Vassalboro resident seeks to change marijuana ordinance

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by Mary Grow

Vassalboro selectmen entertained three requests from residents of the Sherwood Lane subdivision at their Dec. 10 YouTube meeting, moving two forward without any final action.

Leo and Andrew Barnett have spent the fall seeking town approval to build two large buildings to lease to medical marijuana growers on land beyond the end of Sherwood Lane, the road off Riverside Drive that serves the subdivision. Residents consider the proposed commercial development inappropriate so close to, and accessed through, a residential subdivision.

The Planning Board approved the project Dec. 8 (see related story, p. )

Jessica Reed, speaking for others concerned, asked selectmen to consider three actions: amending Vassalboro’s local marijuana ordinance to limit the number of growing facilities in town; prohibiting commercial marijuana projects in subdivisions; and perhaps monitoring existing facilities.

“We never expected a situation like this,” and with town support would like to protect residents of other subdivisions from similar surprises, Reed said.

Selectmen agreed that since they developed the original marijuana ordinance, they should discuss amending it. Town Manager Mary Sabins said town attorney Kristin Collins pointed out the ordinance no longer matches revised language in state law. Selectmen asked Sabins, working with Collins and interested Sherwood Lane residents, to recommend changes.

Board Chairman John Melrose would like to see a revised draft when the selectmen meet next on Jan. 7, 2021. Sabins said she would try to have one ready by then.

Amending the subdivision ordinance should be a planning board task, selectmen agreed. They voted unanimously to ask the planning board to take it on, in cooperation with Collins and Sherwood Lane residents.

Selectmen did not discuss monitoring existing facilities.

Reed thanked selectmen for hearing residents’ concerns and sought advice on the procedure for appealing the Dec. 8 planning board decision. Sabins referred her to Codes Officer Paul Mitnik.

Sherwood Lane resident Dan Belyea commented that the Nov. 10 and Dec. 8 planning board meetings had been frustrating for residents trying to comment. It was difficult to hear what was going on at the Nov. 10 hearing, held in St. Bridget’s Center, and he was unable to connect in to the virtual Dec. 8 meeting, he said.

Following up on an earlier discussion about use of the town ballfields in East Vassalboro during a declared public health emergency, board members approved a short Covid-19 Recreation Field Closure Policy. It applies to town parks and fields, not to school recreational facilities. It says:

• Sabins is to monitor pandemic reports and may, in consultation with the recreation director and school superintendent, declare parks and fields open to unrestricted public use, open to limited public use or closed to the public. She is to notify selectmen of any action.
• Posted town policies are to coordinate with school policies “when practical.”
• If a “group or gathering” is on a town park or field posted as closed, town officials may ask local police or sheriff’s deputies to order them to leave.

Other actions selectmen took at the Dec. 10 meeting included appointing Kevin Reed to the Board of Appeals and Paul Oxley to the Trails Committee, and amending the town personnel policy to incorporate the new state Earned Paid Leave Law.

At Melrose’s suggestion, board members, Road Commissioner Eugene Field and Vassalboro Community School technology specialist David Trask discussed improving the driveway at the recreation field. Melrose had considered recommending pavement, but he and Field thought crushed stone would be adequate, and less expensive. Trask agreed crushed stone would pack down to make a good surface.

Melrose led a discussion of repairs to the Civil War statue in East Vassalboro (see The Town Line, Dec. 3, p. 1). If the town paid some of the cost, the Vassalboro Historical Society might contribute, he said. Board members will wait to see what Historical Society directors decide.

As of Dec. 10, the driveway and the statue are left for continued discussion as the 2021-2022 budget takes shape early next year.

Melrose is exploring a 250th anniversary fireworks display based on the Criminal Justice Academy grounds. Academy officials are not opposed, but want more details, he reported. Semiquincentennial anniversary expenses are likely to be another 2021-2022 budget item.

Melrose further reported that bids for work on the Gray Road culvert are due Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2021. He proposes reviewing them at the Jan. 7, 2021, selectmen’s meeting, which will also be via YouTube.

Vassalboro selectmen unanimously approved Town Manager Mary Sabins’ request to give all town employees a paid holiday on Dec. 24 and authorize closing town facilities at 2 p.m. on Dec. 31. The exception, of course, will be the public works crew if a snowstorm requires them to work over either or both holidays.

Sabins thanked the board for giving employees a holiday gift; they deserve it, she said.

The transfer station will be open regular hours, 6:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., on Saturday, Dec. 26.

Vassalboro planners approve two site review applications

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by Mary Grow

In a four-hour all-remote meeting Dec. 8, four Vassalboro Planning Board members reviewed and unanimously approved two major site review applications.

Jeremy Soucy has town approval to open a used car business at 24 Webber Pond Road, on the premises of a previous similar business at the Riverside Drive intersection. Leo and Andrew Barnett are permitted to build two large buildings and a small storage building at the end of Sherwood Lane, off Riverside Drive, and lease space in the large buildings to caregivers to grow medical marijuana.

Soucy still needs a used car dealer’s license from the state, he said. Once operating, he plans to have no more than 30 cars on site at a time, probably fewer.

He plans to do minor repairs, working indoors and not making unusual noise. He does not plan to run a state inspection station. Maximum hours of operation will be Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and he is likely to shorten them.

Soucy said he is on good terms with his neighbor to the north and intends to do nothing that will bother area residents. The original property-owner designed the lot well for a used-car business, he said.

Soucy’s application was approved with two conditions and one understanding. The conditions are that he will not park vehicles where they will block the view of motorists turning out of Webber Pond Road onto Riverside Drive; and any waste stored outdoors, like scrap metal, or indoors, like waste oil, will be in secure containers.

The informal understanding is that if Soucy restores power to the lighted identifying sign installed by the previous owner, he will, if necessary, change the sign or the light source so it will not illuminate the whole neighborhood, as planning board member Douglas Phillips said the previous one did.

The Barnetts’ application had already been the subject of a long public hearing on Nov. 10. Afterward, board members found the application incomplete and asked for additional information before they compared it to town ordinance requirements.

Sherwood Lane residents and their attorney, Brandon J. Mazer, of Perkins Thompson, in Portland, sent Codes Officer Paul Mitnik and the planning board a letter setting forth reasons they agreed the application was incomplete and believed the Barnetts’ proposal failed to meet town standards. Mazer participated in the Dec. 8 meeting, as did Vassalboro town attorney Kristin Collins, of Preti-Flaherty, in Augusta.

After the hearing, Mitnik visited the property (with the Barnetts’ permission, as it is posted against trespassing) and reported to the board on drainage issues and wooded buffers.

At the Dec. 8 meeting, planning board members reviewed the revised Barnett application and voted unanimously that it was complete. Changes from the original plan include adding the turn-around for emergency vehicles requested by volunteer fire department members.

After a short break for comments from the viewing public (attorney Mazer spoke), board members compared the plan to ordinance standards and voted, again unanimously, to issue a permit for the proposed buildings and their use. They attached four conditions to the approval.

• A state Department of Environmental Protection staff member is to determine the location of a forested wetland on the property. A map shows it close to the proposed development, but Mitnik questioned the accuracy of the map; he thinks it is farther away.
• The growing buildings are to have odor control measures “to the satisfaction of the codes officer and meeting industry standards” – attorney Collins’ wording.
• Each caregiver who leases space to grow marijuana must show proof of registration with the state.
• The codes officer is to inspect the interior of the growing buildings to make sure growing facilities do not block exits.

The Barnetts said that once growing starts, outsiders are not allowed into the climate-controlled buildings. Mitnik said he would be satisfied to inspect when the growing areas are set up, before seeds are planted.

The review included discussion of objections raised by Sherwood Lane residents. Collins clarified state law concerning medical marijuana, as distinct from adult use marijuana, and the relationship between Vassalboro’s marijuana ordinance and state laws and regulations.

Board member Marianne Stevens repeatedly expressed concern about the location at the end of a residential street, for example, worrying about children and traffic. Leo Barnett said he does not expect a lot of traffic. He reminded board members that his similar facility on Old Meadow Lane, which the planning board, on Nov. 10, allowed him to double, has more residents along its access road.

Discussion of planning board business did not begin for some minutes after Chairman Virginia Brackett opened the meeting, because Vassalboro Community School technology expert David Trask needed to get participants connected via YouTube so that everyone could hear and be heard.

The Vassalboro Planning Board normally meets the first Tuesday evening of the month, so the next meeting should be Tuesday evening, Jan. 5, 2021.

China TIF committee looks to re-allocate funds among projects

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by Mary Grow

China’s Tax Increment Finance (TIF) Committee members met virtually Dec. 1 and Dec. 8 to begin discussion of a proposed Amendment 2 to China’s TIF document. Progress was so slow that they scheduled another meeting for Dec. 15.

The Dec. 1 meeting was a budget workshop to consider reallocating funds among TIF projects. Committee members said the causeway project at the head of China Lake’s east basin is over budget, but no money has been spent from other accounts, like one to promote the town “as a business location” and one for job training.

On Dec. 8 committee members started discussing revising the list of projects, including adding new items eligible for TIF funding. Two proposed additions are expanded broadband service, made legal under revised state TIF regulations, and water quality.

Committee members can also recommend deleting project accounts.

The first item discussed Dec. 8 deals with improvements at the causeway at the north end of China Lake and the South China boat landing at the south end. The TIF plan estimates a $650,000 total cost for both. Pitney and Town Manager Becky Hapgood, who is treasurer for the town and for TIF, expect the causeway project alone to cost close to $1 million.

Committee Chairman Tom Michaud reported the project should be done within a week, weather permitting, except for paving that will be postponed to spring because paving plants have closed for the winter. The first phase involved building a new bridge across the head of the lake. The current phase includes installing sidewalks, more appropriate guardrails and shoreline riprap and improving the boat landing east of the bridge.

No money has been spent on the South China boat landing. Part of the Dec. 8 discussion was whether any should be, with non-committee-members Ronald Breton, chairman of the Board of Selectmen, and Scott Pierz, president of the China Lake Association (CLA) and China Region Lakes Alliance (CRLA), joining.

Breton and Pitney recommend deleting funding for the landing. The town owns only a 50-foot-wide roadway to the water and cannot acquire adjoining property; access is steep, with little or no room for maneuvering or parking vehicles; and the water is shallow for a good distance from the shore, they said.

Pierz said whether or not the landing is maintained, erosion control measures are urgently needed.

New TIF Committee member Michael “Mickey” Wing proposed a compromise, maintaining the area as a carry-in launch for canoes and kayaks.

The second, very specific, item on the current project list calls for using town property, and buying adjoining property if needed, on Fire Road 44 to develop a commercial site for either a “research/laboratory and/or facility developing products or services related to improving water quality and fisheries to inland waters.”

Fire Road 44 goes to the east shore of China Lake opposite Alder Park Road, just south of the town office complex. The TIF plan says the town owns the road; Pierz said the town discontinued the road, maintaining a public right of way. The plan further says town-owned land there is already used “for summer conservation programs performing water quality projects.”

This project is funded for $550,000 in the TIF document. Committee members agreed it should be either deleted or reworded more broadly, but postponed a decision on which alternative to recommend.

There was general agreement, too, on recommending that projects that promote water quality be made eligible for TIF funding. The Dec. 8 discussion focused on whether TIF money could and should be used to assist the CRLA with its Youth Conservation Corps run-off control work and its Courtesy Boat Inspection program, and to support the Alewife Restoration Project (ARI). ARI’s goal is to allow alewives access to China Lake by removing or modifying dams on Outlet Stream in Vassalboro.

One issue was whether TIF money should fund ongoing operations, like supporting a salary for the China Region Lakes Alliance director. If it did, Pitney asked, what would happen when the TIF ends in 2044?

Another issue was whether the Alewife Restoration Project (ARI) is a legitimate beneficiary. Not only is the work outside China’s boundaries, but, Pitney said, although the work has environmental benefits, its supporters do not guarantee China Lake water quality improvements.

The list of TIF-eligible projects under the current plan is on the town website, china.govoffice.com, under Tax Increment Finance Committee, sub-heading 2017 TIF First Amendment, pages 4 and 5.

Committee members still have to discuss projects under the heading of Community-Wide Municipal Investments. The larger ones are money for “The Town of China Community and Development Economic Development Department” ($55,000 a year); for events like China Days ($20,000 a year); for the revolving loan program for new and expanding businesses ($30,000 a year); for recreational trails “with significant potential to promote economic development” ($38,000 a year); and to provide matching funds for grants that help achieve TIF goals ($100,000 a year).

Committee members are also considering trying to add wording that would let China’s Board of Selectmen reassign funds from one project to another without voter approval. They do not know whether state officials would accept such a provision.

The TIF Committee will mee at 6 p.m.,Thurs., Dec. 17, to continue discussion of changes to China’s TIF document. The meeting will be virtual.

The China Planning Board will meet at 6:30 p.m., Tues., Dec. 22. The meeting, rescheduled from Dec. 8 to technology limitations, will be virtual.

Background on China’s Tax Increment Financing Program

China’s original TIF document was approved at the March 21, 2015, town business meeting, with funding to come from taxes on Central Maine Power Company’s north-south transmission line through China. Amendment 1 was approved two years later. It extended the TIF from 30 to 40 years and added taxes on the CMP substation in South China as a second revenue source.

Revenues come in as CMP pays taxes over the years, so the total amount appropriated for a category is not available immediately. New committee member Jamie Pitney pointed out that funding varies slightly from year to year as the tax rate changes, and would decline drastically if, for example, CMP discontinued the power line.

Any TIF Committee recommendations to change the TIF program are made to selectmen, who decide whether to present them to voters and hold a public hearing if they do so decide. To take effect, changes need voter approval, perhaps at the planned May 18 town business meeting, and acceptance by the state Department of Economic and Community Development.

China selectmen narrowly vote to sell Lakeview Drive parcel

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by Mary Grow

NOTE: Due to Covid-19 restrictions, attendance at China selectmen’s meetings is limited to board members and the town manager; everyone else participates or views remotely. Unfortunately, the audio at the Dec. 7 meeting was so poor that much of the conversation was inaudible. The following story is therefore incomplete.

Board member Irene Belanger, participating remotely, also had difficulty hearing the discussion.

The meeting was recorded and the tape is available. To review it, go to the Town of China website, china.govoffice.com; click on Live Stream at the bottom left of the page; under PREVIOUS EVENTS on the right of the new screen, click on DECEMBER; and click on the name and date of the meeting.

At their Dec. 7 meeting, China selectmen voted 3-2 to sell the land opposite the former Candlewood Camps, on the east side of Lakeview Drive, and directed Town Manager Becky Hapgood to get in touch with a realtor.

The land was given to the town four years ago. Hapgood said voters accepted the property unconditionally; nothing about the acquisition prohibits selling it.

The question of use of the parcel was on the agenda because board member Janet Preston proposed developing trails on it for hiking and other non-motorized uses. Board Chairman Ronald Breton said with Thurston Park and the town forest behind China Primary School, the town has enough recreational land. Selling the lot would put it back on the tax roll, he said.

When the vote was taken after discussion, Breton and Selectmen Wayne Chadwick and Blane Casey voted to sell the property. Selectmen Preston and Irene Belanger were opposed.

The other main topic Dec. 7 was Chadwick’s request to consider changing town office and transfer station hours. He believes having the office open more than one Saturday morning a month would be a convenience to residents.

Hapgood said the main problem is staffing. Breton advised postponing a decision, and no action was taken.

Selectmen also talked briefly about the proposed addition to the town office building, to provide expanded secure storage space for town records.

Public Works Director Shawn Reed’s report included a reminder to residents not to park vehicles along roads before or during snowstorms and not to plow snow from their driveways into roadways after snowstorms.

Jaime Hanson, China’s new (since Nov. 30) Codes Enforcement Officer, participating remotely, told board members he has started issuing permits and inspecting properties, including three alleged to be in violation of town ordinances.

Hapgood issued another reminder of town office and transfer station holiday hours. For Christmas, both close at noon Thursday, Dec. 24 and remain closed Dec. 25; the transfer station but not the town office will be open Saturday, Dec. 26, with regular hours, 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. For New Year’s, both close at noon Thursday, Dec. 31 and remain closed all day Jan. 1, 2021; both will be open Saturday, Jan. 2, the town office from 8 to 11 a.m. (because it is the first Saturday of the month) and the transfer station from 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The next regular China selectmen’s meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 21.

WINDSOR: Increase seen in town’s waste contract

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Compiled by The Town Line

The Windsor Selectmen held their meeting on November 10, at 6 p.m. Theresa Haskell, the town manager, advised that the town’s Waste Management contract is up for renewal and there will be an increase. If the town signs a contract for three years a 5 percent annual escalator will be applied, or if signed for five years a 3 percent annual escalator. Selectman Ronald F. Brann made a motion for Theresa Haskell to sign the Waste Management contract for five years at a 3 percent annual escalator, seconded by Richard H. Gray, Jr. and approved 5-0-0.

The three-month budget for 2020/2021 was reviewed. Some areas are overspent at this time but will balance out by the end of the year due to the schedule of payments. Other areas will be over-spent primarily due to the cost of elections and the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) safety protocols.

The town received a $5,000 grant from the Center for Tech and Civic Life strictly for the planning and conducting a safe and secure election. It was noted this money was very helpful in helping to ensure the safety of our residents and employees during the past election.

The expenses on the Eagle Scout Project on the Parke Property ended up being more than the $465.85 available to spend. The posts were $395.36 and the paint was $180.10. Selectman Ronald Brann said he will donate the balance of $109.61 to complete the project.

There was brief discussion of voting and ways to improve the process for the safety of voters. There are 1,998 registered to vote and 1,499, or 75 percent, voted. Of those who voted, 694 were absentee ballots.

2020-’21 Real Estate Tax Due Dates

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Albion

Tax year runs Feb. 1 to January 31
Taxes due September 30, 2020

China

First Half
Sept. 26, 2020

Second Half
March 26, 2021

Fairfield

Four quarters

November 10, 2020
January 6, 2020
March 10, 2020
May 12, 2020

Vassalboro

One fourth
Sept. 28, 2020

One fourth
November 23, 2020

One fourth
Feb. 22, 2021

One fourth
April 26, 2021

Waterville

First quarter
Oct. 9, 2020

Second quarter
Dec. 11, 2020

Third quarter
March 12, 2021

Fourth quarter
June 11, 2021

Windsor

First Half
September 30, 2020

Second Half
March 31, 2021

Winslow

Four quarters

October 9, 2020
December 11, 2020
March 12, 2021
June 11, 2021

To be included in this section, contact The Town Line at townline@townline.org.

Vassalboro planning board meeting rescheduled

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by Mary Grow

The Vassalboro Planning Board meeting scheduled for Dec. 1 has been rescheduled for Dec. 8 due to power outages causing a lack of internet and telephone connections at the town office on Dec. 1.

The Dec. 1 meeting was to have been via YouTube. The two agenda items were Andrew Barnett’s application for three buildings at 67 Sherwood Lane, two for medical marijuana growing facilities plus a storage building; and Jeremy Soucy’s application for a used car sales business in an existing facility at 24 Webber Pond Road, at the intersection with Riverside Drive.

For more information, see the Town of Vassalboro website.

CHINA: Decision on trailer-based marijuana dispensary postponed

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by Mary Grow

After a 20-minute Nov. 24 public hearing during which one person testified remotely, China Planning Board members postponed a decision on Giovanni DelVecchio’s application to set up a trailer-based medical marijuana dispensary on Route 3.

DelVecchio, doing business as Weed on Wheels (WOW) Maine, has applied to use a travel trailer parked in front of the former restaurant, at 857 Route 3, as a dispensary. Board members inspected the trailer at its temporary location in Augusta on Nov. 21.

Abutter Russell Varin told board members and DelVecchio he is concerned about the impact on the neighborhood, and especially on his young grandchildren, if patients start taking their medication on the grounds. DelVecchio said no smoking will be allowed on the grounds, and that people don’t take medication as soon as they buy it. Varin countered that he often sees people medicating themselves in pharmacy parking lots.

DelVecchio added that a trailer is appropriate in a small-town setting, that offering the service in China means people need not risk coronavirus exposure in a city and that the small size of the trailer is another factor minimizing contact with other people.

Board members focused on a different issue after Chairman Randall Downer closed the hearing and opened discussion. Retiring Codes Officer Bill Butler, who did not take part in the Nov. 24 virtual meeting, had sent board members an email saying under state law, a travel trailer is not a legal base for such a business.

The information from Mark Desjardin, a Field Investigator for the state’s Office of Marijuana Policy, said by law a retail caregiver store must have “a fixed location” and a mobile unit like a travel trailer does not count as a fixed location, even if the owner does not plan to move it.

DelVecchio said he had contrary information by email from Desjardin. Planning board members voted unanimously that they would continue discussion of DelVecchio’s application only after he submitted a certified letter from Desjardin saying state officials consider the trailer to be compliant with state law.

In the only other business Nov. 24, Downer reported that new codes officer Jaime Hanson will take over Nov. 30, and board members unanimously expressed appreciation to Butler for all his help and guidance – “fabulously helpful,” Downer said – and wished him a happy retirement

The next regular China Planning Board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday evening, Dec. 8, and is expected again to be a zoom meeting.

China selectmen say public water supply is not possible

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by Mary Grow

After several discussions earlier this fall, China selectmen decided at their Nov. 23 meeting they cannot grant a resident’s request to establish a public water supply for people whose well water is undrinkable.

Until last summer, a spring on private property on Route 3 was open for public use. It is no longer. As a result, South China resident Carrie Gay, speaking for her family and others, asked selectmen to provide an alternative. Board members discussed setting up a public supply, and at one point another resident explored providing private service.

As of Nov. 23, the private offer was withdrawn, board Chairman Ronald Breton said. Board members said a public supply would require licensing and repeated and expensive testing, and might expose the town to liability. Breton asked Town Manager Becky Hapgood to notify Gay that town officials will not pursue a public water source.

Board members unanimously approved the appointment of a new codes officer, Jaime Hanson. He will also be China’s plumbing inspector, building inspector and health officer.

Retiring Codes Officer Bill Butler told planning board members in an email that Hanson was Augusta’s codes officer until the pandemic led to his being laid off; he is now part-time codes officer for Wayne. His China job begins Nov. 30.

Selectmen also added two members to China’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Committee, Jamie Pitney and Michael “Mickey” Wing.

The next China selectmen’s meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 7.

Holiday hours announced for town office, transfer station

For the Christmas holiday, the town office and transfer station will close at noon Thursday, Dec. 24, and be closed all day Friday, Dec. 25. The transfer station will be open regular hours, 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 26.

For the New Year’s holiday, the town office and transfer station will close at noon Thursday, Dec. 31, and be closed all day Friday, Jan. 1. The transfer station will be open regular hours Saturday, Jan. 2, and because Jan. 2 is the first Saturday of the month, the town office will be open from 8 to 11 a.m.

Gov. Mills launches $40M economic recovery grant program

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photo: Janet Mills, Facebook

Governor Janet Mills has announced an economic recovery grant program to support Maine’s tourism, hospitality, and retail small businesses. Backed by $40 million in Federal CARES Act Coronavirus Relief Funds (CRF), the Tourism, Hospitality & Retail Recovery Grant Program is focused specifically on supporting Maine’s service sector small businesses, such as restaurants, bars, tasting rooms, lodging and retail shops, which have been hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and now face additional challenges with the coming winter months.

“Maine’s hospitality, tourism, and retail industries are a vital part of Maine’s economy, supporting tens of thousands of jobs across the state,” said Governor Mills. “In the face of this unrelenting pandemic, many of these businesses have adapted with classic Maine grit and resilience but still face historic and unprecedented challenges. I hope this program will help provide at least a small amount of financial support to sustain them through these difficult times. I continue to urge Congress to pass additional, robust relief for Maine people and businesses.”