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.

China manager, selectmen discuss continuing newsletters

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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.