., Thursday, CBC members have scheduled a committee meeting, open to interested residents, to finish their planned presentation at the Aug. 2 China selectmen’s meeting.

The presentation will be in two parts: a proposed article for the Nov. 2 local ballot that committee members hope selectmen will approve for forwarding to the budget committee; and an explanatory statement supporting the article.

The draft article asks voters to authorize selectmen to issue a bond to finance construction of expanded internet infrastructure. CBC members do not yet have a firm cost estimate; by July 22 they had begun to hope to have one by late August.

Costs depend partly on the condition of existing infrastructure, especially telephone poles. Through Axiom Technologies, the CBC’s recommended future internet service provider, CBC members intend to contract with Hawkeye Fiber Optics (also called Hawkeye Connections), of Poland, Maine, to survey the town.

At the July 22 meeting, Axiom President Mark Ouellette said Hawkeye crews have started their survey, although the contract remains unsigned (see The Town Line, July 22, p. 3). Since Ouellette, Dougherty and Mission Broadband Network Engineer Mark Van Loan have already developed financial models showing effects of different costs, Ouellette said once Hawkeye provides information, calculating final figures will not take long.

CBC members’ goal is to have internet subscriber fees cover bond repayments, operating and maintenance costs and Axiom’s profit, so expanded broadband will not increase taxes. They pointed out that future state and federal grant funds might help; and O’Connor suggested asking selectmen to take out a 25- or 30-year bond, instead of one for 20 years, to make annual payments smaller.

CBC members plan to attend the Aug. 2 selectmen’s meeting. They scheduled the initial August committee meeting for 5 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 5. They hope to meet with budget committee members the week of Aug. 9 and plan to attend the Aug. 16 and Aug. 30 selectmen’s meetings.

They discussed which members will be available to answer questions at a CBC booth on the ballfields Saturday, Aug. 7, during China Community Days. CBC member Neil Farrington, in charge of the booths for local businesses and organizations, said they open at 10 a.m. and continue through the afternoon.

In addition to the July 29 Brownies and Broadband presentation, residents are invited to visit the CBC website, chinabroadband.net, for updated information and to sign up for email reports.

CHINA: Half dozen questions may be on November ballot

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by Mary Grow

If relevant town committees’ plans work out, China selectmen will be asked in early August to approve half a dozen Nov. 2 local ballot questions. China’s elections for selectboard, planning board, budget committee and Regional School Unit #18 board will also be held Nov. 2.

— The planning board is working on two draft ordinances, a Solar Energy Systems Ordinance and a Shoreland Stabilization Ordinance.
— At their June 28 and July 13 meetings, planning board members developed a separate question related to the proposed solar ordinance.
— Planning board members also intend to propose amendments to the shoreland regulations in China’s Land Use Ordinance, as required by a May letter from the state Department of Environmental Protection.
— The China Broadband Committee plans to ask selectmen to ask voters to approve a bond issue to build new broadband infrastructure.
— The 2020 revision of China’s Comprehensive Plan is ready for voter action.

The Solar Energy Systems Ordinance is planned as a new chapter in the Land Use Ordinance, to guide planning board members as they review applications for solar installations, from rooftop or backyard panels serving one house to fields of panels generating electricity to be sold. At the June 13 meeting, board Chairman Randall Downer said the draft ordinance had been forwarded to the selectboard.

The related question members want to hand on to voters is whether the amount of a lot that can be covered by solar panels can be limited, and if it can, how strict the limit should be (see The Town Line, July 22, p. 2).

Projects approved in China so far, on Route 32 North (Vassalboro Road), off Route 32 South (Windsor Road) and on Route 3 (Belfast Road), have been limited to a maximum 20 percent lot coverage. Board members cite the development on Route 3 just east of Augusta as a local example of unlimited lot coverage.

The Shoreline Stabilization Ordinance is intended to clarify requirements for constructed barriers, as differentiated from buffer strips, intended to limit shoreline erosion.

China voters approved an amended Shoreland Zoning Ordinance in the spring of 2019. State regulators wrote that they need changes before they can give the document full approval.

The broadband committee has no firm estimate of construction costs; committee members expect to have one before the Nov. 2 vote. Previous estimates started at around $9 million and have decreased to around $6 million, a figure committee members think might still be high.

The revised Comprehensive Plan – 160 pages plus 14 pages of maps – is on the town website, www.china.govoffice.org, under the Comprehensive Planning Committee (which is under Officials, Boards & Committees). It is currently under review by state officials.

According to the website, the following local positions will be open in November 2021:

— On the Board of Selectmen, seats currently held by Irene Belanger and Wayne Chadwick. Selectmen are elected from the town at large.
— On the planning board, District One (incumbent Randall Downer), District Three (vacant) and the alternate at-large position (incumbent Natale Tripodi).
— On the budget committee, District One (incumbent Kevin Maroon), District Three (incumbent Dana Buswell) and the chairman, elected from anywhere in town (incumbent Robert Batteese).
— On the Regional School Unit (RSU) #18 Board, the position held by Neil Farrington. Farrington said in an email he does not intend to seek re-election.

For the planning board and budget committee, District One is northwestern China, District Three southeastern China. Copies of the district map are on the website under the Budget Committee and the Planning Board (which are under Officials, Boards & Committees).

Selectmen, planning board and budget committee members are elected for two-year terms. RSU directors are elected for three-year terms.

Nomination papers have been available at the town office since Monday, July 26. For a candidate’s name to be on the Nov. 2 ballot, signed papers must be returned to the town office by 4 p.m., Friday, Sept. 3.