China News: Seven vie for three selectmen’s seats

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by Mary Grow

The Town Line sent the seven candidates for the China Board of Selectmen a short questionnaire. Responses were received from six of the seven and are reprinted below, with minor editing. They appear in the order in which candidates’ names are listed on the ballot.

Joann Austin, Neil Farrington and Robert MacFarland are currently on the Board of Selectmen.

None of the other four has previously been a China selectman.

China polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 8, in the former portable classroom beside the town office on Lakeview Drive.

ALBERT ALTHENN did not reply to the questionnaire. Althenn, age 71, lives on Lakeview Drive and has been a candidate for selectman annually since 2010.

JOANN AUSTIN, 77, works full-time running Austin Law Office, in South China, focusing on elder law, real estate and financial advising. She summered in China from childhood and became a permanent resident 36 years ago.

She has been a selectman for the majority of her years in China and sees great value in offering a historical perspective on issues that come before the board.

Three currently important issues, she said, are keeping as much rural ambience as possible as the town grows; creating opportunities for residents to work together and know each other (thus her support for such ideas as a town beach, a central library and perhaps someday a community center); and making it easier for aging residents to stay in their homes or home town. As a selectman, she is working with Vassalboro on possible public transportation for the two towns and studying opportunities for affordable local senior housing.

WAYNE CHADWICK, 50, lives on Dirigo Road and is self-employed as an excavation contractor. He has lived in China 31 years and wrote that he would like to be a selectman in order to “have some input on how our tax dollars are being spent.”

To Chadwick, the major issue facing the town is keeping spending under control so long-time residents can afford to pay their property taxes without being forced to sell family property.

NEIL FARRINGTON, 66, lives on Weeks Mills Road and is a personal care attendant. A China native, he served in the Navy for more than 20 years and returned to China in 1997. Living off Neck Road until his house burned and now in the south end of town where he was born, he feels that he knows “the diverse demographics” of both parts of town.

Farrington would like to continue on the selectboard to use his common sense and support the common good, especially when spending the new Tax Increment Financing (TIF) funds.

The major town priority Farrington cited is providing services, like transportation and health care, to enable older residents to stay in their homes. With younger generations moving out of Maine for better jobs, elders are left alone, and therefore, “The Town needs to help and be their family,” he wrote.

JEFFREY LAVERDIERE, 55, who lives on Fire Road 19, is another China native. He owns LaVerdiere’s General Store just north of China Village and also sells sand, gravel and loam.
He is a candidate for selectman because he believes “it is time for some new members who have experience in other areas and can share our knowledge.” If elected, he wrote, “I will always do what is in the best interest of my fellow China residents.”

To LaVerdiere, the town’s biggest problem is “the topic of spending money around the lake,” an issue on which residents have many opinions. China people “are quite sensitive when it comes to decisions that affect our lake,” he observed.

ROBERT MACFARLAND, 55, the current chairman of the board of selectmen, has been a resident of China for about 10 years and lives on Alder Park Road. He is a self-employed building contractor and does lawn and garden sales.

MacFarland said he is running for re-election because, “I feel it’s important to give back to my community in ways that I feel I can best serve them.” If re-elected, he said, he will continue to do so; if not chosen, he expressed gratitude for being allowed to serve. He also apologized for missing the March town meeting, explaining that he had been ill.

MacFarland agrees with others that providing services for the elderly is important, and also mentioned the need for local services for children, to minimize travel costs for everyone. Therefore, he said, “We need to allow a responsible business community to grow along with us.”
He added, “We also have a lake water quality issue and I have an interesting idea for that too, but it’s too long and early to discuss here.”

RAYMOND ROBERT, 43, has lived on Fire Road 34 for three years. He wrote he has “always worked in the private sector” and described himself as having “a business mindset.” He currently works as a safety professional; he explained that means he works, “to keep employees safe from workplace hazards pertaining to OSHA.”

Robert listed town spending as his major concern: he wants to ensure tax dollars are spent responsibly and thinks the town “in the past has spent excessively on projects that do not benefit all tax payers.” He wrote that any surplus money should go back to taxpayers and not be spent on needless projects.

If elected, he said, “I will do my best to eliminate wasteful spending.” He offered his Twitterfeed, @rrobert7771, for anyone with questions for him.

COMMUNITY COMMENTARY: A closer look at question 3 on China ballot

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by Paul Mitnik
Codes Enforcement Officer
Town of China

Question 3: Shall amendments to the Town of China Land Development Code, Chapter 2, Land Use Ordinance and Chapter 11 Definitions be enacted?

This following article is written so that residents of China may better understand the amendments that they will be voting on in the third ballot question. The amendments can broadly be divided into three major categories. The first of these pertains to the signs. China enacted language in their Land Use Ordinance in 2010 to regulate the size and amount of signs on their property and other issues pertaining to signs. However the new language did not grandfather existing signs and, in fact, had a sunset provision which required property owners to comply with the new regulations within ninety (90) days. The sunset provision was never enforced, and as a result most of the existing commercial businesses do not comply with Ordinance requirements. The proposed ordinance changes add grandfathering to all signs that existed in 2010 except operational items such as lighting and hold time for changing digital signs. If this is not enacted, many commercial signs in China will have to be removed or reduced in size, some of which have been in existence for decades.

The second item pertains to seasonal conversions. Some camps in the shoreland zone are only permitted to be occupied for seven months of the year based upon whether or not they were occupied year round from 1977 to 1981. Seasonal conversion permits must be obtained to occupy seasonal camps year round for those camps that were seasonal during this period. The state law for obtaining this permit requires the property to have full septic systems containing a tank and disposal bed adequately sized and functioning properly that meet setbacks to the lake high water mark, wells, and property line and buildings. China has a provision in their Ordinance which also requires both the lot to meet minimum lot size and the camp to meet the 100 foot water setback in order to obtain this permit. The amendment proposes to repeal these provisions in China’s Ordinance, since once the camps are built the septic system is really the main issue for water quality protection of the lake. If a property has an adequate septic system, staying in the camp another five months annually should not have any additional impact to lake water quality. The proposed changes will not affect when a property owner can visit their seasonal camp since the state rules do not require that the seven months be consecutive.

The third amendment is the adoption of the updated DEP requirements for 2015. This includes changes to expansions of non-conforming structures; adoption of the statewide timber harvesting standards; and new sections giving guidelines to hazard, storm damaged, or dead tree removal; revegetation requirements for properties in violation of clearing standards; and exemption to clearing standards. The expansion provision of these changes may be the most controversial and difficult to understand. The new standards use footprint of a building rather than the formerly used standards of volume and floor area. Floor area is a sum of the footprint of all stories.

The footprint is a more scientific way from a water quality perspective, since it is the footprint or the amount of impervious area that produces runoff which could potentially pollute the lake. The new expansion standards should level the playing field, since expansions for large structures will become more stringent but expansions for small structures less stringent. Currently what is allowed for expansions for large structures with multiple stories can be enormous, while the single story small structure is very limited in its size for expansions.

The Town’s TIF committee is planning a project on the causeway which addresses safety issues and runoff treatment. A fishing platform, wood plank trail, and phosphorus infiltration treatment system is planned for this area. A minor change was made to the ordinance to clarify that Town owned fishing platforms are a functionally water dependent use and are exempted from water setback requirements which is consistent with state law. Currently many people fish from the causeway on China Lake. Safety from automobile and boating traffic is an issue. The phosphorus treatment system will intercept sediment runoff that is currently entering the lake below the causeway and into the wetland above the causeway.

China: Many residents oppose event center proposal

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by Mary Grow

The China Planning Board has postponed action on Parris and Catherine Varney’s application to host commercial events in the barn on their Neck Road property to the Oct. 25 board meeting.

A public hearing on the application at the board’s Oct. 11 meeting drew more than two dozen people, mostly residents of Neck Road and fire roads off it. The majority of those who spoke opposed the application. Planning Board Chairman Frank Soares began the hearing by inviting the Varneys to respond to questions a neighbor submitted in advance. The Varneys said:

• They plan to host events like weddings, wedding and baby showers, birthday parties and conferences. They foresee a maximum of four events a month, mostly from May through November and mostly on weekends.
• Most events would last from four to six hours, after a day or two of preparations. They plan an 11 p.m. closing time for all events.
• The only thing outside the barn, besides the portable toilets they intend to provide, might be a tent, for example if a couple wanted to exchange vows outdoors. They plan no outdoor music and no fireworks, hayrides or other features that would extend beyond their property.
• They expect those attending to park in the grassy field behind the barn, not along the road.
• They would be willing to notify neighbors in advance of each event.

Most of the 20 or so people who spoke at the hearing expressed concerns about adverse effects on the neighborhood, including noise, erosion of the parking area, traffic congestion and the lack of local law enforcement to deal with problems that might arise. The project, they argued, did not belong in a residential and agricultural area on a narrow dead-end road.

Because the Varneys intend to allow liquor at their events, several neighbors fear guests who overindulge will drive recklessly or trespass on neighbors’ properties. Two of the three people supportive of the application asked if the applicants and the neighbors could work out a compromise to allow the business without undue disturbance.

After half an hour of testimony, Soares closed the hearing and board members voted to table the issue until Oct. 25, to give themselves time to consider issues raised and the Varneys time to consider modifying their plan.

Codes Officer Paul Mitnik presented a second, unrelated issue involving discomfort in a rural area, saying he had received numerous complaints about odors from Ralph and Linda Howe’s Dirigo Road property. He and former Codes Officer Scott Pierz said after the China Planning Board rejected the Howes’ application for a biodiesel plant on Dirigo Road in 2005, they received a permit for the plant in Oakland, and are storing waste from the Oakland facility in the barn on their China property. Soares asked Mitnik to seek legal advice on what, if any, authority the town has over the waste lagoons.

Planning Board members unanimously approved the only other application on their Oct. 11 agenda, giving Dylan Fortin a permit for an auto repair business at his home at 427 Pleasant View Ridge Road. The permit is conditional on a letter from China Village Fire Chief Timothy Theriault saying Fortin’s property has adequate access for emergency vehicles; Fortin said Theriault gave him a verbal assurance.

China Library Association plans annual meeting

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by Mary Grow

The China Library Association holds its annual meeting at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 16, at the Albert Church Brown Memorial Library on Main Street in China Village. A business meeting including election of officers, amendments to the association bylaws and adoption of a budget for the 2016-17 fiscal year will be followed by discussion with Neil Farrington of plans for the 2018 celebration of the 200th anniversary of the creation of the Town Of China.

All residents interested in China’s local history are cordially invited to attend. Refreshments will be served.

TIF meeting rescheduled

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China’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Committee canceled the meeting scheduled for Oct. 10. The committee’s next meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday evening, Nov. 9, in the town office. Updated plans for improved boating and fishing access at the head of China Lake’s east basin will be a major agenda agenda item. A question on China’s Nov. 8 local ballot asks voters to appropriate funds to buy a parcel of land as part of the project.

Selectmen take no action on potential senior services

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by Mary Grow

China selectmen continued to talk about potential services for senior citizens at their Oct. 3 meeting, while agreeing they could take no action until they see whether voters support their Nov. 8 request for $3,800 to fund a survey of senior residents’ needs. Board members Joann Austin and Neil Farrington reported briefly on a Maine Council on Aging conference they attended, sparking a discussion of possible senior housing or medical amenities China might develop.

Austin doubts a town as small as China would appeal to a commercial developer of elderly housing. However, she said, a representative of Volunteers of America, an organization that has two assisted living facilities in northern Massachusetts (but according to its website, none in Maine, New Hampshire or Vermont) expressed interest in talking with China selectmen and looking at the Fairpoint building on Route 3. Farrington has suggested the Fairpoint building could house a medical center, a day care for children and the elderly or both.

China officials are also discussing with Vassalboro officials provision of bus transportation for residents of both towns.

In other business Oct. 3, board members appointed two Palermo representatives, Cheryl York and Dwain McKenney, to the Transfer Station Committee. Palermo will begin using China’s transfer station in January 2017.

Town Manager Daniel L’Heureux said the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Committee has already spent “a few thousand” dollars of the up-to-$50,000 authorized at the March town meeting on planning and engineering costs associated with planned recreational development at the head of China Lake’s east basin.

He asked for and got from the selectmen approval to approve continued spending as engineer Mark McCluskey of A. E. Hodson organizes a meeting with state Department of Environ­mental Protection staff to discuss issues involved in applying for a permit for the work.

China voters are asked to express their views on this issue on Nov. 8, too. One ballot question asks voters to approve an expenditure of up to $12,000 to acquire a parcel of land for parking, as part of the plan; and proposed amendments to the Shoreland Zoning Ordinance include a change that would clear the way for the proposed fishing platforms over China Lake. Representatives of the State Police and Kennebec County Sheriff’s department attended the meeting to suggest additional ways to deal with mischief and nuisances on China’s back roads.

The next regular China selectmen’s meeting is the evening of Oct. 17. It will be held at China Middle School and will be preceded by a 6 p.m. public hearing on the Nov. 8 local ballot questions.

China Village postmaster retires after 32-year career

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by Mary Grow
Priscilla Adams

Priscilla Adams, China Village postmaster, has retired following a 32-year career with the U.S. Postal Service. Contributed photo

Priscilla Adams ended her 32-year career with the United States Postal Service Sept. 30. Her last day as China Village Postmaster was followed Oct. 1 by a retirement party organized by her husband Scott that gave another 100 or so friends and relatives a chance to wish her happiness.

Retirement is bittersweet, Adams said. She looks forward to time for herself, to work in her garden and to take day trips, starting with the Fryeburg Fair Oct. 3. She expects to watch more of her grandsons’ basketball games in southern Maine – and, she said happily, “If it’s a blizzard out and I don’t feel like coming home, I don’t have to.”

On the other hand, she’ll miss the people who enlivened her days behind the post office counter, miss the long talks and listening to people’s stories and problems.

Adams was appointed China Village Postmaster on February 1, 1997. Before that, she worked as PMR (Postmaster Relief, postal-speak for substitute) and sometimes Officer in Charge at other area post offices.

The worst part of her career, she said, has been going through so many changes, which have been difficult for employees and sometimes for customers, like the introduction in 2001 of the E911 system that changed the name and the box numbers in what’s now the China Village post office.
Adams has seen the switch from a manual typewriter to a computer, from a fan scale to an electric scale, from stamps that had to be licked to self-adhesive stamps, from any stamps at all to a postage meter.

She’s watched the price of stamps, box rentals and other services go up – and this February had the rare opportunity to see them go down a bit, for the first time, she believes, since the 1940s.
Two or three years ago, when the Postal Service cut back hours in many post offices, including China Village, there was a rumor that the China Village office would be eliminated when Adams retired.

Just a rumor, Adams is quite sure – the office is valuable not only to its 225 boxholders and other China residents, but to people from surrounding towns where post office window hours are shorter or less convenient.

Adams’ duties, official and unofficial, have included distributing mail and selling stamps, keeping the building clean, collecting lost items, putting up posters for lost pets and helping start people’s cars.

“It’s been a great working experience,” she summarized. “I like helping out people. There’ve been good times and bad times, ups and downs, but I’ve had a lot of fun.”

Becky Tesseo, who also works part-time at the post office in South China, has taken over the China Village office until a new postmaster can be found. Tesseo doesn’t know how long she’ll be in the north end of town – maybe a month, she said.

As Priscilla Adams’ retirement party wound down Oct. 1 in the China Baptist Church Vestry Fellowship Hall, people began assembling in the adjacent church for the funeral of Eleanor Foster, Postmaster from 1956 until 1982, when she retired and Joyce Whitney was appointed. Foster died Sept. 19 at the age of 96.

Foster and her husband Bill lived next door to the post office while Foster worked there and for many years afterwards. Adams said for the first few months of her tenure, they had a standing joke: she would ask Foster, “Do you want to be my PMR?”

Foster would pretend to consider for a moment before replying, “No thanks.”

Erskine announces virtual food drive

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As part of the recently announced School Spirit Challenge, Erskine Academy has announced access to a virtual food drive.  Interested parties are encouraged to visit https://www.gsfb.org/donate/vfd/550 to “shop” online for food products or to make a financial donation to Good Shepherd on behalf of Erskine Academy.  Virtual contributions made by October 28, 2016, will be applied towards Erskine Academy’s competition with seven other Maine high schools vying to become School Spirit Champion.

For competition purposes, every dollar sent – virtually, by mail, or brought to the school – is “weighed” as five pounds of food.  More importantly, Good Shepherd’s ability to purchase food wholesale assures that every dollar raised buys five pounds of food.  Therefore, every gift received is leveraged for maximum benefit.  Those residing in the vicinity of Erskine Academy are encouraged to participate in the school’s “Fill the Bus!” campaign by donating redeemable cans and bottles through October 14. Bottles and cans can be dropped off by the bus on the school’s front lawn and will be added to the food and fund campaign.

China slate of officers released for Nov. 8

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by Mary Grow

China voters will choose among seven candidates for three positions on the Board of Selectmen at Nov. 8 local elections.

For other town boards, there are no contests and one empty line on the ballot, for Budget Committee secretary.

Candidates for selectmen, in alphabetical order as listed on the draft ballot, are Albert Althenn, Joann Austin (incumbent), Wayne Chadwick, Neil Farrington (incumbent), Jeffrey LaVerdiere, Robert MacFarland (incumbent) and Raymond Robert.

Running without opposition are incumbent planning board members Toni Wall (District 2), Thomas Miragliuolo (District 4) and Frank Soares (member at large); incumbent budget committee members Thomas Rumpf (District 2) and Timothy Basham (District 4) and potential new member Valerie Baker (member at large); and Dawn Castner for representative on the Regional School Unit #18 board of directors.   If elected, Baker and Castner will succeed Jonathan Vogel and Robert Bennett, respectively.

China polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 8, in the former portable classroom beside the town office on Lakeview Drive.

China: Public hearing set on events center application

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by Mary Grow

China Planning Board members have scheduled an Oct. 11 public hearing on Parris and Catherine Varney’s application to use the barn on their property at 701 Neck Road for weddings and other events.

The board’s initial discussion of the application at their Sept. 27 meeting drew an audience of a dozen neighbors.  Board member James Wilkens, who lives across the road from the Varney property, asked questions but abstained from voting.

Planning Board Chairman Frank Soares said two neighbors had written to the board expressing concerns about traffic and other issues.

The Varneys said they intend to rent out the barn, with hired caterers, music (either a disc jockey or a band) and a bar.  Most events would be entirely inside the barn, unless a couple wanted to exchange vows outside under a tent.  There would not be outdoor music or speakers, they said.

They intend to rent portable toilets that will be behind the barn, not visible from Neck Road. Parking will be off the road in a field behind the barn.  They seek permission to host events seven days a week and to run them until 11 p.m.

Parris Varney said the barn had been used in June for his daughter’s wedding, which he estimated brought almost 150 guests. He said he had not yet talked with the state fire marshal or local fire and rescue personnel.  Board member Toni Wall asked him to ask someone from the China Village fire department to check the property for adequate access for emergency vehicles before the Oct. 11 hearing.

Of the two other applications on the planning board’s Sept. 27 agenda, one was quickly approved and one was postponed because it was incomplete.

Edwin and Tammy Bailey received approval to replace the 50-year-old building that houses their Route 3 redemption center with a new single-story building – “just a box,” Edwin Bailey said – on the same foundation.  They do not intend any changes in the business or business hours, plumbing, landscaping or anything else planning board members saw as impacting neighbors or the environment.

Dylan Fortin’s after-the-fact application for an auto repair and towing business at his house at 427 Pleasant View Ridge Road lacked required information, so Soares returned it to him to complete before Oct. 11. Codes Officer Paul Mitnik got in touch with Fortin after receiving a complaint about an unlicensed business.  Fortin immediately came to his office and began the application process, Mitnik said.

Fortin said he had been doing auto repairs part-time for about two months and intended to apply for a permit, but “Paul got to me before I got to him.”