Erskine Bus Schedule – Fall 2019

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(photo credit: Erskine Academy)

Chelsea Run:​ ​Sheila Westcott Bus #2 (Chelsea/Whitefield/Windsor)

1. Leave Erskine – 6:10
2. At Legion Park Rd. – 6:20
3. Barton Rd./Jones Rd. – 6:28
4. Route 105/Route 32 – 6:30
5. Route 32/Route 17 (Rideout’s) -6:38
6. Chelsea School – 6:45
7. Hunts Meadow Rd. – 6:55
8. Hunts Meadow Rd./Cooper Rd. 7:00
9. Hunts Meadow Rd./Route 126 – 7:05
10. Route 126/Vigue Rd. – 7:10
11. Route 17/Route 32 (Rideout’s) – 7:20
12. Route 32 to Erskine – 7:30

Whitefield Run: ​ Mark Johnson Bus #6 (Whitefield/Windsor)

1. Leave Peaslee’s – 6:15
2. Route 17 Country Corners Store – 6:17
3. Route 17/Route 32 (Rideouts) – 6:22
4. Maxcy Mills Rd. – 6:26
5. Griffin Rd. – 6:28
6. Vigue Rd. – 6:35
7. Townhouse Rd. – 6:37
8. Heath Rd. – 6:46
9. Hilton Rd. – 6:52
10. Route 218 Sennott Rd. – 6:59
11. Route 218 Cookson Ln. – 7:01
12. Cooper Rd. -7:03
13. Wingood Rd. – 7:05
14. Cooper Rd. – 7:09
15. Windsor Rd. – 7:12
16. Route 105 – 7:20
17. Route 32 – 7:22
18. Route 32 Crosby Rd. – 7:23
19. Route 32 Elm Ln. – 7:24
20. Route 32 Choate Rd. – 7:25
21. Route 32 to Erskine – 7:30

Jefferson Run:​ Mike Lamontagne Bus #3 (Jefferson)

1. Route 32/Route 215 6:22
2. Route 32 North Mountain Rd. – 6:24
3. Jefferson Fire Station – 6:29
4. Route 32/Orffs Corner Rd. – 6:34
5. Goose Hill Rd./Hodgkins Hill Rd. – 6:38
6. Goose Hill Rd./Washington Rd. – 6:42
7. Valley Rd. – 6:43
8. Valley Rd./Route 17 – 6:48
9. Route 17/Route 32 – 6:54
10. Route 32/Route 215 N. Clary Rd. – 6:56
11. Route 215 N. Clary Rd./Route 126 – 7:00
12. Route 126/Route 218 Mills Rd. – 7:03
13. Route 218 Mills Rd./Route 17 – 7:07
14. Route 17/Route 32 Rideout’s – 7:12
15. Route 32 to Erskine – 7:21

Palermo Run:​ Wayne Lacey Bus #5 (Palermo/Somerville/Windsor)

1. Leave Tobey’s – 6:15
2. Route 3/Branch Mills Rd. – 6:17
3. Branch Mills Rd./North Palermo Rd. – 6:20
4. North Palermo Rd./Level Hill rd. – 6:26
5. Level Hill Rd./Boots & Saddle Rd. – 6:36
6. Route 3 – 6:37
7. Route 3/Turner Ridge Rd. – 6:40
8. Turner Ridge Rd./Route 105 – 6:49
9. Route 105/Turn Around Somerville School – 6:53
10. Route 105 Dodge Rd. – 6:58
11. Route 105/Route 32 – 7:03
12. Route 32/Choate Rd. – 7:07
13. Choate Rd./South Rd. & Windsor Neck Rd. – 7:10
14. South Rd./Weeks Mills Rd. – 7:15
15. Weeks Mills R./Kidder Rd. – 7:17
16. Kidder Rd./To Erskine – 7:20

China selectmen approve eight questions for November 5, 2019 ballot

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by Mary Grow

At their Aug. 19 meeting, China selectmen approved an eight-question ballot to present to voters on Nov. 5. They also voted non-unanimously to buy the excavator for the public works department that they have discussed since June.

On Nov. 5, China voters will be asked to elect a moderator for the day (Art. 1); choose members of the Board of Selectmen, Planning Board and Budget Committee and a representative to the Regional School Unit #18 board (Art. 2); approve or reject five questions related to operation of medical marijuana facilities in town (Arts. 3-7); and decide whether they want to continue current town office hours, including 8 to 11 a.m. Saturdays, or move three hours to Thursday, so the office would be closed Saturdays and open until 7 p.m. Thursdays (Art. 8).

Signed nomination papers for the local offices are due at the town office by the close of business Friday, Sept. 6.

The medical marijuana questions, which Town Manager Dennis Heath said were drafted with advice from the Maine Municipal Association, ask voters to act separately on retail facilities, registered dispensaries, testing facilities and manufacturing facilities. Each, if approved, would need to meet state requirements.

Art. 7 asks voters to approve a 1,000-foot separation between any property with a medical marijuana facility and any property with a pre-existing school.

Voter approval of any or all of articles three through six would meet the state “opt in” requirement and allow the planning board to review applications, using state standards until planning board members had time to develop a local ordinance and voters approved it.

Action on the Nov. 5 questions would have no effect on China’s current ordinance banning recreational marijuana clubs and related non-medical activities, Heath said.

The planning board is scheduled to hear a revised application from Clifford Glinko, a Fairfield resident who wants to open a medical marijuana facility on Route 3 in South China, at the Aug. 27 planning board meeting.

The question about town office hours was proposed by Robert MacFarland, chairman of the selectboard, after board members received complaints about their July 8 decision to eliminate Saturday hours beginning Nov. 1.

The July 8 decision revised hours to keep the office open until 5:30 Tuesdays and Thursdays; Heath later changed the plan to continue closing at 4 p.m. except 7 p.m. Thursdays. Action was based on a survey asking residents why they used Saturday hours. Heath said the goal of considering closing on Saturdays was “to improve efficiency.”

Selectmen Jeffrey LaVerdiere and Donna Mills-Stevens said the survey confused people, who did not realize their answers might lead to ending Saturday hours. Ronald Breton thinks there were too few responses to be significant.

“We’re here to serve the public,” LaVerdiere said. He and Mills-Stevens agreed Saturdays are usually busy enough so they have to wait for service.

Board members voted unanimously to add to the Nov. 5 ballot an eighth question asking voters whether they want to continue Saturday morning town office hours or to have the office open until 7 p.m. Thursdays.

A public hearing on the local ballot questions will be held before the Nov. 5 vote.

The decision to buy an excavator for the town followed Mills-Stevens’ negotiation of an $8,250 price reduction from the already-lowered price Public Works Manager Shawn Reed had reached and yet another long discussion. The price approved on a 4-1 vote, with LaVerdiere opposed, is $164,600, including a trailer, a three-year extended warranty and on-site training as needed for a year.

The Aug. 19 discussion focused on pay-back time, which involved trying to calculate how much owning an excavator will save over leasing one as needed. Selectmen and audience members argued over estimated past costs versus estimated future costs of operation, maintenance, insurance and other factors.

Board and audience members talked about using the excavator for more than road work, rather than letting it sit idle. Suggestions included possible uses at the transfer station and for work in Thurston Park, the town-owned recreational area in northeastern China.

Belanger and Breton pointed out the value of having an excavator available for emergencies. LaVerdiere remained unconvinced the investment was in taxpayers’ interest.

Money will be taken from three capital reserve funds, including $16,000 from the transfer station reserve in anticipation of the excavator being useful there.

The next regular China selectmen’s meeting will be Tuesday evening, Sept. 3, to avoid the Monday Labor Day holiday. Before then, selectmen are scheduled to hold a special meeting Wednesday evening, Aug. 28, to set the 2019-2020 tax rate, Heath said.

The calendar on the town website lists a budget committee meeting Thursday evening, Aug. 29.

Over the holiday weekend, the town office and transfer station will be closed Saturday, Aug. 31, and the town office will be closed Monday, Sept. 2.

China police officer recognized for service following resignation

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Presenting Frost, right, with the certificate is China selectboard chairman Bob McFarland. (photo courtesy of Dennis Heath, China Town Manager)

China selectmen presented retiring town policeman Tracey Frost a certificate of appreciation at their Aug. 19 meeting. “Tracey is the one responsible for building the China police department,” Town Manager Dennis Heath said.

Frost, whose day job is with the Oakland department, said he will still be in China every few weeks as one of the two school resource officers for Regional School Unit #18.

Author and registered Maine Guide to speak at the Albert Church Brown Memorial Library

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Albert Church Brown Memorial Library in China Village.

Earl Brechlin, author and Registered Maine Guide, will speak about his life and works at the Albert Church Brown Memorial Library on Sunday, August 25, at 2 p.m. He plans to read from his newest book, Return to Moose River: In Search of the Spirit of the Great North Woods, a collection of essays describing outdoor adventures – white-water canoeing, snowmobiling, backpacking – in many parts of Maine. Return to Moose River won the 2019 John Cole Award for Maine-themed non-fiction.

Earl Brechlin

Brechlin’s presentation includes a slideshow about great figures in Maine’s outdoor heritage. He says that Maine’s land and water conservation programs have been successful, but, “We haven’t done as well preserving the human history and legends that populate these places. Whether it’s the native Americans, early settlers, explorers, loggers or others, you can’t separate the people from the land or the land from the people and we need to do more to celebrate that.”

He will also have books for sale, autographed on request.

The Albert Church Brown Memorial Library is located at 37 Main Street in China Village. The program is open to all at no charge; refreshments will be served.

More information on the guest speaker is available at the “Return to Moose River” Facebook page or www.earlbrechlin.com.

 

 

CHINA: Planners discuss possible ordinance amendments

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by Mary Grow

China Planning Board members continued discussion of possible ordinance amendments at their Aug. 6 meeting, focusing on one word in one of the 15 conditional use criteria. Conditional use criteria are the requirements for a new, changed or significantly expanded commercial use.

The criterion reviewed Aug. 6 requires the applicant to show that the proposed use or change “will not have a significant detrimental effect on the use and peaceful enjoyment of abutting property as a result of noise, vibrations, fumes, odor, dust, glare or other cause.” Board members talked about noise.

They agreed with Codes Officer Bill Butler that a baseline noise study is needed before he or the board can determine whether additional noise will be loud enough to violate the criterion. A study would need to be specific to the area of the proposed project, since, for example, residents along main roads are accustomed to more noise than residents on back roads. Noise regulation would probably require zoning, Butler suggested. In the past most China voters have opposed zoning.

Even a background study could get complicated. Board members mentioned as examples the different effects of high-pitched and low-pitched sound, and the effect of atmospheric conditions on how far sound carries.

There was no consensus on other aspects of noise regulation.

One disagreement was over whether the noise standard applies only to commercial development or to everyone in town, for example, someone who runs car races on his land. Ralph Howe argued that the standard would apply to everyone, and he opposed strict regulations on the ground that people can do what they want on their own property.

Jim Wilkens believes “You can’t do totally what you want with your property.” A resident’s peaceful enjoyment right must be balanced against a neighbor’s right to make loud noises. When Butler cited a Rockland ordinance that exempts recreational activities from noise limits, Wilkens considered it unfair unless, he suggested, the town wants to abate the taxes of the resident deprived of peaceful enjoyment.

Howe called an ordinance applying to private uses “restrictive to people’s freedom.” Wilkens countered by citing the “freedom from being harassed” by noisy neighbors.

Butler said a conditional use standard would not necessarily have to apply to private, non-commercial activities. Board Chairman Tom Miragliuolo doubted exempting noisy private activities would be popular. Butler suggested a nuisance ordinance might be an alternative way to deal with private activities that led neighbors to complain about noise or other impediments to their peaceful enjoyment.

Another issue touched on, with no consensus, was exceptions and exemptions to a noise ordinance. Butler said multiple exemptions are standard, for example for farming and commercial activities. Having stricter noise limits overnight than during the day is another common ordinance feature.

Miragliuolo asked Butler to find sample ordinances from other Maine towns to guide future discussion.

The planning board is trying to make ordinance criteria easier to apply in response to a request from the Comprehensive Planning Committee (see The Town Line, Aug. 1).

In other business Aug. 6, Butler reported in the previous two weeks, he issued eight building permits, including two for new homes, and did 12 Maine Universal Building and Energy Code (MUBEC) inspections of construction under way, a pace he called “pretty aggressive.”

He suggested other ordinance changes the planning board should consider to bring the town ordinance into conformity with state shoreland zoning standards. Should town officials and voters not act, the state Department of Environmental Protection will, though probably not immediately, he said.

Butler expects Clifford Glinko to present a revised application for a medical marijuana store on Route 3 in South China at the next planning board meeting, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 27.

After 200 years, alewives set to return to China Lake

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Fish ladder construction at Ladd Dam, in North Vassalboro. (photo by Eric W. Austin)

by Eric W. Austin

For more than five years, a group of dedicated people have been working to re-open Maine waterways to the state’s native migratory fish population. The obstacles have been fierce, but the rewards promise to be well worth the effort. Clearer water in our lakes and ponds, an enhanced food web and improved habitat along our rivers and streams are just a few of the benefits proponents of the project expect to see.

Map of the dams along Outlet Stream. (Click to enlarge.)

As European settlers spread into central Maine in the 1700s, they found a lush landscape: forests filled with wildlife and lakes teeming with fish. They also saw untapped potential in Maine’s many rushing rivers and flowing streams. Dams popped up everywhere as settlers sought to harness the region’s hydropower to grind their grain and drive their saw mills. No less than six dams were built along Outlet Stream, in Vassalboro alone.

Dams are basically good for one thing: preventing water from flowing. They also, unintentionally, prevent fish from traveling upstream. Migratory species like river herring (alewives and blueback herring), sea lamprey, shad and salmon, which spend much of their lives at sea but return to fresh waters to spawn, were – pardon the pun ­– left high and dry by the dam construction.

These obstructions along Maine’s rivers had a particular impact on alewives which – unlike their cousins, the blueback herring, that spawn in the rocky beds of freshwater streams and rivers – prefer to lay their eggs in the muddy bottoms of our lakes and ponds. Alewives were already faced with the daunting task of navigating up Maine’s rivers and through the maze of Maine’s many streams before finally reaching the calm and safety of interior lakes. With the additional obstacles posed by man-made dams built along Maine’s streams and rivers, migratory fish populations virtually disappeared from many of our lakes. Alewives, which had been so plentiful in our ponds and lakes before the arrival of European settlers, dwindled to almost nothing by the 20th century.

The site of Masse Dam, which was removed a year ago. (photo by Eric W. Austin)

Alewives in particular offer an ecological benefit to Maine lakes that was lost when they disappeared. These migratory fish feed on the phosphorous-rich plankton that also serve as a nutrient for the blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) that is currently such a problem in our lakes. The alewives carry the phosphates they consume back to the ocean, depriving the algae of this essential nutrient and curbing its growth.

Most of this phosphorous enters the lake as runoff from melting snow and summer rains. When soil around the lake is disturbed, such as during construction for rural development, it brings more of these nutrients to the surface, which then are carried into the lake by the rains or melting snow. As the population around Maine’s lakes grew and development along the shoreline increased, more phosphorous-rich soil was disturbed and those nutrients were carried as runoff into nearby bodies of water.

Unfortunately, the very creatures that could have helped balance the increased phosphorous were stuck – quite literally – out at sea. The algae and cyanobacteria in the lake had no such problem, however, and as a result they began to multiply and spread like crazy. Lakes, once beautifully blue, began to turn green.

The China Lake Alewife Restoration Initiative aims to reclaim this balance by restoring alewife passage back to China Lake. The project is headed up by the nonprofit organization Maine Rivers, in collaboration with the towns of China and Vassalboro, the Maine Department of Marine Resources, the Kennebec Water District, the Sebasticook Regional Land Trust, and the China Region Lakes Alliance.

“‘Collaborative’ is not a strong enough word,” says Maine Rivers’ executive director, Landis Hudson, describing the team effort.

Much of the early groundwork for the project was laid down by the China Region Lakes Alliance, which was founded in 1995 by residents of China, Vassalboro and Windsor, along with the Kennebec Water District, to address water quality and erosion concerns around China Lake, Three Mile Pond, Webber Pond and Three Cornered Pond.

Lombard Dam was one of those removed by the Maine Rivers team. (photo by Eric W. Austin)

Of the six dams along Outlet Stream which were blocking fish passage from Sebasticook River, two have been completely removed, Lombard and Masse dams. Fishways are planned for three others, Outlet, Box Mill and Ladd dams. Morneau Dam will be the final one tackled by the team, scheduled for the summer of 2022, although at this point they haven’t decided whether a fishway or a complete removal is more appropriate for the location.

Currently, the team is constructing a fishway at Ladd Dam in Vassalboro, which they hope to complete no later than September 30. The fishway is based on a design first proposed in 1909 by the Belgian scientist G. Denil.

“The channel will be four feet wide,” says Matt Streeter, project manager for Maine Rivers and the Alewife Restoration Initiative. Removable barriers, called baffles, will be placed along the fishway to help control the flow of water and give the fish a place to rest as they fight the rushing current. Grating will also be installed over the fishway – extending a few inches above ground level – to allow observation of the fish migration, but prevent anyone from falling into the racing water.

“The key thing that will attract fish into [the fishway] will be its location,” Streeter explains. “It’s gotta be in the vicinity of one of the major currents in the stream – and you really should have more water coming out of your fishway than going anywhere else, because it’s got to be the most attractive stream for them to follow up. They’re basically looking for the deepest, swiftest, largest volume of water.”

A fishway was installed a decade ago on Webber Pond at the outlet to Seven Mile Brook in order to allow alewives to re-enter the pond (although alewives have been stocked in Webber Pond and China Lake by the Maine Department of Marine Resources since 1997).

“[Water quality] is much, much better than it was before the alewives,” says Frank Richards, president of the Webber Pond Association, in Vassalboro. “It’s not perfect. The alewives are not a panacea, but the [algae] blooms are just a fraction of how intense they used to be. Before the alewives, there would be a green, gelatinous, slime-mess starting in late June and lasting until mid-September. With the alewives, we have clear water for most of the summer.”

Richards warns that opening up passage for alewives into the lake will not solve all the problems associated with an overabundance of nutrients in the water. On Webber Pond, there is still usually one algae bloom each summer. “There’s almost always at least one bloom,” he says, “and it’s very rare – even with the alewives – not to have a bloom that qualifies as a ‘severe bloom,’ meaning a [water visibility] reading of two meters or less. So, the alewives have not completely eliminated blooms, but the intensity isn’t even remotely comparable to what it was before the alewives were introduced.”

Landis Hudson, executive director of Maine Rivers, at Outlet Dam, in Vassalboro. (photo by Eric W. Austin)

There has been some concern that alewives dumped into China Lake might become ‘landlocked’ and unable to return to the ocean. If this happens, any phosphorous reduction they provide could be outweighed by the nutrients reintroduced at their deaths. Generally, this does not seem to be a problem in either Webber Pond or China Lake, as they are able to leave the lake with water as it is released through the dam’s control gates, but the Alewife Restoration team aims to prevent any alewives from becoming landlocked by including, along with the fishways, renovations to the dams which will provide an ‘alewife outlet’ designed specifically to facilitate their return downstream. The real problem is that the dams prevent the alewives from returning to the lake once it’s time to spawn, so populations can only be maintained by continually restocking the lake from other sources.

The completion of the fishway at Ladd Dam in Vassalboro will be a major milestone for the Alewife Restoration team, but there is still much work to do. Additional fishways need to be constructed at Box Mill Dam (behind the Olde Mill Place) and at the dam where Outlet Stream flows out of China Lake.

Maine Rivers is actively working to plan the renovations with the community in mind. “We have fairly detailed plans for the fishway that will go here [at Outlet Dam],” says Hudson, “but I’m interested in exploring the idea of making this a more holistic planning and design process to figure out what people in town want and try to make that happen.” One idea is to build a bridge which would serve as a place for visitors to observe the fish migrations.

The team plans to complete construction of a fishway at Box Mill Dam during the summer of 2020, and at the head of Outlet Stream during the summer of 2021. The final step will be tackling Morneau Dam, likely sometime in 2022.

By the spring of 2023, alewives will be returning to China Lake under their own power for the first time in nearly 200 years.

See also:

Construction begins for alewives restoration at Ladd Dam in North Vassalboro

China Lake Association holds 2019 annual meeting

LAKESMART: Geoff and Patricia Hargadon

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Patricia Hargadon

The China Lake Smart Volunteer Program is happy to present to the Hargadon family members the LakeSmart award. Their ownership goes back to the late 1800s when their great-grandfather, Wilmont Rufus Jones, and a handful of colleagues fell in love with it. Wilmont Jones built the house that is called The Leaning Elm along with a red boathouse at the southern end of China Lake.

Five generations later (soon to be six), South China remains their family’s touchstone. Although the families currently live in various parts of the country, they can always count on getting together at their summer home.

This family has a long history with the lake. The concern for the health of China Lake has been carried forward through the generations. Their comment to share is, “We are thrilled at the apparent turnaround China Lake is in the midst of, and grateful for the work so many have put into it. Our grandfather would be pleased as well.”

If you would like to have a LakeSmart volunteer come to your lake front property to see if there are any suggestions they could share with you to protect the lake, please contact Marie Michaud at ChinaLakeSmart@gmail.com. Let’s keep this valuable program going.

If you feel that your property is ready for a LakeSmart Award sign, please contact Marie as well.

See also:

LAKESMART: Jeanne Marquis and dad, Carl J. Stenholm

Litter pick up groups out Friday, August 10 in China

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Members of the Central Church in China participate in the Second Saturdays litter cleanup initiative. (photo by Jeanne Marquis)

Litter-free China!, a group organized by Richard Dillenbeck and the China for a Lifetime Committee, will be out on the roads of China on Saturday, August 10, during morning hours. As you drive these roads, please be careful and courteous to this group of volunteers.

CHINA: Comprehensive planning committee hopes to have final draft by year’s end

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by Mary Grow

Three members of China’s Comprehensive Planning Committee, plus Kennebec Valley Council of Governments (KVCOG) representative Joel Greenwood and Planning Board Chairman Tom Miragliuolo, spent the last evening in July talking about the updated China Comprehensive Plan that Greenwood hopes to have drafted by the end of the year.

As a basis, there are the existing plan and a map designating areas proposed for development; a summary of results from the visioning session held earlier this year; and a summary of comments emailed in response to a questionnaire from the Tax Increment Financing Committee.

The July 31 discussion focused on designating development areas. Those present tentatively decided:

  • There is no need to designate separate areas for commercial development and for residential development.
  • Many of the areas designated for residential development in the current plan have been pretty well filled with houses – and an occasional small business – since the plan was prepared more than a decade ago.
  • Since, according to KVCOG data, more China residents commute to Augusta than to Waterville, Oakland and Fairfield combined, encouraging residential growth in the south end of town rather than the north makes sense.
  • The Route 3 corridor from the Vassalboro line to a point some miles east of South China Village seems to be already a growth area, as does Route 32 South past the Weeks Mills Road intersection, so encouraging more development in those connected areas should be appropriate.

Greenwood emphasized that designating growth areas and drawing lines on maps is “not prescriptive, just idealistic” and is not intended to restrict development opportunities in town. Looking at where development has occurred since the current plan was approved, he and Miragliuolo agreed the plan had not been influential.

Any resident interested in joining the Comprehensive Planning Committee is welcome. More information is available at the town office. The next committee meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday, August 28, with housing and historic resources on Greenwood’s preliminary agenda.

CHINA: Mills-Stevens to take over excavator negotiations from public works manager Reed

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by Mary Grow

The proposal to buy an excavator for China’s Public Works Department that has been on the selectmen’s agendas since June 10 is scheduled to appear again on August 19, under new management.

At the selectmen’s Aug. 5 meeting, board member Donna Mills-Stevens volunteered to renegotiate the proposed purchase with Chadwick- BaRoss, believing she can get better terms than Public Works Manager Shawn Reed did. Board Chairman Robert MacFarland expects her report in two weeks.

Reed hoped selectmen would approve the $172,850 price he had negotiated, including a trailer for the tracked Volvo machine and an extended warranty. He said Chadwick-BaRoss agreed to hold the price until Dec. 1, but not to guarantee the machine would not be sold to another customer while China officials debated (see The Town Line, July 25).

Mills-Stevens, a banker and co-operator of Stevens dairy farm, cited her experience in negotiating and in buying heavy equipment as she volunteered.

Selectmen rejected two other alternatives before letting Mills-Stevens take over. Ronald Breton’s motion to buy the excavator on the terms Reed presented received only Irene Belanger’s vote, with MacFarland, Breton and Jeffrey LaVerdiere opposed and Mills-Stevens unable to decide and recorded as abstaining. LaVerdiere’s motion to put the question on China’s November local ballot and let voters decide received his and Mills-Stevens’ votes, with the other three opposed.

After the final decision, Reed said he had “spent a lot of time and energy and effort on this,” trying “to do the best possible I could for the taxpayers.” His starting premise was that having a town-owned excavator instead of contracting for one would save money.

Now, he said, the selectmen could take over the project and he would focus on his other duties. Personally, he did not care what they decided; not owning an excavator would mean one less piece of equipment for which he was responsible.

On other public works topics, Reed reported most of the tools authorized to let new hire Josh Crommett do vehicle maintenance have arrived, and the work of removing beavers and their dams from the Bog Brook Road area continues.

The excavator discussion was interrupted by a parliamentary dispute. After Breton’s motion was made and seconded, Wayne Chadwick, the contractor whose excavator selectmen agreed to hire this year, asked to comment from the audience and MacFarland recognized him. Breton objected, saying by Robert’s Rules of Order audience members could participate in discussion until a motion was on the floor; then only board members could speak. Chadwick left the meeting.

When Breton returned to the topic before adjournment, Town Manager Dennis Heath said Breton was correct, and since the board adopted Robert’s Rules, members should follow them. However, he said, the rules are flexible: MacFarland could have asked the rest of the board to let Chadwick speak out of order.

Although the excavator will not – at least as of Aug. 5 – be on a Nov. 5 local ballot, selectmen accepted Heath’s recommendation that they ask voters another question: “Do they want to allow retail medical marijuana facilities in China?” The question Heath drafted asks if the current local ordinance prohibiting marijuana businesses should be amended to make an exception for medical marijuana businesses. (The single-page “Ordinance Prohibiting Retail Marijuana Establishments in China” is on the town website under “Ordinances, Policies and Orders.”)

China has one medical marijuana store, established before state law changed. Heath said it is grandfathered and would not be affected by a November vote. Under revised state laws China voters must “opt in,” that is, approve a local ordinance allowing such businesses, before any more can open. The planning board has one application on which it cannot act unless voters approve (see The Town Line, July 18).

Local elections will also be Nov. 5. Nomination papers are available at the town office for positions on the Board of Selectmen, Planning Board and Budget Committee and for one seat on the Regional School Unit #18 board.

In other business Aug. 5, Heath announced that Tracey Frost, China’s part-time police chief, has resigned due to lack of time. Craig Johnson, a retired Clinton police chief, will succeed Frost; Michael Tracy and Jordan Goulet will continue to serve China, Heath said.

Selectmen unanimously appointed Amber McAllister to the Tax Increment Financing Committee.

Belanger and others commented on the success of the China Days celebration August 2, 3 and 4. Heath commended the police department, and audience member Tom Michaud praised town office staff member Kelly Grotton for her well-organized management of the event.