UNE announces dean’s list (2023)

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The University of New England, in Biddeford, has announced the following local students who achieved the dean’s list for the fall semester 2023:

Parker Higgins, Albion; Jessica Guerrette, Molly Mercier, Daraun White and Julie White, all of Fairfield; Alonna Battis and Caitlyn Mayo, both of Fairfield; Mallory Audette, of Jefferson; Mckenzie Kunesh, of Liberty; Katrina Barney, of Madison; Mackenzie Bertone, of Norridgewock; Brady Doucette, of Sidney; Wylie Bedard, Elizabeth Connelly, Catherine Kelso, Zoe Lambke, Ashley Mason and Dawson Turcotte, all of Skowhegan; Alexis Rancourt and Richard Winn, both of South China; Adam Ochs, Vassalboro; Asher Grazulis, Nabila Harrington, Emma Michaud, Elias Nawfel, Grace Petley, Lauren Pinnette, and Emilee Richards, all of Waterville; and Willa Dolley, Juliann Lapierre, and Justice Picard, all of Winslow.

China select board hears first budget draft

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by Mary Grow

China select board and budget committee members met together Feb. 5 to hear Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood’s presentation of the first draft of the 2024-25 municipal budget.

By Hapgood’s figures, the fiscal year 2023-24 budget for municipal departments totaled a bit over $4.4 million. The preliminary request for FY 2024-25 comes to $4.9 million.

The manager had no figures yet for the 2024-25 school budget ($5.2 million this year) or Kennebec County budget ($607,333 this year). She expects both will increase.

Select board and budget committee members will review proposed 2024-25 expenditures and potential income this month and next, to produce a budget the select board recommends to voters. Voters will act on the 2024-25 budget at the June 11 annual town business meeting, and it will become effective July 1.

Hapgood said China is in good shape financially, debt-free and with a healthy surplus. She summarized changes proposed for the new fiscal year.

— Two potential new expenditures are the storage vault at the town office, to be partly paid for with federal ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds; and perhaps setting up a kayak and paddleboard rental station on China Lake (see the Feb. 1 issue of The Town Line, p. 3).
— The proposed wage increase for town employees is 3.2 percent (cost of living adjustment) plus 1 percent merit raises.
— Hapgood would like to add two employees, if they can be found: a half-time community program director, and a person whom she described as “an attorney, a planner and consultant,” whose salary would come partly from funds that would otherwise be used to pay for outside legal services. She also sees a need for an assistant animal control officer.
— As discussed previously at select board meetings, Delta Ambulance’s service fee will increase from $15 per resident to $25 per resident, increasing China’s charge from $66,300 this year to $110,200 in 2024-25.
— Hapgood recommends an increase in the public works department’s budget, because, she explained, the department should, if possible, hire a mechanic, to minimize sending equipment away for repairs; two trucks are due for replacement soon, and she advises starting a reserve fund for building expansion; and a summer intern is included, whose main job would be to map every culvert in China.

With projected increases in the price of paving and other areas, the preliminary recommendation for the 2024-25 public works budget is $1.86 million, up from $1.63 million this year.

Select board members are likely to begin discussing the budget at their next regular meeting, scheduled for 6 p.m., Monday, Feb. 12.

Budget committee members did not set their next meeting; Hapgood proposed they meet alternate Monday evenings from the select board, if that schedule was convenient.

China TIF committee reviews nine requests: OK to all

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by Mary Grow

Five members of China’s Tax Increment Financing Committee reviewed nine requests for 2024-25 TIF funds at a Feb. 5 meeting. They unanimously recommended the select board approve all nine.

The only long discussion was over requests from the Thurston Park Committee and the Four Seasons Club for money from the trails fund. As they did last year, the two groups asked for a total of more money than the fund can grant.

The trails fund is authorized to spend $65,000 a year. The Thurston Park Committee, represented by chairman Jeanette Smith and member Scott Monroe, requested $48,482. The Four Seasons Club, represented by president Thomas Rumpf, asked for $40,000.

The Thurston Park request was further complicated by including plans to use the money to buy equipment. Smith explained that some of the park’s five volunteers bring their own trailers, side-by-sides, chainsaws and whatever else is needed to mow the picnic area, clear fallen trees, add gravel to washouts and do other maintenance.

Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood said town-owned equipment cannot be used by volunteers unless they have been trained. Otherwise, the town gets in trouble with the Bureau of Labor Standards and the insurance company.

Rumpf’s major project, which will cost a good deal more than $40,000, is to rebuild the north-south Narrow Gauge Trail, aka Bog Trail, which has seriously deteriorated. For last summer, he had approval to use sections of Bog and Pleasant View Ridge roads as alternative ATV trails.

Rumpf and Smith presented information on the importance of trails to the town, for residents’ recreation and as an attraction for visitors who spend thousands of dollars at local stores and eating places.

Rumpf said people from all over New England use Four Seasons Club trails, not just for ATV riding and snowmobiling, but for hiking, biking and riding horseback. The windstorms did considerable damage, he said, but thanks to “the best volunteers in town,” trails are now “open, cleaned out and ready to go.”

Smith said since November, a game camera has shown many hikers, some with dogs, a few horseback riders and one bobcat enjoying Thurston Park.

TIF committee members agreed on the value of both groups’ work. After almost an hour’s discussion, they voted unanimously to recommend the select board split the trails money between them, $32,500 each.

Rumpf and Smith were satisfied, but both had requests for future changes. Rumpf wants the committee to review the allocation of TIF funds, to see if more money can be spent on trails at the expense of less popular, or less needy, projects.

Smith pointed out that for at least the second year, the Thurston Park Committee’s two major problems are not addressed. The maintenance situation is unresolved, and so is the issue of park access.

Currently, the only road access is from the north, through Albion, down a steep gravel-road hill that is not adequately maintained. The former Yorktown Road runs through the park to the south boundary, but a landowner there is not open to having park visitors pass by his house. Monroe emphasized the desirability of providing a south entrance.

Rumpf presented one of the other funding applications, for $5,000 for fireworks for China Ice Days in 2025. The 2024 Ice Days ice fishing derby is scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 18.

The China Lake Association requested $25,000 for environmental improvements. Association president Stephen Greene said the funds would go toward the Youth Conservation Corps’ water quality protection work and the Courtesy Boat Inspection program aimed at keeping invasive weeds out of area lakes.

The China Broadband Committee had a double application, $10,000 to continue to contract with consultants Mission Broadband and the next $30,000 installment of a continuing grant to increase broadband access for town residents.

The Town of China requested TIF funds for four purposes: $10,000 for China Community Days 2025 ($5,000 for fireworks and $5,000 for general support, Hapgood said); $10,000 toward hiring a summer intern; $7,725 for Kennebec Valley Council of Governments dues; and $500 for Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce dues.

China Days is identified as an economic development event, and the last three projects are aimed at promoting the town as a business location.

Money in the TIF fund comes from taxes on Central Maine Power Company’s north-south line through the town and its substation in South China. These taxes bring in more than $300,000 a year, according to China’s “Tax Increment Financing District and Development Program” on the town website.

TIF committee members set their next meeting for 6 p.m. Monday, April 1.

New artists’ program at ACB is off to a flying start

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by Karel MacKay

The Albert Church Brown Memorial Library, in China Village, welcomed its first artist of 2024, Maria King, on Saturday, February 3. Maria had more than 50 shadow boxes on display at the library through February 29. Incredibly, Maria began her artistic journey less than a year ago and has made over 70 shadow boxes so far.

Historically, shadow boxes were presented to members of the military upon retirement as a “medium to house honorable badge, pins, flags, and other rewards for their service to the country. Veterans would be given a shadow box to commemorate their final rank and sacrifice, a totem to be taken home with them to be showcased and protected.”

The practice actually goes back to the early years when sailors manned wooden ships. At that time people believed that when a sailor departed his ship for the last time, it was bad luck for their shadow to hit land before they did. To ward off this superstitious belief, sailors placed keepsakes that they had earned and collected in a shadow box of fine wood, which represented the “shadows” of the sailors. The boxes were kept on the ship until the sailors were safely ashore. They were then given to the sailors in a ceremony.

Maria’s shadow boxes are a trip through time. Many of them have a religious theme, while some depicted her life experiences. Others pay homage to literary and artistic works. The intricate work in her designs are fascinating, but even more enjoyable than looking at her creations was listening to her describe the story of each shadow box. It was a trip through history, told with incredible art and literary knowledge – not to mention her rapier-sharp wit.

Maria is originally from Poland and currently lives in Liberty. Before she came to the United States, she was a freelance translator and proofreader who worked with various artists and film directors. She writes screenplays and even now works on translating novels – from Illuminations by Mary Sharatt – to several novels by John Banville, all of this with elaborate annotations, which are the most fun for Maria because they require a lot of research and connecting dots. She says that her background has contributed greatly to her passion for creating shadow boxes.

The Library will host local artists throughout the year. Ann Rhinehardt, of Vassalboro, is the next featured artist for the month of March. If you are interested in showing your work at the library, please email chinalibraryacb@gmail.com.

Some of the many shadow boxes displayed by artist Maria King, at the Albert Church Brown Memorial Library, in China Village. (contributed photo)

China commercial solar ordinance ready for review

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by Mary Grow

At their Jan. 23 meeting, China Planning Board members discussed one permit application and forwarded one draft ordinance to the select board.

They decided the long-discussed commercial solar ordinance, planned to be Chapter Eight in the town’s Land Development Code, is ready for select board members’ review. The ordinance was on the agenda for the Jan. 29 select board meeting.

Board chairman Toni Wall had worked on amendments to China’s Land Use Ordinance, which is Chapter Two of the Land Development Code; this document is also on the Jan. 29 select board agenda.

Wall said a major piece remains to be added, to incorporate relevant parts of the 2022 state law requiring municipalities to provide for additional housing. The major changes involve relaxing restrictions on the number of dwelling units per lot. China officials have asked the Kennebec Valley Council of Governments for help adding appropriate language.

The law says towns must incorporate the new provisions by July 1, 2024. China’s version needs to be ready for voters’ action at the June 11 annual town business meeting.

The permit application is from Carrol White, to convert the former Silver Lake Grange Hall, on Main Street, in China Village, to four two-bedroom apartments.

White said after he gets the permitting process started, village resident Daniel Coleman intends to buy the building and do the conversion.

Back in 1992, White said, he applied for and received the necessary variance from ordinance requirements, specifically the setback from the side lot line and the square footage needed for multiple dwelling units. However, the variance was not registered with the state Registry of Deeds within the required 90 days.

When the omission was discovered in 1999, the variance was duly notarized and registered, but there seems to be agreement that a seven-year delay made it invalid. White therefore needs a new one; variances are granted by the town board of appeals.

In addition, planning board members voted that White’s application was incomplete, because he provided too few details on some aspects of the plan.

Wall said she and codes officer Nicholas French will work with White to add information to the application. She suggested the board review it and hold a public hearing to get neighbors’ input, probably at the Feb. 13 planning board meeting. Then White can again ask the board of appeals for a variance from setback and lot size requirements.

China select board postpones decision on revised ordinances

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by Mary Grow

At their Jan. 29 meeting, China select board members postponed decisions on submitting two revised ordinances to voters and on a Recreation Committee idea.

Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood said the new Solar Ordinance and the planning board’s amendments to the Land Use Ordinance (Chapter Two of the Land Development Code) are in the town attorney’s hands.

The next steps are for the select board to approve final versions of the ordinances and hold public hearings on them before they are submitted to voters to accept or reject, perhaps at the June 11 annual town business meeting.

Board members needed more information on a proposal to authorize the Recreation Committee to offer kayak and paddleboard rentals. Hapgood said she and Recreation Committee chairman Martha Wentworth had discussed contracting with a company called Rent.Fun, based in Northville, Michigan.

For $39,000, the company would provide China with four kayaks and four paddleboards, with paddles. They would be kept near China Lake – beside the Courtesy Boat Inspectors’ shelter on the causeway, Hapgood suggested.

No staffing would be needed, as potential renters would use an app to unlock the board or kayak of their choice and pay the hourly fee. Rent.Fun and the town would split the rental income, so the town would earn back its investment.

Hapgood intends to ask Wentworth to get more information from Rent.Fun. She hopes also to get information from municipalities the company already serves.

Two guests brought messages to the select board meeting.

Jacob Poulin, deputy from the Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office, reminded residents to lock their vehicles and hide any valuables left inside whenever the vehicles are parked outdoors. People have been breaking in to steal purses and other items, he said.

Erika Presley, senior land conservation manager with Edgecomb-based Midcoast Conservancy1, introduced herself and her organization, which owns 12.5 acres on the West Branch of the Sheepscot River off Dirigo Road, in China.

She said the lot encompasses the former Pullen Mill Dam2 site and showed a picture of the dam remains. Protecting the forested property is important for water quality and water temperature in that part of the river, she explained.

The four select board members present Jan. 29 made two unanimous decisions:

— They authorized Hapgood to seek new bids on building a vault to improve storage space at the town office. The present plan is to have the vault inside a small addition on the south side of the west section of the present building.
— They authorized the South China volunteer fire department to spend up to $8,000 from the fire department reserve fund to connect the fire station to three-phase power on Route 32 South.

The connection will let the department accept a gift of an air compressor from the Biddeford fire department, to replace its worn-out compressor. The compressor is used to refill SCBA (self-contained breathing apparatus) bottles for members of all three China departments. Hapgood said there is $150,000 in the reserve fund.

The manager reported:

— About 130 residents have signed up for E911 identifying numbers for their properties; more are welcome. A form to request a number is on the website, china.govoffice.com, on the first page.
— China is applying for services from the Maine National Guard for work on a section of Hanson Road near Evans Pond.
— The roof of the large white garage north on the town office lot needs repair.

China select board and budget committee members will meet together at 5:45 p.m. Monday, Feb. 5, in the town office meeting room, for a preliminary discussion of the 2024-25 town budget.

The next regular China select board meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday, Feb. 12.

1. More information on the Midcoast Conservancy is on its website, midcoastconservancy.org.
2. Several on-line sites provide information on the Pullen Mill Dam, where a fish passage completed Aug. 21, 2011, was dedicated on May 18, 2012, in memory of Dr. Melissa Laser, of the state Department of Marine Resources.

Becky Hapgood cited for 30 years of community service

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China town manager Rebecca Hapgood. (photo by Eric W. Austin)

by Mary Grow

Ask China Town Manager Rebecca “Becky” Hapgood what’s the best part of her job, and she gives you a quick double reply: “Every day is different; and the people.”

“People” includes her fellow town employees, residents, visitors – everybody she meets, personally or virtually.

Variety and people have been central themes since Hapgood was first hired by the Town of China on Feb. 2, 1994 – 30 years ago.

She graduated in 1992 from Thomas College, in Waterville, with a degree in business management and experience helping in her family businesses, Back’s Dairy Bar, in South China, and an antique shop. Her plan was to start her own business.

Why, then, apply for a town job?

“Because my mother made me,” Hapgood answered, not entirely seriously.

The connection, she explained, was that her mother worked with Town Manager Gary Brown’s wife, Wanda. Brown had an opening for a deputy clerk; Hapgood applied and was hired.

That job, like every position in the office, involved learning and doing “a whole lot of everything,” with days seldom going as planned.

Brown doubled as town clerk in 1995, Hapgood found in town records. By the spring of 1996, Daniel L’Heureux was town manager and she was town clerk.

Dennis Heath succeeded L’Heureux in 2018, but didn’t stay long. Hapgood became town manager on July 18, 2020.

“Dennis set me up for success,” Hapgood commented, by sharing records and information and answering questions. She translates this openness to the entire office’s relationship with residents: nothing is hidden.

Her career has focused on providing the best possible service to everyone who comes in, calls in or otherwise gets in touch. She summarized her daily goals as “making somebody’s day, changing somebody’s day, helping somebody out.”

Moving to the manager’s private office has limited her interactions, but she still pops out to the counter when she can, especially if she overhears someone giving other staff a hard time.

Recently, she said, the new transfer station entrance stickers have created dissatisfaction and complaints. She understands: people don’t like change, and “we’re government and people don’t like government.”

But, she said, “This is local government, and we can help.”

She sees town employees as “all about trying to find the solution. We’re all willing to help; that’s what we’re here for. We want to do the best for our residents, to be the best town.”

Hapgood welcomes suggestions for running the town better. She habitually urges residents to join a town board or committee to share their ideas.

Her reaction to gripes and venting on social media is to encourage people, before they complain, to consider how their words could affect others, and to contact the town office to make sure they’re acting on accurate and complete information.

Looking back over the last 30 years, Hapgood summarized, “This is not what I thought I’d be doing in life, but I’m having a blast; 99.9 percent of the time, I love my job.”

[You might like: New China town manager takes over with unprecedented local support]

Local students named to president’s list at Plymouth State (2023)

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The following local students have been named to the Plymouth State University president’s list for the Fall 2023 semester, in Plymouth, New Hampshire:
Kaiden Kelley, of South China; Dylan Flewelling, of Oakland; Sidney Hatch, of Oakland; and Sondre Ashei, of Klepp Stasjon.

China select board approves emergency services dispatching

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by Mary Grow

At a brief meeting on a snowy Jan. 16 evening, China select board members approved an emergency services dispatching agreement, made three committee appointments and briefly discussed pending ordinance changes.

One amended ordinance will be on the ballot for the June 11 annual town business meeting. Board members approved for presentation to voters the official copy of the revised Planning Board Ordinance.

Planning board members are working on revisions to the Land Use Ordinance, Chapter Two of China’s Land Development Code. Planning board chairman Toni Wall said it would be on the Jan. 23 planning board agenda.

Select board member Brent Chesley questioned provisions dealing with expansion of non-conforming uses in the shoreland. Other members had additional suggestions for planning board members to consider.

The nine-page dispatching agreement provides for the state Department of Public Safety (DPS) to continue to dispatch emergency service providers in China for the fiscal year beginning July 1. The fee will be $51,528.94 for the year, which Hapgood said is about a five percent increase over the current year.

Select board members unanimously approved the contract and appointed Hapgood the town’s contact person with DPS.

Other appointments were James Hinds and Benjamin Weymouth to the transfer station committee and Trishea Story as budget committee secretary. Last fall, board members appointed Weymouth to the comprehensive plan implementation, broadband and tax increment financing committees.

Board member Janet Preston said she is working on getting electric vehicle charging stations in China, seeking cost estimates and possible locations. She said she has been advised that the town office is not a good place for Level 2 chargers, despite its central location, because of the length of time charging takes.

Hapgood reminded those present that the town office is accepting nominations for Spirit of America awards for volunteerism until March 1.

The Jan. 16 select board meeting was followed by an executive session. Hapgood said no action was taken afterward.

The next regular China select board meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday, Jan. 29.

Moments of Pride at RSU #18 schools: China Primary School

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China Primary School

No Power, No Problem: On Wednesday, December 20, China Primary School welcomed students from China Middle School to join them in their building even with a power outage! Each middle school class paired with an elementary school class for the day. Students helped each other out, played, had a hot meal, and had a warm place to spend the day!

Snow Globe Wishes: The third grade team at China Primary School read the book Snow Globe Wishes to their students. After reading the mentor text, students were asked to write a response to the prompt: If I was trapped inside a snowglobe, what would happen? Students were then able to make a snowglobe of their own! This activity was a part of their holiday celebration at CPS.