China planners discuss proposed ordinance amendment

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by Mary Grow

At their Aug. 25 meeting, China Planning Board members discussed a proposed ordinance amendment that would make a special provision in lot coverage requirements for solar panels.

Their only decision was to continue the discussion, probably at their Sept. 15 meeting. If they recommend an ordinance amendment, it would take effect after selectmen put it on a local ballot and voters approved it. Barring a special meeting, the spring 2021 business meeting would be the earliest opportunity for voter action.

Attorney Tom Federle of Federle Law in Portland proposed the amendment. He represents SunRaise Investments, the company building two solar projects in southern China.

In reviewing and approving the SunRaise permits, planning board members considered the area of the panels as structures, as part of their lot coverage calculations. China’s land use ordinance limits the percentage of a lot that can be covered by structures to 20 percent in rural districts and 15 percent in resource protection, stream protection and shoreland districts.

Federle’s proposed ordinance amendment says in part that, “Provided that pervious ground is retained below solar panels, the area of the solar panels shall not be included in the lot coverage calculation.”

Paved areas, blocks and other bases on which the panels stand and “other impervious structures” (like a small building to house equipment) would still count toward lot coverage.

The proposed amendment would also add “solar energy system” to the town ordinance’s list of definitions.

The point Federle made, with which board members seemed to agree, was that when the meadow area below solar panels is properly maintained with infrequent mowing, the grass will absorb water running off the lower edges of the panels and the installation will not create run-off problems.

State environmental agencies and other municipalities review solar permits on this premise, he said.

He is not arguing that a solar array should be totally exempt from regulation that applies to structures, and he does not ask that the amendment apply to Phosphorus Control Ordinance discussions.

Board Chairman Tom Miragliuolo suggested it not apply in the more restricted resource protection, stream protection and shoreland zones, either.

The next planning board meeting is postponed from the usual second Tuesday of the month to the third Tuesday, Sept. 15, to avoid meeting the day after the Labor Day holiday.

CHINA: Tax bills mailed Aug. 31; first payment due Sept. 25

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by Mary Grow

Town office closed for Labor Day holiday

The China town office will be closed Saturday, Sept. 5, and Monday, Sept. 7, for the Labor Day holiday weekend. The office will be open from 8 to 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 12, to make up for the first September Saturday being a holiday.

The transfer station will be open as usual Saturday, Sept. 5, and closed as usual Monday Sept. 7.

Three notices from the China selectmen’s Aug. 31 meeting:

  • Signed nomination papers for Nov. 3 local elections are due at the town office by 2 p.m. Friday, Sept. 4, for candidates’ names to be on the local ballot. Town Manager Becky Hapgood said as of Aug. 31, no one was circulating papers for the District 4 Planning Board seat or for the positions of secretary and at-large member of the Budget Committee. Tom Mira­gliuolo is the planning board incumbent; the town website lists Trishea Story as the budget committee secretary and Jeffrey Furlong as the at-large member.
  • Tax bills were mailed out Aug. 31 or Sept. 1. The first half payment of 2020-21 taxes is due at the town office by the 2 p.m. close of business Friday, Sept. 25.
  • On Nov. 3, polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., at the town office complex for local, state and national voting. The local ballot will have four questions: election of a moderator (at 6:55 a.m.); local elections for Board of Selectmen, Planning Board and Budget Committee; amendments to the Solid Waste Disposal Ordinance; and amendments to the Solid Waste Flow Control Ordinance.

Selectmen discussed the two sets of ordinance amendments at the Aug. 31 meeting. The main change, proposed by the Transfer Station Committee, would add appropriate provisions about the new RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) system. Selectman Janet Preston pointed out that current hours are not as stated in the ordinance, and recommending not listing hours. Hapgood mentioned minor grammatical changes.

Hapgood and Preston discussed additional possible changes. Hapgood intends to suggest them to the Transfer Station Committee; if additional changes are proposed, voters will see them in 2021.

The current (2017) versions of the two ordinances are on the town website.

In other business Aug. 31, Hapgood and TIF (Tax Increment Financing Committee) member Tom Michaud told selectmen the contractor chosen to build the retaining wall between Causeway Street and China Lake needs to do test borings before designing the wall.

The estimated $8,000 cost is not in the project budget, they said. Their plan is to try to save the money elsewhere in the budget, perhaps by cutting back on work at the boat launch.

Hapgood said a meeting of the TIF Committee should be scheduled soon.

Selectmen reappointed Harold Charles to the Board of Assessment Review.

Hapgood announced two Firewood for Friends days at the China School Forest, Saturday, Sept. 5, and Saturday, Sept. 12, from 9 a.m. to noon. Volunteers who can bring and use chainsaws, bring and drive pick-up trucks and load cut-up wood into the trucks are invited. The firewood will be stored at the public works garage and distributed to residents in need over the winter.

On Codes Officer Bill Butler’s recommendation, selectmen approved a replacement holding tank at 1182 Lakeview Drive.

The next regular China selectmen’s meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 14.

Vassalboro selectmen make progress on several issues, make no decisions

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by Mary Grow

Vassalboro selectmen made progress on several issues at their Aug. 20 meeting, although the only absolutely final decision they made was to appoint Charlie Plourde as a recreation committee member.

Reviewing bids for reroofing the snack shack at the ballfields (which the recreation committee manages), they awarded the contract to Legacy Home Improvements, of South China for $6,900 – after Town Manager Mary Sabins talks with company representatives about two issues and assuming she reaches satisfactory results.

They reviewed a preliminary transfer station redesign plan from engineer Al Hodsdon, head of A. E. Hodsdon Engineers, of Waterville, and scheduled review of a final plan for their Sept. 17 meeting.

They read the bid from the only person interested in buying the retired police car and asked Sabins to see if junking it would be more profitable than accepting the bid.

They agreed that instead of appointing a committee chairperson (or chairpeople) for the 2021 sestercentennial (250th anniversary) of Vassalboro’s incorporation on April 26, 1761, selectmen will coordinate as local volunteers do their own projects.

John Melrose, the new chairman of the selectboard and promoter of the sestercentennial since last year, has been overseeing improvements to the park in East Vassalboro. He said other ideas so far include a 2021 commemorative calendar and postcards, a scavenger hunt for historic items, interpretive panels at significant places, a time capsule, an anthology of long-time residents’ stories and fireworks.

Melrose recommended scheduling events in two groups, one close to the April incorporation date and a second around the traditional Vassalboro Days celebration in September.

This September’s Vassalboro Days will include a chalkfest for which organizers are looking for paved areas on which to draw, Sabins said. Part of the town office parking lot might become one site.

Selectmen heard two additional progress reports: Sabins said 2020-21 tax bills had been sent out and payments were “already rolling in”: and Public Works Director Eugene Field said paving had started.

The next regular Vassalboro selectmen’s meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 3, in the town office meeting room.

China selectmen set tax rate at 14.9 mils for 2020-21

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by Mary Grow

At their Aug. 24 special meeting, China selectmen, in their capacity as assessors, set the 2020-21 tax rate at 14.9 mils, or $14.90 for each $1,000 of valuation.

Last year’s rate was 16.3 mils, or $16.30 for each $1,000 of valuation.

The lower rate will mean a lower tax bill for some property owners, but not for all. People who have made improvements can expect a higher valuation that could increase the tax. And at the Aug. 3 selectmen’s meeting, Kelly Grotton explained that some categories of property, especially land around lakes, will have higher valuations to meet state requirements.

Grotton is the assistant to assessor William Van Tuinen, who recommended the 14.9 rate as adequate to raise enough local tax money to meet China’s financial obligations this year. The town receives money from many other sources, including state funding, vehicle excise taxes and fees paid for town services.

Town Manager Becky Hapgood said tax bills should be mailed out the week after Labor Day, assuming preparations go smoothly. By town meeting vote, the first half payment is due at the town office by 2 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25.

In other business Aug, 24, selectmen appointed board member Janet Preston as alternate representative to the Kennebec Valley Council of Governments General Assembly (Selectman Irene Belanger is China’s main representative). They appointed Brent Chesley a member of the Tax Increment Financing Committee.

Hapgood reminded the audience that nomination papers for local elective office are due back at the town office by 2 p.m. Friday, Sept. 4, for candidates’ names to be on the Nov. 3 local ballot.

The next regular China selectmen’s meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 31.

Vassalboro school board approves 2020 opening plan

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Vassalboro Community School. (source: jmg.org)

by Mary Grow

At their Aug. 18 meeting, Vassalboro School Board members approved the reopening plan developed by staff over the summer, in consultation with many students’ families, other state educators and state officials. Board members voted with the understanding the plan is subject to change as local circumstances or state recommendations change.

School is scheduled to begin Wednesday, Sept. 2. Teachers and other staff will be at Vassalboro Community School. Students will alternate by groups between in-school and remote learning, except those whose families have chosen remote learning only. The emphasis is on safety, including social distancing, face coverings, washing and sanitizing, health checks and other measures.

There have also been safety-minded rearrangements inside the school building, like making a waiting room outside the nurse’s office.

The reopening plan and related documents are on the school website, vcsvikings.org.

Principal Megan Allen said, “We’re going to do this and we’re going to do it well. I feel good about people coming through these doors,” with a glance toward the school’s entrance.

“It could all change at any moment,” Superintendent Alan Pfeiffer warned.

In other business Aug. 18, board members approved five new appointments and welcomed the new staff members who were at the meeting. Gregory Hughes is assistant principal; Melora Norman is library/media specialist; Jenna Zemrak is literacy specialist; Teraysa Noyes is grade six and seven science teacher; and Chad Dixon is a special education teacher.

They accepted the resignations of gifted and talented teacher Julie Oliver, third-grade teacher Sally Putnam and special education technicians Amanda Caldarella and Erika Johnston.

Pfeiffer commended staff members from the former school union who work with Vassalboro, Waterville and Winslow superintendents for their help getting the plan in place. He read a letter from a former student, now in the border patrol in Texas, thanking Vassalboro Community School for giving him the opportunity to start learning Spanish.

During the public comment period, board member Jessica Clark read an email from a parent wondering whether a Covid-19 vaccination, when developed, would be mandatory. School nurse MaryAnn Fortin said making a new vaccination mandatory would probably be a legislative decision, as current vaccination requirements are.

The next regular Vassalboro School Board meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 15, in the school cafeteria.

Construction updates for downtown Waterville

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Downtown Waterville

The North Street Bridge over Maine Central Railroad will be closed from Monday, August 17th through August 31, 2020.

BMB Construction has a contract with Maine DOT to rehabilitate the bridge on North Street over Maine Central Railroad. The bridge will be closed down on August 17 through August 31, 2020. Please feel free to contact Shawn McDougall with any questions, at smcdougall6@hotmail.com, or call 207-852-2585.

Downtown construction completed as of last week:

• The 8-inch main line was completed from Front Street to Main Street.
• The trench line was paved to a full depth of five inches.
• Pavement has been cut in preparation for excavation that was set to begin Monday on Hathaway Street.
• Main Street service trenches and sidewalks for 99, 103, 117 and 173 Main have received two inches of temporary pavement.
• There are two excavations on Main Street currently with compacted gravel awaiting completed foundation cores.

Local legislator participates in virtual ecological conference

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Representative Stanley Paige Zeigler, Jr.

District #96 state Representative S. Paige Zeigler recently spent two days in a Zoom conference with other ecologically-concerned state legislators from throughout the nation. The meeting was convened by the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators, whose thousand-plus members regularly trade advice to improve laws and governance of natural resources. Zeigler led the Maine contingent as the group held its 2020 National Forum in virtual space on August 6 and 7, an opportunity for 150 state leaders to discuss goals and methods. Keynoted by Ken Salazar, interior secretary in President Obama’s first term, the participants discussed:

Sustainable food systems. Attendees exchanged ideas on how to promote local production of healthy food without damage to the environment.

Utility reform. This part of the meeting focused on transition to renewable energy sources with lower costs both to consumers and to the planet.

Habitat connectivity. Participants discussed ways to regulate development so as to avoid slicing and dicing habitats into areas too small for wildlife to thrive.

PFAS pollution. A major component of plastics, PFAS (polyfluoroalkyl substances) is a group of “forever chemicals” that leach into soil and water, enter the food chain, and are known via animal studies to damage the liver, thyroid, reproductive organs, and immune system. Maine officials are intensely interested in PFAS control since February, when milk from one central Maine dairy farm was found to contain 60 to 150 times the standard limit. The farm’s milk production has been shut down, and investigators are trying to find the source of the pollution.

Transport electrification. Decided in favor of a feasibility study on converting the Ferry Service to electric power so as to cut greenhouse gases.

Environmental justice. A pair of Maine laws served as examples: one requires private well testing for contaminants, but the other helps out with the cost, an essential provision because toxic waste tends to be dumped where the poor live.

On August 6, a meeting was held by the University of Maine regarding a new source of power. Because of public/private cooperation, Maine is on the brink of starting to launch wind generation offshore. The university has the technology and there is financing available. The partners are going to work with the fishing fleet so they will have access to the areas they need. The state could generate all of its own power at an affordable rate and still export some.”

CHINA: Town business meeting to be conducted by written ballot in 2021

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by Mary Grow

China selectmen have decided the 2021 annual town business meeting at which the budget is approved will be conducted by written ballot, not at an open meeting. They have not set a date; March and June 2021 were suggested at their Aug. 17 meeting.

Until 2020, the business meeting was an open meeting, held recently in the primary school gymnasium on a Saturday morning in late March or early April, with a quorum of 120 voters needed to start the meeting. Pandemic restrictions on large gatherings led to the cancellation of the April 2020 meeting. It was rescheduled as a written ballot on July 14, with approved expenditures retroactive to the July 1 beginning of the fiscal year.

Selectmen do not know what restrictions, if any, will be in effect next spring. They agreed they should be prepared; and if the past is a guide, a written-ballot election will bring more voter participation than an open meeting.

Selectmen to hold special meeting

China selectmen will hold a special meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 24, primarily to set the 2020-21 tax rate. Town Manager Becky Hapgood said their decision should make it possible to mail tax bills early in September. By town meeting vote, the first half payment of 2020-21 taxes is due at the town office by the 2 p.m. closing time Friday, Sept. 25.

A proposal to set a March meeting date was deleted from the decision after Town Manager Becky Hapgood said that preparations for a written ballot require more advance time than preparations for an open meeting. Because of the need to have ballots available well before election day, she estimated selectmen might need to have the entire budget in final form as much as 75 days before the scheduled vote.

Last spring, she reminded them, they were working on the budget into February in anticipation of an early-April meeting.

Hapgood also suggested if the town vote were combined with the school budget vote, which has in normal years been in June, the town would save money. She plans to prepare a timeline to guide board members as they find an appropriate date.

In other business Aug. 17:

  • Hapgood outlined plans to use a $31,360 Covid-19 grant for a variety of purposes, including additional signs and weekly mailings to keep residents informed, touchless hand-sanitizer dispensers and refills for town buildings and personal protective equipment.
  • She described plans to share a counter clerk with the Town of Windsor, with the person working a 40-hour week, half in one town office and half in the other. There would be no additional cost to China, she said, and the new employee would benefit by getting experience faster than by working half-time.
  • Looking at two issues related to codes enforcement, board members unanimously endorsed Codes Officer Bill Butler’s recommendation to approve a holding tank on Fire Road 20, and asked Hapgood to ask Butler to review penalties for codes violations to see if fines should be increased.

After the Aug. 24 special selectmen’s meeting to set the 2021 tax rate, the next regular meeting is scheduled for Monday evening, Aug. 31.

Many take out nomination papers

As of Aug. 17, the following China residents were circulating nomination papers for local elective office.

  • For three seats on the board of selectmen, incumbents Ronald Breton and Janet Preston, plus Blane Casey, Brent A. Chesley, Milton F. Dudley, Peter Foote and Jeanne Marquis. The other incumbent whose term ends in 2020 is Donna Mills-Stevens.
  • For the at-large position on the planning board, Brent A. Chesley, Megan Marquis and incumbent James C. Wilkens; for the District 2 seat, incumbent Toni Wall; and no one for the District 4 seat now held by chairman Thomas Miragliuolo.
  • For the at-large seat and the secretary’s position on the budget committee, no one is circulating papers. Incumbents Thomas A. Rumpf and Timothy Basham are seeking nominations for re-election in District 2 and District 4, respectively.

Signed nomination papers must be returned to the town office by the 2 p.m. closing time Friday, Sept. 4, for candidates’ names to appear on the Nov. 3 local ballot.

Maple sap producers qualify for federal assistance

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Following a push by Maine’s Congressional delegation and Governor Janet Mills, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced that producers of maple sap used to make maple syrup are now eligible for direct financial relief to help offset the financial harm they have experienced due to COVID-19.

In June, U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King and Representatives Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden sent a letter to USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue in support of maple syrup producers’ eligibility for direct relief from the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP). CFAP, created through the CARES Act, is providing up to $16 billion in direct payments to deliver relief to America’s farmers. In the letter, the delegation also noted their full support of a letter previously sent by Governor Mills, which outlined the necessity of this relief for the Maine maple syrup industry.

“Maine is proud to be the country’s third-largest producer of maple syrup. This is a strong sector of our state’s agricultural economy, representing more than 800 full- and part-time jobs,” said Senators Collins and King and Representatives Pingree and Golden. “Maine maple syrup producers experienced substantial revenue losses due to the cancellation of Maple Sunday events this spring. We strongly supported making maple syrup producers eligible for assistance through CFAP, and we are pleased that they will now be able to access this lifeline for farmers.”

“Like many pillars of our economy, Maine’s maple syrup producers have suffered unprecedented financial hardship caused by the coronavirus pandemic. I am pleased to hear that the USDA heeded our call and that our maple syrup producers can now access the resources they need to survive these challenging times,” said Governor Janet Mills. “I hope to see continued changes to the CFAP program to ensure that more Maine farms, of all sizes, whose financial stability and futures have similarly been disrupted, benefit from this important program.”

Maine is home to more than 550 maple syrup producers whose combined output totaled 580,000 gallons with a value of $21.6 million last year alone. Similar to other agricultural producers across the country, maple syrup producers in the state of Maine have suffered greatly due to COVID-19. The impact on this industry is even more acute than most, however, given its short season from late February to mid-April and heavy reliance on direct-to-consumer sales.

Every March, sugarhouses across Maine host Maple Sunday events, an annual celebration showcasing maple syrup operations throughout Maine that serves as a catalyst for sales. Due to the pandemic, this collection of events was effectively canceled this year, eliminating many producers’ best opportunity to connect with consumers and secure sales.

CFAP was established to provide “vital assistance to producers of agricultural commodities who have suffered a five-percent-or-greater price decline and face additional significant marketing costs as a result of lower demand, surplus production, and disruptions to shipping patterns and the orderly marketing of commodities.” To date, a total of more than $14 million has been awarded through CFAP to Maine farmers to help offset the financial harm they have experienced due to COVID-19.

The USDA is continuing to accept applications from farmers through September 11. More information about CFAP and the application process can be found on USDA’s resource page: Farmers.gov/cfap.

China selectmen unanimously award Phase 2 Causeway project to McGee Construction

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by Mary Grow

After the China selectmen’s Aug. 10 special meeting, Town Manager Becky Hapgood reported the four members attending voted unanimously to accept McGee Construction’s bid to complete Phase II of the causeway project for $581,805.

They further voted to transfer $70,000 from China’s undesignated fund balance (surplus) to the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) account for the project, Hapgood said. The money will be repaid to the surplus account after taxes from Central Maine Power Company replenish the TIF fund.

Phase II of the causeway project will provide erosion barriers and a walkway along the shore at the head of China Lake’s east basin. Work will extend from the west side of the new causeway bridge to the boat landing.