China select board “spends a lot of money” on new equipment

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by Mary Grow

“We’re spending a lot of money tonight,” China select board member Blane Casey commented as the board’s March 27 meeting wound down.

They spent much of it on two pieces of equipment, a side-by-side for the transfer station and a plow truck for the public works department. Decisions were unanimous as board members recognized needs, reluctant as they groaned about prices.

They also approved the warrant for the June 13 annual town business meeting, when China voters will have a chance to spend a lot more money; and decided other issues.

Transfer station staff member Cheyenne Houle presented four updated bids for the small utility vehicle, and the transfer station committee’s recommendation.

The transfer station committee recommended, and select board members approved, a Polaris Ranger 570 from Cove-Side Wheel & Ski, in Newport, for $11,598. (The Polaris 500 the committee endorsed on March 7 is no longer available; see the March 9 and March 16 issues of The Town Line).

Paul Lucas, chairman of the transfer station committee, said there is a little more than $38,000 in the transfer station reserve fund.

At a March 22 transfer station committee meeting, Houle said the newer model, which costs $900 more, has the roll cage members liked on the older one. It has upgraded lighting, a better dumping body, higher ground clearance and more time recommended between servicing.

Transfer station manager Thomas Maraggio said the Polaris will “make work easier and more efficient” by reducing time staff spend “running back and forth” to put things in their proper places.

Select board chairman Wayne Chadwick asked whether the previously-discussed guard shack at the transfer station entrance wouldn’t serve the same purpose. No, Maraggio said, because someone planning to smuggle a discarded air conditioner into the brush pile (for example) would need only to hide it under incoming brush, and a staffer would need to move it.

Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood said with the present efficient transfer station crew, and the monitoring cameras, she has lost enthusiasm for a guarded entrance. Chadwick commended the staff for “doing an excellent job.”

Director of Public Services Shawn Reed requested the new truck. For the last two winters, he said, the town has plowed four routes with four trucks, and sometimes two of them break down at the same time. Getting parts is slow, getting time in a repair garage is slow; he needs a fifth truck for back-up.

Getting a new truck is also slow. Reed explained the new system: people who want a truck don’t just order one, they ask a dealer for a slot, present specifications and buy the truck when it gets made.

After investigating options, Reed recommended buying from O’Connor Motors, in Augusta; O’Connor currently has slots, unlike two other dealers he called. He further recommended buying the plow equipment from Viking Cives, in Auburn, and paying $6,325 extra for a seven-year warranty.

Chadwick, board member Brent Chesley and Maraggio, all familiar with equipment, endorsed the extended warranty. A single parts failure could make it worthwhile, they said.

The total price Reed put at $274,497. Hapgood said the public works reserve fund stood at $297,195 as of late December 2022, and the 2023-24 budget will add to it, if voters approve.

Reed was told the truck might be built in September and outfitted and delivered by December. Neither he nor Chesley will be surprised if it’s delayed.

The town meeting warrant select board members endorsed has 31 articles, beginning with election of a moderator. Voting will be by written ballot. The moderator will be chosen by voters at the polls in the portable building behind the town office at 6:55 a.m. Tuesday, June 13; polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Article 14 asks voters to approve expenditures of Tax Increment Financing (TIF) funds for the fiscal year that begins July 1. Select board members reviewed expenditures recommended by the TIF Committee at its Feb. 8 and March 8 meetings (see the Feb. 16 and March 16 issues of The Town Line).

One request is for funds for Thurston Park. Jeanette Smith, chairman of the Thurston Park Committee, made a presentation on the future of the town-owned recreational property as she tried to plan for a post-TIF future. China’s current TIF ends June 30, 2045.

China’s TIF plan calls for an annual $65,000 appropriation for recreational trails, to be shared by Thurston Park and the China Four Seasons Club. The majority of the TIF committee recommended $25,000 for Thurston Park and $40,000 for Four Seasons.

Select board members voted unanimously to amend the recommendation and to split the $65,000 evenly between the two groups. Casey favors funding town-owned trails. Janet Preston said her decision was based on the February 8 agreement between Smith and Four Seasons president Thomas Rumpf for a 50:50 split (overruled by the TIF committee majority).

The problem is “there isn’t enough money to go around,” Chesley, who chairs the TIF committee, commented.

Otherwise, select board members endorsed the TIF committee recommendations, all but one by unanimous votes.

The exception was the recommendation to appropriate $20,000 for the China Region Lakes Alliance. Chadwick, Casey and Chesley all had reservations about the group’s gravel road rehabilitation program, which involves using town funds to help landowners improve private roads to control run-off.

Casey and Chesley voted against recommending the appropriation; Chadwick reluctantly joined Jeanne Marquis and Preston in recommending approval.

In other business March 27, select board members appointed Amber French a new member of the Thurston Park committee. They also appointed:

  • to the comprehensive plan implementation committee, French, Randall Downer and Barbara Crosier; and
  • to the Community Forest at China Schools committee, Elizabeth Swahn, of Waterville, and Nancy Lemieux, Larry Lemieux, Jessica Parlin, Susan Cottle, Peter Moulton and Elaine Philbrook, all of China.

Committee would like to expand park offerings

Jeanette Smith’s slideshow on China’s Thurston Park says it started with land given in 1958 by Everett Thurston. Town officials added tax-acquired property and bought one small piece to create the present 400-acre rectangle in northeastern China.

She quoted from a 2019 state survey on the value of recreational space, in terms of personal health, making a town more inviting and increasing nearby property values.

The committee would like to continue expanding park offerings, Smith said. Goals include handicapped access, two new trails, kayak and canoe racks by the pond, a camping area and outdoor programs.

Smith has learned that many grants require handicapped access; but providing handicapped access requires money.

Preston reported on plans to participate in the Kennebec Valley Council of Governments (KVCOG) community resilience program. The public meeting that is an early step is scheduled for 5:30 p.m., Monday, April 24, before that evening’s select board meeting, Preston said.

She hopes many residents will attend to learn more about the program and submit suggestions for making China a more resilient community. Much of the focus is on adaptation to climate change.

Select board members unanimously sold a tax-acquired mobile home on Chadwick Way to the only bidder, Ed Oliver, for $2,001. Hapgood said Oliver will remove the mobile home from the property.

The next regular China select board meeting is scheduled for Monday evening, April 10.

COMMUNITY COMMENTARY: My life with history

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The interior of the China History Museum.

COMMUNITY COMMENTARY

by Bob Bennett

In all of the lives of human beings, the one factor that can never be changed is our history. It is there in all of its glory or shame. The deeds of those who came before us, and ourselves from the moment they are carried out, are forever in place. So, if it can’t be altered why is history important? The short answer to this question is that knowledge of the past, if used as a learning experience, can and should have a positive impact on those who are still alive and all of those who follow in our future. We should accept, but not repeat mistakes, live with the results but attempt to repair errors, and without question try and ensure that the faults and mistakes of our predecessors are not blessed or repeated. And yet, we all know that these ideas do not always occur; a perfect world does not and will never exist.

I have revered history throughout my entire life. This means that I started with the stories my dad told me when I was a toddler. He loved Zane Grey’s novels and knew a lot about the old west. When I was a couple of years older, my parents bought a full set of Colliers Encyclopedias, including the yearly update volumes, and I was really off and running. I would spend hours paging through those heavy books reading anything that caught my attention. Maybe this is a little over the top, but I loved every moment and learned tons of stuff.

Starting my secondary education in South Portland Junior High School in 1961, I was fortunate to have great history teachers all the way through high school. I wasn’t afraid to ask questions and at a time when many kids were bored with learning names, dates and places, I was in heaven. My freshman history teacher, Charles Cahill, had been in the OSS (pre-CIA) during World War II and even though he told us that he couldn’t really tell us what his actions involved, he could always keep us awake with his stories. Other teachers in high school were good, too, but it was in my college career at the University of Maine in Orono that I really “hit it big.”

My advisor and professor in a number of classes was Clark G. Reynolds. Dr. Reynolds had taught at the U.S. Naval Academy before arriving at UMO. He was the ultimate example of the teacher who knew the stories relating to history that made the classwork incredibly interesting. He had been closely involved with major World War II figures like Admirals Halsey and Nimitz and knew all of the details of their decisions and actions. He had also met many other players in the war. On December 7, 1970, he marched into our classroom with a Christmas card he had just received from a former Japanese naval officer, Minoru Genda, who had largely put together the attack on Pearl Harbor (December 7,1941); talk about timing! We’ll talk more about Dr. Reynolds later.

After college graduation in 1971, I began a 38-year career in education as a history teacher and also a 20-year semi-career in the 195th Army Band of the Maine National Guard. In both of these lives I was exposed to history in different ways. As a teacher, I was very consistent in relating what I was presenting to my students to events that had similarity to both the past and present. I tried to begin every single class session with at least a couple of current events, including something that had some relation to the history we were covering. Some days those events might take more time than I anticipated but I managed to get most everything on the day’s agenda addressed. As a member of an extremely well-regarded army band, I had the opportunity to travel to Puerto Rico, Canada and a number of American states. As a drum major leading a Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans, meeting and talking with Canadian World War II veterans at Gagetown, NewBrunswick, and seeing Robert E. Lee’s first Corp of Engineering project at Ft. Monroe, Virginia, were all great and eye opening experiences.

I moved from one school system to another, Portland to SAD #3 in 1978, got married in 1984 and it was at Mount View High School, in Thorndike, that I reconnected with Dr. Reynolds. One morning during a prep period I looked him up on line and found that he was at the College of Charleton, in South Carolina. On a whim I called the college, charging the cost to my home phone back then, and discovered that he was coming to Orono for a seminar in the following week. I set up a time to meet on campus. When I arrived at the building I went down the appropriate hallway, following the sound of his great, booming voice. When he concluded his presentation, we drove downtown to Pat’s Pizza and had a fantastic, several hour discussion about everything historic. This meeting helped confirm everything I felt about the value of history in one’s life and the need to keep up with all of its pieces.

As my teaching career continued, another opportunity arose and I switched to Erskine Academy, in South China. The location is just around the corner from where we live in South China; I walked to work most days rather than driving 50 mile round trips to Thorndike. While at EA, I was able to see a lot of history in a new part of the world. I chaperoned on five trips to Europe in my seven years teaching mostly Advanced Placement U.S. History. There really isn’t anything like walking through the U.S. Cemetery, in Normandy, and exploring Omaha Beach. The Colosseum, in Rome, is neat, too. When I retired in 2012, my formal teaching was done but I am a firm believer in “once a teacher, always a teacher.” I substitute taught and continued to pass on my knowledge ’till COVID arrived. I volunteered at the Boothbay Railway Museum and enlightened visitors with my wealth of railroad history.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I am a nearly life-long model railroader. One of the best aspects of this hobby for me is the research into railroad history to build accurate models and scenes. To help other modelers, I have written more that 100 articles for various national publications, This has helped me stay active intellectually and to continue to share my ideas and passions, Also, in a rail-related venue, I was a summer conductor for 14 years on the Belfast and Moosehead Lake R.R. I shared tons of history with thousands of passengers during those times.

And so, this is my life exploring, enjoying and passing on history. The past is such a vital part of everyones’ existence and I really feel that ignoring it is almost inhuman. For parents, teach your kids about your past and experiences. For students, listen to your history teachers. Ask questions about what intrigues you and get involved in organizations that highlight learning about, and memories of what, has come before. It is absolutely true that once the ideas and memories of long ago are forgotten, they can never be recovered. It is our task to help preserve them forever.

This essay was composed to help inspire continued interest in and growth of the newly-resurrected China Historical Society.

PHOTO: Sunset over China Lake

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John Gardner photographed this dazzling sunset over China Lake.

Local residents named to Clark University’s fall 2022 dean’s list

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Following are names of local students whose outstanding academic performance earned them a spot on Clark University’s Fall 2022 dean’s list, in Worcester, Massachusetts:

Anna Pellerin, of Winslow, was named to first honors, and Sam N. Golden, of South China, was named to second honors.

Area residents named to dean’s list at UNE

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Photo credit: University of New England Facebook page

The following students have been named to the dean’s list for the 2022 fall semester at the University of New England, in Biddeford.

Albion: Emma McPherson and Olivia McPherson.

Augusta: Valerie Capeless, Zinaida Gregor, Jessica Guerrette, Brooklynn Merrill, Daraun White and Julia White.

Benton: Jessica Andrews.

Fairfield: Caitlyn Mayo.

Jefferson: Mallory Audette.

Oakland: Kierra Bumford and Francesca Caccamo.

Palermo: Peyton Sammons.

Sidney: Sarah Kohl.

Skowhegan: Wylie Bedard, Elizabeth Connelly, Ashley Mason and Dawson Turcotte.

South China: Richard Winn.

Vassalboro: Adam Ochs.

Waterville: Mohammad Atif-Sheikh, Elias Nawfel, Grace Petley and Evan Watts.

Winslow: Juliann Lapierre, Kristopher Loubier and Justice Picard.

China transfer station committee reconsiders utility vehicle recommendation

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by Mary Grow

Members of China’s transfer station committee are going to reconsider their recommendation that the town buy a Polaris Ranger 500 utility vehicle for transfer station staff use.

Since their March 7 action (see the March 9 issue of The Town Line, p. 3), they have new information and a new, higher price, according to an email from transfer station employee Cheyenne Houle.

Houle said the Ranger 500 has been replaced by a Ranger 570. The 570 has most features committee members valued in the 500, like a roll cage and lights; Houle wrote that it adds a dump body and has higher ground clearance. Also, she said, recommended time between services has been increased.

The price she brought to the March 7 committee meeting was $10,699. The new price is $900 higher, she said.

Houle is seeking updated prices from two other suppliers. She plans to have information by the next committee meeting, scheduled for 9 a.m., Tuesday, April 11.

China broadband committee to try again for grant

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by Mary Grow

China Broadband Committee (CBC) members will try again to get a grant to expand broadband service to China residents who are currently underserved or not served at all.

They will again work in partnership with Direct Communications, the Idaho-based company that now owns UniTel, in Unity, with assistance from Mission Broadband, the consultants who have worked with them for several years.

These decisions were the outcome of a March 9 meeting among the parties, the first CBC meeting since last fall, when the first and unsuccessful application was put in final form.

The grants are awarded by the Maine Connectivity Authority (MCA). A letter from the MCA rejecting China’s first application (see the Jan. 12 issue of The Town Line, p. 1) said there had been many more applications than available funds could support.

At the March 9 meeting, John Doherty and Jeff Nevins, from Mission Broadband, and Jayne Sullivan, from Unitel/Direct Communications, discussed two issues that will affect the next round of grants: mapping and revisions to MCA’s grant program.

Mapping involves the accuracy – or inaccuracy – of maps purporting to show where improved service is needed. Doherty said that the first maps were by census block; if one home in a block had excellent internet service, the map showed all the neighbors equally well served.

New maps are being prepared by individual addresses. They are expected to be available by June.

The definition of adequate service is also debated, in terms of capacity, speed and reliability.

Sullivan expects MCA’s application form will be revised. She hopes the updated forms will be available by June; the application deadline is currently some so-far-unspecified time in August (which, Doherty pointed out, is a month when people are likely to be on vacation).

Bob O’Connor

Unitel/Direct prepared China’s previous application; CBC members authorized them to prepare a new one, at least in outline pending more information from MCA. Sullivan said the goal is “a winnable application.”

CBC chairman Robert O’Connor had drafted a document that he intended as part of a new application. Sullivan accepted it as useful local input for MCA reviewers; she and O’Connor will continue discussion by email as necessary.

The expectation is that MCA will still require a local funding match, toward which China voters have approved Tax Increment Financing funds.

The next CBC meeting is scheduled for 4 p.m. Thursday, April 27.

 

 

 

 

China select board makes plans for annual business meeting

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by Mary Grow

China select board members spent most of their March 13 meeting on plans for the June 13 annual town business meeting.

Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood gave them a first draft of the town meeting warrant articles, which will be decided by written ballot. Most articles are the familiar ones: appropriations for the 2023-24 fiscal year that begins July 1, including from the TIF (Tax Increment Financing) and ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds; authorization for the select board to take listed actions on behalf of the town; and setting the fall 2023 and spring 2024 tax due dates, for example.

Hapgood pointed out a new article asking voters to authorize municipal officers to close town roads to winter maintenance. If approved, she said, the authority would be available to stop plowing a lightly-populated town road if plow drivers encountered unusual difficulties, like residents’ vehicles consistently in their way.

The March 13 draft warrant included a request for voter action on one proposed ordinance, the Solid Waste Ordinance intended to update and merge two existing ordinances. The manager intends to add an article asking action on the Board of Appeals Ordinance (Chapter 11 of the Land Development Code).

Select board talks about lack of volunteers

At their March 13 meeting, China select board members briefly discussed an on-going problem: how to get volunteers to serve on town boards and committees, elected or appointed.

Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood said there are vacancies on the elected planning board (District 4, the southwestern quarter of town) and several appointed boards, including the board of appeals, the Thurston Park committee and the recreation committee.

Amber French is the first volunteer for the comprehensive plan implementation committee that select board members created last summer, Hapgood said.

The town website, china.govoffice.org, has an application for committee membership under the heading “Town Officials, Boards and Committees,” on the first page. Committees and their current members are listed.

The 2023-24 school budget, which also requires voter action, is a separate document that is not included in the municipal warrant.

Hapgood expects select board members to approve a near-final warrant at their March 27 meeting, so it can be forwarded to the budget committee for their recommendations on spending articles.

She proposed a public hearing on the warrant on Monday, May 8. That way, she said, voters can get information before absentee ballots are available starting Monday, May 15.

On Tuesday, June 13, voters in the portable building behind the town office will elect a town meeting moderator at 6:55 a.m. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Select board member Janet Preston wants one more meeting added to the town schedule. Preston plans to apply for a Kennebec Valley Council of Governments program called Community Resiliency; an early step, she said, is a community meeting to get residents’ input on town needs and priorities.

Preston and the KVCOG website indicate that resiliency includes a variety of contemporary issues, like dealing with climate change impacts, environmental hazards, emergency preparations, renewable energy, green infrastructure and transportation.

Preston recommended holding the meeting in March, because the application is due in March. The board took no action.

China appeals board agrees with CEO French’s ruling

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by Mary Grow

The China Board of Appeals met Friday afternoon, March 10, to hear an appeal of a building permit issued by codes enforcement officer Nicholas French. Board members upheld French’s decision.

The permit was issued on Jan. 9, 2023, to Wayne Paul, Jr. It was appealed by Baiba Bangerskis (for whom her husband, Gundars “Gus” Bangerskis spoke), Raymond Malley and Susan Malley (identified as the widow of James R. Malley), residents of the Yarmouth, Massachusetts, area.

The appeal documents correctly identify French as assistant codes officer and Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood as codes officer. Hapgood holds the title while French completes courses needed for certification (he is almost done); French has been doing the job, and his signature is on Paul’s permit.

After appeals board chairman Spencer Aitel established the board’s authority to hear the appeal, the appellants, appearing virtually, explained the situation, with Bangerskis taking the lead.

They explained that two pieces of land on the east side of Three Mile Pond are involved. One piece is owned jointly by Baiba Bangerskis, two Malleys and Paul. Joint ownership, Gus Bangerskis said, means each party has a one-fourth interest in all of the parcel; none claims a specific piece of it.

Riga Road, formerly Fire Road 71, runs through this lot from Route 32 South to the lake, where several people have homes or seasonal homes. The lakeshore residents have a right-of-way over Riga Road to their properties; Bangerskis said neither Paul nor the other three landowners have a right of way.

Paul also owns and plans to build on the next parcel north, between Riga Road and Fire Road 70. Whether Riga Road touches that lot was part of the debate. Paul said it does; the appellants questioned the accuracy of the old survey on which Paul relied.

Bangerskis also said a deed clause that French cited in correspondence with the appellants was misinterpreted; it does not give Paul a right of way over Riga Road.

The appellants therefore argued that because Paul does not have a right of way over Riga Road, he cannot use it to access his property – they referred to use by trucks delivering lumber and cement trucks – and therefore should not have been granted a building permit.

His only access, they suggested, is by water, from the public landing on Three Mile Pond.

Aitel then asked French why he issued the permit.

French replied that he had no ground on which to deny it.

China’s ordinance does not require a building permit applicant to have road frontage, access or a street address. The requirements are a map and lot number and proof of right, title or interest; Paul provided them.

“How he actually gets to this parcel has nothing to do with me,” French said.

After Aitel gave the two parties a chance to question each other, he asked board members’ opinions. Agreement was quick and unanimous: French’s action was correct.

The access issue may be a problem for the landowner, Robert Fischer said, but it is irrelevant to the codes officer’s decision.

French “did what he is authorized to do,” Stephen Greene said. He suggested other issues between Paul and the appellants should be worked out among them or submitted to a court of law.

The vote on a motion that the codes officer acted correctly in issuing the building permit was 5-0-1, with Fischer, Greene, Michael Gee, Lisa Kane and Alan Pelletier voting yes and Aitel abstaining, as he habitually does when his vote is not essential.

Aitel reminded the appellants that they have the right to appeal the Board of Appeals decision to court.

Without quorum, China TIF committee goes ahead with meeting

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by Mary Grow

With only four of eight members present (there used to be nine members, but chairman Brent Chesley said Trishea Story had resigned), China’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Committee lacked a quorum for the March 8 meeting. Members decided since their decisions are advisory only, they could go ahead without a quorum.

The agenda included two main items: fund requests left over from the committee’s Feb. 8 meeting (see the Feb. 16 issue of The Town Line, p. 3), and the revolving loan fund (RFL) that is part of China’s TIF program.

Committee members quickly recommended approval of:

  • The China Lake Association’s request for $1,000 that committee chairman Brent Chesley said is for a state conference to be held at the China Conference Center;
  • $5,000 for China Ice Days in February 2024;
  • $20,000 in two different requests from town officials, half for 2024 China Community Days and the other half for a summer intern, whose duties Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood said will focus on helping existing business and reaching out to attract new ones; and
  • $7,213 for Kennebec Valley Council of Governments (KVCOG) dues and $460 for Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce dues, items Hapgood said have previously been in the municipal budget.

Thurston Park Committee chairman Jeanette Smith presented a revised request for TIF funds, mostly to help repair the entrance road into the park. The road washed out in the Dec. 22 storm, and an application for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funds was denied.

Smith said trails in the park are usable, once people walk in because they can’t drive until the road is fixed, but caution is advised – the trails, too, suffered washouts and are cluttered with fallen and uprooted trees.

Smith had asked for only the $25,000 a majority of TIF committee members approved Feb.8. Chesley encouraged her to increase the request, and said the select board, on which he serves, should hear the history of the storm damage and the FEMA application before its members act on a request for TIF money.

The revolving loan fund (RLF) is described in China’s TIF plan as intended “to provide existing and new businesses in China with loans to expand operations, add employees and develop new products and with other types of business assistance which expands and improves the town’s economy.”

At their Nov. 22, 2022, meeting, committee members questioned the value of the program. They pointed out that the only loan ever made was in default, and as of November there were no applicants for new loans.

Since then, Chesley said, he had been approached by someone interested in a loan to start a new business in China. On investigation, he found that the town’s agreement with KVCOG to administer the RLF had expired, and had to tell the interested party the committee needed to recreate an administrative framework before reviewing a loan application.

Audience member Thomas Rumpf, who served on the RLF committee when there was one, volunteered to help put a committee together, again. Rumpf also recommended changing the program from loans to grants, an idea committee member Michael “Mickey” Wing supported.

Chesley had already planned to meet with KVCOG officials; he and Rumpf will schedule a meeting.

A change from a loan fund to a grant fund would require a change in the TIF document, which would need approval from China voters and from state Department of Economic and Community Development officials.

The next China TIF committee meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m., Monday, May 1.