China voters to be presented with three ballots on June 11, 2024

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by Mary Grow

China voters will be presented with three ballots at the polls on June 11: the annual town business meeting, the school budget referendum and a choice of state primary ballots. All ballots can be previewed on the town website, china.govoffice.com, under the Elections tab on the left side of the main page.

Voting will be in the portable classroom behind the town office on Lakeview Drive. After a moderator is elected at 6:45 a.m., polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The warrant for China’s annual town business meeting has 32 articles. Voters will act on authorizations to spend town money on listed purposes (and set the fall 2024 and spring 2025 tax due dates to collect some of the money); grant authority to select board members to carry out official functions; and accept or reject three amended or new ordinances (Arts. 29, 30 and 31).

There are no local elections. They will be held Nov. 5.

Select board and budget committee members debated many of the June 11 articles at multiple meetings, sometimes with input from audience members. A May 6 public hearing on the warrant was sparsely attended.

Some of the articles discussed were:

— Art. 4, administration expenses, $1,184,525, which includes a 3.2 percent cost of living increase plus one percent merit raises (the same increases are in other budget lines that include town employees).
— Art. 5, town boards’ and committees’ expenses, $84,220. For the second year, this article includes no compensation for select board members.
— Art. 7, public safety, increased to $420,931, mostly because Delta Ambulance’s fee has risen from $15 per resident this year to $25 per resident in 2024-25.
— Art. 9, public works, increased to $1.848 million, including planning for truck replacements, but no additional staff.
— Art. 10, $74,000 for community support organizations (China Historical Society, two libraries, two lake associations, Golden Agers, China Rescue, supplemental funds for the three volunteer fire departments, veterans’ markers and Memorial Day expenses).
— Art. 28, authorizing the select board to contract for ambulance services, in case the contract with Delta Ambulance falls through.
— Art. 32, authorizing up to $155,489 from federal ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) money for the long-discussed records storage vault at the town office and $70,000 from undesignated fund balance (surplus) for a broadband project, the latter to be spent only on (future) town meeting approval.

The budget committee recommends voters approve all proposed expenditures. At their April 3 meeting, budget committee members supported select board members’ plan to spend up to $296,715 for a new town truck, provided that the select board gets at least a second price quote before signing a contract.

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Three articles propose ordinance amendments. These, too, are on the website under the Elections tab.

Art. 29 asks voters to replace the current Planning Board ordinance, dated 2008.

If voters approve the new ordinance, the six planning board members (five regular, one alternate) will be appointed by the select board, instead of elected; and the four planning board districts will be abolished, so that a resident of any part of town can fill any vacancy.

Board members’ two-year terms, their compensation ($25 per meeting with a maximum of $700 per year) and their responsibilities would be unchanged.

Art. 30 asks if voters want to amend parts of three chapters of China’s Land Development Code. Two documents are on the website, one including explanations of the changes.

Substantive changes are mandated by the new state affordable housing law, known as LD 2003 and titled “An Act To Implement the Recommendations of the Commission To Increase Housing Opportunities in Maine by Studying Zoning and Land Use Restrictions.” China’s town attorney advised on wording.

Major changes include creation of a South China Development District and its description and regulations. Its purpose is to “provide for the siting and construction of affordable housing, and resources and services in a clustered (higher density) land area.”

The district, described in an appendix, is the area around South China Village and along Route 3 and Route 32 South (Windsor Road) that was recommended as a development district in China’s 2020 comprehensive plan. It goes west to the Vassalboro line and south on Route 32 just past the Weeks Mills Road intersection.

A map titled Future Land Use Map, page 14 of appendices to the China Comprehensive Plan, shows the area. This map is found on the town website under Ordinances, Policies and Orders, named Comprehensive Plan Appendices – March 2022.

A second major change allows for accessory dwelling units on residential lots. Provisions allow a house-owner to add a separate unit or a separate building to provide additional housing.

A third provision required by the state amends the subdivision ordinance in the Land Development Code to add what are named affordable housing developments.

Art. 31 asks voters to accept the long-discussed Solar Energy Systems Ordinance as a new Chapter 8 in the Land Development Code.

This ordinance, if approved, will set standards for large ground-mounted solar energy systems. Large means any system with more than an acre of panel area; some requirements – height limit, setback and screening requirements — apply to systems with more than 5,000 square feet of panel area.

The ordinance includes requirements for decommissioning a system after its useful life ends, with a required pre-construction guarantee of decommissioning funding in the form of a “surety bond, letter of credit or other form of financial assistance.”

The select board and the planning board recommend that voters approve all three ordinances.

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A separate ballot has only one question, asking if China voters want to approve the Regional School Unit #18 budget that was adopted at a May 16 RSU meeting.

Information on the RSU #18 website says the proposed 2024-25 school budget totals $44,377,494.71, an increase of $1,459,447.19 over the current year’s budget.

The income section of the budget shows how much each member town is asked to contribute. For China, the amounts are: under “Local EPS” (Educational Programs and Services), $3,487,526.34, an increase of $216,273; and under “Local Additional,” $2,166,576.72, an increase of $228,274. China’s total share is $5,654,103, an increase of $444,547 over the current year.

In addition, RSU 18 Superintendent Carl Gartley said in an email, there is a $10,716.20 assessment for the adult education program.

The EPS figure, Gartley explained, is the amount “the state deems necessary for all students to achieve Maine’s Learning Results.” State officials calculate each EPS based on the municipal valuation, population, number of students and other factors. Each municipality must raise the amount the state calculates to be eligible for its full state subsidy, Gartley said.

Member towns in RSU 18 are Belgrade, China, Oakland, Rome and Sidney.

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In China’s June 11 primary voting for the state and national legislatures, the only contest is on the Republican ballot for the District One Congressional seat. Andrew Piantidosi, of Cape Elizabeth, and Ronald C. Russell, of Kennebunkport, seek the nomination. The winner will run in November against Democratic incumbent Chellie Pingree, of North Haven, who has no opponent on the Democratic ballot.

There is also a Green Independent ballot, with no candidate’s name.

In the Maine State Senate primaries for District #15 (Augusta, Belgrade, China, Mount Vernon, Sidney, and Vassalboro), Republican Richard T. Bradstreet, of Vassalboro, and Democrat Raegan French LaRochelle, of Augusta, are unopposed.

In House District #62 (China, Palermo, Somerville, Windsor and Hibberts Gore), Republican incumbent Katrina Smith and Democrat Pamela Swift are unopposed. Both are Palermo residents.

State law says voters enrolled in a party may vote only on that party’s ballot; but unenrolled voters may request any one of the three party ballots. All primary ballots have a line for a write-in candidate.

China Baptist Church gets new sunburst pediments

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Dwayne Bickford displaying his handy work. (photo courtesy of Linda Morrell)

submitted by Linda Morrell

Several years ago the Trustees at China Baptist became aware that the smaller sunburst pediments above the front windows and the larger one above the door were in need of repair or replacement. Dwayne Bickford volunteered to take one of the smaller ones down and make a new one. I don’t think he realized the amount of work he was volunteering for, but he got it done. Then last fall he undertook removing and replicating the larger one above the door.

The old, sunburst pediment that needed to be replaced. (photo courtesy of Linda Morrell)

It surely was a labor of love!

We are so blessed to have craftsman like Dwayne Bickford in our church and community. This is what Dwayne said about the project.

The work in progress. (photo courtesy of Linda Morrell)

“I can finally share my latest project. I am in awe of how the craftsman of probably 200 years ago designed and constructed the decorative sunburst pediments at China Baptist Church (and the one over the entrance of the China Village Library). The upper one on the front of the church had reached its end of life and was taken down last summer so I could use the pieces for a template. It no doubt had been refurbished at some point in the past as evidenced by the plywood backing. The green paint behind the plywood shows the plywood was added some time later. The replacement was made just like the original from Maine cedar. I used modern tools, however. I sure can’t wait to meet the original craftsman some day.”

A plaque was placed behind the pediment for future generation it reads, “made in Belgrade Maine by Dwayne Bickford. This Sunburst pediment was remade for China Baptist Church. May 2024.”

The project is complete and was installed last Saturday. Thank you Dwayne and the crew who helped put it back in place. Nelson Farris, Carl McKeil and Brad Bickford. It looks beautiful!

The finished product: The new sunburst pediment in place. (photo courtesy of Linda Morrell)

Manchester kindergartners tour China’s transfer station/recycling

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Photo by Roberta Barnes

by Roberta Barnes

Today’s children are our future, and the future of our planet. What helps today’s children to form our future is learning through experience. To help students learn the importance of recycling Ms. Gross and Mrs. Wood, Manchester kindergarten teachers, arranged for the kindergartners to have a guided tour through the China transfer station’s recycling program.

By 9 a.m., Thursday morning, May 16, Tom, and Cheyenne, two of the staff at the China transfer station, had everything ready for the children to enjoy an interactive tour of all the areas in the transfer station.

Photo by Roberta Barnes

The moment the children stepped off the school bus they were smiling and ready to see that not everything we throw away belongs in the trash can. They gathered in front of the table that Tom and Cheyenne had set up by the area of electronics ranging from laptops, televisions, monitors, and more waiting to be recycled.

The principal Abbie Hartford, Ms. Gross, Mrs. Wood, nine parent chaperones, and the bus driver joined in behind the children.

Tom placed a large garbage bag filled with different waste items on the table. He took one of the items out and held it up while asking the children if it could be recycled or not. After the children had answered, he explained a little about the recycling of that item. Taking out a different item from the bag, he again asked if it could be recycled. This continued with the children anxiously responding until the bag was totally empty.

Rather than this being a verbal test, the children’s giggles and body language said it was a fun learning experience. The children’s answers also proved that along with computers being a part of today’s daily life, so is recycling.

The next stop on the tour was outside the recycling building that has separate bins for things such as clean glass, plastic, tin and aluminum, mixed papers, cardboard, and newspaper. Here the children were introduced to a hands-on activity. Not far from where the children stood were plastic crates filled with assorted items for them to put in the correct bin. The children hurried over to crates, each picked up one item, and then carefully checked the signs on the bins before putting in the item. One little girl stopped by the two bins for glass and Tom explained to her, and another child who stopped to listen, what diverse types of glass should go in each bin.

It did not take long for the crates to be emptied so they could move on. However, before moving on to other recycling areas, several children stopped to check out the transfer station’s mascot. Oscar the Grouch sitting in a metal trash shows that while recycling is important for all of our health, it can also bring smiles.

The tour then passed by areas of clothing and a truck trailer where tires were stacked for recycling, before stopping at the composting section. There the children saw that besides the large pile of compost, there were other sections of compost. Just as some foods we eat can hurt our dogs, it is best to separate things when composting. It was explained that composting foods, wood, manure, leaves, and other things not only help improve the soil by returning nutrients and carbon to it but cut down on the amount of trash in a landfill.

By the time everyone arrived at the hopper where waste that cannot be recycled is dumped, there were only a few things left in the buckets children had been carrying. A piece of carboard and a piece of metal were not put in the hopper because they could be recycled, the bins for those had just been missed.

After all that, there were still two other recycling areas. The first is where used plastic toys in excellent condition are free to take. The second is a grassy area with signs saying “no mow”. Mixed into the grass are dandelions, which as Tom explained are an important food sources for wildlife. The bright yellow blooms are perfect for pollinators such as bees and butterflies, plus the flowers and leaves are nutritious. Rabbits, deer, groundhogs, squirrels, and others animal enjoy the nutritious tasty leaves.

Tom answered the children’s remaining questions and then pointed to the scales used to weigh trucks.

Before getting onto the bus the children happily gathered together on the transfer station’s scale. Together with all their smiles they weighed over 1,450 lbs., combined.

Memorial Day in China Village (2024)

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submitted by Linda Morrell

It was a bit rainy, but a small crowd gathered to honor our veterans who gave their lives for our freedom. The American Legion, the American Legion Auxiliary, the Boy Scouts, the Fire Dept, and the Children from China Baptist Church (thanks to Lemieux Orchards for the use of their farm wagon) were all represented. The veterans did the gun salute, the auxiliary honored those who died at sea, Kevin Maroon played Taps and Pastor Ron Morrell offered a prayer of remembrance. The gathering ended with the playing of the National Anthem. It was a brief time of remembering and honoring the memory of those who gave their lives for the freedoms we enjoy.

If you didn’t attend this year please find somewhere next year to honor these veterans, one hour out of your year doesn’t seem too much to give to honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice.

Albert Church Brown Library receives two grants

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Brooke and Nash Plaisted during a session of LEGOs at the Albert Church Brown Memorial Library.

The Albert Church Brown Memorial Library has announced that it has received grants from The Simmons Foundation and the Oak Grove School Foundation to support a new program for children ages 6-18. LEGOs Clubs for Kids also received very generous LEGO donations from Tom and Teresa Parent and Katrina Kilduff.

Zareen and Syar Wajid show off their creation.

Funding from the foundations enable the library to develop a LEGO Library that will provide reference and check-out materials for all LEGO users, including adults. Funding also augments the current LEGO collection with items missing from the LEGO donations and providing robotic LEGO mechanisms for the older, more advanced LEGO users. In addition, the library will upgrade the teens’ area of the library.

LEGO clubs are popular in many libraries across the country because they are recognized for improving problem-solving skills, lowering stress levels, improving mood, building confidence, improving IQ and hand-eye coordination and building team skills.

Kerri McGlew and her daughter Kate were instrumental in getting the program off the ground. In addition to Kerri and Kate, other volunteers include Meg Ouellette, Danica Ferris and Linnea Bassett.

First meeting in April with theme of “Things That Go” resulted in imaginative builds like a camper, water slide, ships, among other things. May’s theme was “Food” and resulted in a full breakfast on frying pan, food trucks and boats, milk and cookie drive thru and restaurants. The Club meets monthly on Saturday mornings. The next meeting is Saturdday, June 15, from 10:30 – noon. If you are interested in joining, please contact the library through their website, chinalibrary.org, or by calling 207-968-2926 during business hours, 2-6 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays and 10 am-2 pm on Saturdays.

To become a member of the LEGOs Clubs for Kids, one must first obtain a library card and sign a release that the library may publish pictures and/or articles in local papers and social media. A registration QR code is available on the library’s Facebook page. If you are interested in joining, please contact the library through their website, chinalibrary.org, or by calling 207-968-2926 during business hours, 2-6 p.m., on Tuesdays and Thursdays and 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., on Saturdays.

EVENTS: South China library fundraiser

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The GoFundMe states: “The South China Public Library, the oldest continuously operating library in Maine, began in a private home in 1830 and moved to Village Street in 1900. In 2018, having outgrown its space, the library launched a project to build a new facility, at 27 Jones Road. Despite pandemic and supply chain delays, the new library opened in January 2024. Funding is still needed to finish and furnish the children’s room and community activity room. The library seeks community support to finish these spaces, with contributions of any size making a significant impact on this vital community resource. The library’s hope is to have a successful summer campaign to raise $45,000 and fully finish and furnish the spaces in the fall of 2024. This goal is ambitious and they need all the support they can get. If you can’t contribute yourself, please consider sharing this fundraiser with your friends and family to help us finish and furnish the New South China Public Library.”

China select board holds ice cream social, presents Spirit of America award

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by Mary Grow

China select board members began their May 20 meeting with their second ice cream social in two weeks, as an introduction to the presentation of 2024 Spirit of America awards.

The dozen residents recognized for their volunteerism this year are:

— Carol Boynton and Thomas Bilodeau, for service to the Project Linus chapter serving Hancock, Kennebec, Penobscot and Piscataquis counties. Project Linus, Boynton explained, is a national organization whose volunteers give handmade blankets to hospitals and service organization to distribute to sick or traumatized children. Boynton said she and Bilodeau have made 55 blankets in the 18 months they have been involved.
— Sheldon Goodine (who was unable to attend the select board meeting), for leadership in China’s Golden Agers senior program and service to the South China church, library, Masons and American Legion.
— Thomas Maraggio, transfer station manager, for creating appropriate flag disposal boxes for the China Transfer Station. Maraggio explained that he was distressed to find United States flags treated as trash; he could not find appropriate disposal boxes to buy, so he made some. When he reported accepting about five flags a week, there was a chorus of “Wow!” from the audience.
— Thomas Rumpf, president of the China Four Seasons Club for the past seven years, for leading the organization that provides recreational activities. Rumpf shared credit with “all the Four Seasons Club volunteers who make things happen.”
— Jeanette Smith, chairman of the Thurston Park Committee, for leading the small group of volunteers ensuring accessibility to Thurston Park in northeastern China, including clearing trails after storm damage.
— China Community Forest Committee members Larry and Nancy Lemieux, Elizabeth Swahn, Jessica Parlin, Peter Moulton and Susan Cottle, for countless hours maintaining the China Community Forest behind China Primary School.

China Community Forest Committee co-chairs Elaine Philbrook and Anita Smith received Spirit of America awards in 2022.

In other business May 20, select board members postponed continued discussion of town buildings until Goodine, who heads the town’s building committee, is present. He had drafted a plan for remodeling the interior of the old town garage on the north side of the town office lot.

The June 3 select board meeting tentatively includes a tour of the building.

On another ongoing issue, board chair man Wayne Chadwick reported that the South China boat landing “is getting looked at and worked on.” That morning, he said, he and fellow board member Brent Chesley, Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood and Director of Public Services Shawn Reed met there to discuss improvements intended to minimize run-off into China Lake.

Select board members appointed Thomas Maragliuolo to fill a vacancy on the town board of appeals.

They continued preparations for the June 11 elections, approving the Regional School Unit #18 school budget referendum warrant and appointing election officials.

In a separate meeting in their capacity as assessors, they approved five requests for local tax abatements. Two points came out of the discussion:

— Anyone planning to demolish a building needs a free demolition permit from the town. The record of the permit ensures that the building is removed from the tax rolls.
— Any property transfer should include accurately surveyed boundaries, to avoid many later complications.

Temporary changes in town office hours and related information

The China town office will be closed all day Monday, May 27, for the Memorial Day holiday.

In June, the town office will be closed all day Tuesday, June 11, for the annual town business meeting, school budget referendum and primary election. Absentee ballots are available until the close of business Thursday, June 5.

June 11 voting will be by written ballot in the former portable classroom behind the town office building. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. (after a moderator is elected at 6:45) to 8 p.m. The driveway off Lakeview Drive will be closed June 11; access will be from Alder Park Road, south of the town office complex.

On Friday, June 28, the town office will close at noon to allow staff to complete end-of-fiscal year tasks. The select board will hold a special meeting at 3 p.m. on June 28 to approve year-end payables.

The town office will also be closed on Saturday, June 29, because of the end of year process.

China select board holds hearing on town meeting warrant

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by Mary Grow

The ice cream social that preceded the May 6 China Select Board’s public hearing and meeting was enjoyed by board members and 10 people who attended the hearing.

The hearing topic was the warrant for the June 11 annual town business meeting, which will be by written ballot in the former portable classroom behind the town office. Voting begins with election of a moderator at 6:55 a.m.; polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

A recording of the May 6 hearing is available on the website, china.govoffice.com. A printed copy of the warrant was mailed out early in May; it is posted in public places around town and is on the website, with related documents, under the Elections tab on the left side of the main page. Absentee ballots are available as of May 13.

Questions May 6 were about financial items, mostly smaller ones, like appropriations for social service agencies (Art. 6); the revised Planning Board Ordinance (Art. 29); and the new Solar Energy Systems Ordinance (Art. 31).

Discussion also covered two broad issues, how to get more people interested and involved in town business and whether China should return to pre-Covid open town meetings.

Former select board member Joann Austin said she thinks lack of involvement has allowed the select board to act more like a town council, making decisions and, when appropriate, asking voters to ratify them. Perhaps, she suggested, it is time to ask voters if they want to convert local government from a select board to a council.

She and others who favor an open town meeting argued that voters attending have the opportunity to ask questions and amend articles, promoting informed decisions.
Written-ballot supporters replied that getting 120 or more voters together for a quorum takes too long; and many who sign in soon leave, so decisions are made by a very small minority.

Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood said voters were asked in a straw poll on June 14, 2022, whether they wanted an open meeting.

Poll results, reported in the June 30, 2022, issue of “The Town Line” were as follows: of 275 respondents (out of 660 residents who voted June 14), 162 preferred an open meeting, 111 preferred a written ballot, one asked for both and one recommended having select board members make decisions.

Building Committee chairman Sheldon Goodine and select board member Blane Casey sparked an unexpected discussion related to the final article in the June 11 warrant. Art. 32 asks if voters will approve two appropriations: up to $155,489 from federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money toward a new fireproof vault in an addition to the town office; and $70,000 from undesignated fund balance (informally called surplus) for a broadband project.

County sheriff’s deputy has messages for residents

Kennebec County Deputy Sheriff Ivano Steffanizzi had two messages for area residents at the May 6 China select board meeting, and board chair Wayne Chadwick added a third.

Steffanizzi said many thefts have been reported recently, including motors from unattended boats, packages from doorsteps and mail from mailboxes.

And he reminded people driving cars and trucks to share the road with motorcyclists, now that the weather is milder.

Chadwick added a request not to let lawnmower clippings fly onto paved roads; they make the surface dangerously slippery for cyclists, he said.

Building committee members have been discussing the vault since 2021. Goodine and Casey surprised the other four select board members with a new plan to rearrange use of town buildings.

As Goodine summarized, the plan involves moving paper records that the state requires be kept for seven years from the town office building into the white garage behind (east of) the old town office. The space the records now occupy could be converted to a fireproof vault.

Hapgood said she thought Goodine planned to move the Wednesday morning Golden Agers meetings to the garage, from the former portable classroom where they currently meet. Goodine said no, his current idea is to enlarge the bathroom and add a kitchen in the portable, to make it more convenient for the meetings and useable as an emergency shelter.

Austin asked that the China Historical Society by considered in any rearrangement. The organization has irreplaceable documents that need insect-proof storage with temperature and humidity controls.

Goodine offered to make a sketch plan of a redesigned interior for the old garage. The May 20 select board agenda is likely to include a “field trip” to inspect the building.

In other business, select board members approved a contract with Delta Ambulance for the 2024-25 fiscal year. At Casey’s insistence, Hapgood cannot sign the contract until after the June 11 town meeting, assuming voters approve Art. 7. The article appropriates $110,200 for Delta as part of the 2024-25 public safety budget.

Casey wanted a similar stipulation on Hapgood’s request to sign a three-year contract — $1,100 next year, $1,134 the second year and $1,156 the third year – with Time Clock Plus. His argument again was that until voters approve a new budget, the money is not available.

The other four board members, figuring they could find $3,400 somewhere, did not impose the condition. Casey voted against the appropriation.

Hapgood explained that Time Clock Plus is the program that records when employees sign in and out. It is especially useful for road crew members who work odd hours, board chair Wayne Chadwick commented.

Also on the May 20 select board agenda, Hapgood said, will be a second ice cream social, this one in recognition of China residents receiving 2024 Spirit of America awards for volunteerism. The meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. in the town office meeting room.

China planners unanimously approve two projects

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Grange hall apartments conversion welcome by neighbors

by Mary Grow

The two projects on the China Planning Board’s May 14 agenda got praise as well as unanimous approval.

Carrol White’s application to convert the former Silver Lake Grange Hall in China Village to four apartments was the subject of a short public hearing. Everyone who spoke at the hearing endorsed the change, including Main Street resident Ann Sylvester, whose daughter and son-in-law live in the house north of the Grange Hall, and Jennifer Clair, owner of the post office south of the Grange Hall.

Sylvester thinks the apartments will be “a nice addition to the town.” Clair called the reuse of the building “a wonderful idea.”

White intends to sell the building to another Main Street resident, Daniel Coleman. Coleman said he has experience with rehabilitating buildings and as a landlord, and intends to find tenants who will be good neighbors.

The other application was from Jeffrey Michaud. He and Mark Brown are doing selective cutting on a lot once owned by Henry “Hank” Dillenbeck on Lakeview Drive; they needed planning board approval to do some of the work in a resource protection area.

The two said the resource protection area extends 250 feet from the edges of a wetland that used to have more water, until a man-made dam was breached some years ago. Now, a stream runs through a marshy area.

Planning board members found Michaud and Brown met all requirements to encroach into the protected area. Board chairman Toni Wall commended their work.

Michaud said nearby landowners had asked him to do selective cutting on their woodlot. On their lot, too, he expects to take out some trees in a 250-foot resource protection zone.

Codes officer Nicholas French said Michaud will need another planning board permit and supporting documents, including another wading bird habitat report from the state Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

The next China Planning Board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday evening, June 25. Board members canceled their May 28 meeting; a June 11 meeting would have fallen on primary election day.

CHINA: Recycling main topic during transfer station committee meeting

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by Mary Grow

Recycling dominated discussion at the China Transfer Station Committee’s May 14 meeting, thanks mostly to committee member James Hsiang’s proposal for a contest to reward people who minimize their trash.

Hsiang suggested the idea at the April 16 committee meeting (see the April 25 issue of The Town Line, p. 3). He presented a plan May 14, proposing contests in which people who sign up deposit their non-recyclable trash in a separate area where it is weighed and the donors of the lightest bags win prizes.

Weighing and judging would be done partly by transfer station staff and partly by volunteers. Depending on which of two options Hsiang presented was used, he estimated costs – mostly staff time – at either $2,415 or $765 per contest. He envisioned four contests a year, each lasting three months.

Committee members were unable to support the plan. Transfer station manager Thomas Maraggio offered the first objection: “We don’t have time to do this.”

Even if enough volunteers could be found, they would need staff supervision, and Maraggio said staff are already overbusy.

There are liability issues involved in using volunteers on town property, Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood added. And, she pointed out, the committee has no authority to spend money.

Committee chairman Chris Baumann said when he brings his trash and recyclables to the transfer station, he wants “to get in and out,” not spend time having his bags weighed, labeled and recorded.

However, the discussion continued with other proposals for encouraging recycling, through, for example, publicizing recyclable items (one committee member had not known before the meeting that books can be recycled); emphasizing how much tax money recycling can save; and inviting school classes to tour the transfer station.

Hapgood promptly envisioned a new column in her monthly China Connected newsletters. She tentatively named it Tom’s Tips.

Maraggio raised a question related to another kind of recycling: what, if any, liability might the town incur as transfer station staff use their loader, on request, to fill residents’ trailers with compost? He mentioned a trailer overloaded – with the owner’s approval – that blew a tire almost as soon as the driver left, and wondered what would happen if the loader operator accidentally damaged a vehicle.

Hapgood said the question needs study. Meanwhile, she recommended China, Palermo and Albion residents taking the free compost use shovels and buckets.

Maraggio said the PaintCare program that lets the transfer station take unneeded paint at no charge has been expanded: staff can now give away unopened cans.

On ongoing issues on the May 14 agenda, committee members, Hapgood and other town staff reported little progress.

Hapgood said negotiations continue with Palermo over the contract between the towns that lets Palermo residents use China’s facility. Earlier this year, she sent the required year’s notice of China’s intention to end the contract, citing rules violations by some Palermo residents.

“Bob and I are talking,” Hapgood said, referring to Robert Kurek, one of Palermo’s two representatives on the committee. Kurek described their discussions: “We’re making some progress; we’ve still got a ways to go.”

Director of Public Services Shawn Reed said he is reviewing three price quotes for a water filter system and talking with people at the state Department of Environmental Protection, which will partly reimburse the expense. The system is intended to filter out PFAS, the “forever chemicals” that have contaminated groundwater nation-wide.

Maraggio said the new compost pile pad is waiting on “the cement guy.” New solar lights in the free for the taking building are almost ready.

Two new problems were discussed briefly.

Reed and Maraggio are working on developing a debris site, to meet state Department of Environmental Protection requirements. The site would provide temporary storage in case of major damage to structures, as from a tornado or wildfire. Such a site could have been used after the December 2023 wind- and rainstorm, Reed said.

Hapgood said people who rent Airbnbs in China are coming to the transfer station without the required passes. A solution might be to require dumpsters at short-term rental properties.

Because the second Tuesday in June is primary election day, committee members scheduled their next meeting for 9 a.m. Tuesday, June 18.