Vassalboro selectmen discuss scaled-down marijuana ordinance

/0 Comments/in , /by
by Mary Grow

At their Jan. 21 meeting, Vassalboro selectmen discussed a seriously scaled-down marijuana ordinance that would allow only medical marijuana operations in town.

Instead of the complex document discussed at their Jan. 7 meeting (see The Town Line, Jan. 14), they are considering a local ordinance based on the Town of Turner’s. One objection to the previously-discussed ordinance was that it would require too much permitting, inspecting and other work for town employees. Eliminating all but medical marijuana would simplify the town’s role.

Town Manager Mary Sabins said she had received many comments on the Jan. 7 draft, prepared by Town Attorney Kristin Collins. None expressed enthusiasm for non-medical facilities.

The state Office of Marijuana Policy (OMP) suggested the Turner ordinance as a useful model, she said. She had talked with the Turner town manager, and had forwarded the ordinance and his comments to Collins.

Selectmen agreed that if they decide to recommend a medical-only ordinance, they should seek public comment again.

Sabins added that the OMP has licensed 20 medical marijuana caregivers in Vassalboro. Selectmen were not aware there were so many.

The other major topic Jan. 21 was the Gray Road culvert replacement. Selectmen expect they will be able to get the new culvert needed to replace the failing one in time for the work to be done this summer, if town meeting voters approve it.

At their earlier Jan. 7 board meeting, selectmen considered the possibility that voters would not approve money for the project. But if they waited until after town meeting to order the culvert, it would probably not come in time for summer 2021 work.

Project engineer Eric Calder, of Calderwood Engineering, in Richmond, said Dirigo Timberlands, in North Anson, from whom Vassalboro officials bought the new Cross Hill Road culvert, will build the culvert before Vassalboro voters act.

Dirigo and Benton-based Nitram Excavation and General Contractors, chosen at the Jan. 7 meeting to carry out the project, will work out details and sign a contract for the culvert. Nitram will be responsible for seeing that it is built and delivered as specified.

Selectmen approved the plan and unanimously authorized Sabins and Calderwood to proceed with a contract with Nitram.

Calderwood said it is time for the town and his firm to develop a Phase Three contract that will cover Calderwood’s oversight of the construction. He said the contract will be based on an hourly rate, not a flat fee, and people from his firm will be on site only as needed.

In a brief discussion of another project, Steve Jones’ request to restore the coldwater pool that housed brook trout before the Cross Hill Road culvert was replaced, Sabins said she still hopes a volunteer will be able to get a permit at no cost to the town. If the permit is obtained, she thinks the town public works crew can do the work.

Vassalboro’s 2021 town meeting is currently scheduled as an open meeting on Monday, June 7, followed by written-ballot elections (and other questions if needed) on Tuesday, June 8. Selectmen and Sabins talked briefly about whether they should try to convene an open meeting, as they did in 2020, or vote entirely by referendum, as many other towns are doing in response to Covid-19.

They discussed a theme for the 2020 town report. Sabins said the report dated 2020 is published in the spring of 2021, and covers the fiscal year that ran from July 1, 2019, to June 30, 2020.

Until the pandemic, selectmen had intended to recognize Maine’s 200th anniversary of statehood (March 15, 1820) in the 2020 report and Vassalboro’s 250th anniversary of incorporation (April 26, 1771) in the 2021 report. With limited state and town celebrations to report, they are reconsidering.

Two of the selectmen, Barbara Redmond and Chairman John Melrose, approved annual liquor license renewals for Natanis Golf Course. The third board member, Natanis owner Robert Browne, abstained on the vote.

Sabins plans to distribute a first draft of the 2021-2022 town budget at the Feb. 4 selectmen’s meeting, scheduled for 6:30 p.m., virtual only. Board members decided to follow the Feb. 4 review with an in-person budget workshop at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 9, in the town office meeting room.

China selectmen hold special meeting

/0 Comments/in , /by
by Mary Grow

Ronald Breton, Chairman of the China Selectboard, led board members through continued review of the draft 2021-22 budget at a special budget workshop Jan. 25.

The meeting lasted almost three hours, and the review covered major town functions: administration, public safety, waste disposal and public works.

Selectmen began by agreeing to continue Town Manager Becky Hapgood’s contract, her probationary six months having been satisfactory.

They postponed action on her proposal for an across-the-board three percent pay increase for town employees. They did discuss principles for employee pay, like step increases, which Breton advocated; merit pay; and increases for additional skills, for example if a public works employee earns a higher class driver’s license.

They discussed the idea of an addition to the town office building to provide more storage space for documents Maine municipalities are required to keep. “We need it yesterday,” Hapgood said.

They discussed the request for funds for a building in the town forest behind China Middle School and decided to leave it in the budget. The request covers only the building; proponents plan to ask for more money to add heat and lights in the following year. Selectmen emphasized that if they and voters put up the building, approval of second-year funding for amenities is not guaranteed.

The selectmen’s meeting began with a virtual meeting with Kennebec County Sheriff Ken Mason and Lieutenant Chris Read to talk about providing additional law enforcement services by contracting with a sheriff’s deputy for 40-hour-a-week coverage. Breton also plans a private discussion with current part-time town Police Chief Craig Johnson to see whether he could provide additional coverage.

Review of transfer station operations included consideration of whether the 2020 increase in demolition debris, assumed to be a result of people having time for home repair and renovation projects, is likely to continue in 2021-22.

Breton and board member Blane Casey would like to get rid of the town-owned 1981 grader, and Public Works Director Shawn Reed agreed. With only one gravel road in town, the grader is seldom used; contracting grader work would save money, he believes.

Reed was less content with selectmen’s inclination to cut back on road paving for the second year in a row. He said early in the century, town roads were repaved, on average, on a seven- or eight-year cycle. By 2015, the average repaving came after 10 or 11 years; and doing only four miles in 2020 extended the cycle to an average of 12 years.

The next regular China selectmen’s meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 1, and will include additional budget discussion. Another special meeting could be held Monday evening, Feb. 8, if needed. Hapgood’s goal is to have the final budget, approved by the budget committee and the selectboard, ready by March 15.

The sound quality for the Jan. 21 meeting was much improved over previous in-person selectmen’s meetings. Hapgood credited Jeremy Mahns from API Technologies, in Gardiner, for suggesting and implementing changes.

The meeting record is available on the town website, china.govoffice.com, under Live Stream.

China selectmen review proposed budget; OK five appointments

/0 Comments/in , /by
by Mary Grow

At their Jan. 19 meeting, China selectmen began review of the proposed 2021-22 town budget and made five committee appointments.

Town Manager Becky Hapgood summarized the town’s current financial position and she and selectmen discussed future expenditures. Board members deliberately made no decisions, postponing their recommendations until the end of the review.

The discussion covered town administration, including Hapgood’s recommended salary increases; repairs the town office building needs; town committees’ fund requests; dues for organizations to which the Town of China belongs; and other topics.

The draft budget includes a proposal to increase local law enforcement resources by making an agreement with the Kennebec Sheriff’s Office. Proposals to hire a full-time town policeman or to contract with the sheriff’s department were deleted from the 2020 warrant for the town business meeting when Covid-19 forced a change from an April open meeting to a July written ballot.

The committee appointments were:

  • To the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Committee, former Selectman Robert MacFarland as a member and former TIF Committee secretary Trishea Story as an alternate.
  • To the Revolving Loan Fund Committee, Thomas Rumpf, Robert Batteese and Janet Lully.

After an executive session discussion of Hapgood’s position, selectmen took no action.

Board members scheduled a special meeting for continued budget review for Monday evening, Jan. 25. Their next regular meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 1.

A recording of the Jan. 19 meeting is available on the town website, www.china.govoffice.com. To watch it, open Live Stream (bottom left of the home page) and under Recent Events click on January and then on the meeting. The variable sound quality makes it difficult to follow some of the discussion.

Maine ranks first in personal freedom

/0 Comments/in , /by

(photo by Eric W. Austin)

Falls to 39th in overall freedoms

Freedom in the 50 states, published by the Cato Institute, scores all 50 states according to how their public policies affect individual freedom.

The Cato Institute recently released the latest edition of Freedom in the 50 States, which ranks each U.S. state by how its public policies promote freedom in the fiscal, regulatory and personal freedom spheres. To determine these rankings, authors William Ruger and Jason Sorens examine state and local government intervention across a range of more than 230 policy variables – from taxation to debt, eminent domain laws to occupational licensing, and drug policy to educational choice.

Ruger and Sorens score all 50 states on their overall respect for individual freedom, and also on their respect for three separate dimension of freedom: fiscal policy and regulatory policy (which are combined to create the economic freedom score) and personal freedom. The index ranks Maine as the 39th freest in the nation in the overall rankings. By individual category, Maine scores 40th in fiscal policy, 44th in regulatory policy, and first in personal freedom. You can view the state’s full rankings, a descriptive analysis of its freedom situation, and policy recommendations to increase its freedom rankings at www.Freedominthe50states.org/overall/maine.

Maine has long been one of the freest states in the country personally and one of the least free economically. Between 2011 and 2014, the state declined even further on fiscal policy, which contributed to a relative decline in overall freedom.

Maine’s taxes have long been high, crushing taxpayers overall at 11.7 percent of adjusted personal income and earning the state rankings in the bottom 10 for both state and local taxes. Fortunately, government debt is low, at 14.7 percent of income, and government employment is down to 11.8 percent of private employment (from a peak of 12.9 percent in 2010).

Maine has been a consistently poor state on regulatory freedom since 2000, always staying in the bottom 10. It is one of the most regulated states for land use, and also has one of the most extreme renewable portfolio standards in the country. Different measures of occupational freedoms give a conflicting picture of that policy, but there is no doubt that Maine allows more scope of practice to second-line health professions than just about any other state. Freedom from abusive lawsuits is above average in Maine and has improved steadily over time.

Maine is a leading state for criminal justice. It has very low incarceration rates and a better-than-average civil asset forfeiture law. Maine is a progressive state with sound gun laws (including concealed carry without a permit), marijuana rights (recreational use became legal for adults over 21 years of age in 2017) and same-sex marriage (legalized by ballot initiative in 2012). It is, in brief, a very civil libertarian state.

To improve on its freedom ranking, the authors suggest several remedies, including: cutting spending on public welfare and housing and community development. Maine is one of the most free-spending states on public welfare in the country, and it also spends much more than average on housing and community development; cutting individual and corporate income taxes; rolling back exclusionary zoning ordinances that limit housing supply; selling off the state liquor stores and replacing the markup with a transparent ad valorem tax, as Washington has done. Maine will never be able to compete with New Hampshire prices anyway; perhaps it can compete on convenience.

Nationally, Florida, New Hampshire,, Indiana, Colorado and Nevada sit at the top of the rankings. New York again has the dishonor of being the least free state, preceded by Hawaii, California, New Jersey and Vermont.

The Cato Institute is a public policy research organization — a think tank — dedicated to the principles of individual liberty, limited government, free markets, and peace. Its scholars and analysts conduct independent, nonpartisan research on a wide range of policy issues.

China TIF committee satisfied with proposed amended wording to document

/0 Comments/in , /by
by Mary Grow

China’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Committee members decided on Jan. 14 they are satisfied with their proposed amended wording to China’s TIF document. They began deciding what amounts of money to recommend voters appropriate for each of the various TIF projects.

The Second Amendment (to the original 2015 TIF plan; the first was in 2017) includes three new categories for which TIF funds can be used, if voters approve the revised document. They are:

  • “Costs of funding environmental improvement projects developed by the Town,” with specific references to funding China Lake Association and China Region Lakes Alliance projects. With advice from resident Scott Pierz, president of both associations, the committee recommended appropriating $50,000 for this category for each of the next two years.
  • “Costs associated with the development of fisheries and wildlife or marine resources projects,” specifically contributing TIF money toward building a fishway at the China Lake outlet Dam, in East Vassalboro, to allow alewives to migrate into and out of China Lake. The Jan. 14 meeting ended before committee members discussed funding for this and the next new category.
  • “Costs related to broadband service development, expansion and improvement, including connecting to broadband service outside the District….”

The Jan. 14 draft TIF document is on the town website, china.govoffice.com. Go to Officials, Boards and Committees at the top of the page, scroll down to and open Tax Increment Financing Committee and the third document from the bottom of a long list is Second Amended TIF Draft Jan. 2021 China, followed by two related documents.

Specific proposed TIF projects are listed on pages 8 through 13 of the document. Committee members discussed the new ones and a few of the already-listed ones.

For example, the South China boat landing remains on the list, with a double focus: a boundary survey to find out exactly how much land the town owns, and erosion control measures. Committee members discussed potential costs and recommended $15,000 over the next two years.

Expenditures with a time limit are to be reviewed before the limit expires.

Committee members talked in late 2020 about possibly having Amendment Two ready for voters’ action at the May town business meeting. They made no commitment.

The next TIF Committee meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 27, and is expected to be a virtual meeting.

CHINA: Three solar projects get planners’ approval

/0 Comments/in , /by
by Mary Grow

At their Jan. 12 meeting, China Planning Board members worked on a proposed solar ordinance that will establish rules for evaluating future applications for solar developments.

The board has approved three solar projects so far, on Route 32 North (Vassalboro Road), off Route 32 South (Windsor Road) and on Route 3 (Belfast Road). They used standards in the land use ordinance that are not completely appropriate.

Board Vice-Chairman Toni Wall adapted a template prepared by Maine Audubon Society into a draft solar ordinance. Board members discussed a few changes, like eliminating references to land use districts and to a town engineer. China has minimal districting and no engineer on staff.

As of Jan 18, the draft ordinance is not available for public review. Board Chairman Randy Downer intends to prepare two on-line versions, one for board members (which they will be able to edit) and another for interested residents, who may make comments through the town office.

Planning board members do not expect to have a solar ordinance ready for voters’ approval or rejection at the May 18 annual town business meeting. They might ask for a vote in June with the school budget validation vote, or in November with local elections.

Downer said town officials plan a May 18 vote on the revised China Comprehensive Plan, drafted by the town’s Comprehensive Planning Committee with assistance from the Kennebec Valley Council of Governments. The final version is on the town website, china.govoffice.org, under Elections, one of the headings in the left-hand column.

Downer and board members welcomed Scott Rollins, the new District 4 representative. Rollins served on the board in the past; alternate member Jim Wilkens remembered the two overlapped briefly.

The next China Planning Board meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 26, and is expected to be a virtual meeting.

Debate over Windsor youth sports rages

/0 Comments/in , /by

(Internet photo courtesy ussportscamps.com)

School board rules risks too high to allow athletes in school gym;
Proponents claim same safety measures as school sports can be used

by Steve Ball

The RSU #12 School Board has decided that Youth Sports for the 2020/2021 winter season is too risky to allow in the Windsor School gymnasium. At least, according to the latest RSU Board meeting, having Youth Sports in the Windsor School is too risky to allow until March when the decision will be reconsidered. The RSU Board has debated youth sports in multiple meetings since November 2020 and on each occasion the vote remained that with COVID-19 infections on the rise there will be no youth sports activities allowed in the Windsor School facilities. The reaction to this decision has been disappointing and frustrating for Windsor families, volunteers, and the Youth Sports Basketball Commissioner.

Windsor School (internet photo)

When interviewed last week Howie Tuttle, the RSU #12 Superintendent, said the decision was not necessarily permanent, but he indicated the board felt at this moment with rising COVID-19 infections allowing the Pre-K – 6th grade student players in the Windsor school facilities was too risky.

Under normal circumstances, during the winter months, Saturdays at the Windsor School gym are reserved for youth basketball. In Windsor there are nearly 150 children participating in the basketball and cheerleading programs according to Ryan Carver, the Youth Sports Basketball Commissioner and RSU board member. On Saturdays the gym is usually buzzing with youth players, youth cheerleaders, coaches, referees, and parents. It is this increased amount of personal contact that has RSU board members concerned.

On the other side of the discussion the parents, volunteers and Youth Sports Commissioner have appealed that to not have a sports outlet for the younger children is noticeably damaging to the participants psychologically, emotionally, physically, and academically. According to one volunteer, these children are suffering from the COVID isolation and limited outside activities as much, if not more than the older students.

Additionally, many, if not most of the children participants attend the Windsor School as students, so, to see the older students in the Windsor School allowed to play their sports while the younger students are being prohibited from using the facilities for their basketball season compounds the frustration and disappointment among families and children.

According to the RSU board’s meeting minutes the board members’ concerns to having youth in the school facilities ranges from having responsible and accountable people monitoring the conduct of students and adults following Maine Center for Disease Control guidance, to questioning the ability to conduct adequate contact tracing should someone become infected with the COVID virus, to adequate sanitation of the facilities after the Youth games.

According to Carver, he attempted to assure fellow board members that the extra effort made by the middle school sports programs before, during and after games will be also done for the youth sports activities. These assurances did not sway the skeptical board members. The decision remains that there will not be a youth sports basketball season for Windsor youth, at least until it is reconsidered in March 2021.

China town manager presents budget to selectmen

/0 Comments/in , /by
by Mary Grow

Town Manager Becky Hapgood presented selectmen with the first budget she has prepared since assuming her new position in July 2020, at a special joint meeting with the Budget Committee on Jan. 11.

The manager compiled figures presented by town department heads and the usual other groups, like town committees, insurance companies who insure town employees, organizations of municipalities to which China belongs and charitable and similar groups hoping town voters will support their work.

There are no figures yet from the school department, whose annual budget makes up around three-quarters of town expenditures, nor from Kennebec County.

Hapgood emphasized other uncertainties that will be debated as selectmen and Budget Committee members prepare a final recommended budget. For example, they might recommend additional road paving to make up for work not done last summer as the pandemic created financial uncertainty; recommend only the work previously scheduled for 2021; or propose further postponements if the financial situation is still unclear.

Voters will approve the 2021-22 budget at the 2021 annual town budget meeting. At this point the meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, May 18, by written ballot.

After the Jan. 11 meeting, Hapgood reported that the scheduled executive session to review her job performance was postponed, because one board member had technical difficulties and could not log in.

The next regular selectmen’s meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 19 (moved from the usual Monday evening because the town office will be closed Jan. 18 for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday). Chairman Ronald Breton plans to have board members meet in person so they can more easily share budget numbers. Others participating or watching will still do so via Zoom.

Earned paid leave law goes into effect in Maine

/1 Comment/in , /by
by Charlotte Henderson

Maine’s new law, the Earned Paid Leave Law (MEPL), allows certain Maine workers to build up paid leave time. In businesses that employ more than 10 people, wage earners can now (effective New Year’s Day, 2021) accrue one hour of paid time off for every 40 hours worked, up to five paid days a year. While very small businesses and seasonal employees are exempt, many employees will benefit.

The bill, L.D. 369, An Act Authorizing Earned Employee Leave, was signed into law by Governor Janet Mills last May. At the time, she noted the law “makes it possible to take necessary time off without worrying about losing a day’s pay.”

Uniquely in the United States, Maine’s Earned Paid Leave law does not require the employee’s time off be “sick” leave, but can be taken for any reason by pre-agreement with the employer. Maine’s law is the first in the nation to allow this time off for any reason.

The bill’s sponsor, Rebecca Millett, a former state senator and current state representative for District #30 (Cape Elizabeth), says her original bill was intended to address only “sick” leave, but through the legislative committee process, it evolved to placing no restrictions on the use of the paid time. So, for instance, this bill will let an employee take a paid day to care for a sick relative or take a child to the beach.

There are some parameters, though. Unless there is an immediate necessity, such as illness, accident or other emergency, the employee must notify a supervisor and schedule paid time off ahead of time. Paid leave can accrue up to 40 hours in one year of employment, after the first 120 days, at the rate of pay in force when the leave starts. Further, the employee accepting earned leave will retain health and other workplace benefits already in place.

During the legislative process for MEPL, comments from public hearings affected some amendments and led to the current reading of the bill. There were over 80 individuals and representatives of organizations testifying, some in favor of the bill, some speaking forcefully against it. The reasons of those in support, who ranged from officers of large corporations to café owners, from farmers to single moms, were largely focused around family values such as parents being able to take care of sick children without losing pay or the employee being able to stay home if ill themselves. The reasoning of those against the bill was largely economic – the cost of paying someone who was not working, often while at the same time paying a fill-in at the job.

In the end, thanks to a cooperative bipartisan effort, the two sides reached a compromise which both supports working families and reduces the concerns of businessowners.

The Maine Department of Labor is responsible for implementing and enforcing the MEPL and reporting back to the Legislature. The law preempts any similar local laws in the state. LD 369 results in making paid leave available to 85 percent of Maine workers in businesses with over 10 employees. Maine is now one of 15 states nationwide that have mandatory paid leave with Maine’s being the only one not restricted to emergencies.

Selectmen act on preliminary review of revised marijuana ordinance

/0 Comments/in , /by
by Mary Grow

At a well-attended virtual meeting Jan. 7, Vassalboro selectmen did a preliminary review of a thoroughly revised town marijuana ordinance; followed up with the second of two major road projects; and discussed issues raised by Conservation Committee members.

They are asking for more comments on the draft Marijuana Ordinance, to be submitted by Friday, Jan. 15 (the town office is open from 8 a.m. to noon on Fridays) so board members can review them before their Jan. 21 meeting. Town Manager Mary Sabins offered her email address to receive comments, msabins@vassalboro.net.

The proposed ordinance is available on the Vassalboro website, www.vassalboro.net. In the right-hand column, the second paragraph under the heading “Selectmen’s Meeting” provides a place to click to read it.

The short 2017 “Ordinance Prohibiting Retail Marijuana Establishments” is also on the town website under “Ordinances/Policies” in the left-hand column. It will be repealed if voters approve the new ordinance.

Parts of the draft reviewed Jan. 7, prepared by town attorney Kristin Collins, are essential to bring Vassalboro regulations into conformity with state laws, Collins said. The laws and corresponding state regulations have changed significantly since 2017, and regulations continue to change.

The draft allows medical marijuana facilities, as state law requires. It bans retail marijuana stores. Other facilities, like growing operations, require town licenses. Licensing procedures are spelled out in detail.

Filling what planning board member Douglas Phillips considers a gap in current regulations, the draft ordinance specifies that when someone applies for a permit for a building with intent to lease spaces to grow marijuana inside it (like Leo Barnett’s existing and recently approved operations), both the building owner and each individual medical marijuana caregiver who leases space must obtain a town license.

The ordinance also requires building security, odor control and other measures recommended by the residents of the Sherwood Lane subdivision near which Barnett’s newest growing buildings have been approved.

Selectmen made no decisions on ordinance provisions pending review of comments received by Jan. 15.

Selectman Barbara Redmond asked whether the town could impose a moratorium on licenses while the ordinance is debated. Collins said a moratorium needs approval by town voters; the selectmen cannot create one.

Vassalboro’s annual town meeting is normally held in June. Sabins said a special town meeting would require a quorum of 125 registered voters.

Sherwood Lane residents also queried possible amendments to the town’s subdivision ordinance. Collins recommended the marijuana ordinance not try to include subdivision regulations. The subdivision ordinance is under the planning board’s jurisdiction.

Turning to the planned replacement of a large culvert on Gray Road, selectmen authorized Eric Calderwood, of Calderwood Engineering, of Richmond, to negotiate with Nitram Excavation and General Contractors, of Benton, lowest of five bidders on the project.

Nitram’s bid was $294,758, plus $100 per cubic yard for the crushed stone needed due to soft soil above bedrock. No other bid was under $300,000.

Board Chairman John Melrose reminded the audience the town has a $95,000 Department of Environmental Protection grant toward the cost. Sabins expects more than $27,000 to be left over from the Cross Hill Road culvert, money that could be reallocated to the Gray Road work.

Timing might be an issue. As with the Cross Hill Road project, instream work must be done between July 14 and Sept. 30, Calderwood said. If the precast culvert is not ordered soon, before town meeting voters can act on the request for money for the project, it might not be available for the summer of 2021.

Since the existing culvert is failing, Melrose said the alternative to replacement is closing Gray Road.

Four Conservation Commission members recommended three different projects.

Christopher French and Betsy Poulin are looking for environmental benefits and cost savings as part of pending transfer station rearrangements. A specific suggestion was to add composting. Instead of giving the town transfer station staff another job, they suggested contracting with ScrapDogs Community Compost, a Rockland-based firm that, for a fee, collects and composts food waste for individuals, businesses, organizations and municipalities.

ScrapDogs works primarily with coastal towns so far, but the owners want to expand to the Augusta-Waterville area, Poulin said. She suggested Vassalboro residents could leave food waste at the transfer station where ScrapDogs would pick it up.

Sabins said Vassalboro’s contract with the Maine Energy Recovery Company (MERC) requires the town provide a minimum amount of trash each year. Currently, the Hampden facility that reprocessed waste into useful forms is closed and trash is being landfilled, but she expects a new owner will take over later this spring.

If a local food waste program were successful, Vassalboro might fail to meet its contract and have to pay MERC’s successor for waste not sent, she said. She therefore recommended postponing action until the Hampden situation is resolved.

Holly Weidner wanted selectmen to act on a resolution proposing nation-wide fees on carbon emitters, an idea she said has been around since the 1980s. After an inconclusive discussion of a selectboard resolution or a town meeting resolution, to be sent to state or national representatives or both, no action was taken.

Steve Jones wanted to explore ways to restore the plunge pool that housed native brook trout before the Cross Hill Road culvert was replaced. The work apparently blocked or diverted the spring that fed the cold-water pool; the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife relocated half a dozen fish.

Selectmen discussed costs of getting permits and doing the work, with a license cost of $100,000 being mentioned. Selectman Robert Browne was appalled: “Six fish for $100,000? I’m not seeing the value there.”

Selectmen will explore if, as Jones suggested, an IF&W employee would do the permitting process for free and if the town crew could do the necessary work.

In other business Jan. 7:

  • Selectmen unanimously appointed Peggy Horner to the Conservation Commission and Paul Mitnik to the Trails Committee.
  • They reappointed Cathy Coyne registrar of voters, an annual action as the registrar’s term ends Dec. 31 each year.

Melrose announced three items for a future agenda: consideration of annual Spirit of America awards, a request from library trustees to discuss library ownership and a request from Road Commissioner Eugene Field to compare town and school employees’ wages and benefits.

The next regular Vassalboro selectmen’s meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 21.