China transfer station committee asks for travel reimbursement

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by Mary Grow

Members of China’s Transfer Station Committee, meeting remotely the morning of Nov. 10, discussed a variety of trash-disposal and recycling issues, but made only one decision.

They voted to ask that the 2020-21 town budget include $1,000 for committee expenses, so that members could, for example, get mileage reimbursement if they visit the Fiberight/Coastal Resources waste disposal facility in Hampden, or attend training classes if deemed useful.

In the past, any such funds came from the transfer station budget. Committee members and Town Manager Becky Hapgood agreed a separate budget line would promote transparency.

The Hampden facility has been closed for several months. Hapgood and committee member Irene Belanger said the Municipal Review Committee (MRC), the group of facility-using towns on which Belanger represents China, is overseeing pending transfer to new ownership. No decision has been made, and Belanger had no guess as to when one would be made.

Meanwhile, transfer station Manager Ronald Marois said, China’s municipal solid waste (MSW), the things residents dump in the transfer station hopper, is being landfilled in Norridgewock. The exceptions are tires, which are sent to Penobscot Energy Recovery Center (PERC), and recyclables.

Bob Kurek, Palermo’s representative on the committee (because Palermo shares China’s transfer station, paying both an annual fee and a per-bag charge), said he would have appreciated advance notice on the recent elimination of mixed paper and other items from recycling.

Hapgood apologized for the lack of notice. Selectmen approved the changes more quickly than usual, she explained, for two reasons: low market prices and especially the desire to minimize handling items brought in, for the safety of transfer station staff.

Cardboard also needs handling, but cardboard recycling is mandated by town ordinance and therefore continues.

Safety was paramount when Kurek asked about plans to reopen the free-for-the-taking building, earlier called the swap shop, which was closed to avoid bringing in things and people as the pandemic spread. Hapgood’s reply referred to the current surge in Covid-19 cases in Maine and nationally as the reason no date is being proposed.

Marois thinks the pandemic is the main reason the transfer station has been extremely busy, taking in unusual amounts of both household waste and demolition debris.

“We can’t keep up with it,” Marois told the rest of the committee. “Everybody’s still home, and they’re still cleaning or remodeling.”

The station manager added that the more thoroughly demolition debris can be crushed and compacted, to get more into each truckload, the lower the overall hauling cost; but large items, especially mattresses, are hard to compact.

Committee Chairman Larry Sikora suggested at a future meeting, committee members might review the fees charged for disposal of items other than MSW to see if they need changing. (The list of fees is on the town’s website, under transfer station.)

Committee members also plan to review operating manuals for the transfer station, probably a project for early 2021. Sikora said they are in two volumes, each about three inches thick, and he believes some of the content dates from 1992. The second volume is mostly manuals for specific pieces of equipment; Marois and Kurek suggested some might no longer be needed. Committee member Karen Hatch volunteered to work on the manuals.

The next Transfer Station Committee meeting is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 8. It will again be a Zoom meeting.

New face covering mandate on municipal property

By order of Maine Governor Janet Mills, face masks must be worn by everyone in publicly accessible parts of state, county or municipal buildings and grounds, whether or not physical distancing is possible. China Town Manager Becky Hapgood said the order covers the China transfer station, both grounds and buildings.

China selectmen OK broadband improvement RFP

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by Mary Grow

At their Nov. 9 meeting, China selectmen approved two requests, from the Broadband Committee and the volunteer fire departments, and made several appointments.

Since the meeting was the first after voters re-elected members Ronald Breton and Janet Preston and elected Blane Casey (to succeed Donna Mills-Stevens, who did not seek another term), board members began by re-electing Breton chairman and Irene Belanger secretary.

The Broadband Committee presented a report that summarized goals and activities and asked approval to spend $5,750 to have Mission Broadband, Inc., develop a request for proposals to improve China’s internet service. Selectmen approved.

The committee’s goals, the report says, are to make broadband service available to all China residents, with better speeds and greater reliability, and to increase competition. Three internet providers currently serve the town, Consolidated Communications Inc., Hussey Communications and Spectrum.

Earlier, the committee oversaw a survey of town residents. The report says of the 308 residents who completed the survey, 20 percent did not have internet service, because it was too expensive or too slow and unreliable to be useful. Of respondents who did have service, 161 used it for working from home and 111 for education.

The volunteer firefighters want a dry hydrant included as part of the on-going causeway project at the head of China Lake’s east basin. Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood said China’s three departments all support the plan, and if the dry hydrant is west of the causeway bridge, China Baptist Church officials have expressed willingness to sign an easement if church property is affected.

The firefighters propose taking money for the dry hydrant – the estimated cost is $6,780 – from the fire department reserve fund. Since the plan so far lacks detail, selectmen approved with the condition that the departments first get the necessary permit from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.

Appointments were approved as follows:

  • Member of the General Assembly of the Kennebec Regional Development Authority (which oversees FirstPark, the Oakland business park in which China and other towns have invested), Irene Belanger; alternate member, Janet Preston.
  • Members of the Broadband Committee, Robert O’Connor, Tod Detre, Raymond Robert, James Pitney and Neil Farrington.
  • Members of the Transfer Station Committee, Mark Davis, Karen Hatch, Kevin Rhoades, Ronald Marois, Lawrence Sikora, Irene Belanger and Robert Kurek.

Hapgood presented reports submitted to her from town departments and the treasurer’s report. Four months into the 2020-21 fiscal year, income and expenditures are on target, she said.

The next regular China selectmen’s meeting is scheduled for Monday evening, Nov. 23. Participation in the Nov. 9 meeting was remote except for Hapgood and the five selectmen, who gathered, masked, in the portable building behind the town office; the Nov. 23 meeting is likely to follow the same pattern.

Windsor fire truck repairs OK’d by selectmen, new insurance plan

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by The Town Line staff

At the October 13 selectmen’s meeting, they learned of many trees down in the town that need to be cleaned up, said Public Works director Keith Hall. The selectmen instructed Hall to take care of the worse ones first.

Also, a town truck that was brought in to be undercoated had to be put back into service without the work being done after a three week wait. The windshield needed to be repaired in order to pass inspection.

Town manager Theresa Haskell reported the town received a bill from the Windsor Volunteer Fire Department regarding the Top Kick water tank that needed to be repaired. The cost for the repairs was $13,309.82, and the WVFD asked that the funds be taken from the Fire Safety Capital Reserve Fund savings account. The request was unanimously approved.

Also concerning the fire department. Haskell asked to have a meeting with the WVFD and selectmen regarding the on road diesel tank they are looking to have installed on the town’s property at the fire station, which will benefit the town and fire department for the diesel fuel for town and fire department trucks. Discussion, plan and cost will need to be in place for next year’s budget.

Haskell also said she would like to have one consistent waiting period for the Maine Municipal Health Trust Plans the town offers. Currently, they have 30-, 60-, and 90-day waiting periods. The town also has the opportunity to participate in a new Dependent Life Insurance Benefit Plan. If they are interested in doing any changes or want to participate in the new plan, a letter will need to be written.

The new plan would be paid for by the employee and not the employer. Selectmen agreed to have all benefit plans to be a 60-day waiting period, and to participate in the new plan. This would not change the current probationary period for new employees. These changes would be reflected in the updated employee manual.

Haskell asked to schedule a special board of selectmen’s meeting for Tuesday, November 17, concerning the employee manual update.

The next regular meeting of the selectmen took place on October 27.

Vassalboro selectmen tour two town fire stations

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From left to right, Vassalboro selectmen John Melrose, Barbara Redmond and Rob Browne listen as fire department member Mike Vashon, right, describes the functions of one of the town’s fire trucks during a recent tour of the town’s two fire stations. (photo courtesy of Mary Sabins)

China election results updated

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Two of the three write-in positions on China’s Nov. 3 local ballot have been filled, Town Clerk Angela Nelson reported. Trishea Story has accepted the secretaryship of the budget committee, and Elizabeth Curtis will fill the at-large budget committee seat. Each received the most write-in votes for the respective position.

Incumbent Thomas Miragliuolo had the most votes for the District 4 Planning Board position, but has declined re-election. As of Nov. 9, no one had volunteered for the position.

The District 3 Planning Board seat is also vacant.

The planning board map on the China website shows the boundaries of the two districts. District 3 is in southeastern China, District 4 in southwestern China. Residents of either district interested in being considered for board membership are invited to call the town office.

Fairfield election results from November 3, 2020

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Looking south down Main St., in Fairfield. (Internet photo)

The following are the unofficial election results from the town of Fairfield, as submitted by Fairfield Town Clerk Christine Keller.

President: Trump/Pence, 1,845; Biden/Harris, 1,428; Jorgensen/Cohen, 71; Hawkins/Walker, 36; DeLaFuente/Richardson, 9.

U.S. Senator: Susan Collins, 2,001; Sara Gideon, 1,110; Lisa Savage, 207; Max Linn, 70.

Representative to Congress District 2: Jared Golden, 1,758; Dale Crafts, 1,605.

Maine Senate, District #16: Scott Cyrway, 2,137; Hilary Koch, 1,203.

Maine House of Representatives, District #108: Shelley Rudnicki, 1,727; Nathaniel White, 1,560.

Somerset County Judge of Probate: Robert M. Washburn, 2,965.

Somerset County Register of Probate: Victoria M. Hatch, 2,957.

Somerset County Commissioner: Robert Sezak, 2,999.

Fairfield Town Council, 3-year term: Mark Cooper, 1,487; Veronique Carrier, 914; Daniel Kissinger, 550.

MSAD #49 School Board, 3-year term (2 seats): Rachel Hachey, 2,920.

Kennebec Water District: Bruce Williams, 1,970; Caroline Toto-Lawrence, 1,007.

In China, 2 incumbents, newcomer gain selectboard seats

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by Mary Grow

In Nov. 3 local elections, China voters re-elected two incumbent selectmen and chose Blane Casey to fill the seat vacated by Donna Mills-Stevens.

Results of the five-person race for three positions, reported by Town Clerk Angela Nelson well after 11 p.m. on Election Day, were as follows: Blane Casey, 1,445 votes; incumbent Janet Preston, 1,148; incumbent Ronald Breton, 1,030; Brent Chesley, 722; and Jeanne Marquis, 719.

The rest of the candidates’ ballot had no contests. Voters re-elected four incumbents: Toni Wall and Jim Wilkens to the planning board, with 1,901 and 1,778 votes respectively; and Tim Basham and Tom Rumpf to the budget committee, with 1,928 and 1,864 votes respectively.

There were numerous write-in votes for three positions without listed candidates: Planning board District 4, Budget Committee secretary and budget committee at-large member. Nelson said town office staff will determine that those who received the most votes for each position live in the proper district and are willing to accept election.

Two amendments to China’s solid waste ordinances passed by generous margins,1,380 to 782 and 1,360 to 793. Both replace references to stickers for admission to the transfer station with references that cover the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) system now used.

Complete China results, including votes for national and state elective positions, are available on the town website, china.govoffice.com.

Nelson said voters started arriving before 6:30 a.m., half an hour before the polls opened, and kept coming all day; the average time waiting in line was an hour. “People were patient,” she said, though some complained when election officials did not hand out the usual “I Voted Today” stickers.

China TIF committee reviews past, future activities

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by Mary Grow

Members of China’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Committee spent most of their Oct. 27 virtual meeting reviewing a list of past and planned future activities.

Pending items include proposed amendments to the town’s TIF document that, if approved by voters, will make the list longer, for example by authorizing funding assistance to out-of-town projects that benefit the town. An example given was the Alewife Restoration Project (ARI). The project goal is to allow alewives access to China Lake to improve water quality, by removing or modifying dams on Outlet Stream in Vassalboro.

Town Manager Becky Hapgood intends to have questions about upgrading the TIF document on the warrant for the 2021 annual town business meeting, currently scheduled to be held in May.

Expanding broadband access in China is one project the TIF Committee is helping finance. Committee members approved recommending that China selectmen appropriate $5,750 from TIF funds toward the project.

Four Seasons Club President Tom Rumpf asked for continued TIF funding in the 2021-22 budget, and presented information on the financial benefits users of Four Seasons Club trails bring to town businesses. The trails, he added, are open to everyone, not just for snowmobiling and four-wheeling, but for walking and other recreational uses.

Committee members postponed action on the club’s request until their next meeting. Committee Chairman Tom Michaud said the trails are well regarded by town and area residents.

Michaud gave an update on the causeway project at the head of China Lake’s east basin (see The Town Line, Oct. 29, p. 1). The new bridge and the planned walkway and other related improvements are a major TIF expenditure.

An issue involving the Revolving Loan Fund subcommittee was on the Oct. 27 agenda, but most of the subcommittee members have resigned from the TIF Committee. No action was taken.

China’s TIF is funded by taxes Central Maine Power Company pays on its power line running north-south through town and its substation in South China. Under state law, money can be used for economic development, with voters approving expenditures for different projects. Yet another job of the TIF Committee is recommending changes in allocations of funds among projects.

Committee members scheduled their next meeting for 6 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 17. Michaud hopes they will be able to meet in person.

Vassalboro ballfields discussed, final action possible Nov. 12

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by Mary Grow

Vassalboro selectmen got rid of one item of continuing business at their Oct. 28 meeting: they learned that the Vassalboro Conservation Commission seems on the way to reviving itself, and decided they did not need to discuss its future again.

An issue raised at their Oct. 15 meeting, use of the town ballfields during the coronavirus epidemic, was rediscussed, with final action possible at the Nov. 12 selectmen’s meeting.

Town Manager Mary Sabins had drafted a policy for selectmen’s review. Board members suggested three changes, including making it clear that management of school fields is up to school officials, even though the school is now a town department.

Melrose, who had been listening to news on his way to the meeting, shared information on the alarming increase in Covid-19 cases in Maine provided during a hastily-scheduled Oct. 28 news conference by Dr. Nirav Shah, director of Maine’s Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and Governor Janet Mills.

At Sabins’ request, board members reviewed the draft request for bids on the Gray Road culvert prepared by Calderwood Engineering of Richmond. Most questions they left to Sabins and the firm’s representative to resolve.

An issue of particular local importance is how long the Gray Road will be closed. The bid specifications say 30 days; board Chairman John Melrose wondered whether giving the chosen contractor less time would be possible, and if possible, would increase the price.

Current plans are to seek bids early in 2021, with the work to be done in the summer. State regulations limit in-stream work to the period from mid-July to the end of September, Sabins said.

Sabins’ financial report for the first quarter of the fiscal year that began July 1 indicated the town is “doing okay,” with revenues slightly higher than expected, Melrose summarized.

Melrose raised two issues related to plans for Vassalboro’s 2021 semiquincentennial (250th) anniversary celebration. Fellow board members Robert Browne and Barbara Redmond endorsed his plan to look for a safe place for a fireworks display. No one could suggest a historic place, he said, because no one could remember a public fireworks display in town.

The Vassalboro Historical Society has talked with a craftsman who will begin restoring the damaged statue of a Civil War soldier in the East Vassalboro park beside the Historical Society building (formerly the East Vassalboro school), Melrose said. Historical Society members have a design for the project and a source of matching granite (in Rhode Island). Melrose said they plan a fundraising campaign and probably a request for town funds in the 2021-22 municipal budget.

Sabins presented the initial schedule of selectmen’s and budget committee meetings leading up to the 2021 annual town meeting, scheduled for Monday evening, June 7, and Tuesday, June 8. June 8 will also be the state voting day; in Vassalboro, voters will elect local officials, approve or reject the school budget approved at the open meeting the night before and act on any local referendum questions selectmen might propose.

If coronavirus restrictions remain in place, public meetings with 10 budget committee members, three selectmen and the town manager, plus a potential audience, might have to be virtual.

As selectmen prepared to adjourn, Melrose asked if Sabins, Browne and Redmond are comfortable with in-person meetings. The answer was yes, with the hope they can continue to open windows in the town office meeting room when the weather gets colder.

The selectmen’s meeting, held – unusually – on a Wednesday afternoon, was followed by a tour of the town’s two fire stations.

Grant request made for school generator

The day after the Vassalboro selectmen’s Oct. 28 meeting, Town Manager Mary Sabins submitted a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant request for a generator at Vassalboro Community School. The purpose is to make it possible to use the school as an emergency shelter when needed due to extreme weather or other disruptive events.

Sabins said the expected cost of a generator large enough to power the entire building is $115,000. Vassalboro will be expected to provide 25 percent of the cost, or $28,750. Voters at the June 2019 town meeting appropriated $28,000 for the project; Sabins said the money is still available, and the additional $750 could be taken from elsewhere in the budget or from the $15,000 contingency fund voters grant selectmen each year.

The town manager expressed thanks to Anne Fuchs, Director of Mitigation, Planning, and Recovery/State Hazard Mitigation Officer at the Maine Emergency Management Agency, for help in preparing the application.

Sabins does not know when she will hear whether FEMA has awarded Vassalboro a grant.

Vassalboro school closed for two weeks

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Vassalboro Community School (contributed photo)

Alan Pfeiffer, superintendent of schools in Vassalboro, issued a letter on November 1, to inform the community that the spouse of a staff member at Vassalboro Community School recently tested positive for the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID 19). The letter was sent to notify the public of the closing of the building for the next two weeks, per a strong recommendation from the Maine CDC (November 2 – November 15). “We are going to do full remote learning for the next two weeks. Our in-person learning will plan to resume Monday, November 16 – a BLUE cohort day,” said Pfeiffer. “You will be updated more as we hear from the Maine CDC.”

Maine CDC or a school representative will contact you directly if you are identified as a close contact to an individual who tested positive. Close contacts will be asked to quarantine for 14 days after the last exposure to the positive individual. A negative test result does not get an individual out of quarantine.

Maine CDC recommends measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. These measures include proper hand washing with soap and water, which is especially important after using the bathroom, before eating, and after blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing. When soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60 percent alcohol. Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands, and avoid close contact with people who are sick. Cover your cough or sneeze into a tissue, and then throw the tissue in the trash. Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray and wipe.

Vassalboro Community School will be cleaned according to the federal CDC guidelines.

For general COVID-19 questions, dial 211 (or 1-866-811-5695). You can also text your zip code to 898-211 or email ​infor@211maine.org​, ​www.maine.gove/dhhs/coronavirus​ or www.cdc.gove/coronoavirus​. The letter can be read in its entirety at vcsvikings.org.