by Mary Grow

China Planning Board members’ review of Timothy O’Brien’s application to subdivide one lot in Killdeer Heights subdivision into four lots has been put off to their May 9 meeting.

The review was to continue April 25, but on April 21 codes officer Nicholas French said surveyor Adam Ellis was still waiting for information and had asked to be on the May 9 agenda instead.

The 4.3-acre lot is bounded on the east by Lakeview Drive (Route 202) and on the west by the private road named Mountain View Drive, which runs south off Killdeer Point Road.

Board members held a well-attended public hearing on the application at their April 11 meeting. Neighbors suggested concerns they think board members should address as they consider the subdivision.

On the assumption that each of the proposed four lots would become a house site, abutters and members of the Killdeer Point Road Association asked for more attention to and information about steep slopes and the effect of development on run-off; the impact of more traffic on Mountain View Drive and the safety of entrances onto Lakeview Drive; the applicability of China’s Phosphorus Control Ordinance; and effects on wildlife, natural resources and the quality of life in an uncrowded rural town.

Neighbors would like to see results of the test pits that were dug to make sure each planned lot has a place where the soil is suitable for a septic system. One asked whether potential new home-owners would need to blast ledge to make basements, and if so whether the blasting could damage nearby houses.

They cited requirements in China’s subdivision ordinance (Chapter 3 of the town’s Land Use Ordinance), which has a list of effects to be avoided on the environment and on municipal services.

At the April 11 meeting, planning board co-chairman James Wilkens said information would be made available to the public as promptly as possible.

French said materials will be posted on the China website, china.govoffice.org, under Agendas & Minutes 2023 on the Agendas & Minutes tab under the Planning Board, which is under the right-hand tab Officials, Board & Committees.

After the hearing, board members tabled, again, consideration of changes in the Planning Board Ordinance and review of China’s comprehensive plan.

The main agenda item for their Tuesday, April 25, meeting is an application for an addition to the town office building. The meeting is scheduled at 6:30 p.m. in the town office meeting room.

by Mary Grow

By the end of their April 24 meeting, China select board members had a public hearing scheduled for each of their May meetings.

The Monday, May 8, meeting will be preceded by a 6 p.m. public hearing on warrant articles for the June 13 annual town business meeting. The June 13 voting will be entirely by written ballot, with no chance to ask questions before voting.

China Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood invited select board members’ comments on a six-page draft document to inform China voters about the upcoming May 8 hearing and June 13 voting.

On Monday, May 22, select board members plan a public hearing on the Four Seasons Club request to open about two miles of town road for ATV use. Club President Thomas Rumpf made the request at the April 24 meeting.

Rumpf explained that part of the Bog Trail needs rebuilding before ATVers can use it. Therefore, he would like town officials’ approval to let them ride on a section of town roads east of China Lake.

The proposed route, shown on a map Rumpf prepared for the select board meeting, runs along Pleasant View Ridge Road and Bog Road between Jeff LaVerdiere’s gravel pit (with LaVerdiere’s permission) and Cole’s Corner at the north end of Hanson Road.

Select board members had many questions; Rumpf answered some and promised to find answers he was unsure of. In addition to how ATVs and motor vehicles would share the roads, board members are concerned about roadside homeowners’ reactions.

When they voted unanimously to schedule the public hearing that Rumpf said is a requirement if the proposal is to be allowed, they specified that residents along the affected roads are to be invited. Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood said she will see to it.

The ATV season begins June 1 and runs until Columbus Day (the second Monday in October), Rumpf said. He said 110 ATVers use China’s trails on an average weekend.

If select board members approve Rumpf’s request, they are considering leaving an opening to rescind their action if there are many complaints after ATVs start sharing the road.

In other business, board members agreed unanimously to start immediately enforcing the prohibition on out-of-towners bringing trash or recyclables to China’s transfer station. The only exception is for Palermo residents, who use the China facility under an agreement between the two towns.

Jeanette Smith, chairman of the Thurston Park Committee, announced a Community Clean-up Day at the park on Saturday, May 20 (rain date Sunday, May 21). Work begins about 9 a.m. Potential volunteers can get more information by emailing thurstonpark@outlook.com.

The May 8 China select board meeting will begin after the 6 p.m. public hearing concludes.

by Mary Grow

Early in a series of unanimous decisions at their April 10 meeting, China select board members approved the final version of the warrant for the June 13 town business meeting.

The warrant has 32 articles. The one they did not previously approve asks voters to appropriate up to $43,000 from unassigned fund balance for a new fireproof storage vault for municipal records. It is now approved, and the whole warrant is ready for voters.

Copies of the warrant and of the two ordinances voters are asked to approve or reject are on the town website, china.govoffice.org.

Another unanimous vote adjusted fees at the transfer station. Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood explained that there are two changes:

• Instead of being charged individually, bulky items, like pieces of furniture, will count as demo debris and be charged by weight; and
• The fee for discarding passenger-car tires will increase from $4 each to $5 each.

Hapgood said China’s transfer station is not supposed to take out-of-town waste except under contract (as with Palermo). In the past, China accepted other towns’ recyclables, because disposing of them was slightly profitable. Prices have gone down and profit has disappeared.

Select board members voted unanimously to stop accepting recyclables from any towns except China and Palermo.

Recycling in-town materials does save money, Hapgood said, because it takes things out of the waste stream; getting rid of waste costs more than getting rid of recyclables.

The manager recommended board members ask codes officer Nicholas French and his part-time assistant, Dwaine Drummond, to update the list of penalties for land use violations and present it to select board and planning board members for their review.

Select board members agreed, and Hapgood said she would see if a draft could be available for the April 24 board meeting.

By additional unanimous votes, board members approved three expenditures:

• They authorized Hapgood to sign a contract with the Maine Department of Public Safety to provide law enforcement dispatching for the next fiscal year (July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024), at a cost of $49,089.24, money Hapgood said is already budgeted.
• They agreed to buy portable traffic lights for use at road construction sites (so the public works crew can fix roads, instead of holding stop signs) for $48,960 from Northeast Traffic Technologies of Plymouth, Massachusetts; and to spend not more than $13,000 for an enclosed trailer to move the signs. The trailer will come from a local vendor, Hapgood said in a later email.
• They accepted another one-year contract with attorney Amanda Meader, whose hourly rate Hapgood said will increase by 8.11 percent. Other towns pay their lawyers more than China does, the manager added.

Hapgood and, in their bi-weekly reports, other town officials announced pending events that include, in chronological order:

• On Monday, April 17, China municipal departments will be closed for the Patriots’ Day holiday.
• On Saturday, April 22, at the public works garage just west of the transfer station on Alder Park Road, household hazardous waste take-back day, 8 a.m. to noon (preregistration required). Information is available in a hand-out at the transfer station and in the April 7 issue of “China Connected.”
• On Saturday, April 22, at the transfer station, drug take-back day, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• On Monday, April 24, at 5 p.m. in the town office meeting room, a public meeting to learn about and collect ideas for resiliency projects in China, with Community Resilience Coordinator Robyn Stanicki, of the Kennebec Valley Council of Governments; followed by a select board meeting.
• Monday, May 1, is the deadline for applications for money from the Doris L. Young Scholarship Fund. Information is on the town website, under the heading Town Clerk, which is under Administration, which is under Town Departments.
• Monday, May 8, at 6 p.m. in the town office meeting room, public hearing on June 13 warrant articles, followed by a select board meeting.
• The annual Regional School Unit (RSU) #18 budget meeting and vote will be held Thursday, May 18, at 6 p.m. at Messalonskee High School Performing Arts Center in Oakland.