by Mary Grow

The Covid-19 grant that is paying for the weekly newsletters from the China Town Office has run out, but Town Manager Becky Hapgood and a majority of the selectmen would like the newsletters to continue.

Hapgood told selectmen at their Oct. 26 all-zoom meeting that mailing the newsletters costs about $520 a week. She proposed cutting back from weekly to bi-monthly mailings for November and December; paying the approximately $2,100 from the $55,000 contingency fund voters gave selectmen at town meeting (it has a balance of about $54,966 to last until June 30, 2021, Hapgood said); and reviewing the situation in January.

She said residents tell her they read and appreciate the newsletters, which report on town business, including things like town office and transfer station hours and upcoming events, pandemic updates and other useful information. Selectman Irene Belanger thought it “a nice touch” to remind people shut in their houses that town office staff have not forgotten them.

Board Chairman Ronald Breton and member Wayne Chadwick were concerned the contingency fund might be needed more urgently for other things. Breton commented that the situation was not unusual: grant funding starts a project and then drops it. He recommended if the newsletter were to continue beyond December it be discussed as part of the 2021 municipal budget, a suggestion Hapgood agreed with.

Ultimately, the board voted 3-1 for four more newsletter issues. Breton, Belanger and Janet Preston were in favor, Chadwick opposed and Donna Mills-Stevens not present.

China’s town office and transfer station will be closed Wednesday, Nov. 11, in observance of Veterans’ Day, and Thursday and Friday, Nov. 26 and 27, for Thanksgiving. On Saturday, Nov. 28, the transfer station will be open as usual, 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The other main issue discussed Oct. 26 was Codes Officer Bill Butler’s report on three dangerous buildings, on Fire Road 9, Fire Road 58 and Lakeview Drive. As legally required, he had notified the owners that he had determined the buildings to be dangerous and requested action.

No owner had replied, he said. Under the law, the next step is to refer the matter to the selectmen, who should consult with the town attorney. After that, the property owners and the codes officer would testify at a public hearing and the selectmen would decide whether to order the structures repaired or demolished – “not a fun thing,” in Butler’s opinion.

If an owner still takes no action, the law allows the town to remedy the dangerous situation and bill the owner. The bill, if unpaid, could become a tax lien; the lien, if unpaid, could result in the town owning the property.

“They’re not safe, so we have to address them,” Breton said of the three buildings. He asked Hapgood to consult with town attorney Amanda Meader.

In response to Breton’s inquiry at a previous meeting, Butler explained China’s penalty assessment guidelines for violations of town ordinances. He said they are based on state Department of Environmental Protection guidelines and therefore deal mostly with environmental issues.

With fines of up to $1,000 a day authorized, Butler considers the guidelines adequate to deter would-be violators.

The main use of the guidelines is not to impose huge fines, but to suggest appropriate figures for negotiating consent agreements between town officials and violators of town ordinances, in Butler’s view. If selectmen want to amend them, he suggested expanding them to include the building code and other not-strictly-environmental ordinances.

In other business Oct. 26, resident Tom Michaud, speaking for the Tax Increment Finance (TIF) Committee, said work is starting on installing shoreline protection and a walkway and improving the boat landing at the head of China Lake’s east basin. He is optimistic that the project will be done by the end of November as scheduled.

Selectmen unanimously approved Hapgood’s suggestion they use another approximately $800 from the contingency fund to hire a consultant to review the town’s personnel policy. Covid-related operational changes have outdated parts of it, the manager said.

After an executive session with Meader, Hapgood reported selectmen voted to authorize Meader to sign a settlement agreement with Brent Chesley. Chesley’s permit application for a retaining wall to control erosion along his China Lake waterfront was denied by Butler in May, leading to a split Board of Appeals vote upholding the codes officer and legal discussions.

The consent order resulting from the Oct. 26 discussion, approved in Kennebec Superior Court, allows Chesley to build the wall as approved by an Oct. 2019 state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) permit, without additional town permits. The court decision says the DEP permit specifies that the retaining wall is “to be constructed upland from the existing normal high water mark of China Lake.”

The next two China selectmen’s meetings are scheduled for Monday evening, Nov. 9, and Monday evening, Nov. 23.

by Mary Grow

Both items on the China Planning Board’s Oct. 20 agenda needed some explaining, but once the situations were clear board members quickly agreed on unanimous approvals.

The first issue dealt with a subdivision on Fire Road 51, off Lakeview Drive (Route 202), originally established by Rick Fischer’s parents and, Board Chairman Tom Miragliuolo said, approved in 1971. Fischer believes it might have been the first subdivision in China.

Over the years, he explained, part of the subdivision was developed and planned interior roads were built. In the part left undeveloped, the roads were not built and became what he referred to as “paper streets.”

During a 2014 transaction, ownership of the paper streets was mistakenly assigned to abutting landowners. They should belong to the Fischer family, Fischer explained. To eliminate future confusion, he needed – and received – approval of an Oct. 14, 2020, revised plan that made no changes in anyone’s land ownerships or access rights, but restored the streets to their previous situation.

The second permit request was for repair work on Fire Road 11, off Neck Road, in shoreland and resource protection zones. The China Region Lakes Alliance (CRLA) is supporting the work under its Gravel Roads Rehabilitation Program (GRRP). Fire Road 11 Association President Danny Boivin and member Mickey Wing explained the plans via speaker-phone.

The work includes improving ditches and other run-off controls, Wing said. It is supported by all members of the road association, whether or not their property will be affected, and residents on nearby Fire Road 10 have been consulted. The desired end result is a road that is environmentally improved, easier to keep passable year-round and narrower (because material that has been graded out to the sides will be turned into a grass buffer).

Wing expected work to begin promptly after planning board approval. Board members approved with one condition, putting up appropriate signs to warn and direct delivery-truck drivers during construction.

The next China Planning Board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday evening, Nov. 10.

by Mary Grow

The five candidates for three seats on China’s Board of Selectmen answered questions at an on-line Oct. 18 forum sponsored by the Albert Church Brown Memorial Library in China Village.

When ballots are counted after the polls close Nov. 3, three people will be elected to serve two-year terms as selectmen. The ballot choices are, in alphabetical order, Ronald Breton (incumbent), Blane Casey, Brent Chesley, Jeanne Marquis and Janet Preston (incumbent).

Moderator Louisa Barnhart first asked each person to summarize his or her qualifications for the local office.

Breton cited his 12 years as a planning board member and then a selectman, including chairing both boards. In his military career, he learned leadership skills and how to communicate, and he managed large budgets.

Casey, an independent businessman and second-generation China resident, said dealing with lots of people has taught him to listen, to compromise and to solve problems.

Chesley, co-owner of a large highway construction business, cited his knowledge of public works projects. He said he listens to his employees to get information he needs to make good decisions and appropriate compromises. Born in Lincoln, he has lived in China for 16 years.

Marquis, who returned to China to take care of her elderly father in the house the family has owned for five generations, said her journalism training at Northwestern University taught her to research issues and to listen. She encouraged selectmen to initiate more communication with residents.

Preston, formerly a China School Committee member, cited her unique perspective as an educator, which she said helps her work with varied people, listen well and explain things clearly. She described herself as open-minded, non-judgmental and, as a math teacher, focused on problem-solving. She and her family have lived in their house in China for 30 years, she said.

Asked about taxes and the town budget, Breton and Preston agreed the current board studies expenditures carefully and does not waste taxpayers’ money. Chesley’s opinion is that “People are pretty well maxed out on taxes.” Marquis said compared to other Maine towns of comparable size, China’s tax rate is about in the middle.

Neither Chesley nor Casey had had time to review the budget looking for specifics, but Casey believes a town can always save money – and perhaps increase some allocations. Marquis pointed out that China currently contributes more to FirstPark, the Oakland business park, than the town gets in return, though the new park manager might improve the balance; and she suggested China’s Emergency Preparedness Committee should have money available for things like pandemic supplies and generators residents could borrow.

Chesley recommended inviting more homeowners and especially more business owners to town, to increase the property tax base. Marquis, who advocated repeatedly for open space and China’s natural environment, disagreed with “overdeveloping China” and preferred seeking grants and other funding sources.

Moderator Barnhart’s broad questions about additional community facilities and services brought a variety of answers from the five candidates. Several cited recommendations in China’s comprehensive plan.

Casey and Chesley were least enthusiastic about expanding services. Casey said he is unaware of additional services residents are looking for, but invited suggestions. Chesley’s wording was that he is unaware of additional services residents need, versus what some might want.

Both men would consider elderly housing, if it were provided by private developers and, Chesley added, if there were community support. Casey said one service he recommends is more flexible town office hours to accommodate working residents.

Marquis endorsed expansion of broadband service, now being sought by the town’s broadband committee, and said more solar power would save money. She favors the comprehensive plan recommendations for more youth recreational programs and programs for the elderly.

Preston favors elderly housing with services, though she has no specific plan yet. She would also like to see more bike paths, especially around China Lake, pointing out that cyclists now have Lakeview Drive with paved shoulders and heavy traffic on one side and back roads without shoulders the rest of the way.

Breton said China has a committee looking into elderly housing possibilities. He too favors more recreational areas. He would also like more law enforcement coverage, though voters at the 2020 town meeting did not approve hiring a full-time police chief.

The idea of a town community center, rejected by voters in June 2019, brought varied reactions.

Marquis proposed, in present circumstances, using the town-owned 40-acre lot on Lakeview Drive opposite the former Candlewood Camps for an outdoor pavilion with a firepit, a farmers’ market and perhaps later a community center building. She suggested funding the building through donations (with major donors offered naming rights), not taxes.

Chesley could see the Lakeview Drive property being used for an amphitheater, hiking trails and/or a farmers’ market – but he is concerned about the cost. China has already invested in recreational facilities like Thurston Park and the causeway project at the head of China Lake’s east basin, he reminded the audience.

Breton favors an earlier plan that he realizes was and is unpopular: a building on the Lakeview Drive land that would house a community center, the current three fire departments and perhaps China Rescue and a police office. He approved the farmers’ market idea; the town office parking lot might be another possible site, he suggested. If voters don’t want to use the Lakeview Drive land, he recommends selling it; town-owned land does not pay property taxes, he pointed out.

Neither Marquis nor Preston is currently willing to sell the lot. Both favor public access to outdoor areas, for dog-walking (Preston) and other quality-of-life reasons (Preston and Marquis).

Preston favors a community center somewhere in town. She sees the tentative plan to consolidate China’s two schools and free the present middle school for town use as no longer a possibility and suggested possible use of the large building at the China Baptist Conference Center on Neck Road.

Casey and Chesley listed multiple underutilized buildings in town and opposed adding a community center. If there is to be a community center and central fire station, it should be close to the center of town, not at the north end of Lakeview Drive, Casey said.

Another previously-controversial issues, public access to China Lake, found the majority of the candidates favoring the idea, at least in principle. Preston, who served on the committee that proposed buying the Candlewood lakefront property and had its recommendation rejected by voters, still strongly supports a public beach.

Marquis agreed, and Breton hopes China’s revised comprehensive plan will include lake access as a goal. Chesley would not oppose a town beach at the right price, in the right place and with a maintenance plan. Casey does not know of available land, and is concerned about costs and potential liability.

The China library’s first on-line forum ran smoothly, thanks to the organizational and technical skills of librarians Carla Gade and Miranda Perkins and trustees Jim Hart (computer expert) and Barnhart (Zoom hostess and forum moderator).

To view the video of the China selectperson candidates’ forum, please click here.