Erskine Academy announces national merit scholarship student

/0 Comments/in , , , , /by

Malachi Lowery

Erskine Academy has announced that Malachi Lowery, son of Holly Hilton, of Vassalboro, has been named a Commended Student in the 2023 National Merit Scholarship Program. Lowery is among approximately 34,000 Commended Students throughout the nation who are being recognized for their exceptional academic promise.

Although Lowery will not continue in the 2023 competition for National Merit Scholarships, Commended Students placed among the top 50,000 scorers of more than 1.5 million students who entered the 2023 competition by taking the 2021 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.

Commended students receive a Letter of Commendation from their school and the National Merit Scholarship Program in recognition of this honor.

The Wreaths Across America caravan stops in China

/0 Comments/in , /by

The caravan stops for lunch at Hannaford, in China. (photo by Eric Austin)

by Eric W. Austin

The Hannaford parking lot in South China was unusually crowded on Sunday, December 11, as the Wreaths Across America caravan stopped in China on its way to Arlington National Cemetery, in Virginia, to lay wreaths during this holiday season on the graves of America’s fallen heroes.

The caravan consisted of semi-trucks loaded with donated wreaths, the police cars, blue lights flashing, to escort them, and the many volunteers that help with the effort. Hannaford provided lunch for the volunteers on this stop in China before they headed to their next stop in Lewiston.

(photo by Eric Austin)

“They say you die twice,” a Gold-Star mother told me in the parking lot. “Once physically and once when people stop saying your name.” Her son had died in the Iraq war, she said, and two of her daughters are currently serving. She pointed to a photo that was part of the display on the side of one of the semi-trucks parked behind us. It showed three U.S. soldiers embarking from a helicopter in full combat gear. One of them, she said, was her son. She explained how the families of veterans who have died in the line of duty lay a wreath on their grave and say their name aloud, because it is important that these brave men and women are never forgotten. They live on in the memories of those who loved them.

The Wreaths Across America effort began in 2006 when the Worcester Wreath Co., in Harrington, Maine, posted a photo of wreaths they had laid at the graves of veterans at the national cemetery, in Arlington, Virginia. The photo went viral and the initiative quickly grew to encompass more than 100 locations across the U.S.

Anyone wishing to sponsor a wreath or find out more about the program can reach out through their website at wreathsacrossamerica.org.

The Town Line to benefit from bag sales

/0 Comments/in , /by

Buy one of these reusable grocery bags in February, and the China Hannaford will donate $1 to The Town Line!

The Town Line, Inc., a weekly, reader-supported, nonprofit newspaper, has been selected again to receive $1 from every $2.50 reusable Community Bag sold during the month of January 2023 at Hannaford, 33 Hannaford Drive, in South China.

China to join national communications system

/0 Comments/in , /by
by Mary Grow

China select board members voted unanimously at their Dec. 5 meeting to spend $2,000 a year for the next two fiscal years to join a communication system called TextMyGov.

As the name implies, TextMyGov will let residents send texts to China municipal officials and departments at any time and to get a reply. It also allows town government to send information to residents who sign up.

Spencer Frandsen and Jon Myers, joining the Dec. 5 select board meeting remotely from their Logan, Utah, headquarters, explained and illustrated how the system works. Following Frandsen’s directions, select board members whipped out their cellphones, texted a demonstration phone number and a suggested phrase and got a reply.

“Look at that! That is amazing! That is really cool!” board member Janet Preston exclaimed as she read her screen.

The system has three components. Residents can send a question and get an answer from the site the town has set up, which can cover many topics – town office hours and other schedules and deadlines, for example.

Residents can report an issue, like a tree down in the road, at any time, and get a reply saying the report has been forwarded to the appropriate official or department.

Town officials can broadcast notices and messages, routine or emergency, to everyone who has signed up for the service.

Frandsen said TextMyGov has been in business since 2019 and has just over 500 clients, including 10 or 12 Maine municipalities, not all fully set up yet.

It typically takes from 30 to 45 days to set up a new system, Frandsen said. TextMyGov provides free training to employees, and will repeat training as new staff members need it.

Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood estimated the training would take an hour or hour and a half a week. Learning should be simple for employees accustomed to computers.

At board member Blane Casey’s suggestion, the $4,000 for two years’ service will all come from the current fiscal year’s contingency fund, so there will be no impact on the 2023-24 budget.

After the first two years, Frandsen said, contracts are annual. So far, he said, TextMyGov has not raised its fee; should it have to, he is willing to limit annual increases by contract to no more than five percent.

Board members made other decisions on varied topics at the Dec. 5 meeting.

Tom Alfieri and Danny McKinnis from China Rescue attended to follow up on select board members’ Oct. 24 discussion with Delta Ambulance executive director Timothy Beals (see the Oct. 27 issue of The Town Line).

Beals explained that inadequate and delayed insurance payments fail to cover rising costs, so Delta needs to start charging municipalities. He proposed a contract with the town to start in January 2023 and to be funded from the 2023-24 budget.

Alfieri sympathized with Delta’s need to begin charging for services. “Ambulance service in general is a losing business,” and “Emergency work does not pay the bills,” he said.

Alfieri offered suggestions for things to include in the contract. Select board member Brent Chesley suggested Alfieri and McKinnis review and offer advice on the contract when Delta presents a draft; other board members approved the idea, and the rescue representatives accepted.

Chesley raised another issue, suggesting two changes in the Appeals Ordinance that is part of China’s Land Development Code. Hapgood added a third; Preston suggested asked planning board members for their input. By consensus, Chesley was authorized to develop revisions.

Hapgood announced that the town foreclosed on three properties for unpaid taxes. Board members voted unanimously to follow the usual procedure of giving the former owners another 60 days to redeem the properties by paying all taxes due.

The manager gave board members an update on more than a dozen Land Use Ordinance violations currently under review and about to be reviewed.

Board members continued review of town policies, approving a few changes and postponing some policies for more information.

Hapgood relayed Town Clerk Angela Nelson’s reminders that dog licenses need to be renewed by the end of the year, and that 2023 hunting and fishing licenses are now available.

The next regular China select board meeting is scheduled for Monday evening, Dec. 19.

China officials disagree on need for solventless hash application

/0 Comments/in , /by
by Mary Grow

China Planning Board members spent their Nov. 22 meeting discussing procedural issues.

The longest discussion was over cancelation of the scheduled public hearing on Bryan Mason’s application to convert a shipping container on his property at 1144 Route 3 to a solventless hash lab (see The Town Line, Nov. 3, p. 2).

At the board’s Oct. 25 meeting, Mason explained he intends to make hash oil from marijuana plants and sell it to companies that use it to make consumer products. He does not intend to make such products himself, nor to do retail business from his property.

Codes officer Nicholas French considered the application was for a change of use, which needs planning board approval. Board members agreed, and scheduled a Nov. 22 public hearing to give neighbors (and others) a chance to comment.

French emailed on Nov. 21 that town attorney Amanda Meader considered the proposed business a home occupation, which can be approved by the codes officer without board action. Therefore Mason withdrew his application and the hearing was canceled. Mason’s attorney had talked with Meader, French said at the Nov. 22 meeting.

Board members objected on two grounds. Based on consistent past practice, they think decisions about commercial marijuana businesses should be subject to planning board review; and they think the town attorney’s opinion should not have overruled the decision to hold a hearing that they had already made.

They therefore asked French to talk again with Mason, with the goal of getting the application resubmitted and the hearing rescheduled.

Planning board co-chairman James Wilkens was re-elected to that position, sharing with Toni Wall. Wall succeeds Scott Rollins, who was not a candidate for re-election to the board.

Board members reviewed the town’s Planning Board Ordinance and the Remote Participation Policy (which select board members reviewed the evening before). The latter describes when a board member can participate in a meeting remotely rather than attending in person.

Planning board members agreed that when winter weather made driving potentially dangerous, they would cancel a scheduled meeting, unless an agenda item were urgent enough to require meeting remotely.

Board members offered two items for future meetings. Wall wants to review the town comprehensive plan and see if any actions are needed, and Walter Bennett wants to continue developing an ordinance to control commercial solar developments and prevent “solar sprawl.”

The next China Planning Board meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 6.

Deadline approaches for China TIF requests

/0 Comments/in , /by
by Mary Grow

The deadline for China organizations to apply for 2023-24 money from the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) fund is Dec. 31, 2022.

That’s a Saturday, a TIF Committee member observed as the Nov. 14 meeting wound down. No problem, Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood replied; it’s one of the two Saturdays each month, the first and the last, that the town office is open, from 8 to 11 a.m.

Committee members scheduled their next meeting for Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023. They will review applications and begin matching requests with the limits set in China’s TIF document and with available funds.

At the Nov. 14 meeting, they discussed two ongoing projects, fixing erosion problems at the boat landing in South China and the Revolving Loan Fund (RLF), and considered recommending a new one, assistance with replacing failing shoreland septic systems.

The current proposal for the boat landing is to spend TIF money to control run-off into China Lake, to protect the lake’s water quality. Hapgood and committee members discussed results of the first step, a survey of the town-owned property that shows it is only 25 feet wide.

The next step is to develop an erosion control plan. Suggestions included adding culverts and check dams, diverting water onto neighboring wooded properties (by arrangement with landowners), installing pervious paving and other measures.

The proposal that was adopted for immediate action was to apply to the National Guard for an engineer’s study and plan, followed by the Guard doing the work to implement it.

The related issue was whether the 25-foot strip should continue to be a boat landing, either open to everyone or limited to hand-carried craft like canoes and kayaks.

The consensus was to leave it as a landing open to everyone, perhaps with designated parking spots along the side, perhaps with arrangements to park elsewhere in South China Village. Considerations included frequent use – committee member Michael “Mickey” Wing said he often saw three or four trucks parked there – and the need for emergency access for fire departments and other agencies, like the warden service.

The revolving loan fund, intended to help business locate or expand in China, has been used once so far, and the borrower has defaulted. Suggestions included managing it better, perhaps with outside help; eliminating it; or turning it into a grant fund.

“Food for thought,” committee chairman Brent Chesley summarized the inconclusive discussion.

Chesley proposed recommending a grant or loan fund to help replace failing septic systems in the shoreland, as a contribution to water quality. Several other committee members liked the idea, though no action was taken.

Chesley said he had been disabused of the idea that everyone owning waterfront property is wealthy. Some residents, he said, inherited their homes and are trying to maintain them, and pay lakefront taxes, on limited incomes.

Wing told the group that the current cost of a new septic system ranges from about $6,500 to about $16,000.

Any change in use of TIF funds, deleting or amending a program or adding a new one, would require a recommendation from the committee to the select board; the select board’s agreement to present the change to town voters; voters’ approval; and approval by the state Department of Economic and Community Development.

For the 2023-24 TIF budget, Hapgood said she has one application, from the China Four Seasons Club for work on recreational trails.

Stephen Greene, president of the China Lake Association, promised his application would be in by the Dec. 31 deadline. He intends to seek funds to start building an account for an expensive alum treatment in the north end of China Lake’s east basin. The alum would seal off phosphorus-laden bottom sediments to limit internal phosphorus loading in the lake.

Scott Pierz, executive director of the China Region Lakes Alliance, also plans to apply. He pointed out that costs of CRLA programs are increasing. “Operations are a function of money,” he concluded.

Chadwick chosen as China select board chairman

/0 Comments/in , /by
by Mary Grow

Wayne Chadwick

Four China Select Board members began their Nov. 21 meeting by electing Wayne Chadwick board chairman and Janet Preston secretary. Both votes were unanimous (with Blane Casey absent). Chadwick succeeds Ronald Breton, who did not run for re-election to the board.

Items on a long agenda included discussion with Municipal Building Committee members and engineer Keith Whittaker, of Presque Isle-based B. R. Smith Associates (BRSA); the China Recreation Committee’s request to buy a tractor; select board responsibilities; and an annual review of town policies.

Building committee chairman Sheldon Goodine said committee members and Whittaker were not clear on what select board members expect as BRSA’s current product. Everyone agreed the company should design a climate-controlled vault to store paper records that the state requires municipalities to keep forever. The questions were whether BRSA should also plan for a future addition, and if so, to what level of detail.

The vault, Whittaker said, will be entirely concrete, including the roof, with temperature and humidity controls. Chadwick and new select board member Brent Chesley said there should be a small separate mechanical room.

Whittaker said usually the concrete cube is inside a wooden building with a pitched roof.

Goodine believes within two or three years town office staff will need another addition, though not all select board members agree. Whittaker said regardless of timing, it would be useful to plan for an addition, by making electricity and heating extendable and designing the roof so another roof could connect.

He offered to do a detailed plan for phase one, the vault and surrounding building, and for not much more money a conceptual design for an addition. The conceptual design would include a rough floor plan and elevations, he said, without details.

Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood asked for a cost estimate for this two-phase project, saying if she has the information in time, the topic will be on the board’s Dec. 5 agenda.

Recreation committee chairman Martha Wentworth presented the request for a Husqvarna tractor. It would serve two purposes, she said: plowing the ice rink in the winter, smoothing the ball fields the other three seasons.

She had two bids, both lower than the committee’s budget surplus.

Hapgood and select board members discussed at length issues like liability, with volunteers operating town-owned equipment; training for those who would use the tractor, and limiting the number of users; cost of maintenance (already built into the recreation budget, Wentworth said). Wentworth’s husband, James “J.J.” Wentworth, said he expects to be one of the people who run the tractor, and to do routine maintenance.

After almost half an hour’s discussion, select board members voted 3-1, with Chadwick dissenting, to authorize purchase of a Husqvarna tractor for $8,863, from MB Tractor & Equipment, in Fairfield, with training to be provided by the dealer or by J. J. Wentworth, Chesley or another qualified local person. The price will be $140 lower if tire chains are not included; J. J. Wentworth thinks them unnecessary.

Two issues about select board members were discussed. The minor one was Classes are three hours, she was told; the next scheduled ones are Jan. 24 and Jan. 27, 2023.

Chadwick raised the other issue, whether select board members should be members of subordinate town boards and committees, and if so, how active they should be.

Chesley chairs the tax increment finance committee. He was prepared to resign, but was told he need not. Chadwick emphasized the issue is one he’s thought about for some time; discussion was not inspired by Chesley’s positions.

Hapgood’s notice from the Kennebec County Emergency Management Agency: select board members are required to be trained in their roles in emergencies.

The most difficult question was about a select board member on a committee who supports the committee’s decision to request select board action, like appropriation of town funds. When the select board hears the request, should he or she remain silent, or participate in discussion but not vote, or discuss and vote?

Preston, who is a non-voting member of the China Broadband Committee, said she thinks it is useful for her to bring committee information to the select board and to advise committee members on select board positions. Hapgood asked whether it is right for any one person to speak for a committee or board.

The manager said filling committees with select board members limits other residents’ participation; but finding committee volunteers is often difficult.

At Chadwick’s suggestion, she intends to ask the Maine Municipal Association (MMA) for an opinion.

The Nov. 21 select board meeting was preceded by a very short public hearing on the town’s Remote Participation Policy, which attracted no comment except Hapgood’s explanation of changes MMA staff recommended.

Later in the meeting, board members unanimously re-approved 10 town policies, including Remote Participation, most without change. All are on the China website, china.govoffice.com.

In other business Nov. 21, Kennebec County Deputy Ivano Steffanizzi issued a warning, especially to senior citizens: beware of scams, including telephone calls asking for money for any reason, from bailing a relative out of jail to paying advance taxes on a promised new car to donating to your local police department.

He also advised seniors – and others – to stop speeding on China’s roads.

Select board members unanimously accepted a bid from Nichols Roofing, of China, to repair the recycling building roof at the transfer station for $5,200, if Hapgood finds the company’s references are satisfactory. The manager said the building will need more work after the roof is fixed.

Board members accepted the lower of two bids for a new equipment trailer, a 2023 Reiser tilt deck for $7,951 from Scott’s Recreation, in Turner. They will sell the old trailer by bid.

Hapgood reported that Pine Tree Waste had demolished the house trailer on Chadwick Way and cleaned up the site, as agreed (see the Nov. 9 issue of The Town Line, p. 3).

Board members unanimously appointed Alan Pelletier as an appeals board member.

The next regular China Select Board meeting is scheduled for Monday evening, Dec. 5.

China town office, transfer station closed Nov. 24-25

/0 Comments/in , /by

The China town office and transfer station will be closed Thursday, Nov. 24, and Friday, Nov. 25, for the Thanksgiving holiday. On Saturday, Nov. 26, both will be open as usual, the town office from 8 to 11 a.m. and the transfer station from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.

China transfer station committee debates use of RFID tags

/0 Comments/in , /by
by Mary Grow

China Transfer Station Committee members spent much of their Nov. 15 meeting talking about whether to continue using RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags to separate China and Palermo residents from out-of-town users, or to go back to stickers on vehicles.

The RFID system was started with state grant funding in 2019. The main purpose was to track recycling.

The current system is that a resident gets one free RFID tag and can buy as many more as needed for family or business vehicles, for $10 each. People who move out of town in theory return their tags; that doesn’t always happen, Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood said.

In addition to identifying users as entitled and showing where each vehicle stops inside the transfer station grounds, the system provides statistics on such things as busiest and least busy times and how often the same tag comes in.

To protect personal privacy, tags are not associated with tag-holders’ names for these purposes. As a result, transfer station attendants know for sure that someone with a tag is a resident only when they recognize the person.

Onsite transfer station supervisor Tom Maraggio asked if town office staff could notify transfer station staff when someone moves away. With about 200 deeds being processed every month, Hapgood said, staff members don’t have time.

Her main problems, with which committee members sympathized, are that people move away and continue to use the China transfer station, and residents lend RFID tags to non-residents. China taxpayers therefore end up paying to get rid of out-of-town waste; they’re getting “gypped”, in committee chairman Paul Lucas’ opinion.

“The problem is we’ve lost control over who can use the transfer station,” Palermo representative Robert Kurek summarized.

Chris Diesch, Palermo’s other representative, asked how big the problem is. Her question led to discussion of ways to give attendants limited access to the town office list connecting tags with people, so they could do random checks.

Committee members cited three objections to going back to stickers. Some people object to putting stickers on their vehicles; changing the system again so soon would make town officials look silly, in Kurek’s opinion; and Maraggio said depending on where they’re affixed, stickers are often harder for attendants to see than an RFID tag dangling from the rearview mirror.

The discussion ended with Diesch, a computer expert, and Lucas agreeing to meet and see what additional uses they can make of the RFID system.

The problem of improper disposal also plagues the Free for the Taking building, building manager Karen Hatch said. Intended as a swap shop where people can leave usable household items they no longer need, it too often acquires unusable items, including furniture and other bulky items for which the transfer station charges fees.

Discussion led to consensus that people leaving such items – the list is on the China website, www.china.govoffice.com, and posted at the transfer station – should pay the fees, even if the items go into the Free for the Taking area. If the previous owner is still on the premises when someone else claims an item, the fee might be refunded.

Transfer station staff pointed out that with winter coming, items too large to be displayed inside the building will have to be rejected anyway.

Lucas repeatedly returned to a suggestion made at earlier meetings that a guard shack be installed at the transfer station gate, where an attendant could direct people to proper disposal areas and collect fees as needed. No one else followed up.

In other business, Maraggio and Director of Public Services Shawn Reed proposed a custom-made liftable metal cover for the pre-crusher.

Reed said the new loader, to be shared by public works and transfer station crews, is here. He hopes the snow-pusher attachment will arrive in a week or so.

Maraggio plans to update the transfer station five-year plan. Briefly-mentioned potential recommendations include replacing the mixed waste hopper, which Reed said has been repeatedly repaired; buying a closed container to store mattresses, of which Maraggio said he gets about 10 a week; and installing a proper lighting system in the Free for the Taking building.

Maraggio said work is going smoothly at the moment. Each transfer station employee has a specialty, but all are cross-trained and able to assist each other. Relocating a cardboard bin near the mixed waste hopper has improved traffic flow.

Hapgood reported receiving many compliments on Maraggio’s Halloween decorations at the station entrance.

Committee members scheduled their next meeting for 9 a.m., Tuesday, Dec. 20, in the town office meeting room.

China town office, transfer station closed Nov. 24-25

The China town office and transfer station will be closed Thursday, Nov. 24, and Friday, Nov. 25, for the Thanksgiving holiday. On Saturday, Nov. 26, both will be open as usual, the town office from 8 to 11 a.m. and the transfer station from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Local church collects for Samaritans Purse

/0 Comments/in , /by

Gift boxes filled by China Baptist Church

Last Sunday was collection day for the ‘shoebox ministry’ of Samaritans Purse. Individuals fill shoeboxes with gifts intended for a boy or girl, in a specific age group. Suggested items include school supplies, hygiene items, hair accessories, toys, etc. These are then distributed around the world to children in over 170 countries and territories.

The shoebox ministry began in 1993 as a way to support the war torn country of Bosnia. That year 28,000 boxes were sent to children in the Balkans. Last year more than 10.5 million boxes were collected and distributed. This year the China Baptist Church filled 29 boxes…a small part in a very big mission.