Vassalboro residents seek ways to reduce speed on Rte. 32

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by Mary Grow

Half a dozen North Vassalboro residents attended the Nov. 14 Vassalboro selectmen’s meeting to ask what can be done to reduce speeding on Route 32 (Main Street) near the North Vassalboro post office.

The speed limit there is 35 miles an hour, they said, though a short distance north it drops to 25 miles an hour. Motorists pay little attention to either, or to the local children and elderly pedestrians who might be trying to cross the street. There are no marked crosswalks.

Selectmen asked Town Manager Mary Sabins to see what information is available or can be developed about vehicles’ speeds on the street. They plan to ask the state Department of Transportation (MDOT) to consider lowering the limit.

Board Chairman Lauchlin Titus warned the concerned residents that MDOT bases its speed limits on average actual speeds and might propose adjusting the limit up instead of down.

Returning to the topic of a new, or possibly additional, compactor at the transfer station (see The Town Line, Nov. 7), board members discussed ways to approach the expenditure. Sabins has been in touch with two engineering firms about establishing needs and cost estimates.

Titus’s suggestion that they set a ceiling price not to exceed $100,000 and see how far it will go toward all they want done became a motion that was approved unanimously.

Sabins updated board members on an ongoing disagreement over a Riverside Drive junkyard that is not in compliance with town regulations. Former Codes Officer Richard Dolby and present Codes Officer Paul Mitnik have both tried to resolve the problem, she said; they have made progress, but less than hoped.

She reported no one has expressed interest in becoming a member of the Vassalboro Board of Appeals. She and selectmen still hope volunteers will come forward.

The manager distributed a tentative schedule for selectmen’s, budget committee and school board meetings from January 2020 through the Monday, June 1, annual town meeting and the Tuesday, June 9, municipal election. Nomination papers for local elective office will be available Monday, March 2, and due back at the town office Friday morning, April 10.

The next Vassalboro selectmen’s meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 26, instead of the usual Thursday evening, to avoid the Thanksgiving holiday.

CHINA: Breton elected new selectboard chairman

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by Mary Grow

The temporarily four-member China selectboard elected a new chairman to succeed Robert MacFarland, who retired as of the Nov. 5 elections, but otherwise spent their Nov. 12 meeting getting reports and information rather than making decisions.

Town Clerk Becky Hapgood assisted the board because Town Manager Dennis Heath was out of town for a family emergency. Hapgood conducted a written-ballot election for board chairman.

When the first result was a 2-2 tie between Irene Belanger and Ronald Breton, Hapgood distributed ballots again. Breton was elected on a 3-1 vote. Belanger was re-elected board secretary.

Breton said Heath is exploring options for filling the fifth seat on the board, left empty when Jeffrey LaVerdiere resigned at the Oct. 15 meeting (see The Town Line, Oct. 24).

Breton and new board member Wayne Chadwick shared two concerns. Both want the fifth board member elected as soon as possible, so that, Chadwick said, they would not go into budget season with an even number of votes. But neither wanted the next board member elected by a bare quorum of voters, and both feared a special election might not generate a large turn-out.

The next scheduled state-wide election with which a local vote might be coupled is the Tuesday, March 3, political primary newly created by the legislature.

Some of the information presented Nov. 12:

  • TIF (Tax Increment Financing) Committee member Tom Michaud reported that improvements are completed on two fire roads, with the work partly funded from China’s TIF program.
  • Hapgood said the new traffic pattern for the Nov. 5 election appeared to have been successful; officials intend to use it again in November 2020, when a heavy voter turn-out is expected, and, she said, perhaps for future Halloween trunk ‘r treat events at the town office.
  • Speaking for public works head Shawn Reed, who was on the road as China got its first minor snowfall of the season, Hapgood said the sandbox at the transfer station is ready for residents who need small amounts of sand for walkways and driveways. The maximum to be taken per visit is two five-gallon buckets.

The selectmen’s meeting ended with a moment of silence in memory of China Rescue Unit Chief David Herard. The next regular meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 25.

CHINA: Privacy becomes issue at RFID public hearing

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by Mary Grow

If the small placard hanging from your rearview mirror records that you were at the China transfer station at, for example, 1:11 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 13, and lists your name, is your privacy invaded?

That was the major debate at the Transfer Station Committee’s Nov. 13 informational meeting on the RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) system that China officials will introduce as the year ends.

The system requires a vehicle coming into the transfer station to have a numbered placard, most conveniently hanging from the rearview mirror. Sample placards passed around at the meeting are three and a half inches square. Town officials intend to have them available by mid-December.

The goal of the current sticker system, or the RFID system, or a more costly and inconvenient manned entrance building, is to make sure only China residents, or others authorized, use China’s facility. The placards come in two colors, orange for China residents and blue for Palermo residents, who share the facility under a two-town agreement.

Transfer station Manager Tim Grotton expects the RFID system to be more useful than stickers. When an RFID tag rides past the sensor, a light flashes. If a vehicle comes in and there is no light, he and his staff are cued to speak with the driver.

Currently China’s RFID system has only one sensor recording entrances and departures. Town officials intend to seek future grants for more sensors to see how often different areas – trash hopper, recycling building, compost pile, brush pile – are visited.

The system records the owner’s name and the date and time the vehicle entered the transfer station. According to the handout at the meeting, “Encryption prevents other RFID readers from accessing owner information.”

Resident Todd Tolhurst, supported by at least one other man among the 10 attendees, argued that recording names is an unnecessary violation of privacy. He urged Transfer Station Committee members to change the system so the placard is not linked to a name.

Although in theory only town employees would have access to RFID reports, Tolhurst believes they would be public records that anyone could request. He suggested an avid environmentalist might use them to shame people who don’t recycle.

Reminded by Sikora and committee member Mark Davis that much more personal information is available on many town and state websites, Tolhurst replied, “I can’t think of any others that track my movements.”

Tolhurst raised the related question of how long information is kept. Committee members said at least a year, for annual reports to the state, and perhaps longer.

The debate ended with committee member Bob Kurik, from Palermo, proposing the committee look into using only the numbers on the tags, instead of either names or license plates. Sikora added the committee will review the encryption system.

Tolhurst also questioned the cost of the RFID system. Sikora said a $10,500 Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) grant that paid for the tags, software and training was supplemented by a small amount from the transfer station reserve fund. Davis added that hooking up the reader cost nothing: transfer station staffer Kevin Rhoades did the job using a recycled satellite dish.

The handout on RFID distributed at the meeting explained that:

  • The DEP helped fund the system because it is intended to provide information to help Maine achieve its 50 percent recycling goal.
  • Tracking users will help town officials “adjust staffing, hours of operation, and plan for future physical changes like traffic patterns or capital improvements.”
  • Tags are issued from the town office based on proof of residence. One tag is free; there is a $10 fee for a replacement tag if the original is lost, refunded when the tag is returned to the town office (presumably because the resident moved out of town).
  • Tags do not need to be renewed annually like the stickers.

China TIF members get prelim preview of causeway project

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by Mary Grow

At their Nov. 4 meeting, China TIF (Tax Increment Financing) Committee members got a preview of the proposed new design for the second phase of the causeway project, which will extend the bridge replacement work at the head of China Lake’s east basin.

Committee members also endorsed two requests for TIF funds that will be submitted to selectmen and, with their approval, to voters at the spring 2020 town business meeting.

Mark McCluskey, the engineer from A. E. Hodsdon, of Waterville, who works with the town, explained that because the bridge is higher than the culvert it replaced (to make room for kayakers to go under the road), the steeper shore needs erosion protection.

His design calls for stone retaining walls, riprap or both along the shore north and west of the bridge and on the south (lake) side between the bridge and the boat landing. Fishing platforms will still be included.

The north side of the bridge will have an ATV trail, the south side a sidewalk. The sidewalk surface material remains to be determined. There will be marked pedestrian crosswalks east and west of the bridge.

The current – and controversial – metal guardrails will be totally removed, McCluskey said, and wooden ones installed where needed.

In addition to streetlights provided by Central Maine Power Company, McCluskey proposes recessed light fixtures under the guardrail along the sidewalk.

The gravel parking area on the north side of the road opposite the boat landing is not slated for change, Town Manager Dennis Heath said.

McCluskey hopes to have a final plan before the end of the year. At least two state departments, Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and Environmental Protection, need to review and approve, he said. An Inland Fisheries spokesman told him work cannot start before July 1, 2020, to avoid disrupting nesting birds in the wetland north of the project area.

Heath proposed rearranging TIF money to add funds to the Causeway Project. He said that under TIF rules, moving money from one project to another requires a local public hearing and state approval. Later in the week, he reported that state officials recommended seeking voters’ approval for such changes, as China officials did in 2017.

As a related project, the state boat landing is to be rebuilt; it will be longer and have concrete on the lake bottom at the end of the ramp, where boat propellers currently create a hollow and a sandbank. Heath said the state will pay 50 percent of the cost of the boat landing work.

TIF Committee members would like to complete the causeway project in 2020, but are not sure there will be enough time. They expect the causeway will be closed part of the summer; perhaps, they said, one-lane traffic would sometimes be possible.

The two TIF funding requests endorsed at the Nov. 4 meeting, both by unanimous votes, were:

  • For the Broadband Committee, $15,000 in the current fiscal year for a consultant to do a town-wide survey of broadband access. Heath said the Federal Communications Commission incorrectly believes 98 percent of China residents have broadband, a figure so high it makes the town ineligible for grants to expand access.
  • For the China Lake Association, $57,500 for three projects: continuing LakeSmart shoreline run-off controls, contracting with a LakeSmart director to relieve volunteer Marie Michaud and continuing the Gravel Road Rehabilitation Project (GRRP) started this year.

The next TIF Committee meeting is scheduled for Monday evening, Dec. 2.

Electronic tags to replace stickers at China transfer station

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by Larry Sikora and Bob Kurek,
China Transfer Station Committee

The State of Maine Department of Environmental Protection Agency recently awarded a grant to the China Transfer Station for a Radio Frequency Identification System (RFID). The data from the RFID will help the Transfer Station monitor usage and traffic flows and will assist the state in moving towards its goal of recycling 50 percent of household waste.

The RFID tag will hang from your vehicle’s mirror and replace the current annually-renewed window sticker. A sensor will detect when and by whom the Transfer Station is being used. The technology is similar to the EZ-pass and can easily be moved between vehicles. Effective January 1, 2020, transfer station users will be required to use the new tag.

RFID tags will be issued by China or Palermo town offices. One free tag will be provided to each residence and there will be a charge of $10 to replace a lost or stolen tag. If residents want more than the one free tag, additional tags may be purchased for $10 which is refundable when the purchased tag is returned.

There are three differences between the RFID tag and the sticker currently used. The RFID tag does not have to be renewed annually. Secondly, the tag is not associated with a vehicle license number and therefore can be moved between vehicles. Lastly, the tag must be returned to the town when the property is sold. A $10 refund is given for those tags purchased. Non-return of the initial free tag will result in an assessed fee.

There will be two informational public meetings discussing the introduction of the RFID tag. They are November 13, at 7 p.m., at the China Town Office and November 21, at 6 p.m., at the Palermo Town Office. The November 13 meeting can be watched using the live-stream located at the town of China’s website.

CHINA: Chadwick, Belanger win selectboard seats

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by Mary Grow

In Nov. 5 voting, China voters elected Irene Belanger and Wayne Chadwick to the selectboard and approved medical marijuana facilities in town as long as they are at least 1,000 feet from the property line of any pre-existing school.

In a three-person contest for two seats on the selectboard, Chadwick got 494 votes, incumbent Belanger 329 votes and Todd Tolhurst 307 votes.

There were no names on the ballot for three planning board positions. Town Clerk Becky Hapgood said there were write-in votes for all three positions. She will ask the people whose names were added if they are willing to serve.

There were three unopposed incumbents; Budget Committee Chairman Robert Batteese got 564 votes, Budget Committee District 1 representative Kevin Maroon got 533 votes and Regional School Unit #18 Director Dawn Castner got 535 votes.

Vote tallies on the four questions about allowing different medical marijuana operations were as follows:

  • Caregiver retail stores, yes 415, no 272.
  • Registered dispensaries, yes 419, no 268.
  • Testing facilities, yes 390, no 295.
  • Manufacturing facilities, yes 380, no 308.

Each question added “provided they operate in compliance with all state and local requirements.”

Furthermore, on the next question voters required a 1,000-foot setback between the property lines of any of the above facilities and any pre-existing public or private school, by a vote of 580 yes to 101 no.

The final local question, identified as advisory only, asked if voters preferred extended town office hours Saturdays from 8 to 11 a.m. (the current schedule) or Thursdays from 4 to 7 p.m. Hapgood said 490 votes were cast for Saturday morning and 180 for Thursday afternoon/evening.

A total of 699 votes were cast, Hapgood said. China had 2,947 registered voters when the polls opened and gained a few more during the day.

Those coming to the town office during polling hours were not allowed to enter the driveway off Lakeview Drive, but were rerouted via Alder Park Road to the back entrance. The change was explained as a way to prevent traffic accidents as drivers made left turns off the highway. Hapgood said there were no accidents this year.

Excise tax fees to increase; selectmen postpone decision on compactor replacement

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by Mary Grow

Vassalboro selectmen dealt with a variety of issues and made several decisions at their Oct. 29 meeting, although they postponed the most expensive topic for further discussion.

By unanimous votes, the three board members:

  • Approved the state-allowed increase in motor vehicle registration fees, from $3 to $5 for a re-registration and $4 to $6 for a new registration. Town Manager Mary Sabins pointed out that the alternative method for renewing registrations is the on-line Rapid Renewal service.
  • Approved closing the north entrance onto Route 32 (Main Street) in East Vassalboro from the yard in front of the Historical Society building (formerly the East Vassalboro schoolhouse), in the interest of safety and to provide more parking.
  • Waived the purchasing policy’s bidding requirement and bought paving stones from Gagne and Son Concrete of Belgrade to create a new sidewalk around the Civil War statue in the park beside the Historical Society building. Selectman John Melrose, who first proposed park improvements, said staff from Fieldstone Gardens in Vassalboro will lay the stones and provide plantings.
  • Appointed Rebecca Lomey a member of the Board of Appeals through June 2020, finishing Gary Coull’s unexpired term. There is still a vacancy on the board, Sabins said; applications are welcome.
  • Approved annual renewals of junkyard and auto hobbyist permits presented by Codes Officer Paul Mitnik.

The item postponed was replacing the compactor at the transfer station. Sabins had quotes from two companies for different size compactors, with prices starting at over $25,000 She said the present compactor keeps getting repaired and continues to work, though she thinks it might be less efficient than in its younger days.

Sabins added that the tall building that protects trash from rain and snow needs repair.

There is a transfer station reserve fund, board Chairman Lauchlin Titus said, but its money keeps getting diverted for other purposes.

Selectmen postponed action to their next meeting to give themselves time to analyze the quotes. Melrose proposed adding possible building repairs to the discussion.

Melrose, a member of Vassalboro’s newly formed solar committee, said he is invited to the School Board’s Nov. 12 meeting to discuss the possibility of a solar project shared by the town and the school.

The next regular Vassalboro selectmen’s meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 14. (The Oct. 29 meeting was moved from the usual Thursday evening because at least one board member had a conflicting Halloween obligation.)

Town manager explains town’s position on stipends in e-mail to fire chiefs

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by Dennis Heath
China Town Manager

I watched the LiveStream video of the select board meeting yesterday and have since spoken with the select board chairman. It was apparent that my initial request of Mr. Evans was well-founded to provide what was going to be discussed in writing, since the lack of that information was detrimental to a healthy discussion of the concerns. However, I am writing this to help answer the questions I took from the video. Rather than quote chapter and verse, I have attached the two documents that were mentioned at the meeting.

1. The attached FLSA manual, which I am grateful to Bill Van Wickler for emailing to us, provides a comprehensive discussion of the requirements (including the various statutory references) the town will follow and require before stipend funds are disbursed. While it may have been thought that standby time can be used to calculate stipends, and that may be part of the disagreement here, being on standby is nothing more than the indication of a volunteer’s willingness to be available around the clock. Stipends are expected to acknowledge actual participation in firefighting activity. What I take from the FLSA manual is that if you have a volunteer assigned to a shift at the fire station, that would be an appropriate determination for stipend calculation. To date, your respective practices have been to record responses to calls. It is my understanding that all personal equipment is provided by the fire department, so the only things left for calculation are total hours, total miles and total calls and trainings. Those are what are included in the spreadsheet attached to help determine the total department stipend request. I put in the provision for the individual expense items in the event you have such occurrences, but the receipts must be provided to support that.

2. It was mentioned that the town meeting approved the budgeted amounts, and it is now the responsibility of the town to give those moneys to the departments. A budgeted amount is just that; an amount authorized for disbursement. However, the treasurer is responsible to see that sufficient detail underlies the expense request to recommend it to the select board on the warrant. While the departments may feel this is “not trusting us,” it should be understood that there has not been sufficient evidence to show that the amount requested is valid. One of Mr. Evans’ questions had to do with interpretation of the statutes/regulations. With respect to my duties as treasurer for the town, I am operating under the following: “The treasurer of any municipality shall not pay out any funds for an account or claim against the municipality unless the account or claim is itemized and declared to be a public record. Notwithstanding Title 17-A, section 4-A, violation of this section is a Class E crime, punishable by a fine of not more than $300 or by imprisonment for not more than 30 days, or both.” (30-A MRSA 5604) The requests of the departments for funds are viewed by me as a claim against the municipality, and therefore must be itemized to my satisfaction. The operational funds requested are sufficiently itemized, but the stipend requests are not. As you all know, at our last collective meeting I showed how the stipend amounts would be calculated using data you supplied to me, and that total for the past year and a half was short of $10,000 for the three fire departments and the rescue department combined. That informs me that the taxpayers of the town have now provided more than $63,000 for stipends in two fiscal years, but only about $10,000 can be validated under the provisions of the regulations when using the data supplied by the departments.

3. For now the second time, it has been suggested that we ignore the requirements for proper calculation of these stipends since it would be unlikely enforcement action would occur. This suggestion is irresponsible and rejected outright, because it indicates a lack of professional ethics and disrespect for the law. As town manager and treasurer, I took the following oath: “I, Dennis L. Heath do swear, that I will support the Constitution of the United States and of this State, so long as I shall continue a citizen thereof, and will faithfully discharge, to the best of my abilities, the duties incumbent on me as [Town Manager and Treasurer] according to the constitution and laws of the state so help me God.” Failure to properly discharge my duties exposes me to administrative and civil punishment that I am unwilling to face for the convenience of this suggestion. (30-A MRSA 2607) Each of the fire chiefs took the same oath when appointed as chief of your respective volunteer fire department, so I am confident you are equally determined to uphold that oath.

4. The recurring argument that the fire/rescue departments are independent corporations not subject to the authority of the town was mentioned. It is well understood that the fire/rescue departments are independently incorporated volunteer organizations. However, the moneys requested are public funds subject to public accounting and audit. As mentioned in paragraph 2 above, it is the responsibility to the public that drives me to require the stipend calculation be provided prior to disbursing those funds. If the fire/rescue departments are unwilling to provide the substantiating calculations for the stipend request, then the funds disbursement will not be recommended to the select board on a warrant.

5. Finally, it was the question of Mr. Evans as to whether the select board “intends to unlawfully withhold funds from the volunteer departments.” The select board fully intends to approve disbursement of funds to the volunteer fire and rescue departments, but within the constraints discussed above. Any delay in disbursement will not be the responsibility of the select board or the town. The departments have been equipped with the ability to provide the required substantiation for the stipend funds, so it is in their control as to whether the disbursement of those funds is delayed or not.

I am hopeful this will answer some of the questions from Monday evening and make clear what is required for disbursing the stipend funds. I welcome productive discussion for implementing this in advance of the new fiscal year to avoid any delay in disbursing these funds.

China planners suggest ordinance amendment on board selections

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by Mary Grow

China Planning Board members met Oct. 22 with two possible ordinance changes on their agenda, amending the planning board ordinance to have members appointed rather than elected and trying to make one of the criteria for commercial development in the Land Use Ordinance easier to enforce.

Additionally, Codes Officer Bill Butler said the state Department of Environmental Protection notified him that sections of the town ordinance need to be revised to conform to state standards.

Butler suggested discussion of an appointed planning board. Appointment would reduce the work the elective process creates for town office staff, he said.

This year, for instance, there are three openings on the board and no candidates on the ballot for any of the positions. Two of the openings require the board member to live in one of China’s four planning board districts; the person who serves as the alternate can be from any part of town.

Voters are likely to write in names, some serious and appropriate, some who might serve competently but don’t live in the right district and some neither serious nor appropriate, like Donald Duck.

Town office staff record each name, tally the number of votes for each, make sure the votes are valid and get in touch with those with the most votes to find out whether they will serve.

Board member Jim Wilkens expressed several concerns about an appointed board. It might become a popularity contest, people without qualifications might be appointed and townspeople would have no direct say in the choice, he said.

Butler said would-be appointees would need to apply and selectmen (assumed to be the appointing group) would evaluate their qualifications.

Toni Wall also had doubts about appointments. Appointees might feel answerable to the selectboard, and they could be dismissed by selectmen, not voters, she said.

She suggested improvements to the election process, like posting signs asking voters not to write in anyone unless they had the candidate’s permission and an assurance she or he was willing to serve.

Based on her experience, Wall also recommended changing planning board terms from two years to five years, to give board members more time to learn their jobs.

Board members generally agreed that keeping the four planning board districts to ensure members came from different parts of town was valuable. Wilkens and Wall would like to see selectmen also elected from districts.

In August board members discussed at length ways to enforce the requirement that a commercial development not create undue noise (see The Town Line, Aug. 15, 2019). After a short discussion on Oct. 22, they decided by consensus not to recommend any change in the current ordinance.

Butler said state officials want a revised definition of “impervious surface” in China’s shoreland ordinance. He predicted the change would seriously limit enlarging small non-conforming buildings close to a water body and would not be popular.

China’s timber harvesting regulations are also out of line with state standards, he said.

Board members talked of having draft revisions ready for state review in the spring of 2020 in preparation for a November 2020 local vote.

The next regular planning board meeting has been rescheduled from the usual second Tuesday of the month to Tuesday, Nov. 19, to avoid conflicting with the Nov. 12 meetings of the selectboard (moved from the usual Monday due to the Nov. 11 Veterans Day holiday) and the Thurston Park Committee.

Breton rebutts candidates’ statements

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by Mary Grow

After completion of the agenda at the Oct. 23 China selectmen’s meeting, Selectman Ronald Breton rebutted comments made by board candidates Todd Tolhurst and Wayne Chadwick at the Oct. 20 candidates’ forum (see The Town Line, Oct. 24, 2019). Speaking for himself only, Breton said:

  • Executive-session discussions are allowed and justified to protect people’s privacy, and any resulting votes are taken in public.
  • He is “insulted” by the incorrect statement that the selectmen rubber-stamp the town manager’s actions.
  • Selectmen asked voters to buy beachfront property because acquiring public lake access is a goal in China’s comprehensive plan.
  • Selectmen have not mistreated the volunteer fire departments; the town manager explained why voter-approved stipends have not yet been paid.
  • Before buying the new excavator, selectmen got estimates of future savings – $94,000 in the first 10 years.
  • The new portable building will let local police do their paperwork in privacy. It will not need a water supply, because the older portable nearby will have a bathroom.
  • Allegations of political posturing and backroom maneuvers are unsubstantiated.

Given China’s lack of debt and adequate surplus funds, “We must be doing something right,” Breton concluded.

Chadwick rebutted briefly, saying he had a right to express his opinions in reply to audience questions at the forum, and Breton should not take them personally. Chadwick, Tolhurst and incumbent Belanger are candidates for two openings on the selectboard.

Breton promised to work with whoever is elected.