by Mary Grow

By a 3-2 vote, China selectmen have sold the 39-acre lot on Lakeview Drive to China resident Brent Chesley, for $65,000.

Eight bids had been submitted by the selectmen’s Oct. 12 meeting. They ranged from $10,000 to $75,000.

The $75,000 offer was from Nikolette Alexander, of South China, who reportedly planned a residential development. Her bid was conditional on the lot being appraised at that figure.

Now that the previous subdivision permit has expired, realtor Lucas Adams has revised the property’s value downward, from an early estimate of $80,000 or more to $55,000 or more.

Chesley told selectmen he would not hold his offer if they reject it in favor of another that falls through. The board has already had one buyer withdraw, after learning the subdivision was no longer valid.

Asked what he would do with the land, Chesley said he has no plan yet. After the closing, which will be November 19 if feasible, he said he might talk with the People’s Park organization whose members want the property made into a public park.

Irene Belanger, Blane Casey and Janet Preston voted to accept Chesley’s offer. Belanger and Preston favor a park over a subdivision; Casey believed Chesley’s offer was the safe one, given the condition on Alexander’s offer. Chairman Ronald Breton and Wayne Chadwick were opposed.

Board members differed in defining their responsibility to townspeople. The town meeting warrant article authorizing the sale says proceeds will go into a fund to lower the tax rate in the following fiscal year, suggesting an obligation to accept a high bid.

Lindsey Harwath, Chairman of the People’s Park organization, and board member Preston said that residents who had expressed opinions heavily favored making the area into a public park, with minimal development; and selectmen should listen to the people. Also, they said, a visible roadside park would attract people and thus generate income for nearby businesses.

by Mary Grow

With two pending permit applications postponed, China Planning Board members had a short meeting Sept. 28.

They did not hold a public hearing on, or discuss, Miguel Rivera’s application to convert the former Knowles Mechanical Building at 1097 Route 3 to a medical marijuana business (see The Town Line, Sept. 23, p. 3). Codes Officer Jaime Hanson said preliminary steps had not been completed.

Board members hope they will be able to hold the public hearing at their Oct. 12 meeting.

They did not review an amended subdivision plan involving relocation of Fire Road 19. This project, Hanson said, is awaiting a surveyor’s report. It might be ready for planning board review at the Oct. 26 meeting.

Hanson informed board members that the subdivision permit for the town-owned 39-acre lot on Lakeview Drive that is for sale for the second time (see The Town Line, Sept. 30, p. 3) has expired.

Subdivision permits do not expire under state law. However, municipalities are allowed to have stricter rules. The China Subdivision Ordinance says, “Failure to commence substantial construction of the subdivision within five years of the date of approval and signing of the Plan shall render the Plan null and void.”

Hanson said the last recorded activity on paper was an amendment approved in June 2015. There has been no on-the-ground activity, he said; the planned road is not built and no lots have been cleared or sold.

Planning board members voted unanimously that the five-year period to start construction has been exceeded and the subdivision permit is no longer valid. They think it is the responsibility of the landowner – the Town of China – to put a notice in the Registry of Deeds.

The other action taken, also without opposition, was adoption of the remote participation policy recommended by the Maine Municipal Association. Adoption allows municipal board and committee members to participate in meetings via zoom or other on-line technology, if criteria are met.

Other China boards have adopted the policy, with the understanding that it does not allow a whole municipal committee to meet remotely, as was legal during the proclaimed state of emergency due to the Covid pandemic. If a member is sick, or is temporarily unable to travel to the meeting, he or she may participate on line.

Downer is pleased that China meetings are routinely broadcast on Live Stream and taped for later viewing; he thinks the procedure benefits interested residents. However, he expressed concern about the cost.

The next regular China Planning Board meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 12, in the portable building behind the town office.

by Mary Grow

At their Sept 23 meeting, members of the China Building Committee officially named themselves the Municipal Building Committee (MBC) and proceeded with preliminary plans for recommending additional space at the town office.

Their main focus is on storage space, but as they looked ahead three decades they also considered whether more, or differently arranged, office and work space should be part of a recommendation to selectmen.

Committee Chairman Sheldon Goodine had sketched a plan for a separate building south of the present building, reached by a corridor from the meeting room on the west end, as a starting point for discussion. He considered it more attractive than a right-angled extension.

Another suggestion, from Codes Officer and committee member Jaime Hanson, was a three-sided “bump-out” on the south side.

Town Clerk Angela Nelson explained which records town officials are required to keep forever and which they are allowed to discard after a certain number of years. Related issues were which materials need to be in a climate-controlled area, which require fire-proof storage and how much security is required.

Committee members considered the possibility that paper records will become obsolete. They do not foresee an immediate change to all-digital record-keeping.

The town office also stores voting machines, decorations and supplies for holidays (like Christmas and China Community Days) and other miscellaneous things.

Goodine and Hanson gave themselves assignments as the next step in drafting a plan. They will estimate the present storage space and the volume of material in it; Hanson will measure and photograph the building as it is and will locate underground lines and pipes; and Goodine will interview office staff members individually to get their suggestions.

Hanson will also look into legal requirements. For example, he said, building codes require a certain amount of natural light. If the requirement applies to a storage facility, a windowless space, as Goodine suggested for security, would be illegal.

Committee members set no deadline for presenting a recommendation to the selectmen. As of Sept. 23, they do not anticipate asking for building money in the 2022-23 town budget.

They scheduled their next meeting for 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 28.