China Broadband Committee rearranges future schedule

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by Mary Grow

With four of China’s five selectmen joining their April 1 virtual meeting, China Broadband Committee (CBC) members rearranged their future schedule and discussed what might be good news.

Committee members had been scheduled to make a presentation at the April 26 selectboard meeting. Instead, they added a Thursday, April 29, meeting to their schedule, with selectboard members specifically invited to join the live stream.

The CBC was already scheduled to meet at 7 p.m., April 8, April 15 and April 22. Selectmen – and interested residents – are welcome to watch those meetings also, via the Live Stream tab at the lower left of the town website, china.govoffice.com.

The maybe good news came to CBC Chairman Robert O’Connor in an email from Peggy Schaffer, Director of the ConnectMaine Authority. She notified him that the 2021 American Recovery Act will provide $23 million in broadband funding to Kennebec County, with China’s share expected to be $430,000.

Schaffer’s email said the United States Treasury has not issued guidelines for using the funds. CBC members therefore do not know how much, if any, money might be applicable to China’s project.

CBC members looked into an earlier grant that provided funds only for unserved and underserved areas. Most China residents have access to broadband service at some level. At the April 1 meeting, committee member Jamie Pitney cited two estimates of households with no access, out of 2,100 to 2,300 properties: 83, according to ConnectMaine, or 140, according to current provider Spectrum Community Solutions.

Schaffer suggested the CBC prepare an informational presentation to the Kennebec County Commissioners.

CBC members spent most of the April 1 meeting repeating previous discussions for the benefit of selectboard members, with O’Connor, Tod Detre and Jamie Pitney sharing their expertise.

They said China needs better broadband service than Spectrum can provide with its current equipment and technology. A faster, more reliable and more flexible system would expand opportunities for residents, including adults working from home, children attending school remotely and everyone looking for entertainment and communication; and it would give China an advantage in attracting new, high-tech businesses.

They prefer a model that would have the town own the infrastructure and contract out building it, maintaining it and providing service. Under that model, should a service provider be unsatisfactory, town officials could seek a different one.

After reviewing proposals from Spectrum and two other companies, CBC members are negotiating with Axiom Technologies, of Machias, with assistance from consultants Mark Van Loan and James Dougherty of Portland-based Mission Broadband.

They are not ready to make a recommendation to the selectboard. They have no firm cost estimates; no consensus on covering costs (a bond issue has been discussed); and no agreed-upon definition of services to be provided.

Their present position is that the contractor(s) would do the billing and would maintain the town-owned infrastructure. After Selectman Wayne Chadwick asked what if something like the 1998 ice storm brought down lines all over town, CBC members thanked him for the reminder and planned to include a provision ensuring the contractor handled disasters as well as routine repairs.

Chadwick remained skeptical about town involvement. Everything government does is “top-heavy and inefficient,” he said; he would prefer a private contractor take on all aspects of the service.

CBC members agreed they will present updates at selectmen’s meetings, either by Selectman Janet Preston, the board’s non-voting representative on the CBC, or by O’Connor. Should they get new information, like Schaffer’s email, between meetings, they will share that, too.

China TIF committee reviews mission statement

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by Mary Grow

China’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Committee members covered two of the three items on their March 24 agenda, without reaching final agreement on either.

Committee members reviewed the committee’s Mission Statement, last written in August 2018, and the application form for organizations seeking TIF funds. Both will be back for reconsideration at their April 20 meeting, along with the procedures document they did not discuss March 24.

Chairman Thomas Michaud had the 2018 statement and proposed revisions from committee members James Wilkens and Robert MacFarland. Most of the discussion was over how specific the statement should be, with detours into whether it is a mission statement or a vision statement, and how large the committee should be.

Discussion of the application form was more complicated, beginning with whether to set an application deadline and if so, what it should be. Suggestions ranged from January to August, for requests for the fiscal year that would start the next June.

Committee members are effectively dealing with three timelines. They need to have requests for TIF money early in the calendar year, so they can develop a budget request for the following fiscal year by March.

After town voters approve the budget at the annual town meeting in the spring, committee members need to recommend specific expenditures from TIF funds to the Selectboard, which authorizes issuing checks. And the date at which money will actually be given to requesting groups depends on fund availability.

Central Maine Power Company provides TIF funds through taxes paid on its north-south power line in China and its South China substation. Like other taxpayers, CMP pays twice a year; if voters approve selectmen’s recommendations for the coming fiscal year, local taxes will be due Sept. 30, 2021, and March 31, 2022.

Committee members also talked about what information should be requested on an application form. They left almost all their questions to be resolved at their next meeting, scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 20.

At earlier meetings this year, committee members developed a Second Amendment to China’s TIF document, including a fund request for 2021-22. The document and fund request are in Art. 16 of the town meeting warrant on which voters will act June 8. Public hearings, on the Second Amendment and on the rest of the warrant, are scheduled to start at 6 p.m. Monday, April 26, before that evening’s selectmen’s meeting.

Colby professor says China Lake has moderate amounts of nutrients

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China Lake (photo by Eric Austin)

by Mary Grow

Colby College Professor Denise A. Bruesewitz, Ph.D., gave China Planning Board members “more than a little bit of food for thought,” Chairman Randall Downer remarked after her presentation at the board’s March 23 meeting.

Bruesewitz is a limnologist (the word means an expert on scientific aspects of inland waters) who has studied lakes in New Zealand and various parts of the United States. She is currently engaged in a National Science Foundation water quality project that uses robotics and computer modeling to study algae in lakes in Maine, including China Lake, and in other states.

Bruesewitz said China Lake is classified as mesotrophic, meaning it has a moderate amount of nutrients in the water. (A eutrophic lake has so many nutrients that algae blooms are common; an oligotrophic lake has few nutrients and therefore is unlikely to have algae blooms.)

Older surveys of China Lake have involved taking water samples from a boat and analyzing them. Bruesewitz said the current study uses drones that collect data and learn to recognize hot spots. There are plans to create diving robots.

Downer invited Bruesewitz to help board members develop standards for shoreland erosion barriers. She said she and her colleagues are not familiar with the type of solid vertical barrier that caused the planning board discussion, but in principle such barriers are not a good idea.

The zone where water and land meet, an area that is alternately wet and dry, is ecologically important, she said. Technically named the reference line, it is home to microbes that eat nutrients and is therefore critical to protecting water quality.

The shallow water on the lake edge of the zone houses life forms that are part of the lake’s food web, so it, too, should be protected from man-made disturbance, Bruesewitz said.

Downer asked how to quantify effects of a solid barrier. Bruesewitz replied it would not be easy. She suggested three possible methods: measure on-land nutrient uptake over the seasons and in different conditions; or look for relevant studies from comparable water bodies; or begin a citizen-science monitoring and sampling program.

Bruesewitz shared several documents with planning board members, including New Hampshire’s 2019 Shoreland Water Quality Protection Act that several members considered worth studying.

Replying to questions from board member Scott Rollins, Bruesewitz said China Lake’s biggest threats are the phosphorus that is already in the lake, plus on-land factors, like roofs, paved areas and other impervious surfaces and lack of buffers, that add more unwanted nutrients. Remedies, she said, include providing vegetated buffers that control run-off without separating land and water, and minimizing soil disturbance in the watershed.

She told the board she will be able to share results of the National Science Foundation project with them and with the Kennebec Water District, which uses China Lake’s west basin as its water source.

In other business March 23, Codes Officer Jaime Hanson’s report to the board included the comment that China is experiencing “a definite uptick in construction,” based on permit applications for new houses and other construction.

Board members continued review of the draft solar ordinance that, if approved by voters, will give them standards for reviewing applications for solar installations, both individual and commercial. The ordinance is not on the warrant for the June 8 town business meeting.

All solar installations require permits. Hanson bases his reviews on the six-year-old International Residential Code, and planning board members have been adapting standards for new structures to cover rows of solar panels.

The next China Planning Board meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 13.

China selectmen ask for more info from broadband committee

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by Mary Grow

Ronald Breton, Chairman of the China Selectboard, requested and received time on the China Broadband Committee’s March 25 agenda. In return, CBC members ended their meeting by drafting an email request for time on the selectboard’s April 26 agenda.

Breton complained that CBC members are failing to keep him and the rest of the selectboard informed about their activities. What he knows, he reads in The Town Line, he said; and the articles make it sound as though the committee is trying to “sell” a broadband plan to townspeople before consulting the selectboard.

If people are convinced that broadband is “good and great,” and selectboard members find otherwise, he fears “They’ll get their asses kicked” by indignant residents.

Speaking as a selectman, he expressed two concerns: he does not want taxes to increase, and he does not want any broadband system to impose more work, like collecting bills or “running a utility,” on town office staff.

He also questioned the CBC proposal to prepare a letter of intent to continue negotiations with Axiom Technologies, of Machias (see The Town Line, March 25). Breton believes only selectmen, not members of committees appointed by the selectboard, have authority to sign letters of intent.

Committee member Jamie Pitney, who had drafted a nine-point outline of a document the committee could flesh out and present to Axiom president Mark Ouellette, agreed with Breton on the authority question. “Letter of intent” is probably incorrect wording, he said; the idea is to give Ouellette something more than a verbal assurance that he is not wasting time negotiating with the CBC.

At their March 18 meeting, CBC members and Ouellette talked about Axiom helping not only to plan broadband service, but also to develop a community outreach program to present information to the selectboard and residents.

After Breton zoomed out of the meeting, committee members further discussed the outreach program. At one point, Tod Detre and Chairman Robert O’Connor were talking about what residents might want for broadband service: would 25 up and 25 down be enough, or would people insist on at least 100 over 100, or maybe a gig over 100, or gig over gig?

“Can you imagine this discussion in a community meeting?” Pitney protested. “You’ll lose two-thirds of the people in the first 10 minutes.”

Members talked for more than an hour about different facets of providing broadband service, including the option of starting with a partial build-out (for $2 to $3.5 million) instead of going town-wide in one swoop (for $6 million or more); the possibility of cooperating with other central Maine towns, and what legal structures might be needed to do so; and potential grant opportunities.

They ended their two-hour meeting with two decisions: to ask to talk with selectmen on Monday, April 26, and to meet at 7 p.m. each of the first four April Thursdays (April 1, 8, 15 and 22) to prepare for the April 26 meeting.

On April 26, the selectboard is scheduled to hold consecutive public hearings, beginning at 6 p.m., on the Second Amendment to the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) document that governs expenditure of TIF funds and on the warrant for the June 8 annual town business meeting (which includes the TIF amendment).

Breton said he expects the hearings to be short enough so the selectboard meeting will begin about its usual time, 6:30 p.m.

China to continue using Waterville dispatch center

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by Mary Grow

At a short China selectmen’s meeting March 29, board members unanimously authorized two actions by Town Manager Becky Hapgood and discussed Selectman Janet Preston’s idea of a China farmers’ market.

Hapgood is authorized to sign a contract to continue using the Waterville dispatch center to dispatch local fire departments and China Rescue, and to write a letter to the Atlantic Salmon Federation assuring them plans for a fishway at the Branch Mills dam will not interfere with town property.

Selectman Wayne Chadwick said he, Hapgood and Public Works Director Shawn Reed had reviewed the federation’s plan on-site and determined it will not affect the town’s right-of-way where Branch Mills’ main street crosses the West Branch of the Sheepscot River.

Preston had previously suggested the town sponsor a farmers’ market. Discussion at the March 29 meeting favored private sponsorship. Chadwick thought town sponsorship might have the potential for liability.

Board Chairman Ronald Breton assigned to Preston the job of finding out whether there is interest among local farmers and residents and whether some group would offer a site, presumably in return for rental fees or other payment from vendors. Interested people are invited to email Preston at janet.preston@chinamaine.org.

The next regular China selectmen’s meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday, April 12.

On April 26, selectmen have scheduled a 6 p.m. public hearing on town business meeting warrant articles, on which voters will act on June 8, followed by a selectmen’s meeting.

VASSALBORO: Road complaints bring action by selectmen

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by Mary Grow

VASSALBORO – With roads unusually rough this spring, Vassalboro residents have complained, frequently and loudly.

Vassalboro selectmen have listened, sympathized and come up with a solution: a municipal helicopter service, tentatively named the Vass Fly.

The public works crew is surveying the town for a dozen or more helipad sites, probably including the town office lawn and the recreation fields. Selectmen are negotiating long-term leases on two dozen choppers and arranging to train public works employees as pilots and helicopter mechanics.

A Selectboard member reported that five residents with the necessary licenses have volunteered as pilots pending longer-term arrangements. Selectmen have asked the National Guard for help, once Guard members are done staffing vaccination clinics.

Among road complaints selectmen and town office staff reported receiving:

— A man spent a night in the emergency room after a bump threw him through the roof of his car. He has a concussion and sprained wrists, and can’t drive his car in the rain until the head-sized hole is patched.
— An eleven-year-old girl’s laptop is still lost in the puckerbrush after a violent jolt ripped it from her hands and threw it out the window of her father’s truck.
— Three residents are looking for new vehicles after the bottoms of two pick-ups and a Hummer were torn out when the wheels settled into deep grooves in the pavement. “That was my 2021 Ram – still had the temporary plates,” one man mourned.
— A series of heaves and dips threw a car off the road and over a stone wall into an orchard, where it damaged two Cortland trees. The driver admitted he should have known better than to go as fast as 25 miles an hour on that particular stretch.
— A couple complained that they could not access their driveway, which is near the top of a steep hill. Every time they slowed to turn in, either a trough in the pavement deflected the wheels and they missed the driveway, or a bump sent them back down the hill.
— A woman was carrying her damaged mailbox, which had been struck by a car whose driver was avoiding a pothole, when she stumbled and dropped the mailbox into the pothole. Her garden rake was not long enough to retrieve it.

One day, a selectman related, a town public works truck got hung up on a bump, all four wheels off the ground. Selectmen ordered the road closed, so the town crew put concrete Jersey barriers at each end.

“Made no difference,” the selectman said. “People drove right over the barriers without noticing them, they’re so used to bouncing up and down.”

Selectmen expect a whirlybird update at their April 1 meeting.

GUESS WHAT?

APRIL FOOL if you believed this.

 

 

Vassalboro selectmen meet

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by Mary Grow

Vassalboro selectmen meet at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 1, in person at Vassalboro Community School gymnasium. Major items on their agenda include:

  • Continued discussion of renovations at the transfer station, and the impact, if any on the selectmen’s proposed 2021-22 budget;
  • Review of bids for installing a new boiler at the North Vassalboro fire station and perhaps a bid award;
  • Review of bids on the old fire truck the town is selling and perhaps a decision;
  • Review and signing of the Town Manager’s contract for fiscal years 2021 through 2024; and
  • If new information is available, an update from board Chairman John Melrose on negotiations for a land swap with Kennebec Water District.

The Vassalboro Budget Committee will meet immediately after the Selectboard adjourns, also in person in the gymnasium.

Vassalboro planning board meets

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by Mary Grow

Vassalboro Planning Board members have four applications on the agenda for their Tuesday, April 6, meeting, scheduled for 7 p.m. The meeting will be virtual; it will be available for simultaneous viewing on the website vcsvikings.org.

The applications, in order, are:

  • From Kelley Gooldrup, to combine lots 9 and 10 in the Stone Road subdivision;
  • From Jack’s Place Too, LLC, to expand a deck at 201 Tilton Lane, in the Webber Pond shoreland zone;
  • From Elizabeth Austin to open a juice bar at 913 Main Street, in North Vassalboro; and
  • From Sunvest Solar, Inc., to build a solar facility on David and Jennifer Jones’ land on Webber Pond Road.

Sunvest Solar is presenting a pre-application; company representatives will explain the proposed project, but no decisions are expected.

Vassalboro has two approved commercial solar projects, ReVision Energy’s, on Route 32, and Longroad Energy’s, on Riverside Drive. Another application, from Sebago Technics for a property off Cemetery Street, is pending.

Windsor selectmen authorize road commissioner to sign heavy load limit signs

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by The Town Line staff

At their March 2 meeting, selectmen were informed that the town of Windsor has been notified that, by state law, heavy load limit road signs are to be signed by the municipal officers or their designee. The board unanimously agreed to authorize the road commissioner to sign heavy load limit posters and posted road exemption certificates on behalf of the board of selectmen as needed, and when needed, for the town of Windsor, until such time another road commissioner is appointed.

Selectmen were told that a bolt had been installed incorrectly on the 2021 Western Star truck. When the wing was raised, it hit the door resulting in a dent. H.P. Fairfield, the company that sold the truck to the town has agreed to fix it because it was their error. In other public works discussion, the selectmen seeked how many hours remained on the McGee plowing contract.

Also, Road Supervisor Keith Hall spoke to Avery Glidden regarding the concrete on the garage by the town office that is crumbling and needs to be fixed. Avery will provide the town with a quote for repairs, as well as a quote on flooring for the storage room at the back of the food bank.

At the transfer station, it was noted that two street lights are not working. Town Manager Theresa Haskell has notified Central Maine Power Co., and is awaiting a response as to when they can come out to fix them.

Discussion also continued on the sand that residents can get and how to close that area in for weather purposes. Interim Transfer Station Supervisor Sean Tekeema is going to look at Whitefield’s transfer station to see how they handle the problem.

Because of a Waste Management issue with the hydraulics on their truck, the recycling sat for an extra day until they could come to get it.

Haskell informed the selectmen that direct deposit will now be an option for employees. However, there is a process in setting that up with Kennebec Savings Bank, which the town uses. The town account needs to be set up as an Automated Clearing House (ACH) for the direct deposit to happen. The board unanimously approved for the town manager, as the town treasurer, to set up the ACH with Kennebec Savings Bank.

At this point in the meeting, Selectmen Andrew Ballantyne moved to suspend the board of selectmen meeting and reconvene as the board of assessors. There are applications before the board for abatement of property taxes presented that will be discussed at the March 16 selectmen’s meeting, and a tree growth withdrawal penalty presented for Colby D.Whynot on Map 4 Lot 22, in the amount of $1,600. The board unanimously approved the abatement to Whynot in the amount of $1,600. The board of assessors then adjourned and reconvened as the board of selectmen.

In other business, it was noted there is one position on the planning board, and one alternate position, available in 2021, and that, apparently, two residents are interested in the positions.

The first payment for the new 2021 Western Star truck is not due until the 2021/2022 budget, however, a payment was included in the 2020/2021 budget. Haskell would like to submit the payment this year so that it can be fully applied to the principal balance. The board unanimously approved the payment of $28,000 this year.

The next board of selectmen meeting was scheduled for March 16 at the Windsor Town Hall.

China broadband committee not yet committed to Axiom; discussions amicable

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by Mary Grow

China Broadband Committee (CBC) members had an amicable March 18 zoom discussion with Mark Ouellette, president of Machias-based Axiom Technologies, their currently preferred choice for improved broadband service in China.

Committee members reviewed proposals from Axiom and two other companies before deciding to talk first with Axiom. They made it clear that they are not yet committed to contracting with Axiom.

Their goal is broadband service that will serve every household and business in town, including those not currently served; that will be stronger and more reliable at all times than services now available; that will easily adapt to future technologies; and that will cover the estimated $6 to $7 million installation cost, plus maintenance, without enormous bills for either subscribers or taxpayers.

Ouellette thinks his company can deliver. He thinks reliability is more important than price, within reason: “People want to be sure they can do what they want to do 24/7.” Axiom would provide bandwidth to cover maximum use at any time, and would hire a local service representative for prompt customer service.

He also promised adaptability, “generational service that’d serve your kids and your grandkids,” and keep China attractive to businesses needing top-grade internet.

Ouellette reminded committee members that they need to strike a balance between maximum service and minimum cost. Axiom is a profit-making business, and he expects to make money in the long run.

For now, Ouellette is satisfied to work with CBC members and the rest of the town on a handshake agreement. He told CBC members, “I’ll get my payment when I start to serve [China] customers with the best internet you can get in the world.”

Committee members agreed their next step is to publicize what they are doing and why they are doing it. They began planning an education campaign to discuss with town voters the advantages of superior broadband service for residents and for the local economy.

Ouellette and committee members cited several advantages: every resident’s ability to work from home, whether required by the pandemic or not; extras for local businesspeople, like the auto mechanic who could have Axiom help him install and maintain free WiFi in his waiting room; and the potential to attract a major institution, like a research laboratory, that would provide jobs and pay taxes.

One suggestion was to prepare a question-and-answer document to cover anticipated questions about services, costs and anything else they can think of. Another was to hold a series of community meetings, in person if conditions permit. Ouellette is willing to help, including joining committee members in an informational work session with the selectboard if one is scheduled.

CBC members also intend to draft a letter of intent or similar document with Axiom, an agreement that gives both parties increased certainty, though either party can withdraw if negotiations fail.

The next CBC meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday, March 25, and the one after that for 7 p.m. Thursday, April 1. Ouellette is unable to zoom in on March 25 but is expected again on April 1.